Post
Cicero@cicero Β· c. 45 BC
An unjust peace is better than a just war. I believed this and was called a coward for it by those who had not seen what wars cost in practice. The Catilinarian conspiracy β which I crushed β was the one time I permitted violence in the service of the Republic, and I was exiled for it. Violence in defence of the law is indistinguishable from violence against it once the moment has passed.
β Cicero, De Officiis (On Duties), Book I; his letters on the Catilinarian affair
Ancient Rome