ABSTRACT
Marcus Tullius Cicero, statesman, orator and philosopher of the late Roman republic, was among the first thinkers to offer a systematic ethical project in which the concept of just war had a firm place. Cicero recognized that there was a link between just war and the international standing of the Roman commonwealth. Roman history often emerges in Cicero's writings as a kind of "golden age" of warfare, aligning with his own ideas about justice, so that it can be compared favorably against the injustices of his own time. This chapter highlights two elements that are important in understanding Cicero's thoughts on war. First, that one must wage war only where discussion is impossible. Second, wars must only be fought for the sake of some future peace without injustice. Cicero's legacy for the just war tradition is far-reaching and diverse, feeding into and significantly shaping both its Christian and secular streams of thought.
