told of courage, and
another of fear. Let us pause for a moment and regard the facts.
Catiline, when hunted to the last gasp, faced his enemy and died
fighting like a man--or a bull. Who is there cannot do so much as that?
For a shilling or eighteen-pence a day we can get an army of brave men
who will face an enemy--and die, if death should come. It is not a great
thing, nor a rare, for a man in battle not to run away. With regard to
Cicero the allegation is that he would not be allowed to be bribed to
accuse Caesar, and thus incur danger. The accusation which is thus
brought against him is borrowed from Sallust, and is no doubt false; but
I take it in the spirit in which it is made. Cicero feared to accuse
Caesar, lest he should find himself enveloped, through Caesar's means, in
fresh danger. Grant that he did so. Was he wrong at such a moment to
save his life for the Republic--and for himself? His object was to
banish Catiline, and not to catch in his net every existing conspirator.
He could stop the conspiracy by securing a few, and might drive many
into arms by endeavoring to encircle all. Was this cowardice? During all
those days he had to live with his life in his hands, passing about
among conspirators who he knew were sworn to kill him, and in the midst
of his danger he could walk and talk and think like a man. It was the
same when he went down into the court to plead for Milo, with the
gladiators of Clodius and the soldiery of Pompey equally adverse to him.
It was the same when he uttered Philippic after Philippic in the
presence of Antony's friends. True courage, to my thinking, consists
not in facing an unavoidable danger. Any man worthy of the name can do
that. The felon that will be hung to-morrow shall walk up to the
scaffold and seem ready to surrender the life he cannot save. But he
who, with the blood running hot through his veins, with a full desire of
life at his heart, with high aspirations as to the future, with
everything around him to make him happy--love and friendship and
pleasant work--when he can willingly imperil all because duty requires
it, he is brave. Of such a nature was Cicero's courage.

As to the third charge--that of insincerity--I would ask of my readers
to bethink themselves how few men are sincere now? How near have we
approached to the beauty of truth, with all Christ's teaching to guide
us? Not by any means close, though we are nearer to it than the Romans
were in Cicero's days.