Serious thinkers of antiquity offer lessons from Rome’s history that illuminate our current political and moral circumstances. The geographical growth of the Roman Empire brought with it vast administrative centralization which diminished the sovereignty of small cities and localities. Yet, the small city was the place where civic virtues were best formed. In losing their autonomy by being subsumed in the empire, the small cities in which republican virtues flourished were suffocated, which in turn accelerated Rome’s decline. Today, with the endless expansion of the federal government, America’s cities face a similar situation, with grave consequences to our nation. Hugh Liebert will draw on some of antiquity’s greatest thinkers to clarify our situation, shed light on what might await republicanism, and evaluate what can be done today.