Si vis pacem, para bellum (Classical Latin: ) is a Latin adage translated as If you want peace, prepare for war.

BackgroundThe phrase Si vis pacem, para bellum is adapted from a statement found in Latin author Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatuss tract De Re Militari (4th or 5th century AD), in which the actual phrasing is Igitur qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum (Therefore let him who desires peace get ready for war.). The idea which it conveys also appears in earlier works such as Platos Nomoi (Laws) and the Chinese Shi Ji. The phrase presents the insight that the conditions of peace are often preserved by a readiness to make war when necessitated.