Chapter LXIII. WHETHER THE CHURCH CAN ORDAIN WAR AGAINST THE JEWS SINCE we have already examined in one place, among the things already treated, whether the Church, justly, may, or should, ordain war or battle against the Saracens, now we must see whether she can ordain war against the Jews.

And I may prove quickly that this is so. We say that there is no evil in the world so great as to have an enemy in our family ; but it is very clear that the Jews are our mortal enemies, for although they serve us it is because they cannot do otherwise. Taking this into account, why should not the Pope have power to declare war against them ? A stronger consideration is that the Scripture says : " If thou hearest that the people of a city say : ` Let us serve the gods of whom we are ignorant and whom we know not,' thou shalt kill all this people, and put all their city to fire and sword, and shalt say : `Let no man come to dwell in this place, because so much blasphemy has been done there to the Son of God, my Creator and Redeemer'." Now it is certain that the Jews do not believe perfectly in God, for they have no belief in the Trinity, but expressly deny it. For what reason, then, could it justly be accepted that war should not be declared against them ? Another reasonit is certain, as has been said, that the Jews are the enemies of our Lord, for they are outside His faith and grace, and subject to sin. But in what country would a subject of the king be praised if he wished to make peace with the enemies of his lord ? Further, the Jews shew us very plainly that, in general, they are all our declared enemies, for they neither eat of our meat nor drink of our wine, and I say that this is a sign of great malevolence. A stronger reason still is that, either by usury, or by fraud, or by barratry, without its being a matter of conscience with them, they take money and every kind of goods from Christians, and so live by the sweat and labour of Christians, without cultivating either lands or vineyards. This they do by their wicked subtlety and damnable craft, and, generally, in whatever part they dwell, they disinherit many poor folk and as many rich as they can. Since this is so, by what right should one excuse such people ?

But, in this argument, I say that our Lord God, Who suffers sinners whilst awaiting their conversion, sets us the example, and further, he has told us by His Gospels that the time will come when there shall be only one shepherd, and one people, for all shall be converted. Thus we see every day that some, by their own request, receive the Holy Sacrament of Baptism. For this reason the Church suffers them, and also when we see them we have remembrance of the Passion of Jesus Christ, and have memory of our salvation. And if they hate us, so much the worse for them, for they are not powerful enough to make open war on us. And to speak less bitterly, I believe that they surpass us in this very little, for in truth we hold them by no means dear, and if they do us much ill, we do them little good.