[53]
To this the
eloquent son will reply, “The action whereby you
deserved disinheritance was unfilial, although penitence or desire for display may have subsequently
led you to choose this as your reward. Further,
it was owing to you that our father was condemned,
since by absenting yourself you appeared to imply
that you thought him guilty.” The uneducated son
replies, “Nay, you contributed to his condemnation, for you had given offence to many and made
our family unpopular.” These arguments are based
on conjecture, as also will be the excuse put forward
by the uneducated son to the effect that his father
advised his absence, as he did not wish to emperil
his whole family. All these arguments are involved
in the preliminary question as to the letter and the
intention of the law.
Quintilian. With An English Translation. Harold Edgeworth Butler. Cambridge. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1922.
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