[39]
The province followed; in which it never
occurred to you that the fasces and axes, and such
absolute authority, and such dignity, and every sort of decoration, was not given to
you in order, by the power and authority derived from these things, to break down
all the barriers of law and modesty and duty, and to consider every man's property
as your own booty; so that no man's estate could be safe, no man's house closed; no
man's life protected, no woman's chastity fortified, against your cupidity and
audacity; in which you behaved yourself in such a way that, being detected in
everything, you take refuge in an imaginary war of runaway slaves; by which you now
perceive, that not only no defence is procured for you, but that an immense body of
accusations is raised up against you; unless, indeed, you are going to speak of the
relics of the war in Italy, and the
disaster of Temsa. 1
But when your fortune recently conducted you to that place, at a most seasonable
time, if you had any courage, or any energy, you were found to be the same man that
you had ever been.
This text is part of:
M. Tullius Cicero. The Orations of Marcus Tullius Cicero, literally translated by C. D. Yonge. London. George Bell & Sons. 1903.
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