WIST Quotations

Addison, Joseph -- Essay (1714-07-30), The Spectator, No. 574

Dave — Mon, 13 Oct 2025 18:07:14 +0000

Upon the whole, a contented mind is the greatest blessing a man can enjoy in this world.

Joseph Addison (1672-1719) English essayist, poet, statesman
Essay (1714-07-30), The Spectator, No. 574
(Source)

Addison, Joseph -- Essay (1716-01-06), The Freeholder, No. 5

Dave — Mon, 26 Aug 2024 20:00:05 +0000

It may not therefore be unseasonable to recommend to this present Generation the Practice of that Virtue, for which their Ancestors were particularly famous, and which is called The Love of one’s Country. This Love to our Country, as a moral Virtue, is a fixed Disposition of Mind to promote the Safety; Welfare, and Reputation of the Community in which we are born, and of the Constitution under which we are protected.

Joseph Addison (1672-1719) English essayist, poet, statesman
Essay (1716-01-06), The Freeholder, No. 5
(Source)

Cicero, Marcus Tullius -- De Legibus [On the Laws], Book 3, ch. 3 / sec. 8 (3.3/3.8) [Marcus] (c. 51 BC) [tr. Barham (1842)]

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 19:00:00 +0000

The safety of the people is the supreme law.

[Salus populi suprema lex esto.]

Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC) Roman orator, statesman, philosopher
De Legibus [On the Laws], Book 3, ch. 3 / sec. 8 (3.3/3.8) [Marcus] (c. 51 BC) [tr. Barham (1842)]
(Source)

Cicero gives this in his outline of how government ought to be constituted, in particular how the consuls should have ultimate authority over the law and the army. (Source (Latin)). Alternate translations:

The safety of the people shall be their highest law.
[tr. Keyes (1928)]

The safety of the people shall be the highest law.
[tr. Rudd (1998)]

For them let the safety of the people be the highest law.
[tr. Zetzel (1999)]

Let the safety of the people be the highest law.
[tr. Fott (2013)]

Other, more general translations:

"The good of the people is the chief law."
"Let the welfare of the people be the ultimate law."

The phrase (in Latin) was used frequently during the Enlightenment as a core statement around the purpose of government, most famously in John Locke's Second Treatise,, ch. 13, sec. 158.

More information about this quote and its uses: Salus populi suprema lex esto - Wikipedia