Roman foundations and discipline

Discourses on the First Decade of Titus Livius secondary

The passage compares Alexander the Great’s proposed city on Mount Athos to his founding of Alexandria, then contrasts Roman origins in freedom and discipline with how Rome’s laws prevented corruption for centuries.

then, that it is a prudent choice to found your city in a fertile region when the effects of that fertility are duly balanced by the restraint of the laws. When Alexander the Great thought to add to his renown by founding a city, Dinocrates the architect came and showed him how he might build it on Mount Athos, which not only offered a strong position, but could be handled that the city built there might present a s…