[58]
But, beside this consideration, which applies to all cases, there is the further
point that certain cases demand special moderation.
Therefore, a man who demands the appointment of
a curator for his father's property, should express his
grief at his father's affliction; and, however grave be
the charges that a father may be going to bring
against his son, he should emphasize the painful
nature of the necessity that is imposed upon him.1
And this he should do not merely in a few brief
words, but his emotion should colour his whole
speech, so that it may be felt not merely that he
is speaking, but that he is speaking the truth.
1 The imagined case would be as follows. The father disinherits the son for an alleged offence. The son accuses the father of madness and demands a curator, etc.
Quintilian. With An English Translation. Harold Edgeworth Butler. Cambridge. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1922.
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