[34]
Invocation of the
gods, again, usually gives the impression that the
speaker is conscious of the justice of his cause, while
it may produce a good effect if the accused throws
himself on the ground and embraces the knees of
the judges, unless his character, his past life and
station prohibit a resort to this device: for there are
some acts which require to be defended with no less
boldness than was required for their commission. But
we must take care not to carry matters with too
high a hand, for fear of creating a bad impression
by an appearance of over-confidence.1
1 i.e. although such entreaties are effective, they cannot always be employed. Thus they would have been out of place in the case of Milo, whose character was such that it was necessary to defend him with a boldness worthy of the boldness required to perform the deed of which he was accused. Still we must not carry such methods (e.g. such as Cicero employs on behalf of Milo) too far.
Quintilian. With An English Translation. Harold Edgeworth Butler. Cambridge. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1921.
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