1For I ask why that womanish band let Licinius slip from their hands as he faltered, hesitated, retreated, tried to flee, why they did not seize him, why they did not extract the charge of so great a crime by his own confession, by the eyes of many, in short, by the very voice of the deed. 1Or were they afraid that so many could not overpower one, the strong a weakling, the eager a man terrified? 1No proof will be found in the matter, no suspicion in the case, no outcome to the charge. 1And so this case has been transferred entirely from arguments, from inference, from those signs by which truth is usually brought to light, to witnesses.
1These witnesses, judges, I await not only without any fear but even with some hope of amusement. 67My mind is already eager to see, first, the elegant young men, intimates of a rich and noble woman, and then the brave men posted by their lady general in ambush and as a garrison of the baths. 67Of them I shall ask how or where they hid, whether it was a bathtub or a Trojan horse that carried and concealed so many unconquered men waging a woman's war. 67This, indeed, I shall force them to answer: why so many men, and men of such quality, did not either seize this man, alone and as frail as you see him, while he stood, or catch him as he fled; 67who will certainly never extricate themselves, if they come forward into that place.
67However witty and sharp-tongued they may be at banquets, and sometimes even eloquent over the wine, the forum has one force, the dining room another, the benches of the court one manner, the couches another; 67the gaze of judges and of revellers is not the same; 67and, in short, the light of the sun is far different from that of lamps. 67Therefore we shall shake out all their fripperies, all their follies, if they come forward. 67But let them listen to me: let them busy themselves with other work, seek favour in other ways, show off in other matters, let them prosper with that woman through their charm, lord it through their spending, let them cling to her, lie at her feet, be her slaves; 67but let them spare the life and fortunes of an innocent man.