18
I therefore willingly resign your friendship, since, by Heaven, I cannot see what penalty I shall suffer by not associating with you; for neither did my association with you bring me benefit. Shall I find, when I have some suit, that I feel the lack of a pleader and witnesses? At present, instead of pleading in my defence, you try to prevent anyone from doing this, and instead of supporting me and bearing just witness, you associate with my opponents and bear witness for them.
19
Or, as my well-wishers, will you speak the best you can about me? Why, today you are the only persons who speak ill of me! Well, for my part I shall not hinder you. And this is what will happen to you among yourselves, since it is your habit to be ever injuring one of your associates in speech and in act; when I have left your association, you will turn against yourselves; then you will conceive a hatred of each one of your number in turn; and finally the last one left will defame himself.
20
And my advantage will be at least this,—that, by being the first to rid myself of you now, I shall suffer the least injury at your hands: for you injure both in speech and in act the people who have to do with you, but never a single one of those who have not.
