For there is but one essential justice which cements society, and one law which establishes this justice. This law is right reason, which is the true rule of all commandments and prohibitions. Whoever neglects this law, whether written or unwritten, is necessarily unjust and wicked.
—Cicero
Fortis vero, dolorem summum malum judicans; aut temperans, voluptatem summum bonum statuens, esse certe nullo modo potest. No man can be brave who thinks pain the greatest evil; nor temperate, who considers pleasure the highest good.
—Cicero
Ita enim finitima sunt falsa veris ut in præcipitem locum non debeat se sapiens committers. So near is falsehood to truth that a wise man would do well not to trust himself on the narrow edge.
—Cicero
Quidem concessum est rhetoribus ementiri in historiis ut aliquid dicere possint argutius. Indeed rhetoricians are permitted to lie about historical matters so they can speak more subtly.
—Cicero