[10]
Of this nature is the noble defence
of Scaurus. “Quintus Varius of Sucro asserts that
Aemilius Scaurus has betrayed the interests of the
Roman people: Aemilius Scaurus denies it.” A
similar defence is said to have been employed by
Iphicrates1 : he asked Aristophon who was accusing
him on a similar charge of treason whether lie
would consent to betray his country for a bribe:
when Aristophon replied in the negative, he continued, “Have I then done what you would have
refused to do?”
1 At. Rhet. II. xxiii. 7.
Quintilian. With An English Translation. Harold Edgeworth Butler. Cambridge. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1921.
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