Suum cuique  

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"Suum cuique" is a Latin phrase often translated as "to each his own" or "may all get their due". It has been significant in the history of philosophy and as a motto.

Contents

History

Antiquity

The Latin phrase relates to an old Greek principle of justice which translates literally into English as "to each his own". Plato, in Republic, offers the provisional definition that "justice is when everyone minds his own business, and refrains from meddling in others' affairs" (Greek: "...τὸ τὰ αὑτοῦ πράττειν καὶ μὴ πολυπραγμονεῖν δικαιοσύνη ἐστί...", 4.433a). Everyone should do according to his abilities and capabilities, to serve the country and the society as a whole. Also, everyone should receive "his own" (e.g., rights) and not be deprived of "his own" (e.g., property) (433e).

The Roman author, orator and politician Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 BC – 43 BC) popularised the Latin phrase:

  • "Iustitia suum cuique distribuit." ("Justice renders to everyone his due.") – De Natura Deorum, III, 38.
  • [...] ut fortitudo in laboribus periculisque cernatur, [...], iustitia in suo cuique tribuendo." (" [...] so that fortitude (courage) may be seen in hardship and danger, [...], justice in attributing to each his own".) – De Finibus Bonorum et Malorum, liber V, 67.

The phrase appears near the beginning of Justinian's Institutiones: iuris praecepta sunt haec: honeste vivere, alterum non laedere, suum cuique tribuere. (Inst. 1,1,3-4). (Translated into English: "the precepts of law are these: to live honestly, to injure no one, [and] to give to each his own".)

Note that, although the traditional translation features "his own", the Latin phrase is entirely gender-neutral, and could be translated with "her own", "their own" or even "its own" — context permitting.

Motto

Suum cuique serves as the motto of the Order of the Black Eagle (German: Hoher Orden vom Schwarzen Adler; founded in 1701), the highest order of chivalry of the Kingdom of Prussia.

The motto continues in use in Germany – in the insignia of the military police (the Feldjäger) and in association with the Berlin-based Masonic Lodge, Black Eagle Lodge (German: Johannisloge Zum schwarzen Adler).

The Faculty of Advocates in Scotland uses the motto Suum cuique.

The phrase also serves as the motto of the Faculties of Law at Lund University and Uppsala University in Sweden, Faculty of Law at University of Warsaw in Poland, as well as the Faculty of Law of Federal University of Bahia in Brazil.

In popular culture

Valentin Pikul's 1985 novel on the career of the French General Jean Victor Moreau (1763-1813), Kazhdomu svoyo, uses as its title a Russian-language version of suum cuique.

Snow, one of the characters in Stanislaw Lem's influential science fiction novel Solaris, uses the phrase when discussing the 'visitors' with Kelvin.

The powerviolence band Nails has one song named "Suum Cuique" in the album Abandon All Life, released in 2013. This is the last song of the album and was the longest song (with 5:21 minutes) of their career to date.

See also




Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Suum cuique" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.

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