On Law

Author: Wang Huansheng
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features: Marcus Tullius Cicero (Marcus Tullius Cicero, 106 BC – 43 BC) was one of the most talented men in ancient Rome. He not only served as a consul, praetor, and member of the Senate but was also an active participant in political activities. He was also one of the greatest orators, philosophers, and prose writers of his time. His name is inseparable from ancient Rome and is also linked to the history of Western humanism. He achieved great accomplishments in rhetoric, law, philosophy, political science, and literature. Due to his contributions, for a long period in history, people almost only learned about the rich philosophical and cultural thoughts of ancient Greece through him. His political thought had a significant impact on Roman law and later Western political and legal systems. He elevated Roman prose to its peak and became the father of Greek and Roman culture. With profound and extensive eloquence, his speeches were powerful and set an immortal example for later generations; his essays were clear and well-organized, with exquisite use of language, especially the selected essays in this book, which are lucid, magnificent, and crystal clear, like pearls in the treasure trove of Western literature. Essentially, Cicero was a thinker. His political thought was a transformation of various schools of thought, combined with the history and reality of Roman society. In his work On the Laws, he systematically elaborated on legal theory. In On the Laws, Cicero, based on Stoic views, believed that natural law, or correct reason, is the true law and the standard for judging right and wrong; God is the creator, interpreter, and guardian of natural law; written law must conform to natural law, otherwise it cannot be considered law. In his view, natural law, reason, and God are unified, while justice, goodness, and written law are its manifestations. Before this sacred natural law, all people are equal, but not in terms of equal property, but in the sharing of reason.