[32]
Do you then, O Hortensius, defend this man on the ground
of his having been a general? Do you endeavour to conceal his thefts, his rapine,
his cupidity, his cruelty, his pride, his wickedness, his audacity, by dwelling on
the greatness of his exploits and his renown as a commander? No doubt I have cause
to fear here, that at the end of your defence you may have recourse to the old
conduct of Antonius, and to his mode of ending a speech; that Verres may be brought
forward, his breast bared, that the Roman people may see his scars, inflicted by the
bites of women, traces of lust and profligacy.
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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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