 As Italians, they would have been lacking to Cicero's ears in the smooth sophistication ("urbanitas") and faultless pronunciation of the best native Roman orators.This attitude of social exclusivity may account for why Valerius Soranus, whose scholarly interests and friendships might otherwise suggest a conservative temperament, would have found his place in the civil wars of the 80s on the side of the popularist Marius rather than that of the patrician Sulla.It might also be noted that Cicero's expression of this attitude is double-edged