Doing Justice to Others 31forswore policies of imperialism, coercion, and intervention into the aff airs
of other Greek states. To some extent, his case was a utilitarian one, explic-
itly contesting the belief that acting unjustly would bring material advan-
tages. He urged that the virtues that were generally lauded in individuals
should be practiced by states as well in their foreign relations with other
states. “[I]t behooves states much more than individuals,” he argued, “to cul-
tivate the virtues and shun vices.” It is impossible to say whether Isocrates’s
eloquence was the decisive factor, but his advice was followed— Athens con-
cluded peace with the insurgent states and consented to their withdrawal
from the confederacy.
Pre imperial Rome
Rome came under the strong cultural infl uence of the Greek states early in
its history, through contacts with Greek colonies in Italy. In the area of treaty
making, the Romans were very active, especially in their relations with their
Italian neighbors (although none of the actual texts has survived). Th e Ital-
ian core of the Roman Empire was in fact a network of alliance arrange-
ments. Sometimes, these placed the parties on a nonequal footing, in which
the other state party was required to “preserve the greatness (maje sta s) of
the Roman people” (in the common phrasing). A Roman lawyer of the fi rst
century ad explained that the other party, although placed in a position of
inferiority, should nevertheless still be regarded as a free people. Th is was
presumably on the basis that it retained its internal self- government. More
commonly, Rome’s treaties with its Italian neighbors were at least formally
reciprocal. Th e typical arrangement was that each side would assist the
other in time of war and would take care not to allow enemies of the other to
pass through its territory.
In the area of warfare, Roman leaders tended to take the view, like so
many of their counterparts in other cultures, that a resort to war should oc-
cur only in furtherance of a just cause. Some interesting insight into Roman
perspectives on this point is provided by Livy in his account of Rome’s third
king, Tullus Hostilius. Although possessed of what the historian called a
“lust for action,” Tullus was also scrupulous about placing his belligerent
actions in the best possible moral and legal light. In about 670 bc, at a time
when Rome and neighboring Alba were engaged in constant mutual cattle