4
O
viedo
| C
ampoamor
T
heatre
| 24
th
O
ctober
2014
In his book T
he Names of Christ
, the Augustinian friar known as Fray Luis de León provides us
with some thoughts on how to establish peace among men and nations. Fray Luis begins with
St Augustine’s definition: peace is the tranquillity that precedes order. Peace thus consists of two
elements: order and serenity.
Order, in the sense that all things must keep their proper place; each one should pay others
the respect and courtesy that is due to them. Peace also demands serenity; that is to say, concord,
consent, overt or tacit acceptance: “order by and in itself, without rest does not bring peace; nor do
rest and serenity, if order is absent.”
In other words, peace —to be truly so— supposes justice, without which it would be no more
than the mere absence of war or, more exactly, it would be a sort of war that has yet to be openly
declared. The requirement of serenity —of acceptance and consent— breaks the impasse that the
mere need for order may entail. When the current order is no longer accepted, another form of
organization is needed to restore serenity. It hence follows that order in itself is not an absolute
value that must be maintained at all costs; it is only valid insofar as it is accompanied by serenity
and deserves the freely given endorsement of all parties. Order and serenity are thus in a dialectical
relationship; order without serenity degenerates into armed peace, tyranny, despotism; serenity
without order leads to immoral, reprehensible situations. True peace requires that order and
serenity walk hand in hand.
Joseph Pérez
—
Prince of Asturias Award
for Social Sciences
2014
Excerpt from the speech given on the
occasion of receiving the Prince of
Asturias Award for Social Sciences on
24/10/2014.
