Tien Chi! Sigh . . .

[Jasper]

Originally posted by Nagot Gick Fel:
See the difference now? Strifes at the political level may be frequent in an "orderly" society, but would you call a country where every inhabitant is expected to cut the throat of his neighbor when honor is at stake, an "orderly" country?

Perhaps. Feudal Japan for example was at times quite orderly, but had such problems. I also suspect the honor/face issue ran deeper into Roman society than you suggest, as well as the rest of europe. I think the anecdotes about safety of trade, the overall stability of rule, etc. have more weight overall.