treaty was in existence, persons or goods coming from the foreign land into the land of the Romans, and likewise persons and goods going from the land of the Romans into the foreign land, enjoyed no legal protection whatever. If there were no treaties of any kind with a particular community, then the Romans conceived that the law of nations, as generally understood, (or as they themselves understood it) had no applicability to that nation. Further, the conclusion of treaties and the maintenance of regular negotiations were conceived by the Romans to be possible only with communities properly organized, on the legal basis, and for the common good of the respective states.
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