Even as a child wearing his ceremonial toga, Drusus had the nerve to defend accused people in court. He used his influence so effectively that everyone knew his efforts had won several cases. Where would such early ambition lead? You can be sure that someone who showed such boldness as a child would become a major problem in both public and private life. It was too late for him to complain about never having holidays when he had been causing trouble in the courts since boyhood.
Indeed, while he was still under age and wearing the praetexta, he had the courage to plead the cause of accused persons in court, and to make use of his influence so powerfully that it is well known that in some causes his exertions gained a verdict. Where would such precocious ambition stop? You may be sure that one who showed such boldness as a child would end by becoming a great pest both in public and in private life: it was too late for him to complain that he had had no holidays, when from his boyhood he had been a firebrand and a nuisance in the courts.