[18]
Let it be allowed to us to be miserable,
although that cannot be when this man is our conqueror. But I am not
speaking of those who have perished. Grant that they were ambitious, that
they were angry, that they were obstinate men; but still let Cnaeus
Pompeius, for he is dead, and let any others with him, be free from the
imputation of wickedness, of insanity, of parricide. When did any one hear
such expression from you, O Caius Caesar? or what other object did your arms
propose to themselves except the repelling insult from yourself? What was it
that was accomplished by that invincible army of yours; beyond the
preservation of its own rights, and of your dignity? What? when you were
anxious for peace, was it your object to be able to come to terms of
agreement with the wicked, or with the virtuous part of the citizens?
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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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