But we see that in the nature of things he must have
 adopted one of these three lines of conduct: he must either have been with Saturninus, or with
 the good men, or he must have been lying in bed—to lie hid was a state equal to the most
 infamous death; to be with Saturninus was the act of insanity and wickedness. Virtue, and
 honour, and shame, compelled him to range himself on the side of the consuls. Do you, therefore,
 accuse Caius Rabirius on this account, that he was with those men whom he would have been
 utterly mad to have opposed, utterly infamous if he had deserted them? 
 But Caius Decianus, whom you often mention, was condemned, because, when he was accusing, with
 the earnest approval of all good men, a man notorious for every description of infamy, Publius
 Furius, he dared to complain in the assembly of the death of Saturninus. And Sextus Titius was
 condemned for having an image of Lucius Saturninus in his house. The Roman knights laid it down
 by that decision that that man was a worthless citizen, and one who ought not to be allowed to
 remain in the state, who either by keeping his image sought, to do credit to the death of a man
 who was seditious to such a degree as to become an enemy to the republic, or who sought by pity
 to excite the regrets of ignorant men, or who showed his own inclination to imitate such
 villainy. Therefore it does seem a marvellous thing to me,
 where you, O Labienus, found thus image which you have. For after Sextus Titius was condemned,
 no one could be found who would dare to have it in his possession. But if you had heard of that,
 or if, from your age, you could have known it, you certainly would never have brought that
 image, which, even when concealed in his house, had brought ruin and exile on Sextus Titius,
 into the rostrum, and into the assembly of the people; nor would you ever have driven your
 designs on those rocks on which you had seen the ship of Sextus Titius dashed to pieces, and the
 fortunes of Caius Decianus hopelessly wrecked. But in all these matters you are erring out of
 ignorance. For you have undertaken the advocacy of a cause which is older than your own
 recollections; a cause which was dead before you were born; that cause in which you yourself
 would have been, if your age had allowed you to be so, you are bringing before this court.
 Do you not understand, in the first place, what sort of men,
 what sort of citizens they were whom, now that they are dead, you are accusing of the greatest
 wickedness? Are you not aware, how many of those who are still alive, you, by the same
 accusation, are bringing into peril of their lives? For if Caius Rabirius committed a capital
 crime in having borne arms against Lucius Saturninus, yet the age which he was then of might
 furnish him with some excuse by which to secure himself from danger. But how are we to defend
 Quintus Catulus, the father of this Catulus, a man in whom the very highest wisdom, eminent
 virtue, and singular humanity were combined? and Marcus Scaurus, a man of great gravity, wisdom,
 and prudence? or the two Mucii, or Lucius Crassus, or Marcus Antonius, who was at that time
 outside the city with a guard? all men than whom there was no one of greater wisdom or ability
 in the whole city; or how are we to defend the other men of equal dignity, the guardians and
 counselors of the republic, who behaved in the same way, now that they are dead? What are we to say about those most honourable men and most excellent
 citizens, the Roman knights, who then combined with the senate in defence of the safety of the
 republic? What are we to say of the aerarian tribunes, “The tribuni aerarii , who constituted an order in the latter days of the
 republic, and who were, in fact, the representatives of the most respectable plebeians, were
 originally heads of tribes, who acted as; general inspectors and collectors of the aes militare for the payment of the troops.” “The charge of the
 treasury was originally entrusted to the quaestors and their assistants, the tribuni aerarii .” “Niebuhr supposes that the tribuni aerani , who occur down to the end of the republic, were only the successors
 of the tribunes of the tribes.” Vide Smith, Dict. Ant. pp. 19,
 20, 987, vv. Aerarii , Aerarium , Tribunus . and of the men of all
 the other orders in the state, who then took up arms in defence of the common liberties of all?
 
 But why do I speak of all those men who obeyed the command of the consuls? What is to become
 of the reputation of the consuls themselves? Are we to condemn Lucius Flaccus, a man always most
 diligent in the service of the republic, and in the discharge of his duty as a magistrate, and
 in his priesthood, and in the religious ceremonies over which he presided, as guilty of
 nefarious wickedness and parricide, now that he is dead? And are we to mute with hum in this
 stigma and infamy, after death, the name of even Caius Marius? Are we, I say, to condemn Caius
 Marius now that he is dead, as guilty of nefarious wickedness, and parricide, whom we may
 rightly entitle the father of his country, the parent of your liberties, and of this republic?