3.
For as to my having passed a law concerning bribery and corruption, certainly I passed it so
as not to abrogate that law which I have long since made for myself concerning defending my
fellow-citizens from dangers. If, indeed, I confessed that a largess had been distributed, and
were to defend it as having been rightly done, I should be acting wrongly, even if another had
passed the law; but when I am saving in defence that nothing has been done contrary to law;
then what reason is there that my having passed the law should he an obstacle to my
undertaking the defence?
[6]
He says that it does not belong to the same severity of character, to have banished from the
city by words, and almost by express command, Catiline, when planning the destruction of the
republic within its very walls, and now to speak on behalf of Lucius Murena. But I have always
willingly acted the part of lenity and clemency which nature itself has taught me but I have
not sought the character of severity and rigour, but I have supported it when imposed upon me
by the republic as the dignity of this empire required at the time of the greatest peril to
the citizens. But if then, when the public required vigour and severity, I overcame my nature,
and was as severe as I was forced to be not as I wished to be; now, when all causes invite me
to mercy and humanity, with what great zeal ought I to obey my nature and my usual habits? and
concerning my duty of defending, and your method of prosecuting, perhaps I shall have again to
speak in another part of my speech.
[7]
But, O judges, the complaint of Servius Sulpicius, a most wise and accomplished man, moved
me no less than the accusation of Cato; for he said that he was exceedingly and most bitterly
vexed that I had forgotten my friendship and intimacy with him, and was defending the cause of
Lucius Murena against him. I wish, O judges, to satisfy him, and to make you arbitrators
between us. For as it is a sad thing to be accused with truth in a case of friendship, so,
even if you be falsely accused, it is not to be neglected. I, O Servius Sulpicius, both allow
that according to my intimacy with you I did owe you all my zeal and activity to assist you in
your canvass, and I think I displayed it when you stood for the consulship, nothing on my part
was wanting to you which could have been expected either from a friend, or from an obliging
person, or from a consul. That time has gone by,—the case is changed. I think, and
am persuaded, that I owed you as much aid as ever you have ventured to require of me against
the advancement of Lucius Murena but no aid at all against his safety.
[8]
Nor does it follow, because I stood by you when you were a candidate for the
consulship, that on that account I ought now to be an assistant to you in the same way, when you are attacking Murena himself. And this it not only not
praiseworthy,—it is not even allowable, that we may not defend even those who are
most entirely strangers to us when our friends accuse them.
This text is part of:
Search the Perseus Catalog for:
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.
An XML version of this text is available for download, with the additional restriction that you offer Perseus any modifications you make. Perseus provides credit for all accepted changes, storing new additions in a versioning system.