[7]
I will never, with my own
free will, take out of the hands of this man, being so good a man as one who
has deserved so well of me and of his country, that criminal of all men in
the world, whose enmity be has not only encountered, but has even sought for
out of a regard for my safety. But if, even now that he is entangled in all
the dangers of the laws, surrounded by the hatred of all virtuous men, and
hemmed in on all sides by the expectation or punishment
which cannot be long delayed, still, hesitating and hampered as he is, he
persists in rushing on, and making attacks upon me, I will resist him, and
gaining the consent, or, perhaps, the assistance of Milo, I will frustrate his endeavours; as
I did yesterday, when, while he was threatening me in dumb show, as I was
standing near him, I just said one word about the beginning of legal
proceedings and a trial. He sat down. He did not say a word. Suppose he had
brought a charge against me, as he had threatened, I should have instantly
taken steps to have him summoned to appear before the praetor in three days.
And let him restrain himself with the idea that if he is content with those
acts of wickedness which he has already committed, he is already dedicated
to Milo; but if he aims any dart
against me, that then I shall immediately employ all the weapons of the
courts of justice and of the laws.
