Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? is a Latin phrase that translates to "Who will guard the guards?" or "Who shall watch the watchers themselves?" Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in Latium, the region immediately surrounding Rome. ...

The question was first asked by Plato in the Republic, his great work on government and morality. The perfect society as described by Socrates, the main character of the work, relies on laborers, slaves, and tradesmen. The guardian class is to protect the city. The question is put to Socrates, who will guard the guardians? or, who will protect us against the protectors? Plato's answer to this is: they will guard themselves against themselves. We must tell the guardians a noble lie. The noble lie will inform them that they are better than those they serve and it is, therefore, their responsibility to guard and protect those lesser than themselves. We will instill in them a distaste for power or privilege, they will rule because they believe it right, not because they desire it. Plato (ancient Greek: Πλάτων, Plátōn, wide, broad-shouldered) (c. ... The Republic (Greek ) is an influential work of philosophy and political theory by the Greek philosopher Plato, written in approximately 360 BC. It is written in the format of a Socratic dialogue. ... Socrates (Greek: Σωκράτης, invariably anglicized as , Sǒcratēs; 470–399 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher who is widely credited for laying the foundation for Western philosophy. ...

The saying has since been used by many people to ponder the insoluble question of where ultimate power should reside. The answer for the United States was found in the separation of powers. Never give ultimate power to any one group; the executive, legislative, or judicial; have the interests of each compete and conflict. Each group will then find it in its best interest to impede the functioning of the rest and this will keep ultimate power under constant struggle and, thereby, out of any one group's hands. Similarly in the United Kingdom power is split between the executive (the Government as run by the controlling party of the day decided by universal suffrage), the legislative (Parliament, made up of members of many political parties) and the judiciary. Universal suffrage (also general suffrage or common suffrage) consists of the extension of suffrage to all adults, without distinction as to race, sex, belief, or social status. ... States currently utilizing parliamentary systems are denoted in red and orange—the former being constitutional monarchies where authority is vested in a parliament, and the latter being parliamentary republics whose parliaments are effectively supreme over a separate head of state. ...

Origin

The phrase as it is normally quoted in Latin comes from the Satires of Juvenal, the 1st/2nd century Roman satirist. Although in its modern usage the phrase has universal, timeless applications to concepts such as tyrannical governments and uncontrollably oppressive dictatorships, in Juvenal's poem it is part of a venomous attack on women (Satire 6.346-8): Latin was the language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... Frontispiece depicting Juvenal and Persius, from a volume translated by John Dryden in 1711. ... The 1st century was that century which lasted from 1 to 100 according the Gregorian calendar. ... The 2nd century is the period from 101 - 200 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian Era. ... This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims. ... 1867 edition of the satirical magazine Punch, a British satirical magazine, ground-breaking on popular literature satire. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... A dictatorship is an autocratic form of government in which the government is ruled by a dictator. ... Satire VI of Juvenal is often titled Against Women in English translation. ...

However, modern editors regard these three lines as an interpolation inserted into the text. In 1899 an undergraduate student at Oxford, E.O. Winstedt, discovered a manuscript (now known as O, for Oxoniensis) containing 34 lines which some believe to have been omitted from other texts of Juvenal's poem.^[1] The debate on this manuscript is ongoing, but even if the poem is not by Juvenal, it is likely that it preserves the original context of the phrase.^[2] If so, the original context is as follows (O 29-33): Ancient texts come down to us mostly in late handwritten copies, themselves copied from early copies. ... 1899 (MDCCCXCIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Oxford is a city and local government district in Oxfordshire, England, with a population of 134,248 (2001 census). ...

Uses in pop culture

• "Who will spy on the spies?" was a line from the second episode of the TV adaptation of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.
• "Who watches the watchers?", the popular translation of "Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?", was used by Alan Moore as the inspiration for the title of his acclaimed comic book series Watchmen, in which the phrase is translated "Who watches the watchmen?"
• "Who Watches the Watchers?" was the title of an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, in which the Enterprise crew must undo the damage done to a primitive culture by a Federation anthropological observation team.
• Dan Brown uses this quote in his Novel Digital Fortress, where the overwelming theme remains "Who Will Guard the Guardians", taking a modern approach to the ethical questions surrouding domestic spying and the National Security Agency.
• Terry Pratchett's Discworld series of novels, especially those that revolve around Samuel Vimes and the Watch, have characters who will ask the question, translated as "But who watches the Watchmen?" Vimes himself will usually answer this with "I do."
• In the Simpsons episode Homer the Vigilante Lisa says to Homer "Dad, don't you see you're abusing your power like all vigilantes? I mean, if you're the police, who will police the police?" to which he responds "I dunno. Coast Guard?"
• In the episode Divided We Fall of Justice League Unlimited, Batman questions Green Arrow "Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?" to which he replies "Who guards the guardians? We've got it covered."
• "Pistol Poem No. 2" by William S Burroughs is a permutation poem in which Burroughs writes out all possible combinations of the words in the phrase "Who Controls The Control Men".
• Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? is the motto of the Space Patrol in Robert A. Heinlein's Space Cadet.
• Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? appears spray painted in the set shop of Tiger Theater at A&M Consolidated High School in College Station, Texas. It is the senior signature of John Price, class of 2006.

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is a spy novel by John le Carré, first published in 1974. ... Alan Moore (born November 18, 1953, in Northampton) is an English writer most famous for his work in comics, including the acclaimed graphic novels Watchmen, V for Vendetta and From Hell. ... A comic book is a magazine or book containing the art form of comics. ... Watchmen is a twelve-issue graphic novel written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Dave Gibbons. ... The title as it appeared in most episodes opening credits. ... Dan Brown (born June 22, 1964) is an American author of thriller fiction, best known for writing the controversial 2003 bestselling novel, The Da Vinci Code. ... Digital Fortress book cover Digital Fortress is a novel by American author Dan Brown and published in 1998 by St. ... The National Security Agency/Central Security Service (NSA/CSS) is the U.S. governments cryptologic organization. ... Terence David John Pratchett OBE (born April 28, 1948, in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, England[1]) is an English fantasy author, best known for his Discworld series. ... // This article is about the novels. ... Sam Vimes is a fictional policeman from Terry Pratchetts Discworld series. ... The Simpsons. ... Homer the Vigilante is the eleventh episode of The Simpsons fifth season. ... Justice League Unlimited (or JLU) was an American animated television series produced by and aired on Cartoon Network. ... William S. Burroughs. ... This article is becoming very long. ... Space Cadet is a 1948 science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein about Matt Dodson, who joins the Space Patrol that keeps the peace in the solar system. ...

See also

• Watchmen, a comic that derives its title and some motifs from this phrase.
• Digital Fortress, a book by Dan Brown
• Samuel Vimes, a fictional character from Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels. When asked this question in the novel Thud!, Commander Vimes answered "Me!"

Watchmen is a twelve-issue graphic novel written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Dave Gibbons. ... Digital Fortress book cover Digital Fortress is a novel by American author Dan Brown and published in 1998 by St. ... Sam Vimes is a fictional policeman from Terry Pratchetts Discworld series. ... Terence David John Pratchett OBE (born April 28, 1948, in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, England[1]) is an English fantasy author, best known for his Discworld series. ... // This article is about the novels. ... Thud! is Terry Pratchetts 34th Discworld novel, released in the United States of America and the United Kingdom on September 13, and it may have been released already in other countries, such as Norway [1] and Denmark. ...

External links

• Satire VI in Latin, at The Latin Library
• Satire VI in English (translation by G.G. Ramsay) at the Internet Ancient History Sourcebook

The Latin Library is a website that collects public domain Latin texts. ...

References