Editing Declaration of war (section)

===Denigration of formal declarations of war before WWI===
In classical times, [[Thucydides]] condemned the [[Thebes (Greece)|Thebans]], allies of [[Sparta]], for launching a surprise attack without a declaration of war against [[Plataea]], [[Athens]]' ally – an event that began the [[Peloponnesian War]].<ref>Thucydides. ''History of the Peloponnesian War'', Book II.</ref>

The utility of formal declarations of war has always been questioned, either as sentimental remnants of a long-gone age of [[chivalry]] or as imprudent warnings to the enemy. For example, writing in 1737, [[Cornelius van Bynkershoek]] judged that "nations and princes endowed with some pride are not generally willing to wage war without a previous declaration, for they wish by an open attack to render victory more honourable and glorious."<ref>Bynkershoek, Cornelius van. 1930. ''Quæstionum Juris Publici Liber Duo'' (1737). Trans. Tenney Frank. ''The Classics of International Law'' No. 14 (2). Publications of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Oxford at the Clarendon Press. (I, ii, 8)</ref> Writing in 1880, [[William Edward Hall]] judged that "any sort of previous declaration therefore is an empty formality unless the enemy must be given time and opportunity to put himself in a state of defence, and it is needless to say that no one asserts such a quixotism to be obligatory."<ref>Hall, William Edward. 1924. ''A Treatise on International Law''. 8th ed. by A. Pearce Higgins. London: Humphrey Milford: Oxford University Press. (p. 444)</ref>