There’s another section of “The Peloponnesian War” where Dioditus and Cleon are debating whether to put to death a town that was loyal, switched sides, and now wanted back in the Athenian League.

Cleon argued they needed to be made an example of so other towns wouldn’t be tempted to do the same.

Dioditus countered that they needed allies, and that deterrence rarely works. Paraphrasing a bit, but he basically said “As long as wealth breeds arrogance and poverty necessity, men will always be willing to risk danger”