But Cicero, with eyes within him which saw farther than the eyes of other men, perceived the baseness of the stain.

It has been said also of him that he was not altogether free from reproach.

It has been suggested that he accepted payment for his services as an advocate, any such payment being illegal.
The accusation is founded on the knowledge that other advocates allowed themselves to be paid, and on the belief that Cicero could not have lived as he did without an income from that source.

And then there is a story told of him that, though he did much at a certain period of his life to repress the usury, and to excite at the same time the enmity of a powerful friend, he might have done more.

As we go on, the stories of these things will be told; but the very nature of the allegations against him prove how high he soared in honesty above the manners of his day.