[31]
But even in this case we
must not openly admit that such a course is dishonourable: we can point out that all men are free by
nature and composed of the same elements, while
the slaves in question may perhaps be sprung
from some ancient and noble stock; and in the
former case when the danger is so evident,
we may add other arguments, such as that they
would perish even more cruelly if they surrendered,
should the enemy fail to keep faith, or Caesar (a
more probable supposition) prove victorious.
Quintilian. With an English Translation. Harold Edgeworth Butler. Cambridge. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1920.
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