There never was an absolute justice, but only an agreement made in reciprocal intercourse in whatever localities now and again from time to time, providing against the infliction or suffering of harm.
Genuine
Yes. In Principal Doctrines (270 BC), Principal Doctrines 33 (Diogenes Laertius, Lives X.150); translated by R. D. Hicks, 1925, as Sovran Maxims.
Found word for word by program in the Greek original and in R. D. Hicks’ English translation (1925).
- Work
- Principal Doctrines (Κύριαι Δόξαι), 270 BC
- Where
- Principal Doctrines 33 (Diogenes Laertius, Lives X.150); translated by R. D. Hicks, 1925, as Sovran Maxims
- Found at
- Paragraph 33 of the Greek text, 33 of the English
- Translation
- R. D. Hicks, 1925
Researched by AI; checked by program against the full text on 31 October 2026. Editorial review: pending. How we check
On the page
[…] And those tribes which either could not or would not form mutual covenants to the same end are in like case.
[…] Ὅσα τῶν ζῴων μὴ ἠδύνατο συνθήκας ποιεῖσθαι τὰς ὑπὲρ τοῦ μὴ βλάπτειν ἄλλα μηδὲ βλάπτεσθαι, πρὸς ταῦτα οὐθὲν ἦν δίκαιον οὐδὲ ἄδικον. ὡσαύτως δὲ καὶ τῶν ἐθνῶν ὅσα μὴ ἠδύνατο ἢ μὴ ἐβούλετο τὰς συνθήκας ποιεῖσθαι τὰς ὑπὲρ τοῦ μὴ βλάπτειν μηδὲ βλάπτεσθαι.
33. There never was an absolute justice, but only an agreement made in reciprocal intercourse in whatever localities now and again from time to time, providing against the infliction or suffering of harm.
[XXXIII.] Οὐκ ἦν τι καθʼ ἑαυτὸ δικαιοσύνη, ἀλλʼ ἐν ταῖς μετʼ ἀλλήλων συστροφαῖς καθʼ ὁπηλίκους δή ποτε ἀεὶ τόπους συνθήκη τις ὑπὲρ τοῦ μὴ βλάπτειν μηδὲ βλάπτεσθαι.
34. 151. Injustice is not in itself an evil, but only in its consequence, viz. the terror which is excited by apprehension that those appointed to punish such offences will discover the injustice.
[XXXIV.] Ἡ ἀδικία οὐ καθʼ ἑαυτὴν κακόν, ἀλλʼ ἐν τῷ κατὰ τὴν ὑποψίαν φόβῳ, εἰ μὴ λήσει τοὺς ὑπὲρ τῶν τοιούτων ἐφεστηκότας κολαστάς.
35. […]
[XXXV.] Οὐκ ἔστι τὸν λάθρᾳ τι κινοῦντα ὧν συνέθεντο πρὸς ἀλλήλους εἰς τὸ μὴ βλάπτειν μηδὲ βλάπτεσθαι, πιστεύειν ὅτι λήσει, κἂν μυριάκις ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος λανθάνῃ. μέχρι γὰρ καταστροφῆς ἄδηλον εἰ καὶ λήσει.
The scene
The thirty-third maxim belongs to the closing sequence on justice and social agreements. Maxim 31 makes mutual protection from harm the purpose of justice, and maxims 36 to 38 explain how particular laws may change with circumstances while being judged by whether they serve that purpose.
What it means
Justice is not a thing existing on its own, apart from human relations; it consists in agreements intended to prevent people from harming one another.
Often misread
The opening denial of absolute justice does not make every law equally just or authorize arbitrary harm. The surrounding maxims supply a test: whether an arrangement actually benefits people in their dealings with one another.
Topics
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Sources
Cite it
Epicurus, Principal Doctrines (270 BC), Principal Doctrines 33 (Diogenes Laertius, Lives X.150); translated by R. D. Hicks, 1925, as Sovran Maxims, translated by R. D. Hicks (1925). Checked at Quotogeny, https://quotogeny.com/q/there-never-was-an-absolute-justice/ (31 October 2026).
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