Latin for "In war and in peace"

Question

I remember reading long ago a pithy Latin expression for “in war and peace,” or “in war as in peace,” or something to that effect. The idea is that one might say, for example, that a certain truth holds under peaceful and warlike circumstances alike.

Now one could simply say: et in bello et in pace, or (leaning on Cicero, Pro Marcello, VI): ut in pace, sic in bello, or (with apologies to the Lord's Prayer): sicut in pace, et in bello. I suppose countless other variations on this theme would be possible.

But I seem to recall that there was a metaphorical way to express the sentiment; unfortunately I do not remember any details. Maybe it had to do with opposing gods, perhaps Mars and Minerva? (But Minerva is not exactly the goddess of peace.) Or maybe it had to do with the toga—sagum pair? Or with temple doors being open or shut?

Does anybody know, or can think of, such a flowery way of expressing the idiom?

Answer 1

You're probably thinking of domi militiaeque / domi bellique (but also militiae et domi etc. and the archaic domi duellique), literally "at home and on military service" / "at home and in war", as Joonas also suggests in the comments.

The Roman army of the Republic was not made of professional troops, it was instead based on the levy. The period of peace is represented by domi because in the homeland, inside the pomerium (the sacred boundary around the city of Rome), no one could carry any weapons. On the contrary, the period of war is illustrated by the call to arms.

Answer 2

Vincenzo Oliva's answer – domi militiaeque and variations thereof – is certainly the most established expression. I found another one that I also liked, it is found in Livy's Ab urbe condita (6.18), citing an argument presumably made by M. Manlius Capitolinus to rouse the Plebeians, talking about the danger that he will be carried off to prison or worse:

Bene facitis quod abominamini. Di prohibebunt haec; sed nunquam propter me de caelo descendent; vobis dent mentem oportet ut prohibeatis, sicut mihi dederunt armato togatoque ut vos a barbaris hostibus, a superbis defenderem civibus.

Great of you that you act all appalled, saying: “The Gods will prevent this!” But the Gods won't descend from heaven for my sake; they can only give you the courage to prevent it, just like they gave me the courage to defend you, wearing my armour and wearing my toga, from foreign enemies and from citizens who deem themselves above others.

Armatus togatusque (as cnread points out in his comment, the form armato togatoque is in the dative case agreeing with mihi) does not exactly mean “in war and peace,” it literally means “armed and wearing a toga” or, more freely: “equipped to go to war / appropriately dressed to engage in business and politics.” The point is that the toga was the Roman men's civilian dress. Georges actually mentions this quote, translating it as „im Kriegs- und Friedensgewande“, that is, in warlike and peaceful garb.

I think it lends itself to metaphorical use, but it is not a prepositional phrase like in bello, so it has to be adapted to the sentence and might quickly look awkward when not talking about people. For example:

• Caesar armatus togatusque summa aequitate res gerebat. (Looks fine, I think.)
• Galli Romam armatam togatamque numquam imparatam offenderunt. (Looks a little weird.)
• Triremes Athenienses armatae togataeque omnibus a Graecis laudabantur. (OK, that is weird.)

Just as the toga signifies peace, so does the sagum (a soldier's cloak) signify war. Sagatus is also an attested word, so one might form sagatus togatusque.

Searching on Google for sagato togatoque (and vice versa, and other forms), I found a few hits; all of them not looking particularly classical though, but I also like that combination.

Answer 3

The metaphorical way I learned was 'In ense et aratro' which means with sword and plough, to show war and peace.