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The poetry of Francisco de Aldana (1537–1578) is of notable interest, inasmuch as it can be situated halfway between the Renaissance and the Baroque and, as critics have noted, since it constitutes an extraordinary example of so-called Mannerism. This paper aims to show the contradictory views expressed in Aldana’s work on the profession of arms and war. ‘Pocos tercetos escritos a un amigo’ can be ascribed to the ‘humanism of arms’ (also present in Don Quixote) and to the Renaissance ideal of the poet soldier, best exemplified by Garcilaso de la Vega. However, in subsequent works Aldana goes on to condemn war and the horrors which it entails. Thus, the military focus gives way to the contemplative spirit and the desire for retirement from the world, as observed in the superb ‘Carta para Arias Montano’. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]