[48]
It also makes a great deal of difference who it is
that is offering the advice: for if his past has been
illustrious, or if his distinguished birth or age or
fortune excite high expectations, care must be taken
that his words are not unworthy of him. If on the
other hand he has none of these advantages he will
have to adopt a humbler tone. For what is regarded
as liberty in some is called licence in others. Some
receive sufficient support from their personal
authority, while others find that the force of reason
itself is scarce sufficient to enable them to maintain
their position.
Quintilian. With an English Translation. Harold Edgeworth Butler. Cambridge. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1920.
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