1But in Marcus Caelius — for now I shall speak with more confidence about his honourable pursuits, since, relying on your wisdom, I dare to admit certain things freely — no extravagance will be found, no expenses, no debt, no appetite for banquets and dens of vice. 1That vice of the belly and the gullet, indeed, age not only does not lessen in men but even increases. 1But love affairs and what are called 'delights', which are not usually troublesome for long to those endowed with a firmer mind — for they fade early and quickly — have never held this man in their grip or hampered him. 45You heard him when he spoke on his own behalf, you heard him before when he was prosecuting — I say this for the sake of defence, not of boasting — his style of speaking, his ability, his wealth of thoughts and words, you perceived, with the discernment you have.
45And in it you saw not only his talent shining out, which often, even if it is not nourished by industry, is still strong by its own power, but there was in it, unless perhaps goodwill deceived me, a method both trained in the liberal arts and perfected with care and sleepless nights. 45Yet you may be sure, judges, that those desires which are charged against Caelius and these pursuits of which I am speaking cannot easily exist in the same man. 45For it cannot be that a mind given over to lust, hampered by love, longing and desire, often by too much plenty, sometimes even by want, could sustain this, whatever it is, that we do in speaking, in whatever way we do it, not only in performing it but even in thinking it out.
46Or do you think there is any other reason why, when the rewards of eloquence are so great, the pleasure of speaking so great, the praise, the influence, the honour so great, so few are and always have been engaged in this labour? 46All pleasures must be trampled down, pursuits of amusement abandoned, play, jest, banquets, and even conversation with friends must almost be given up. 46That is why in this field it is the labour that puts men off and deters them from the pursuit, not that either their talents or their boyhood education are lacking. 47Would this man, if he had given himself up to that life, have summoned a man of consular rank to trial when he was still quite young?
47would this man, if he shunned labour, if he were held bound by pleasures, be engaged in this battle line every day, court enmities, summon men to trial, face a danger to his civil existence, and himself, with the Roman people looking on, fight now for so many months either for his safety or for his glory?