Abstract

This essay describes the theory of "necessary war" as it appears in 1584 Lipsius' "De constantia libri duo". According to stoic teachings - upon which he had been educated - war is for Lipsius a compulsory thing inasmuch as it is "ministry of order", and insofar as it accelerates "consumption of creatures bound to die" or "preserving established and fixed proportions". By so doing, war becomes "bitter yet healthy medicine".