The Concept of Justice in Cicero's De re publica

Dijalog o rimskoj politici De re publica napisao je u šest knjiga Marko Tulije Ciceron, jedan od stilom najboljih književnika te najvažnijih političara rimske republike, ali i povijesti. Okosnica je rada pojam pravednosti koji, iako ga se dotiče u drugim djelima, najsustavnije razlaže u trećoj knjizi djela De re publica koje nije u potpunosti očuvano. Konkretno, Ciceron najprije nudi svoje opravdanje bavljenja politikom, definiciju države, ideal vladara i političara, a na tragu Platona u potrazi je za najboljim državnim poretkom. Sve te teme uvod su u njegovu raspravu o pravednosti koja kulminira u trećoj knjizi Filovom obranom nepravednosti i Lelijevom obranom pravednosti. Samo djelo imitacija je Platonove Države te stoga krije jako vrijednu filozofsku građu utemeljenu na antičkim autoritetima. Iz tog razloga dana je i kratka usporedba s Platonovim djelom Politeia, ali i nekim mislima o pravednosti Aristotela. Snažan Ciceronov utjecaj vidljiv je i kod oca hrvatske književnosti Marka Marulića u Marulićevom poimanju pravednog ratovanja.De re publica is a dialogue on Roman politics, written in six books by Marcus Tullius Cicero, one of the best ancient author and the most important politicians of the Roman Republic and history as well. The backbone of the work is the concept of justice, which, although touched upon in other works, is most systematically explained in the third book of De re publica, which has not been fully preserved. In particular, Cicero first offers his justification for engaging in politics, the definition of the state, the ideal of ruler and politicians, and in the footsteps of Plato he seeks the best state order. All of these topics are an introduction to his discussion of justice that culminates in the third book with Philo’s defense of injustice and Laelius’ defense of justice. The work itself is an imitation of Plato's The republic and therefore hides a very valuable philosophical material based on ancient authorities. For this reason, a brief comparison is given with Plato's work Politeia, but also with some thoughts on the justice of Aristotle. Cicero's strong influence is also visible in work of the father of Croatian literature, Marko Marulić, in Marulić's conception of just warfare