3.12
The day of trial was now
at hand, and it was evident that men generally
believed that their liberty depended upon the
condemnation of Caeso. At last, to his great
indignation, he was constrained to approach
individual members of the plebs; he was followed by
his friends, who were amongst the foremost men of
the State. Titus Quinctius Capitolinus, who had
three times been consul, after recounting his own
numerous distinctions and those of his family,
asserted that neither in the Quinctian house nor in
the Roman State did there exist another such example
of personal merit and youthful courage. He had been
the foremost soldier in his army; he had often
fought under his own eyes. Sp. Furius said that
Caeso had been sent by Quinctius Capitolinus to his
assistance when in difficulties, and that no single
person had done more to retrieve the fortunes of the
day. L. Lucretius, the consul of the previous year,
in the splendour of his newly-won glory, associated
Caeso with his own claim to distinction, enumerated
the actions in which he had taken part, recounted
his brilliant exploits on the march and in the
field, and did his utmost to persuade them to retain
as their own fellow-citizen a young man furnished
with every advantage that nature and fortune could
give, who would be an immense power in any state of
which he became a member, rather than drive him to
an alien people. As to what had given such offence -his hot temper and audacity -these faults were
being continually lessened; what was wanting in him
-prudence -was increasing day by day. As his
faults were decaying and his virtues maturing, they
ought to allow such a man to live out his years in
the commonwealth. Among those who spoke for him was
his father, L. Quinctius Cincinnatus. He did not go
over all his merits again, for fear of aggravating
the feeling against him, but he pleaded for
indulgence to the errors of youth; he himself had
never injured any one either by word or deed, and
for his own sake he implored them to pardon his son.
Some refused to listen to his prayers, lest they
should incur the displeasure of their friends;
others complained of the maltreatment they had
received, and by their angry replies showed
beforehand what their verdict would be.