Quotations about:
vox populi
Note not all quotations have been tagged, so Search may find additional quotes on this topic.
The voice of the people is the voice of God.
[Vox populi, vox Dei.]
Alcuin of York (c. 735-804) Anglo-Latin scholar, clergyman, poet, teacher [Flaccus Albinus Alcuinus, Ealhwine, Alhwin, or Alchoin]
Letter (AD 798) to Charlemagne
Collected as Epistle 166, "Capitula quę tali convenit in tempore memorari," sec. 9 in various collections. (The epistle number varies.)
Alcuin did not actually invent the phrase -- though his use of it is one of the earliest recorded references. Ironically, while the phrase means that the popular will / voice / opinion is divine will, Alcuin used it while denying it:Nec audiendi qui solent dicere: Vox populi, vox Dei. Cum tumultuositas vulgi semper insaniæ proxima sit.
[And those people should not be listened to who keep saying the voice of the people is the voice of God, since the riotousness of the crowd is always very close to madness.
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[We should not listen to those who like to affirm that the voice of the people is the voice of God, for the tumult of the masses is truly close to madness.]
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There is also some question as to whether this is an authentic Alcuin quote. For more information about the phrase, see here.
