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The Latin phrase goes back to an old Greek principle of justice which translates literally into English as " to each his own ".

In his Republic, Plato has Socrates offer the provisional definition that " justice is when everyone minds his own business, and refrains from meddling in others ' affairs " ( Greek: "... τὸ τὰ αὑτοῦ πράττειν καὶ μὴ πολυπραγμονεῖν δικαιοσύνη ἐστί ...", 4. 433a ).

Everyone should do according to his abilities and capabilities, to serve the country and the society as a whole.

Also, everyone should receive " his own " ( e. g., rights ) and not be deprived of " his own " ( e. g., property ) ( 433e ).

Aristotle took up this conception of distributive justice as an alternative to justice as fairness in his Nicomachean Ethics.