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The foundation of justice, moreover, is good faith—that is, truth and fidelity to promises and agreements.
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“The foundation of justice, moreover, is good faith—that is, truth and fidelity to promises and agreements.”

Cicero

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Source
De Officiis
Date
44 BCE
English wording
Walter Miller — Translator · from Latin
Meaning

Meaning of “The foundation of justice, moreover, is good faith—that…”

Justice depends on reliable commitments because social cooperation becomes unstable when promises and agreements are treated as optional whenever they become inconvenient.

Source context

Where does it come from?

De Officiis, Book I, section 23; Cicero defines good faith through truth and fidelity to promises and agreements.

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Themes

Ideas connected with this quotation

HonestyIntegrityResponsibilityTrustTruthJustice
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A liar will not be believed, even when he speaks the truth.
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“A liar will not be believed, even when he speaks the truth.”

Aesop · Aesop’s Fables — The Shepherd Boy and the Wolf · Traditional
Voice: Fictional character · Wise man of the village
Meaning & context

Repeated deception damages credibility beyond the original lie: once listeners have learned to expect false alarms, even a later truthful warning can fail to restore belief in time.

Source details

Joseph Jacobs, The Fables of Aesop, “The Shepherd Boy and the Wolf,” Project Gutenberg #28. The wise man of the village gives the moral after the boy’s repeated false cries cause the villagers to ignore his real warning.

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Can we so educate a group of students that there will be in every one of them a conscience on which we can depend.
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“Can we so educate a group of students that there will be in every one of them a conscience on which we can depend.”

Booker T. Washington · Character Building · 1902
Meaning & context

The educational question shifts attention from acquiring information to developing dependable moral judgment, which Washington treats as a central test of character formation.

Source details

Character Building, “Each One His Part,” Project Gutenberg #60484. Washington asks whether Tuskegee can educate an individual conscience that performs small duties thoroughly even when no audience is watching; the question closes that address’s argument about conscientious responsibility.

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Lying rides upon Debt’s back.
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“Lying rides upon Debt’s back.”

Benjamin Franklin · The Way to Wealth · 1758
Voice: Authorial persona / framed maxim · Poor Richard maxim, repeated through Father Abraham
Meaning & context

The compact maxim warns that unpaid obligations can create incentives for evasion, delay, or false promises when payment becomes difficult.

Source details

The Way to Wealth, debt-and-credit section; Project Gutenberg #43855. The line immediately reinforces Franklin’s warning about debt and truthfulness.

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I shall obey God rather than you.
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“I shall obey God rather than you.”

Plato · Apology · 4th century BCE
Voice: Dialogue speaker · Socrates
Meaning & context

Socrates presents moral and philosophical duty as more binding than compliance with pressure from political authority.

Source details

Apology, Jowett translation; Socrates says he would continue practicing philosophy even if acquittal were conditioned on silence.

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