Institutio Oratoria

Quintilian

Quintilian. Institutio Oratoria, Volume 1-4. Butler, Harold Edgeworth, translator. Cambridge, Mass; London: Harvard University Press, William Heinemann Ltd., 1920-1922.

But to this there is the obvious retort,

Even if you could not actually plead, you might have supported him by your presence,

which is no more than the simple truth. The uneducated son must therefore return to the intention of the legislator.

He wished to punish unfilial conduct, but I am not unfilial.