 He invites us to consider whether the Stoics have a theory which, in the terms they express it, can be proclaimed in those contexts that define the sphere of public life for a Roman: courts, assembly, Senate house, and battlefield. A lawyer, observes Cicero, could not credibly conclude the case for the defence by declaring that the punishments of exile and confiscation were not evils, but merely to be ‘rejected’ (the Stoic technical term for aversion toward things that nonetheless cannot affect one’s happiness); nor could an orator announce, with Hannibal at the gates, that captivity, enslavement, and death were no evils (4.22). Moreover, the Senate would not be able to speak of Scipio Africanus’ triumph as having been won by his valour, since he did not meet the standards of perfection required, in Stoic terms, for virtue (4.22).