1And yet I thought, judges, that through my labour it had been brought about that lowly birth would no longer be thrown in the face of many brave men, since I made a point of citing not only those new men of old, the bravest of men, the Curii, the Catos, the Pompeii, but also these recent ones, the Marii, the Didii and the Caelii. 1But when I, after so long an interval, had broken down those barriers of nobility, so that from now on the way to the consulship should lie open, as it did in our ancestors' day, no more to nobility than to merit, I did not think that, when a consul-elect from an old and illustrious family was being defended by a consul who was the son of a Roman knight, the accusers would speak about the newness of his family.
1Indeed, it happened to me myself that I stood for office along with two patricians, one most wicked and reckless, the other a most modest and excellent man; 1yet I surpassed Catiline in standing and Galba in influence. 1But if that ought to be a charge against a new man, surely I should not have lacked enemies or envious men. 18Let us then leave off speaking about birth, in which both men have great distinction; 18let us look at the rest. 18'He stood for the quaestorship with me, and I was elected first.' 18Not everything needs a reply. 18For it escapes none of you that, when many men equal in standing are elected, but only one can take first place, the order of standing and the order of declaration are not the same, because declaration has a ranking, while standing is very often the same for all.
18But the quaestorship of each of you was of almost equal weight by lot. 18He had by the Titian law a silent and quiet province; you had that one which is usually greeted with shouts when the quaestors draw lots, Ostia, not so much popular and conspicuous as busy and troublesome. 18The names of both of you lay quiet during the quaestorship. 18For the lot gave neither of you a field in which merit could run out and be recognised. 19The rest of the time is now brought into the contest. 19It was spent by the two of them in the most different ways.