M. Tullius Cicero, For Sestius
C. D. Yonge, Ed.

And as to one of them, no one was mistaken in him; for who could suppose it possible for a man rising suddenly from the long darkness of brothels and scenes of debauchery in which he had lain, to hold the helm of so vast an empire, and to undertake the guidance of the republic in so important a voyage, amid such threatening waves?—a man worn out with wine and gluttony, and lewdness and adultery?—a man who, beyond his hopes, had been placed in the highest rank through the influence of others, when his drunken eyes were unable not merely to gaze on the impending storm, but even to stand any unusual glare of light? [21] But the other did deceive many men in every point; for he was recommended to men's favourable opinion by the fact of his high birth, which is of itself a very powerful recommendation, for all virtuous men naturally look with favour on noble birth, both because it is advantageous for the republic that nobly born men should be worthy of their ancestors, and because the recollection of men who are illustrious, and who have deserved well of the republic, has its influence over us even after they are dead. And because men saw him always morose, always taciturn, always neglectful of his appearance and coarse-looking, and because his name was such that frugality appeared a quality innate in his family, they favoured him, and rejoiced, and in their hopes called him a man fashioned after the model of the integrity of his ancestors, forgetting the family of his mother. [22] But I, (I will tell the plain truth, O judges,)—I myself never thought that there could be so much wickedness, audacity, and cruelty in any man as, to my own cost and that of the republic, I have experienced that there was in him. I knew the man was worthless inconsistent and that it was a pure mistake that made men think well of him deceived by the appearance of his youth. His disposition, in truth, was concealed by his countenance, and his vices within walls, but this sort of disguise is never continued, nor so well maintained that it cannot be seen through by inquisitive eyes.