The very fact of this hegemony was the initial spur to the expansion of the empire to its present extent: the motives driving us were, first and foremost, fear, then prestige, and later our own interests. There came a time when we realized that we could not safely run the risk of letting it go: most of our allies had come to hate us; some had already revolted and been subdued; your relations with us were no longer as friendly as they had been, but had turned to suspicion and grievance; and of course any of our subjects defecting from us would go over to you. No one can be blamed for looking
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