When the auction of the inheritance was appointed to take place, Aebutius, who had long been
supported by Caesennia though a widowed and solitary woman, and who had insinuated himself into
her confidence by the system of undertaking (not without some profit to himself) all the
business which the woman had to transact, and all her disputes —was employed at that time also
in this transaction of selling and dividing the property. And he always pushed and thrust
himself in in such a way as to make Caesennia of opinion, that she, being a woman unskilled in
business, could not get on well in any matter in which Aebutius was not concerned.
The character that you know, from daily experience, O judges, belongs
to a flatterer of women, all agent of widows, an over-litigious defender, eager for strife,
ignorant and stupid among men, but a shrewd and clever lawyer among women; this was the
character of Aebutius. For all this was Aebutius to Caesennia. In case you should ask, is he any
relation? no one could be more entirely unconnected with her—Was he a friend, recommended to her
by her father or her husband? Nothing of the sort. Who then was he? He was such a man as I have
just been depicting— a voluntary friend of the woman, united with her, not by any relationship,
but by a pretended officiousness, and a deceitful eagerness in her behalf; by an occasional
assistance, seasonable rather than faithful.
When, as I had
begun to say, the auction was fixed to take place at Rome, the friends and relations of Caesennia advised her—as, indeed, had occurred
to her of her own accord,—that, since she had an opportunity of buying that farm of Fulcinius's
which was contiguous to her own ancient property, there would be no wisdom in letting such an
opportunity slip, especially as money was owing to her from the division of the inheritance,
which could never be invested better. Therefore the woman determines to do so; she gives a
commission to buy the farm—to whom? to whom do you suppose? Does it not at once occur to every
one that this was the natural business of the man who was ready to transact all the woman's
business, of the man without whom nothing could be done with proper skill and wisdom? You are
quite right—the business is entrusted to Aebutius.
Aebutius is present at the sale—he bids—many purchasers are deterred, some from goodwill to
Caesennia, some by the price—the farm is knocked down to Aebutius; Aebutius promises the money
to the banker, which piece of evidence that excellent man is using now to prove that the
purchase was made for himself. As if we either denied that it had been knocked down to him, or
as if there were at the time any one who doubted that it had been bought for Caesennia, when
most men actually knew, nearly all had heard, and when even these judges might conjecture, that,
as money was due to Caesennia from that inheritance, it was exceedingly advantageous for her
that it should be invested in farms; and since those farms which were especially desirable for
the woman were being sold, and since he was bidding whom no one wondered to see acting for
Caesennia, no one could possibly suspect was buying them for himself.