[4]
Afterwards that
illustrious man, Marcus Marcellus himself, whose valour in Sicily was felt by his enemies, his mercy by the
conquered, and his good faith by all the Sicilians, not only provided in that war
for the advantage of his allies, but spared even his conquered enemies. When by
valour and skill he had taken Syracuse, that most beautiful city, which was not only strongly
fortified by art, but was protected also by its natural advantages—by the
character of the ground about it, and by the sea—he not only allowed it to
remain without any diminution of its strength, but he left it so highly adorned, as
to be at the same time a monument of his victory, of his clemency, and of his
moderation; when men saw both what he had subdued, and whom he had spared, and what
he had left behind him. He thought that Sicily was entitled to have so much honour paid to her, that he did
not think that he ought to destroy even an enemy's city in an island of such allies.
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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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