support Scaptius. We can only hope that, when they wrote, neither of them had full knowledge of what Scaptius had done. Cicero writes pages of explanation and excuse, excuse not for his weak compliance about the deposit of the money, but for his having defended the cause of the subjects against the interests of the influential Roman. Well may he say,[1] "If I did anything of the sort, how should I ever dare to look again on the pages of that book of mine[2] which you commend? Nay, my dear Atticus, you have shown yourself in this matter too much, far too much, a friend to Brutus, and too little, I fear, a friend to me."
Whether or not Cicero satisfied the public opinion of Roman society, as to the services which it expected from a proconsul, he earned at least the hearty gratitude of his subjects. He refused, however, all forms of compliment which would have involved the smallest expenditure. "I am no burden to any of the provincials," he writes to Atticus,[3] "though perhaps I am to you when I tell you such long tales about my doings. Bear with me, I pray you, for it is your counsels that I have been following."
Without any unworthy proceedings, Cicero was able to save a considerable sum out of his legal allowances. The principal source of revenue was the corn which the governor might requisition for his
