True law is right reason in agreement with Nature  

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"Est quidem vera lex recta ratio" is a dictum by Cicero recorded in De republica.

The passage reads like this:

"Est quidem vera lex, recta ratio, naturæ congruens, diffusa in omnes, constans, sempiterna, quae vocet ad te oflicium jubendo, vetando a fraude deterreat : quæ tamen neque probos frustra jubet aut vetat, nec improbos jubendo aut vetando movet. Huic te legi nec abrogari fas est, neque derogari ex hac aliquid licet, neque tota te abrogari potest ; nec vero aut per senatum, aut per populum solvi hac lege possumus ; neque est quærendus explanator aut interpres ejus alius ; nec te erit alia lex Romæ, alia Athenis ; alia nunc, alia posthac : sed et omnes gentes et omni tempore una lex, et sempiterna, et immutabilis continebit : unusque erit communis quasi magister et imperator omnium Deus, ille legis te hujus inventor, disceptator, lator ; cui qui non parebit, ipse se fugiet, ac naturam hominis aspernatus, hoc ipso luet maximas pœnas, etiam si cetera supplicia, quæ putantur, effugerit."

Cicero, De republica

Translations

English

"True law is right reason in agreement with Nature; it is of universal application, unchanging and everlasting; it summons to duty by its commands, and averts from wrong-doing by its prohibitions. And it does not lay its commands or prohibitions upon good men in vain, although neither have any effect upon the wicked. It is a sin to try and alter this law, nor is it allowable to attempt to repeal a part of it, and it is impossible to abolish it entirely. We cannot be freed from its obligations by Senate or People, and we need not look outside ourselves for an expounder or interpreter of it. And there will not be different laws at Rome and at Athens, or different laws now and in the future, but one eternal and unchangeable law will be valid for all nations and for all times, and there will be one master and one rule, that is, God, over us all, for He is the author of this law, its promulgator, and its enforcing judge."--Loeb Classical Library

Francis Barham translation:

“There exists one true law, one right reason—conformable to nature, universal, immutable, eternal — whose commands enjoin virtue, and whose prohibitions banish evil. Whatever she orders, whatever she forbids, her words are neither impotent among good men, nor are they potent among the wicked. This law cannot be contradicted by any other law properly so called, nor be violated in any part, nor be abrogated altogether. Neither the senate nor the people can deliver us from obedience to this law. She has no need of new interpreters, or new instruments. She is not one thing at Rome, another at Athens—she is not one thing to–day, and another to–morrow; but in all nations, and in all times, this law must reign always self–consistent, immortal, and imperishable. The Sovereign of the Universe, the King of all creatures, God himself, has given birth, sanction, and publicity to this illimitable law, which man cannot transgress without counteracting himself—without abjuring his own nature; and by this [67]alone, without subjecting himself to the severest expiations, can he always avoid what is called suffering.”

Dutch

"‘Er is een waarachtige wet, een rechte rede overeenkomstig de natuur, aanwezig in allen, onveranderlijk en eeuwig; zij roept de mens tot het goede door haar geboden en houdt hem af van het kwade door haar verboden; of zij nu beveelt of verbiedt, zij richt zich niet vergeefs tot de goede mensen, maar zij oefent geen enkele invloed uit op de bozen. Het is niet geoorloofd haar door andere wetten te verzwakken, dan wel van een harer voorschriften af te wijken; het is onmogelijk haar geheel en al buiten werking te stellen. Noch de senaat, noch het volk kan er ons van bevrijden en er hoeft niemand buiten onze kring gezocht te worden om haar te verklaren en uit te leggen. Zij zal niet anders zijn in Rome dan in Athene, in de toekomst niet anders dan vandaag. Eén enkele wet, eeuwig en onveranderlijk, regeert over alle mensen, in alle tijden. Eén God is er, heer en meester van allen. Hij is de maker van die wet, hij heeft haar afgekondigd en bekrachtigd. Wie hem niet gehoorzaamt ontvlucht zichzelf en ontkent zijn menselijke natuur; hem staan de grootste kastijdingen te wachten, zelfs als hij erin slaagt aan de andere straffen (die der mensen) te ontkomen’"--Cliteur, 1989 citing Perelman, 1979:27