Drawing of St. Martin of Braga, Madrid, Biblioteca del Monasterio de San Lorenzo de El Escorial, C�dex Albeldensis, a. 976

St. Martin of Braga, Formula honestae vitae (� ca. 550 A.D.)

Quid est iustitia, nisi naturae tacita conventio, in adiutorium multorum inventa. Iustitia non nostra constitutio, sed divina lex est, vinculum societatis humanae.

What is justice but a tacit covenant (contract) of nature established for the aid of many.  Justice is not based on our statute but is a part of divine law and the bond of human society.

In the Middle Ages this work was attributed to Seneca.

Stephan  Kuttner, "A forgotten definition of justice,� Studia Gratiana 20 (1976) 73-110.