Honeste vivere, alterum non laedere, suum cuique tribuere
“To live honestly, to harm no one, and to give each person what is due to them.”
Ulpian, in Justinian’s Digest 1.1.10.1
What does “Honeste vivere, alterum non laedere, suum cuique tribuere” mean?
Honeste vivere, alterum non laedere, suum cuique tribuere translates as “To live honestly, to harm no one, and to give each person what is due to them.”
Three simple rules that sum up what law and justice require. They remain a clear ethical compass: be honourable, avoid hurting others and respect what belongs to each person.
“Honeste vivere, alterum non laedere, suum cuique tribuere” word by word
| Latin | English | Grammar |
|---|---|---|
| Honeste | honourably, honestly | adverb, from the adjective honestus, “honourable”; it describes how to live |
| vivere | to live | present infinitive (active) of vivo, “I live” |
| alterum | the other person, another | accusative singular masculine of alter, “the other (of two), another”; object of laedere |
| non | not | negative adverb, negating laedere |
| laedere | to harm, to injure | present infinitive (active) of laedo, “I harm” |
| suum | what is one’s own, one’s due | accusative singular neuter of suus, “one’s own”, used as a noun; object of tribuere |
| cuique | to each person | dative singular of quisque, “each, every”; the indirect object of tribuere |
| tribuere | to assign, to give | present infinitive (active) of tribuo, “I assign, I grant” |
How to pronounce “Honeste vivere, alterum non laedere, suum cuique tribuere”
The main differences are v (w or v), the ae in laedere (eye or eh), and the h in honeste (pronounced in the classical style, often silent in the church style). The stress falls on the same syllables in both.
The story behind it
The line is a set of three infinitives: “to live honourably, to harm no other person, to give each their own”. Together they were treated as the three basic duties of law.
The source is the jurist Ulpian, who worked in Rome in the early third century AD. His definition of the precepts of law (iuris praecepta) was placed at the start of Justinian’s Digest, the great sixth-century collection of Roman legal writing.
The same three precepts open Justinian’s Institutes, the textbook for law students. Through them they entered the European legal tradition, and they are still quoted in discussions of justice. The third, suum cuique, also became a well-known maxim on its own.
How to use “Honeste vivere, alterum non laedere, suum cuique tribuere”
Fits a law office, a courthouse inscription, a graduation gift for a new lawyer, or a personal motto about integrity and fairness. It also works in an essay on Roman law or the idea of justice.
- Latin
- Honeste vivere, alterum non laedere, suum cuique tribuere
- English
- To live honestly, to harm no one, and to give each person what is due to them.
- Source
- Ulpian, in Justinian’s Digest 1.1.10.1
- Era
- Legal Latin
- Theme
- Justice
Common mistakes
- The negative belongs to the second part only: alterum non laedere means “not to harm another”, not “not to live”.
- Suum cuique is often quoted alone. That is fine, but it then drops the other two precepts.
- Cuique means “to each person”. Do not change it to a plural such as “to everyone” by altering the ending.
- The spelling is laedere with ae, not ledere, and tribuere, not tribuire.
Questions about “Honeste vivere, alterum non laedere, suum cuique tribuere”
What does “Honeste vivere, alterum non laedere, suum cuique tribuere” mean?
“To live honourably, to harm no other person, to give each their own.” They are the three precepts of law as Ulpian defined them.
Who said “Honeste vivere, alterum non laedere, suum cuique tribuere”?
The Roman jurist Ulpian. The lines come from Justinian’s Digest 1.1.10.1 and are repeated in the Institutes.
How do you pronounce “Honeste vivere, alterum non laedere”?
Classical: hoh-NEH-steh WEE-weh-reh AL-teh-room nohn LYE-deh-reh. Church Latin changes v to v, ae to eh, and softens the d-e sounds only slightly.
Is “Honeste vivere, alterum non laedere, suum cuique tribuere” correct Latin for a tattoo?
Yes, it is the standard wording of the maxim and the grammar is sound. Keep all three phrases and the commas, or use suum cuique alone if you want a shorter form.
More to explore
Translation and grammar checked by Latin Quoter · last reviewed November 2026
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