[66]
Closely connected with this profession, furthermore, 1 is the gift of eloquence; it is at once more
popular and more distinguished. For what is better
than eloquence to awaken the admiration of one's
hearers or the hopes of the distressed or the gratitude
of those whom it has protected? It was to eloquence,
therefore, that our fathers assigned the foremost
rank among the civil professions. The door of opportunity for generous patronage to others, then, is
wide open to the orator whose heart is in his work
and who follows the custom of our forefathers in
undertaking the defence of many clients without
reluctance and without compensation.
1 Eloquence at the bar.
M. Tullius Cicero. De Officiis. With An English Translation. Walter Miller. Cambridge. Harvard University Press; Cambridge, Mass., London, England. 1913.
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