Philosophy:Cui bono

Short description: Latin phrase meaning "who benefits?"

Cui bono? (la-x-classic), in English "to whom is it a benefit?", is a Latin phrase about identifying crime suspects. It depends on the fact that crimes are often committed to benefit their perpetrators, especially financially.

Usage

The phrase is a double dative construction. It can also be rendered as cui prodest? ("whom does it profit?") and ad cuius bonum? ("for whose good?").

Background

 L. Cassius ille, quem populus Romanus verissimum et sapientissimum iudicem putabat, identidem in causis quaerere solebat, cui bono fuisset?

 Lucius Cassius, whom the Roman people used to regard as a most honest and most wise judge, was in the habit of asking time and again in lawsuits: "to whom might it be for a benefit?"

—Cicero: 'Pro Roscio Amerino'

Cicero himself used the expression Cui bono in his 'Second Philippic', once again invoking Cassius as the source: "... adopt that maxim of Cassius: To whose advantage was it?"

American sociologist Peter Blau has used the concept of cui bono to differentiate organizations depending on who has primarily benefited: owners; members; specific others; or the general society.

See also

• Cherchez la femme
• Follow the money
• Milgram experiment
• Whodunit

General:

• Brocard (law)
• List of Latin phrases
• List of legal Latin terms