For P. Sulla (M. Tullius Cicero)

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	For P. Sulla Author: M. Tullius Cicero	Translator: C. D. Yonge
19	cum vestrorum periculorum , cum huius urbis , cum illorum delubrorum atque templorum , cum puerorum infantium , cum matronarum ac virginum veniebat in mentem , et cum illae infestae ac funestae faces universumque totius urbis incendium , cum tela , cum caedes , cum civium cruor , cum cinis patriae versari ante oculos atque animum memoria refricare coeperat , tum denique ei resistebam , neque solum illi hosti ac parricidae sed his etiam propinquis illius , Marcellis , patri et filio , quorum alter apud me parentis gravitatem , alter fili suavitatem obtinebat ; neque me arbitrabar sine summo scelere posse , quod maleficium in aliis vindicassem , idem in illorum socio , cum scirem , defendere .	but when the thoughts of my country, of your dangers, of this city, of all those shrines and temples which we see around us, of the infant children, and matrons, and virgins of the city occurred to me, and when those hostile and fatal torches destined for the entire conflagration of the whole city, when the arms which had been collected, when the slaughter and blood of the citizens, when the ashes of my country began to present themselves to my eyes, and to excite my feelings by the recollection, then I resisted him, then I resisted not only that enemy of his country, that parricide himself, but I withstood also his relations the Marcelli, father and son, one of whom was regarded by me with the respect due to a parent, and the other with the affection which one feels towards a son. And I thought that I could not, without being guilty of the very greatest wickedness, defend in their companion the same crimes which I had chastised in the case of others, when I knew him to be guilty.
20	Atque idem ego neque P . Sullam supplicem ferre , neque eosdem Marcellos pro huius periculis lacrimantis aspicere , neque huius M . Messalae , hominis necessarii , preces sustinere potui ; neque enim est causa adversata naturae , nec homo nec res misericordiae meae repugnavit . Nusquam nomen , nusquam vestigium fuerat , nullum crimen , nullum indicium , nulla suspicio . Suscepi causam , Torquate , suscepi , et feci libenter ut me , quem boni constantem , ut spero , semper existimassent , eundem ne improbi quidem crudelem dicerent .	And, on the same principle, I could not endure to see Publius Sulla coming to me as a suppliant, or these same Marcelli in tears at his danger nor could I resist the entreaties of Marcus Messala, whom you see in court, a most intimate friend of my own. For neither was his cause disagreeable to my natural disposition nor had the man or the facts anything in them at variance with my feelings of clemency his name had never been mentioned, there was no trace whatever of him in the conspiracy; no information had touched him, no suspicion had been breathed of him. I undertook his cause, O Torquatus; I undertook it, and I did so willingly, in order that, while good men had always, as I hope, thought me virtuous and firm, not even bad men might he able to call me cruel.
21	Hic ait se ille , iudices , regnum meum ferre non posse . Quod tandem , Torquate , regnum ? Consulatus , credo , mei ; in quo ego imperavi nihil et contra patribus conscriptis et bonis omnibus parui ; quo in magistratu non institutum est videlicet a me regnum , sed repressum . An tum in tanto imperio , tanta potestate non dicis me fuisse regem , nunc privatum regnare dicis ? quo tandem nomine ? ' Quod , in quos testimonia dixisti , ' inquit , ' damnati sunt ; quem defendis , sperat se absolutum iri . ' Hic tibi ego de testimoniis meis hoc respondeo , si falsum dixerim , te in eosdem dixisse ; sin verum , non esse hoc regnare , cum verum iuratus dicas , probare . De huius spe tantum dico , nullas a me opes P . Sullam , nullam potentiam , nihil denique praeter fidem defensionis exspectare .	This Torquatus then, O judges, says that he cannot endure my kingly power. What is the meaning of my kingly power, O Torquatus? I suppose you mean the power I exerted in my consulship; in which I did not command at all, but on the contrary, I obeyed the conscript fathers, and all good men. In my discharge of that office, O judges, kingly power was not established by me, but put down. Will you say that then, when I had such absolute power and authority over all the military and civil affairs of the state, I was not a king, but that now, when I am only a private individual, I have the power of a king? Under what title? “Why, because,” says he, “those against whom you gave evidence were convicted, and the man whom you defend hopes that he shall be acquitted.” Here I make you this reply, as to what concerns my evidence: that if I gave false evidence, you also gave evidence against the same man; if my testimony was true, then I say, that persuading the judges to believe a true statement, which one has made on oath, is a very different thing from being a king. And of the hopes of my client, I only say, that Publius Sulla does not expect from me any exertion of my influence or interest, or, in short, anything except to defend him with good faith.
22	' Nisi tu , ' inquit , ' causam recepisses , numquam mihi restitisset , sed indicta causa profugisset . ' Si iam hoc tibi concedam , Q . Hortensium , tanta gravitate hominem , si hos talis viros non suo stare iudicio , sed meo ; si hoc tibi dem quod credi non potest , nisi ego huic adessem , hos adfuturos non fuisse , uter tandem rex est , isne cui innocentes homines non resistunt , an is qui calamitosos non deserit ? At hic etiam , id quod tibi necesse minime fuit , facetus esse voluisti , cum Tarquinium et Numam et me tertium peregrinum regem esse dixisti . Mitto iam de rege quaerere ; illud quaero peregrinum cur me esse dixeris . Nam si ita sum , non tam est admirandum regem esse me , quoniam , ut tu ais , duo iam peregrini reges Romae fuerunt , quam consulem Romae fuisse peregrinum . ' Hoc dico , ' inquit , ' te esse ex municipio . '	“But unless you,” says he, “had undertaken his cause, he would never have resisted me, but would have fled without saying a word in his defence.” Even if I were to grant to you that Quintus Hortensius, being a man of such wisdom as he is, and that all these men of high character, rely not on their own judgment but on mine; if I were to grant to you, what no one can believe, that these men would not have countenanced Publius Sulla if I had not done so too; still, which is the king, he whom men, though perfectly innocent, cannot resist, or he who does not abandon men in misfortune? But here too, though you had not the least occasion for it, you took a fancy to be witty, when you called me Tarquin, and Numa, and the third foreign king of Rome. I won't say any more about the word king; but I should like to know why you called me a foreigner. For, if I am such, then it is not so marvellous that I should be a king,—because, as you say yourself, foreigners have before now been kings at Rome,—as that a foreigner should be a consul at Rome. “This is what I mean,” says he, “that you come from a municipal town.”
23	Fateor et addo etiam : ex eo municipio unde iterum iam salus huic urbi imperioque missa est . Sed scire ex te pervelim quam ob rem qui ex municipiis veniant peregrini tibi esse videantur . Nemo istuc M . illi Catoni seni , cum plurimos haberet inimicos , nemo Ti . Coruncanio , nemo M ' . Curio , nemo huic ipsi nostro C . Mario , cum ei multi inviderent , obiecit umquam . Equidem vehementer laetor eum esse me in quem tu , cum cuperes , nullam contumeliam iacere potueris quae non ad maximam partem civium conveniret .	I confess that I do, and I add, that I come from that municipal town from which salvation to this city and empire has more than once proceeded. But I should like exceedingly to know from you, how it is that those men who come from the municipal towns appear to you to be foreigners. For no one ever made that objection to that great man, Marcus Cato the elder, though he had many enemies, or to Titus Coruncanius, or to Marcus Curius, or even to that great hero of our own times, Caius Marius, through many men envied him. In truth, I am exceedingly delighted that I am a man of such a character that, when you were anxious to find fault with me, you could still find nothing to reproach me with which did not apply also to the greater part of the citizens.
24	Sed tamen te a me pro magnis causis nostrae necessitudinis monendum esse etiam atque etiam puto . Non possunt omnes esse patricii ; si verum quaeris , ne curant quidem ; nec se aequales tui propter istam causam abs te anteiri putant . Ac si tibi nos peregrini videmur , quorum iam et nomen et honos inveteravit et urbi huic et hominum famae ac sermonibus , quam tibi illos competitores tuos peregrinos videri necesse erit qui iam ex tota Italia delecti tecum de honore ac de omni dignitate contendent ! Quorum cave tu quemquam peregrinum appelles , ne peregrinorum suffragiis obruare . Qui si attulerint nervos et industriam , mihi crede , excutient tibi istam verborum iactationem et te ex somno saepe excitabunt nec patientur se abs te , nisi virtute vincentur , honore superari .	But still, on account of your great friendship and intimacy, I think it well to remind you of this more than once—all men cannot be patricians. If you would know the truth, they do not all even wish to be so; nor do those of your own age think that you ought on that account to have precedence over them. And if we seem to you to be foreigners, we whose name and honours have now become familiar topics of conversation and panegyric throughout the city and among all men, how greatly must those competitors of yours seem to be foreigners, who now, having been picked out of all Italy, are contending with you for honour and for every dignity! And yet take care that you do not call one of these a foreigner, lest you should be overwhelmed by the votes of the foreigners. For if they once bring their activity and perseverance into action, believe me they will shake those arrogant expressions out of you, and they will frequently wake you from sleep, and will not endure to be surpassed by you in honours, unless they are also excelled by you in virtue.
25	Ac si , iudices , ceteris patriciis me et vos peregrinos videri oporteret , a Torquato tamen hoc vitium sileretur ; est enim ipse a materno genere municipalis , honestissimi ac nobilissimi generis , sed tamen Asculani . Aut igitur doceat Picentis solos non esse peregrinos aut gaudeat suo generi me meum non anteponere . Qua re neque tu me peregrinum posthac dixeris , ne gravius refutere , neque regem , ne derideare . Nisi forte regium tibi videtur ita vivere ut non modo homini nemini sed ne cupiditati quidem ulli servias , contemnere omnis libidines , non auri , non argenti , non ceterarum rerum indigere , in senatu sentire libere , populi utilitati magis consulere quam voluntati , nemini cedere , multis obsistere . Si hoc putas esse regium , regem me esse confiteor ; sin te potentia mea , si dominatio , si denique aliquod dictum adrogans aut superbum movet , quin tu id potius profers quam verbi invidiam contumeliamque maledicti ?	And if, O judges, it is fit for me and you to be considered foreigners by the rest of the patricians, still nothing ought to be said about this blot by Torquatus. For he himself is on his mother's side, a citizen of a municipal town; a man of a most honourable and noble family, but still he comes from Asculum. Either let him, then, show that the Picentians alone are not foreigners, or else let him congratulate himself that I do not put my family before his. So do not for the future call me a foreigner, lest you meet with a sterner refutation; and do not call me a king, lest you be laughed at. Unless, indeed, it appears to be the conduct of a king to live in such a manner as not to be slave not only to any man, but not even to any passion; to despise all capricious desires; to covet neither gold nor silver, nor anything else; to form one's opinions in the senate with freedom; to consider the real interests of the people, rather than their inclinations; to yield to no one, to oppose many men. If you think that this is the conduct of a king, then I confess that I am a king. If my power, if my sway, it lastly, any arrogant or haughty expression of mine moves your indignation, then you should rather allege that, than stoop to raise odium against me by a name, and to employ mere abuse and insult.
26	Ego , tantis a me beneficiis in re publica positis , si nullum aliud mihi praemium ab senatu populoque Romano nisi honestum otium postularem , quis non concederet ? Ceteri sibi haberent honores , sibi imperia , sibi provincias , sibi triumphos , sibi alia praeclarae laudis insignia ; mihi liceret eius urbis quam conservassem conspectu tranquillo animo et quieto frui . Quid si hoc non postulo ? si ille labor meus pristinus , si sollicitudo , si officia , si operae , si vigiliae deserviunt amicis , praesto sunt omnibus ; si neque amici in foro requirunt studium meum neque res publica in curia ; si me non modo non rerum gestarum vacatio sed neque honoris neque aetatis excusatio vindicat a labore ; si voluntas mea , si industria , si domus , si animus , si aures patent omnibus ; si mihi ne ad ea quidem quae pro salute omnium gessi recordanda et cogitanda quicquam relinquitur temporis : tamen hoc regnum appellabitur , cuius vicarius qui velit esse inveniri nemo potest ?	If, after having done so many services to the republic, I were to ask for myself no other reward from the senate and people of Rome beyond honourable ease, who is there who would not grant it to me? If I were to ask, that they would keep all honours, and commands, and provinces, and triumphs, and all the other insignia of eminent renown to themselves, and that they would allow me to enjoy the sight of the city which I had saved, and a tranquil and quiet mind?—What, however, if I do not ask this? what, if my former industry, my anxiety, my assistance, my labour, my vigilance is still at the service of my friends, and ready at the call of every one? If my friends never seek in vain for my zeal on their behalf in the forum, nor the republic in the senate house; if neither the holiday earned by my previous achievements, nor the excuse—which my past honours or my present age might supply me with, is employed to save me from trouble; if my good-will—my industry, my house, my attention, and my ears are always open to all men; if I have not even any time left to recollect and think over those things which I have done for the safety of the whole body of citizens; shall this still be called kingly power, when no one can possibly be found who would act as my substitute in it?
27	Longe abest a me regni suspicio ; si quaeris qui sint Romae regnum occupare conati , ut ne replices annalium memoriam , ex domesticis imaginibus invenies . Res enim gestae , credo , meae me nimis extulerunt ac mihi nescio quos spiritus attulerunt . Quibus de rebus tam claris , tam immortalibus , iudices , hoc possum dicere , me qui ex summis periculis eripuerim urbem hanc et vitam omnium civium satis adeptum fore , si ex hoc tanto in omnis mortalis beneficio nullum in me periculum redundarit .	All suspicion of aiming at kingly power is very far removed from me. If you ask who they are who have endeavoured to assume kingly power in Rome, without unfolding the records of the public annals, you may find them among the images in your own house. I suppose it is my achievements which have unduly elated me, and have inspired me with I know not how much pride. Concerning which deeds of mine, illustrious and immortal as they are, O judges, I can say thus much—that I, who have saved this city, and the lives of all the citizens, from the most extreme dangers, shall have gained quite reward enough, if no danger arises to myself out of the great service which I have done to all men.
28	Etenim in qua civitate res tantas gesserim memini , in qua urbe verser intellego . Plenum forum est eorum hominum quos ego a vestris cervicibus depuli , iudices , a meis non removi . Nisi vero paucos fuisse arbitramini qui conari aut sperare possent se tantum imperium posse delere . Horum ego faces eripere de manibus et gladios extorquere potui , sicuti feci , voluntates vero consceleratas ac nefarias nec sanare potui nec tollere . Qua re non sum nescius quanto periculo vivam in tanta multitudine improborum , cum mihi uni cum omnibus improbis aeternum videam bellum esse susceptum .	In truth, I recollect in what state it is that I have done such great exploits, and in what city I am living. The forum is full of those men whom I, O judges, have taken off from your necks, but have not removed from my own. Unless you think that they were only a few men, who were able to attempt or to hope that they might be able to destroy so vast an empire. I was able to take away their firebrands, to wrest their torches from their hands, as I did; but their wicked and impious inclinations I could neither cure nor eradicate. Therefore I am not ignorant in what danger I am living among such a multitude of wicked men, since I see that I have undertaken single-handed an eternal war against all wicked men.
29	Quod si illis meis praesidiis forte invides , et si ea tibi regia videntur quod omnes boni omnium generum atque ordinum suam salutem cum mea coniungunt , consolare te quod omnium mentes improborum mihi uni maxime sunt infensae et adversae ; qui me non modo idcirco oderunt quod eorum conatus impios et furorem consceleratum repressi , sed eo etiam magis quod nihil iam se simile me vivo conari posse arbitrantur .	But if perchance, you envy that means of protection which I have, and if it seems to you to be of a kingly sort,—namely, the fact that all good men of all ranks and classes consider their safety as bound up with mine,—comfort yourself with the reflection that the dispositions of all wicked men are especially hostile to and furious against me alone; and they hate me, not only because I repressed their profligate attempts and impious madness, but still more because they think, that, as long as I am alive, they can attempt nothing more of the same sort.
30	At vero quid ego mirer , si quid ab improbis de me improbe dicitur , cum L . Torquatus primum ipse his fundamentis adulescentiae iactis , ea spe proposita amplissimae dignitatis , deinde L . Torquati , fortissimi consulis , constantissimi senatoris , semper optimi civis filius , interdum efferatur immoderatione verborum ? Qui cum suppressa voce de scelere P . Lentuli , de audacia coniuratorum omnium dixisset , tantum modo ut vos qui ea probatis exaudire possetis , de supplicio , de carcere magna et queribunda voce dicebat .	But why do I wonder if any wicked thing is said of me by wicked men, where Lucius Torquatus himself, after having in the first place laid such a foundation of virtue as he did in his youth, after having proposed to himself the hope of the most honourable dignity in the state, and, in the second place, being the son of Lucius Torquatus, a most intrepid consul a most virtuous senator, and at all times a most admirable citizen, is sometimes run away with by impetuosity of language? For when he had spoken in a low voice of the wickedness of Publius Lentulus, and of the audacity of all the conspirators, so that only you, who approve of those things, could hear what he said, he spoke with a loud querulous voice of the execution of Publius Lentulus and of the prison;
31	In quo primum illud erat absurdum quod , cum ea quae leviter dixerat vobis probare volebat , eos autem qui circum iudicium stabant audire nolebat , non intellegebat ea quae clare diceret ita illos audituros quibus se venditabat ut vos quoque audiretis , qui id non probabatis . Deinde alterum iam oratoris est vitium non videre quid quaeque causa postulet . Nihil est enim tam alienum ab eo qui alterum coniurationis accuset quam videri coniuratorum poenam mortemque lugere . Quod cum is tribunus pl . facit qui unus videtur ex illis ad lugendos coniuratos relictus , nemini mirum est ; difficile est enim tacere , cum doleas ; te , si quid eius modi facis , non modo talem adulescentem sed in ea causa in qua te vindicem coniurationis velis esse vehementer admiror .	in which there was, first of all, this absurdity, that when he wished to gain your approval of the inconsiderate things which he had said, but did not wish those men, who were standing around the tribunal, to hear them, he did not perceive that, while he was speaking so loudly, those men whose favour he was seeking to gain could not hear him, without your hearing him too, who did not approve of what he was saying; and, in the second place, it is a great defect in an orator not to see what each cause requires. For nothing is so inconsistent as for a man who is accusing another of conspiracy, to appear to lament the punishment and death of conspirators; which is not, indeed, strange to any one, when it is done by that tribune of the people who appears to be the only man left to bewail those conspirators; for it is difficult to be silent when you are really grieved. But, if you do anything of that sort, I do greatly marvel at you, not only because you are such a young man as you are, but because you do it in the very cause in which you wish to appear as a punisher of conspiracy.
32	Sed reprehendo tamen illud maxime quod isto ingenio et prudentia praeditus causam rei publicae non tenes , qui arbitrere plebi Romanae res eas non probari quas me consule omnes boni pro communi salute gesserunt .	However, what I find fault with most of all, is this: that you, with your abilities and your prudence, do not maintain the true interest of the republic, but believe, on the contrary, that those actions are not approved of by the Roman people, which, when I was consul, were done by all virtuous men, for the preservation of the common safety of all.
33	Ecquem tu horum qui adsunt , quibus te contra ipsorum voluntatem venditabas , aut tam sceleratum statuis fuisse ut haec omnia perire voluerit , aut tam miserum ut et se perire cuperet et nihil haberet quod salvum esse vellet ? An vero clarissimum virum generis vestri ac nominis nemo reprehendit , qui filium suum vita privavit ut in ceteros firmaret imperium ; tu rem publicam reprehendis , quae domesticos hostis , ne ab eis ipsa necaretur , necavit ? Itaque attende , Torquate , quam ego defugiam auctoritatem consulatus mei ! Maxima voce ut omnes exaudire possint dico semperque dicam . Adeste omnes animis , Quirites , quorum ego frequentia magno opere laetor ; erigite mentis aurisque vestras et me de invidiosis rebus , ut ille putat , dicentem attendite ! Ego consul , cum exercitus perditorum civium clandestino scelere conflatus crudelissimum et luctuosissimum exitium patriae comparasset , cum ad occasum interitumque rei publicae Catilina in castris , in his autem templis atque tectis dux Lentulus esset constitutus , meis consiliis , meis laboribus , mei capitis periculis , sine tumultu , sine dilectu , sine armis , sine exercitu , quinque hominibus comprehensis atque confessis incensione urbem , internicione civis , vastitate Italiam , interitu rem publicam liberavi ; ego vitam omnium civium , statum orbis terrae , urbem hanc denique , sedem omnium nostrum , arcem regum ac nationum exterarum , lumen gentium , domicilium imperi , quinque hominum amentium ac perditorum poena redemi .	Do you believe that any one of those men who are here present, into whose favour you were seeking to insinuate yourself against their will, was either so wicked as to wish all these things to be destroyed, or so miserable as to wish to perish himself; and to have nothing which he wished to preserve? Is there any one who blames the most illustrious man of your family and name, who deprived his own son of life in order to strengthen his power over the rest of his army; and do you blame the republic, for destroying domestic enemies in order to avoid being herself destroyed by them? Take notice then, O Torquatus, to what extent I shirk the avowal of the actions of my consulship. I speak, and I always will speak, with my loudest voice, in order that all men may be able to hear me: be present all of you with your minds, ye who are present with your bodies, ye in whose numerous attendance I take great pleasure; give me your attention and all your ears, and listen to me while I speak of what he believes to be unpopular topics. I, as consul, when an army of abandoned citizens, got together by clandestine wickedness, had prepared a most cruel and miserable destruction for my country; when Catiline had been appointed to manage the fall and ruin of the republic in the camp, and when Lentulus was the leader among these very temples and houses around us; I, I say, by my labours, at the risk of my own life, by my prudence, without any tumult, without making any extraordinary levies, without arms, without an army, having arrested and executed five men delivered the city from conflagration, the citizens from massacre Italy from devastation, the republic from destruction. I at the price of the punishment of five frantic and ruined men ransomed the lives of all the citizens, the constitution of the whole world, this city the home of all of us, the citadel of foreign kings and foreign nations the light of all people the abode of empire.
34	An me existimasti haec iniuratum in iudicio non esse dicturum quae iuratus in maxima contione dixissem ?	Did you think that I would not say this in a court of justice when I was not on my oath, which I had said before now in a most numerous assembly when speaking on oath?
35	Atque etiam illud addam , ne qui forte incipiat improbus subito te amare , Torquate , et aliquid sperare de te , atque ut idem omnes exaudiant clarissima voce dicam . Harum omnium rerum quas ego in consulatu pro salute rei publicae suscepi atque gessi L . ille Torquatus , cum esset meus contubernalis in consulatu atque etiam in praetura fuisset , cum princeps , cum auctor , cum signifer esset iuventutis , actor , adiutor , particeps exstitit ; parens eius , homo amantissimus patriae , maximi animi , summi consili , singularis constantiae , cum esset aeger , tamen omnibus rebus illis interfuit , nusquam est a me digressus , studio , consilio , auctoritate unus adiuvit plurimum , cum infirmitatem corporis animi virtute superaret . Videsne ut eripiam te ex improborum subita gratia et reconciliem bonis omnibus ? qui te et diligunt et retinent retinebuntque semper nec , si a me forte desciveris , idcirco te a se et a re publica et a tua dignitate deficere patientur . Sed iam redeo ad causam atque hoc vos , iudices , testor : mihi de memet ipso tam multa dicendi necessitas quaedam imposita est ab illo . Nam si Torquatus Sullam solum accusasset , ego quoque hoc tempore nihil aliud agerem nisi eum qui accusatus esset defenderem ; sed cum ille tota illa oratione in me esset invectus et cum , ut initio dixi , defensionem meam spoliare auctoritate voluisset , etiam si dolor meus respondere non cogeret , tamen ipsa causa hanc a me orationem flagitavisset .	And I will say this further, O Torquatus, to prevent any wicked man from conceiving any sudden attachment to, or any sudden hopes of you; and, in order that every one may hear it, I will say it as loudly as I can:—Of all those things which I undertook and did during my consulship in defence of the common safety, that Lucius Torquatus, being my constant comrade in my consulship, and having been so also in my praetorship, was my defender; and assistant, and partner in my actions; being also the chief; and the leader, and the standard-bearer of the Roman youth; and his father, a man most devoted to his country, a man of the greatest courage, of the most consummate political wisdom, and of singular firmness, though he was sick still was constantly present at all my actions he never left my side: he by his zeal and wisdom and authority was of the very greatest assistance to me, overcoming the infirmity of his body by the vigour of his mind. Do you not see now, how I deliver you from the danger of any sudden popularity among the wicked, and reconcile you to all good men? who love you, and cherish you, and who always will cherish you; nor, if perchance you for a while abandon me, will they on that account allow you to abandon them and the republic and your own dignity. But now I return to the cause; and I call you, O judges, to hear witness to this;—that this necessity of speaking of myself was imposed on me by him. For if Torquatus had been content with accusing Sulla, I too at the present time should have done nothing beyond defending him who had been accused; but when he, in his whole speech, inveighed against me, and when, in the very beginning, as I said, he sought to deprive my defence of all authority, even if my indignation had not compelled me to speak, still the necessity of doing justice to my cause would have demanded this speech from me.
36	Ab Allobrogibus nominatum Sullam esse dicis . Quis negat ? Sed lege indicium et vide quem ad modum nominatus sit . L . Cassium dixerunt commemorasse cum ceteris Autronium secum facere . Quaero num Sullam dixerit Cassius . Nusquam . Sese aiunt quaesisse de Cassio quid Sulla sentiret . Videte diligentiam Gallorum ; qui vitam hominum naturamque non nossent ac tantum audissent eos pari calamitate esse , quaesiverunt essentne eadem voluntate . Quid tum Cassius ? Si respondisset idem sentire et secum facere Sullam , tamen mihi non videretur in hunc id criminosum esse debere . Quid ita ? Quia , qui barbaros homines ad bellum impelleret , non debebat minuere illorum suspicionem et purgare eos de quibus illi aliquid suspicari viderentur .	You say that Sulla was named by the Allobroges.—Who denies it? but read the information, and see how he was named. They said that Lucius Cassius had said that, among other men, Autronius was favourable to their designs. I ask, did Cassius say that Sulla was? Never. They say that they themselves inquired of Cassius what Sulla's opinions were. Observe the diligence of the Gauls. They, knowing nothing of the life or character of the man, but only having heard that he and Autronius had met with one common disaster, asked whether his inclinations were the same? what then? Even if Cassius had made answer that Sulla was of the same opinion, and was favourable to their views, still it would not seem to me that that reply ought to be made matter of accusation against him. How so? Because, as it was his object to instigate the barbarians to war, it was no business of his to weaken their expectations, or to acquit those men of whom they did entertain some suspicions.