[81]
namely a feigned
confession, which likewise may show no small wit.
Thus Afer, when pleading against a freedman of
Claudius Caesar and when another freedman called
out from the opposite side of the court, “You are
always speaking against Caesar's freedmen,” replied,
“Yes, but I make precious little headway.” A
similar trick is not to deny a charge, though it is
obviously false and affords good opportunity for an
excellent reply. For example, when Philippus said
to Catulus, “Why do you bark so?” the latter replied,1
“I see a thief.”
1 cp. Cic. de Or. II. liv. 220.
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