I see, O conscript fathers, that the looks and eyes of you all are turned towards me; I see
that you are anxious not only for your own danger and that of the republic, but even, if that
be removed, for mine. Your good-will is delightful to one amid evils, and pleasing amid
grief; but I entreat you, in the name of the immortal gods, lay it aside now, and, forgetting
my safety, think of yourselves and of your children. If indeed, this condition of the
consulship has been allotted to me, that I should bear all bitterness, all pains and
tortures, I will bear them not only bravely but even cheerfully, provided that by my toils
dignity and safety are procured for you and for the Roman people.
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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