[78]
I am not afraid of saying more in praise of such a
man than you yourselves either feel, or are willing to hear expressed before you. Wherefore I
will say this, that too much weight cannot be given to the authority of that man whose
prudence the Roman people has seen proved in taking precautions, not in deceiving men; who has
never made a distinction between the principles of civil law and equity; who for so many years
has given the Roman people the benefit of his abilities, his industry, and his good faith,
which have been always ready and at their service; who is so just and virtuous a man, that he
appears to be a lawyer by nature, not by education; so skillful and prudent a man, that not
only some learning, but that even goodness appears to be the offspring of civil law; whose
abilities are so great, whose good faith is so pure, that, whatever you draw from thence, you
feel you are drawing in a pure and clear state.
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M. Tullius Cicero. The Orations of Marcus Tullius Cicero, literally translated by C. D. Yonge, B. A. London. Henry G. Bohn, York Street, Covent Garden. 1856.
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