[45]
Consequently we shall consider all the circumstances
rendering the act difficult or easy of accomplishment;
these require no illustration, being numerous and
familiar. This second topic is of such importance
that, if it is impossible to give it satisfactory treatment, the case falls to the ground; if, however, we
succeed in dealing with it adequately, we must
proceed to consider whether the accused actually
committed the act. But this topic involves conjecture as to intention, for it is from these facts that
we infer whether he hoped for success or not.
Therefore we must also consider the question of
the means at his disposal, such, for example, as the
retinues of Clodius and Milo.
Quintilian. With An English Translation. Harold Edgeworth Butler. Cambridge. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1922.
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