[34]
You are the only man—you I say, O
Caius Caesar, are the only man, by whose victory no one has perished except
with arms in his hand. And can the man whom we, free men, born in the
enjoyment of the perfect liberty of the Roman people, consider not only no
tyrant but as even the most merciful man possible in the use of victory, can
he appear a tyrant to Blesamius, who is living under a king? For who
complains about a statue, especially about one single statue, when he sees
such a number? Great reason have we, indeed, to envy a man his statues, when
we do not grudge him trophies; for if it be the place which provokes envy,
surely there is no place more open and fit for a statue than the rostra. And as to the way in which he is received in
public, why need I make any reply at all? for public applause has never been
desired by you, and sometimes, owing to the amazement with which men have
viewed your achievements, it has even been stifled by the excess of their
admiration; and perhaps, too, it has been omitted because nothing vulgar
could possibly appear worthy of you.
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