Institutio Oratoria

The accused, wherever possible, must assume a temperate tone in his defence, for the reason that as a rule anger and excitement are near akin to madness. All these cases have this much in common, that the accused does not always defend his act, but often pleads excuse and asks for pardon. For these are domestic quarrels, in which the fact that the offence is an isolated case, due to error and of a less serious character than alleged, will sometimes suffice to secure an acquittal.

There are, however, a number of other controversial themes involving quality, as, for example, cases of assault. In these, although at times the accused denies that he committed the assault, the pleading as a rule is concerned with fact and intention.