There can be no res publica if the institutions of government are perverted to serve private interests. -- On Politics, Book One. Referring to Cicero's interpretation of Polybius on the mixed constitution.
res publica? Not really translatable. More or less, a good government and the ethos that supports it. Sort of. Do I look like I speak Latin? Ask some professor. Then tell me what he said.
Now what? Okay, ethos...a Greek word meaning "character" that is used to describe the guiding beliefs or ideals that characterize a community, nation, or ideology. From wikipedia, so that's canonical.
Canonical? Now cut that out!
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