[205]
What says Hortensius to this? that the charge is
false? He will never say this.—That no great sum was gained by this
method? He will not even say that.—That no injury was done to Sicilians
and the cultivators? How can he say that?—What then, will he
say,—That it was done by other men. What is the meaning of this? Is it a
defence against the charge, or company in banishment that he is seeking for? Will
you in this republic, in this time of unchecked caprice, and (as up to this time the
course of judicial proceedings has proved) licentiousness on the part of men, will
you defend that which is found fault with, and affirm that it has been done
properly; not by reference to right, nor to equity, nor to law, nor because it was
expedient, nor because it was allowed, but because it was some one else who did it?
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M. Tullius Cicero. The Orations of Marcus Tullius Cicero, literally translated by C. D. Yonge. London. George Bell & Sons. 1903.
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