[12]
Who, then, was present at your
counsels? All these men whom you see here, giving Sulla the countenance of their presence; and
among the first was Quintus Hortensius—who, by reason of his honour and worth, and
his admirable disposition towards the republic, and because of his exceeding intimacy with and
excessive attachment to your father, was greatly moved by the thoughts of the common danger,
and most especially by the personal peril of your father. Therefore, he was defended from the
charge of being implicated in that conspiracy by that man who was present at and acquainted
with all your deliberations, who was a partner in all your thoughts and in all your fears;
and, elegant and argumentative as his speech in repelling this accusation was, it carried with
it as much authority as it displayed of ability. Of that conspiracy, therefore, which is said
to have been formed against you, to have been reported to you, and to have been revealed by
you, I was unable to say anything as a witness. For I not only found out nothing, but scarcely
did any report or suspicion of that matter reach my ears.
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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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