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How did Cicero connect the republic with law and natural justice?

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The Code of Hammurabi diorite stela, with carved figures at the top showing Hammurabi seated with cuneiform inscriptions below. — Political philosophy Diorite stela inscribed with the Code of Hammurabi, 18th century bce.

In his political philosophy, Cicero defined the republic (res publica) as an association held together by law. He argued that for a state to be a true republic, it must be founded on justice and a concern for the common good, rather than serving the interests of a single ruler.12

Cicero connected this republican structure to natural law by asserting that government is sanctioned by a universal, eternal, and unchangeable moral order. In his work De republica, he famously described true law as "right reason in agreement with nature".31

For Cicero, positive (human-enacted) laws are only valid if they align with these objective moral truths. He maintained that statutes formulated without regard for justice are not true laws at all. By grounding the republic in natural law, Cicero sought to moralize public power, establishing that the legitimacy of a state depends on its adherence to a higher, cosmic sense of justice that transcends local legislation.31