ABSTRACT
The corpus of principles and interpretations known as just war theory have constituted an authoritative moral reference since its basis was established by St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, in the late fourth and early fifth centuries. In the process of elaboration it encompassed far more than Augustine originally intended, and in its final form it provided a philosophic cornerstone for the positive international law of war. This theoretical legacy of the Christian medieval Church is impressively subtle, comprehensive, and, above all, confident. The beginning of the notion of "social innocence" in Western thought is revealed in the laborious and ingenious effort of Augustine to produce a Christian compromise with conflict—in other words, to make peace with war. Though Christianity had triumphantly survived the persecutions of previous centuries, many non-Christian Romans still regarded it with suspicion or hatred. Not surprisingly, they blamed the Christians for the Empire's collapse, villifying them as unpatriotic citizens.
