Salus publica suprema lex esto (cropped)

(

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

: "The health (welfare, good, salvation, felicity) of the people should be the supreme law", "Let the good (or safety) of the people be the supreme (or highest) law", or "The welfare of the people shall be the supreme law") is a maxim or principle found in

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the estab ...

's ''

De Legibus The ''De Legibus'' (''On the Laws'') is a dialogue written by Marcus Tullius Cicero during the last years of the Roman Republic. It bears the same name as Plato's famous dialogue, '' The Laws''. Unlike his previous work ''De re publica,'' in wh ...

'' (book III, part III, sub. VIII).

Uses

John Locke John Locke (; 29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the "father of liberalism ...

uses it as the epigraph in the form in his ''

Second Treatise on Government ''Two Treatises of Government'' (or ''Two Treatises of Government: In the Former, The False Principles, and Foundation of Sir Robert Filmer, and His Followers, Are Detected and Overthrown. The Latter Is an Essay Concerning The True Original, ...

'' and refers to it as a fundamental rule for government. It was the inscription on the cornet of

Roundhead Roundheads were the supporters of the Parliament of England during the English Civil War (1642–1651). Also known as Parliamentarians, they fought against King Charles I of England and his supporters, known as the Cavaliers or Royalists, who ...

and

Leveller The Levellers were a political movement active during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms who were committed to popular sovereignty, extended suffrage, equality before the law and religious tolerance. The hallmark of Leveller thought was its popul ...

William Rainsborowe Major William Rainsborowe (? – '' fl.'' 1612–1673), or Rainborowe, was an officer in the English Navy and New Model Army in England during the English Civil War and the Interregnum. He was a political and religious radical who prospere ...

during the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

. This motto was also endorsed by

Hobbes Thomas Hobbes ( ; 5/15 April 1588 – 4/14 December 1679) was an English philosopher, considered to be one of the founders of modern political philosophy. Hobbes is best known for his 1651 book ''Leviathan'', in which he expounds an influent ...

at the beginning of Chapter 30 of ''

Leviathan Leviathan (; he, לִוְיָתָן, ) is a sea serpent noted in theology and mythology. It is referenced in several books of the Hebrew Bible, including Psalms, the Book of Job, the Book of Isaiah, the Book of Amos, and, according to some ...

'' and by

Spinoza Baruch (de) Spinoza (born Bento de Espinosa; later as an author and a correspondent ''Benedictus de Spinoza'', anglicized to ''Benedict de Spinoza''; 24 November 1632 – 21 February 1677) was a Dutch philosopher of Portuguese-Jewish origin, b ...

in Chapter 19 of his '' Theological-Political Treatise.'' It was frequently quoted as since at least 1737. In the United States, the phrase is the

state motto Most of the United States' 50 states have a state motto, as do the District of Columbia and 3 of its territories. A motto is a phrase intended to formally describe the general motivation or intention of an organization. State mottos ca ...

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

and the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Universit ...

, and accepted, like many other states, as an element of its state seal. It is also used for

Manassas Park, Virginia Manassas Park is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,219. Manassas Park is bordered by the city of Manassas and Prince William County. Manassas Park is a part of the Washington-Arling ...

, and the

Duquesne University School of Law The Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University is a private Catholic university law school located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is approved by the American Bar Association and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools. ...

. It also appears on many

coats of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its wh ...

, sometimes in variant forms such as , or . In the United Kingdom, these coats of arms include the

City of Salford The City of Salford () is a metropolitan borough within Greater Manchester, England. The borough is named after its main settlement, Salford. The borough covers the towns of Eccles, Swinton, Walkden and Pendlebury, as well as the villages ...

, the

London Borough of Lewisham Lewisham () is a London borough in south-east London; it forms part of Inner London. The principal settlement of the borough is Lewisham. The local authority is Lewisham London Borough Council, based in Catford. The Prime Meridian passes throug ...

Eastleigh Eastleigh is a town in Hampshire, England, between Southampton and Winchester. It is the largest town and the administrative seat of the Borough of Eastleigh, with a population of 24,011 at the 2011 census. The town lies on the River Itchen, o ...

, Harrow,

Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Irish ...

, Lytham St. Anne's,

Mid Sussex Mid Sussex is an area in the central part of Sussex. It may refer to: * Mid Sussex District, a local government district in West Sussex * Mid Sussex (UK Parliament constituency) * Mid Sussex Football League * Mid Sussex Times, a local newspaper * A ...

West Lancashire West Lancashire is a local government district with borough status in Lancashire, England. The council is based in Ormskirk, and the largest town in the borough is Skelmersdale. At the 2011 Census, the population of the borough was 110,685 ...

, Swinton and Pendlebury,

Urmston Urmston is a town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, which had a population of 41,825 at the 2011 Census. Historically in Lancashire, it is southwest of Manchester city centre. The southern boundary is the River Mersey, with Stretford ...

and

Willenhall Willenhall is a market town situated in the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands, England, with a population taken at the 2011 census of 28,480. It is situated between Wolverhampton and Walsall, historically in the county of St ...

;Mottoes in Latin
/ref> The motto was featured on the masthead of the Irish medical journal ''

Medical Press and Circular ''Medical Press and Circular'' was a medical publication from Dublin, Ireland. It was established in 1866 with the merger of the ''Dublin Medical Press'' and the ''Medical Circular''. Its masthead featured a Latin language version of the Cicero mo ...

''. The monument to the 1914-1918 1940-1945 Belgian infantry (place Poelaert, Brussels) includes on its western face (opposite to the avenue Louise) salus patriæ suprema lex. A misquotation, , was used as an epigraph for the third pamphlet of the

White Rose The White Rose (german: Weiße Rose, ) was a Nonviolence, non-violent, intellectual German resistance to Nazism, resistance group in Nazi Germany which was led by five students (and one professor) at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, ...

. ;Gallery File:Seal of Missouri.svg, ''Salus populi suprema lex esto'' on the

Seal of Missouri The Great Seal of Missouri is used to authenticate certain documents issued by the Government of Missouri. The phrase is used both for the physical seal itself, which is kept by the secretary of state, and more generally for the design impressed u ...

File:Southport coat of arms.jpg, The coat of arms of

File:University of Missouri bookplate.png, A bookplate from

Ellis Library Constructed in 1915, Elmer Ellis Library is the main library of the University of Missouri on the campus of the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri. It was named in 1972 for former university president Elmer Ellis. With holdings of over ...

at the

File:Coat of Arms of Padang (1926).svg, Coat of arms of

Padang Padang () is the capital and largest city of the Indonesian province of West Sumatra. With a Census population of 1,015,000 as of 2022, it is the 16th most populous city in Indonesia and the most populous city on the west coast of Sumatra. Th ...

during Dutch Colonisation

References

{{Portal bar, Law, Languages Brocards (law) Constitutional law Latin mottos Latin political words and phrases Philosophy of law American political catchphrases Latin legal terminology Symbols of Missouri State mottos of the United States Media and communications in the London Borough of Lewisham Cicero

Uses

See also

References