what St. Augustine says (Contra Faustum Manichaum, l. 22, c. 74): Adversus violentiam resistentium sive deo sive aliquo legitimo imperio jubente gerenda ipsa bella suscipiuntur a bonis ubi eos vel jubere tale aliquid vel in talibus obedire juste ordo ipse constringit (in c. Quid culpatur, ubi supra.)[1]
The fourth cause and ground for a righteous war is when there is default of keeping faith or carrying out agreements; for in such case the party who has been wronged may lawfully make war on him who, by not keeping faith, has done him injury. This made Joran [Jehoram], king of Israel, wage war on Mesa [Mesha], king of Moab, for his having failed to keep the agreements and to pay the tribute which he had promised to pay to his suzerain, King Ahab; and that this war was just is clear, for that he was assisted therein by the holy and righteous Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, with the approval of the prophet Elisha—who in the name of the Lord urged them on to war, and promised them a sure victory—as is seen in II Sam. ch. 3. These four causes and grounds, or any one of them by itself, justify war; and there are other grounds also, but these are the most certain and the most applicable to the matter in hand. The third condition which, as we have said, must
- ↑ "Whether at command of God or that of some legitimate ruler, wars are undertaken even by good men, to be waged against the violence of rebels, when civil order itself justly constrains them either to command such action or to obey [i.e., to serve in the army]."
Quid culpatur is the opening of a chapter in Gratian's Decretum, a section of the canon law, and serves as the title of the chapter.—Joseph FitzGerald.
nated "I and II Kings" in the Septuagint, the Vulgate, and the Catholic canon are called in the English Bible "I and II Samuel."—Joseph FitzGerald.
