He was active in the support of Gaius Laelius, the dearest of his friends, when he was a candidate for the consulship, and he inquired of Pompey 1 whether he also was a candidate. (It was reputed that Pompey was the son of a flute-player.) Pompey said that he was not a candidate, and offered to take Laelius about with him and help him in his canvass, and they, believing his words and waiting for his co-operation, were completely deceived. For it was reported that Pompey was himself going about and soliciting the citizens. The others were indignant, but Scipio laughed and said, ‘It is because of our own stupidity; for, just as if we were intending to call not upon men but upon gods, we have been wasting any amount of time in waiting for a flute-player !’ 2
Plutarch. Moralia. with an English Translation by. Frank Cole Babbitt. Cambridge, MA. Harvard University Press. London. William Heinemann Ltd. 1931. 3.
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