[7]
Wherefore, I entreat you, O Vatinius, to pardon me for
sparing the country which I had saved; and I beg you, if I bear with you who
would willingly be a harasser and destroyer of the republic, to bear also
with me who have been its preserver and its guardian. Do you find fault with
that man for having departed from the city, who, as you see, was recalled by
the regret of all the citizens, and by the grief of the republic herself?
Oh, but you say that men were anxious for my return, not for my sake, but for
the sake of the republic. As if any man who had mixed himself
up in the affairs of the state in a proper spirit could think anything more
desirable for him than to be beloved by his fellow-citizens for the sake of
the republic.
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M. Tullius Cicero. The Orations of Marcus Tullius Cicero, literally translated by C. D. Yonge, B. A. London. George Bell & Sons, York Street, Covent Garden. 1891.
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