Justum.

 

This is coolbert:

Once more from the  Internet web site abelard.org extracts regarding the concept  of "just war".

Personalities throughout the last two-thousand  years their  ruminations and pronouncements.

"The just war".

* "Cicero (106-43 BC) believed in universal standards, his view was that there was a 'society of mankind rather than of states'."

Cicero the famous Roman lawyer and noted orator BELIEVING that there MUST be some sort of universal standards of correct behavior that MUST be adhered to. EVEN in time of war. 

* "Augustine (354-430 AD) included duties of just treatment of prisoners and conquered peoples, saying that mercy should be shown to the vanquished, particularly if they are no longer a threat to peace."

"Augustine held that legitimate war must meet the test of just cause, must be 1. under competent authority, could be used 2. to establish peace and order, and that 3. the state (like the individual) has a right to self-defense against both internal and external enemies. He developed his theology from Roman legal concepts. Thus warfare was abhorrent but sometimes necessary."

* "Gregory VII (1015/1028-1085) [Pope] extended just war to the promotion of ‘right order’."

* "Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) developed the principles of ‘the just war’, in order to reconcile the moral imperatives which the Churches have traditionally upheld; with the realities of the statesmen who must deal with external threat to their citizens. Aquinas outlined his Just War theory in that section of his teachings which dealt with charity. The three tests for war suggested by Aquinas are"

1. Just cause;

2. Competent authority;

3. Right intention.

Augustine, Gregory, Aquinas addressing the topic of just war within the context of Christian theology. A war waged by Christians in self-defense and done so in a righteous manner to the greatest degree possible not in conflict with Christian teachings.

* "Grotius (1583-1645), from a secularist standpoint, says that a war is just if three basic criteria are met."

1. The danger faced by the nation is immediate.

2. The force used is necessary to adequately defend the nation's interests.

3. The use of force is proportionate to the threatened danger.

Grotius as mentioned the SECULARIST approach and appreciation of just war without religious or theological considerations.

MODERN COMPETENT AUTHORITIES THEIR UNDERSTANDING OF JUST WAR HARDLY EXCEEDING THAT OF THE ANCIENTS I FEAR.     

coolbert.