4. And I have a greater burden on me than those who have accused other men, (if that deserve to be called a burden which you bear with pleasure and delight,)—but still I have in one respect undertaken a greater burden than others who have done the same thing, because all men are required to abstain most especially from those vices for which they have reproved another. Have you accused any thief or rapacious man? You must for ever avoid all suspicion of avarice. Have you prosecuted any spiteful or cruel man? You must for ever take care not to appear in any matter the least harsh or severe. A seducer? an adulterer? You must, take care most diligently that no trace of licentiousness be ever seen in your conduct. In short, everything which you have impeached in another must be earnestly avoided by you your self. In truth, not only no accuser, but no reprover even can be endured, who is himself detected in the vice which he reproves in another.
4. ego hoc plus oneris habeo quam qui ceteros accusarunt,—si onus est id appellandum quod cum laetitia feras ac voluptate: verum tamen ego hoc amplius suscepi quam ceteri quod ita postulatur ab hominibus ut his abstineant maxime vitiis in quibus alterum reprehenderint. Furem aliquem aut rapacem accusaris: vitanda tibi semper erit omnis avaritiae suspicio. quempiam adduxeris aut crudelem: cavendum erit semper ne qua in re asperior aut inhumanior fuisse videare., adulterum: providendum diligenter ne quod in vita vestigium libidinis appareat: omnia postremo quae vindicaris in altero tibi ipsi vehementer fugienda sunt. non modo accusator, sed ne obiurgator quidem ferendus est is qui, quod in altero vitium reprehendit, in eo ipse reprehenditur.
5. I, in the case of one man, am finding fault with every vice which can exist in a wicked and abandoned man. I say that there is no indication of lust, of wickedness, of audacity, which you cannot see clearly in the life of that one man. In the case of this criminal, I, O judges, establish this law against myself; that I must so live as to appear to be, and always to have been, utterly unlike that man, not only in all my actions and words, but even in that arrogance and haughtiness of countenance and eyes which you see before you. I will bear without uneasiness, O judges, that that course of life which was previously agreeable to me of my own accord, shall now, by the law and conditions I hare laid down for myself, become necessary for me.
5. in uno homine omnia vitia quae possunt in homine perdito nefarioque esse reprehendo; nullum esse dico indicium libidinis sceleris audaciae quod non in istius unius vita perspicere possitis. in isto reo legem hanc mihi, iudices, statuo, vivendum ita esse ut isti non modo factis dictisque omnibus, sed etiam oris oculorumque illa contumacia ac superbia quam videtis, dissimillimus esse ac semper fuisse videar., non moleste fero, iudices, eam vitam quae mihi sua sponte antea iucunda fuerit nunc iam mea lege et condicione necessariam quoque futuram.
6. And in the case of this man you often, O Hortensius, are asking me, under the pressure of what enmity or what injury I have come forward to accuse him. I omit all mention of my duty, and of my connection with the Sicilians; I answer you as to the point of enmity. Do you think there is any greater enmity than that arising from the opposite opinions of men, and the contrariety of their wishes and inclinations? Can he who thinks good faith the holiest thing in life avoid being an enemy to that man who, as quaestor, dared to despoil, to desert, to betray, and to attack his consul, whose counsels he had shared, whose money he had received, with all whose business affairs he had been entrusted? Can he who reverences modesty and chastity behold with equanimity the daily adulteries, the dissolute manners of that man, the domestic pandering to his passions? Can he who wishes to pay due honours to the immortal gods, by any means avoid being an enemy to that man who has plundered all the temples, who has dared to commit his robberies even on the track of the wheels of the sacred car? Must not he who thinks that all men ought to live under equal laws, be very hostile to you, when he considers the variety and caprice of your decrees? Must not he who grieves at the injuries of the allies and the distresses of the provinces be excited against you by the plundering of Asia, the harassing of Pamphylia, the miserable state and the agony of Sicily? Ought not he who desires the rights and the liberty of the Roman citizens to be held sacred among all men,—to be even more than an enemy to you, when here collects your scourgings, your executions, your crosses erected for the punishment of Roman citizens?
6. in hoc homine saepe a me quaeris, Hortensi, quibus inimicitiis aut qua iniuria adductus ad accusandum descenderim? Mitto iam rationem offici mei necessitudinisque Siculorum: de ipsis tibi inimicitiis respondeo. tu maiores ullas inimicitias putas esse quam contrarias hominum sententias ac dissimilitudines studiorum ac voluntatum? sanctissimam in vita qui putat, potest ei non inimicus esse qui quaestor consulem suum consiliis commissis, pecunia tradita, rebus omnibus creditis spoliare, relinquere, prodere, oppugnare ausus sit? ac pudicitiam qui colit, potest animo aequo istius cotidiana adulteria, meretriciam disciplinam, domesticum lenocinium videre? religiones deorum immortalium retinere vult, ei qui fana spoliarit omnia, qui ex tensarum orbitis praedari sit ausus, inimicus non esse qui potest? iure aequo omnis putat esse oportere, is tibi non infestissimus sit, cum cogitet varietatem libidinemque decretorum tuorum? qui sociorum iniuriis provinciarumque incommodis doleat, is in te non expilatione Asiae, vexatione Pamphyliae, squalore et lacrimis Siciliae concitetur? qui civium Romanorum iura ac libertatem sanctam apud omnis haberi velit, is non tibi plus etiam quam inimicus esse debeat, cum tua verbera, cum securis, cum cruces ad civium Romanorum supplicia fixas recordetur?
7. Or if he had in any particular made a decree contrary to my interest unjustly, would you then think that I was fairly an enemy to him; but now that he has acted contrary to the interests, and property, and advantage, and inclination, and welfare of all good men, do you ask why I am an enemy to a man towards whom the whole Roman people is hostile? I, who above all other men ought to undertake, to gratify the desires of the Roman people, even a greater burden and duty than my strength perhaps is equal to. What? cannot even those matters, which seem more trifling, move any one's mind,—that the worthlessness and audacity of that man should have a more easy access to your own friendship, O Hortensius, and to that of other great and noble men, than the virtue and integrity of any one of us? You hate the industry of new men; you despise their economy; you scorn their modesty; you wish their talents and virtues to be depressed and extinguished.
7. si qua in re contra rem meam decrevisset aliquid iniuria, iure ei me inimicum esse arbitrarere: cum omnia contra omnium bonorum rem causam rationem utilitatem voluntatemque fecerit, quaeris cur ei sim inimicus cui populus Romanus infestus est? qui praesertim plus etiam quam pars virilis postulat pro voluntate populi Romani oneris ac muneris suscipere debeam.? illa quae leviora videntur esse non cuiusvis animum possunt movere, quod ad tuam ipsius amicitiam ceterorumque hominum magnorum atque nobilium faciliorem aditum istius habet nequitia et audacia quam cuiusquam nostrum virtus et integritas? hominum novorum industriam, despicitis eorum frugalitatem, pudorem contemnitis, ingenium vero et virtutem depressam exstinctamque cupitis: Verrem amatis!
8. You are fond of Verres: I suppose so. If you are not gratified with his virtue, and his innocence, and his industry, and his modesty, and his chastity, at least you are transported at his conversation, his accomplishments, and his high breeding. He has no such gifts; but, on the contrary, all his qualities are stained with the most extreme disgrace and infamy, with most extraordinary stupidity and boorishness. If any man's house is open to this man, do you think it is open, or rather that it is yawning and begging something? He is a favourite of your factors, of your valets. Your freedmen, your slaves, your housemaids, are in love with him. He, when he calls, is introduced out of his turn; he alone is admitted, while others, often most virtuous men, are excluded. From which it is very easily understood that those people are the most dear to you who have lived in such a manner that without your protection they cannot be safe.
8. credo: si non virtute, non industria, non innocentia, non pudore, non pudicitia, at sermone, at litteris, at humanitate eius delectamini. eorum est, contraque sunt omnia cum summo dedecore ac turpitudine tum singulari stultitia atque inhumanitate oblita. homini si cuius domus patet, utrum ea patere an hiare ac poscere aliquid videtur? vestri ianitores, hunc cubicularii diligunt; hunc liberti vestri, hunc servi ancillaeque amant; hic cum venit extra ordinem vocatur; hic solus introducitur; ceteri saepe frugalissimi homines excluduntur. quo intellegi potest eos vobis esse carissimos qui ita vixerint ut sine vestro praesidio salvi esse non possint.
9. What? do you think this can be endurable to any one,—that we should live on slender incomes in such a way as not even to wish to acquire anything more; that we should be content with maintaining our dignity, and the goodwill of the Roman people, not by wealth, but by virtue; but that that man having robbed every one on all sides, and having escaped with impunity, should live, in prosperity and abundance? that all your banquets should be decorated with his plate, your forum and hall of assembly with his statues and pictures? especially when, through your own valour, you are rich in all such trophies? That it should be Verres who adorns your villas with his spoils? That it should be Verres who is vying with Lucius Mummius: so that the one appears to have laid waste more cities of the allies, than the other overthrew belonging to the enemy? That the one, unassisted, seems to have adorned more villas with the decorations of temples, than the other decorated-temples with the spoils of the enemy? And shall he be dearer to you, in order that others may more willingly become subservient to your covetousness at their own risk?
9. ? hoc cuiquam ferendum putas esse, nos ita vivere in pecunia tenui ut prorsus nihil adquirere velimus, ut dignitatem nostram populique Romani beneficia non copiis sed virtute tueamur, istum rebus omnibus undique ereptis impune eludentem circumfluere atque abundare? huius argento dominia vestra, huius signis et tabulis forum comitiumque ornari, praesertim cum vos vestro Marte his rebus omnibus abundetis? Verrem esse qui vestras villas suis manubiis ornet? Verrem esse qui cum L. Mummio certet, ut pluris hic sociorum urbis quam ille hostium spoliasse videatur, pluris hic villas ornamentis fanorum quam ille fana spoliis hostium ornasse? is erit ob eam rem vobis carior ut ceteri libentius suo periculo vestris cupiditatibus serviant?
10. But these topics shall be mentioned at another time, and they have already been mentioned elsewhere. Let us proceed to the other matters, after we have in a few words, O judges, begged your favourable construction. All through our former speech we had your attention very carefully given to us. It was very pleasing to us; but it will be far more pleasing, if you will be so kind as to attend to what follows; because in all the things which were said before, there was some pleasure arising from the very variety and novelty of the subjects and of the charges. Now we are going to discuss the affair of corn; which indeed in the greatness of the iniquity exceeds nearly all the other charges, but will have far less variety and agreeableness in the discussion. But it is quite worthy of your authority and wisdom, O judges, in the matter of careful hearing, to give no less weight to conscientiousness in the discharge of your duties, than to pleasure.
10. haec et dicentur alio loco et dicta sunt: nunc proficiscemur ad reliqua, si pauca ante fuerimus a vobis, iudices, deprecati. omni oratione perattentos vestros animos habuimus: id fuit nobis gratum admodum. multo erit gratius si reliqua voletis attendere, propterea quod in his omnibus quae antea dicta sunt erat quaedam ex ipsa varietate ac novitate rerum et criminum delectatio, nunc tractare causam instituimus frumentariam, quae magnitudine iniuriae et re criminibus ceteris antecellet, iucunditatis in agendo et varietatis minus habebit. autem auctoritate et prudentia dignissimum est, iudices, in audiendi diligentia non minus religioni tribuere quam voluptati.
11. I, inquiring into this charge respecting the corn, keep this in view, O judges, that you are going to inquire into the estates and fortunes of all the Sicilians—into the property of all the Roman citizens who cultivate land in Sicily—into the revenues handed down to you by your ancestors—into the life and sustenance of the Roman people. And if these matters appear to you important—yes, and most important,—do not be weary if they are pressed upon you from various points of view, and at some length. It cannot escape the notice of any one of you, O judges, that all the advantage and desirableness of Sicily, which is in any way connected with the convenience of the Roman people, consists mainly in its corn; for in other respects we are indeed assisted by that province, but as to this article, we are fed and supported by it.
11. hac causa frumentaria cognoscenda haec vobis proponite, iudices, vos de rebus fortunisque Siculorum omnium, de civium Romanorum qui arant in Sicilia bonis, de vectigalibus a maioribus traditis, de vita victuque populi Romani cognituros: quae si magna atque adeo maxima vobis videbuntur, quam varie et quam copiose dicantur exspectare nolite. vestrum praeterit, iudices, omnem utilitatem opportunitatemque provinciae Siciliae, quae ad commoda populi Romani adiuncta sit, consistere in re frumentaria maxime; nam ceteris rebus adiuvamur ex illa provincia, hac vero alimur ac sustinemur.
12. The case, O judges, will be divided under three heads in my accusation: for, first, I shall speak of the collectors of the tenths; secondly, of the corn which has been bought; thirdly, of that which has been valued. There is, O judges, this difference between Sicily and other provinces, in the matter of tribute derived from the lands; that in the other provinces, either the tribute imposed is of a fixed amount, which is called stipendiarium, as in the case of the Spaniards and most of the Carthaginian provinces, being a sort of reward of victory, and penalty for war; or else a contract exists between the state and the farmers, settled by the censor, as is the case in Asia, by the Sempronian law. But the cities in Sicily were received into our friendship and alliance, retaining the same laws which they had before, and that being subject to the Roman people on the same conditions as they had formerly been subject to their own princes.
12. causa tripertita, iudices, erit in accusatione; primum enim de decumano, deinde de empto dicemus frumento, postremo de aestimato. Siciliam ceterasque provincias, iudices, in agrorum vectigalium ratione hoc interest, quod ceteris aut impositum vectigal est certum, quod stipendiarium dicitur, ut Hispanis et plerisque Poenorum quasi victoriae praemium ac poena belli, aut censoria locatio constituta est, ut Asiae lege Sempronia: Siciliae civitates sic in amicitiam fidemque accepimus ut eodem iure essent quo fuissent, eadem condicione populo Romano parerent qua suis antea paruissent.
13. Very few cities of Sicily were subdued in war by our ancestors, and even in the case of those which were, though their land was made the public domain of the Roman people, still it was afterwards restored to them. That domain is regularly let out to farmers by the censors. There are two federate cities, whose tenths are not put up to auction; the city of the Mamertines and Taurominium. Besides these, there are five cities without any treaty, free and enfranchised; Centuripa, Halesa, Segesta, Halicya, and Panormus. All the land of the other states of Sicily is subject to the payment of tenths; and was so, before the sovereignty of the Roman people, by the will and laws of the Sicilians themselves.
13. Siciliae civitates sunt bello a maioribus nostris subactae; quarum ager cum esset publicus populi Romani factus, tamen illis est redditus; is ager a censoribus locari solet. civitates duae sunt, quarum decumae venire non soleant, Mamertina et Tauromenitana, quinque praeterea sine foedere immunes [civitates ] ac liberae, Centuripina, Halaesina, Segestana, Halicyensis, Panhormitana; praeterea omnis ager Siciliae civitatum decumanus est, itemque ante imperium populi Romani ipsorum Siculorum voluntate et institutis fuit.
14. See now the wisdom of our ancestors, who, when they had added Sicily, so valuable an assistant both in war and peace, to the republic, were so careful to defend the Sicilians and to retain them in their allegiance, that they not only imposed no new tax upon their lands, but did not even alter the law of putting up for sale the contracts of the farmers of the tenths, or the time or place of selling them; so that they were to put them up for sale at the regular time of year, at the same place, in Sicily,—in short, in every respect as the law of Hiero directed; they permitted them still to manage their own affairs, and were not willing that their minds should be disturbed even by a new name to a law, much less by an actual new law.
14. nunc maiorum sapientiam, qui cum Siciliam tam opportunum subsidium belli atque pacis ad rem publicam adiunxissent, tanta cura Siculos tueri ac retinere voluerunt ut non modo eorum agris vectigal novum nullum imponerent, sed ne legem quidem venditionis decumarum neve vendundi aut tempus aut locum commutarent, ut certo tempore anni, ut ibidem in Sicilia, denique ut lege Hieronica venderent. eos in suis rebus ipsos interesse, eorumque animos non modo lege nova sed ne nomine quidem legis novo commoveri.
15. And so that resolved that the farming of the tenth should always be put up to auction according to the law of Hiero, in order that the discharge of that office might be the more agreeable if, though the supreme power was changed, still, not only the laws of that king who was very dear to the Sicilians, but his name also remained in force among them. This law the Sicilians always used before Verres was praetor. He first dared to root up and alter the established usages of them all, their customs which had been handed down to them from their ancestors, the conditions of their friendship with us, and the rights secured to them by our alliance.
15. decumas lege Hieronica semper vendundas censuerunt, ut iis iucundior esset muneris illius functio, si eius regis qui Siculis carissimus fuit non solum instituta commutato imperio, verum etiam nomen maneret. iure ante Verrem praetorem Siculi semper usi sunt: hic primus instituta omnium, consuetudinem a maioribus traditam, condicionem amicitiae, ius societatis convellere et commutare ausus est.
16. And in this, this is the first thing I object to and accuse you for, that in a custom of such long standing, and so thoroughly established, you made any innovation at all. Have you ever gained anything by this genius of yours? Were you superior in prudence and wisdom to so many wise and illustrious men who governed that province before you? That is your renown; this praise is due to your genius and diligence. I admit and grant this to you. I do know that, at Rome, when you were praetor, you did transfer by your edict the possession of inheritance from the children to strangers, from the first heirs to the second, from the laws to your own licentious covetousness. I do know that you corrected the edicts of all your predecessors, and gave possession of inheritance not according to the evidence of those who produced the will, but according to theirs who said that a will had been made. And I do know too that those new practices, first brought forward and invented by you, were a very great profit to you. I recollect, moreover, that you also abrogated and altered the laws of the censors about the keeping the public buildings in repair; so that he might not take the contract to whom the care of the building belonged; so that his guardians and relations might not consult the advantage, of their ward so as to prevent his being stripped of all his property; that you appointed a very limited time for the work, in order to exclude others from the business; but that with respect to the contractor you favoured, you did not observe any fixed time at all.
16. in re primum illud reprehendo et accuso, cur in re tam vetere, tam usitata quicquam novi feceris. aliquid adsecutus es? homines sapientissimos et clarissimos, qui illam provinciam ante te tenuerunt, prudentia consilioque vicisti? tuum, est ingeni diligentiaeque tuae: do hoc tibi et concedo. te Romae, cum praetor esses, edicto tuo possessiones hereditatum a liberis ad alienos, a primis heredibus ad secundos, a legibus ad libidinem tuam transtulisse; scio te edicta superiorum omnium correxisse et possessiones hereditatum non secundum eos qui proferrent, sed secundum eos qui dicerent testamentum factum dedisse; easque res novas abs te prolatas et inventas magno tibi quaestui fuisse scio; eundemque te memini censorias quoque leges in sartis tectis exigendis tollere et commutare, ne is redimeret cuia res esset, ne pupillo tutores propinquique consulerent quo minus fortunis omnibus everteretur; exiguam diem praefinire operi qua ceteros ab negotio excluderes, ipse in tuo redemptore nullam certam diem observares.
17. So that I do not marvel at your having established a new law in the matter of the tenths you, a man so wise, so thoroughly practiced in praetorian edicts and censorian laws. I do not wonder, I say, at your having invented something; but I do blame you, I do impeach you, for having of your own accord, without any command from the people, without the authority of the senate, changed the laws of the province of Sicily.
17. ob rem novam legem te in decumis statuisse non miror, hominem in edictis praetoriis, in censoriis legibus tam prudentem, tam exercitatum,—non, inquam, miror te aliquid excogitasse; sed quod tua sponte iniussu populi sine senatus auctoritate iura provinciae Siciliae mutaveris, id reprehendo, id accuso.
18. The senate permitted Lucius Octavius and Caius Cotta, the consuls, to put up to auction at Rome the tenths of wine, and oil, and of pulse, which before your time the quaestors had been in the habit of putting up in Sicily; and to establish any law with respect to those articles which they might think fit. When the contract was offered for sale, the farmers begged them to add some clauses to the law, and yet not to depart from the other laws of the censors. A man opposed this, who by accident was at Rome at that time; your host,—your host, and intimate friend, I say, O Verres,—Sthenius, of Thermae, who is here present The consuls examined into the matter. When they had summoned many of the principal and most honourable men of the state to form a council on the subject; according to the opinion of that council they gave notice that they should put the tenths up to auction according to the law of Hiero.
18. L. Octavio et C. Cottae consulibus senatus permisit ut vini et olei decumas et frugum minutarum, quas ante quaestores in Sicilia vendere consuessent, Romae venderent, legemque his rebus quam ipsis videretur dicerent. locatio fieret, publicani postularunt quasdam res ut ad legem adderent neque tamen a ceteris censoriis legibus recederent. dixit is qui casu tum Romae fuit, tuus hospes, Verres,—hospes, inquam, et familiaris tuus,—Sthenius hic Thermitanus. causam cognorunt; cum viros primarios atque amplissimos civitatis multos in consilium advocassent, de consili sententia pronuntiarunt se lege Hieronica vendituros.
19. Was it not so? Men of the greatest wisdom, invested with the supreme authority, to whom the senate had given the whole power of making laws respecting the letting out the farming of the tributes, (and this power had been ratified by the people, while only one Sicilian objected to it,) would not alter the name of the law of Hiero, even when the measure would have been accompanied by an augmentation of the revenue; but you, a man of no wisdom, of no authority, without any order from people or senate, while all Sicily objected, abrogated the whole law of Hiero, to the greatest injury and even destruction of the revenue.
19. vero? viri summa auctoritate praediti, quibus senatus legum dicendarum in locandis vectigalibus omnem potestatem permiserat populusque Romanus idem iusserat, Siculo uno recusante cum amplificatione vectigalium nomen Hieronicae legis mutare noluerunt: tu, homo minimi consili, nullius auctoritatis, iniussu populi ac senatus, tota Sicilia recusante, cum maximo detrimento atque adeo exitio vectigalium totam Hieronicam legem sustulisti?
20. But what law is this, O judges, which he amends, or rather totally abrogates? A law framed with the greatest acuteness and the greatest diligence, which gives up the cultivator of the land to the collector of the tenths, guarded by so many securities, that neither in the corn fields, nor on the threshing floors, nor in the barns, nor while removing his corn privately, nor while carrying it away openly, can the cultivator defraud the collector of one single grain without the severest punishment. The law has been framed with such care, that it is plain that a man framed it who had no other revenues; with such acuteness that it was plain that he was a Sicilian; with such severity, that he was evidently a tyrant: by this law, however, cultivating the land was an advantageous trade for the Sicilian; for the laws for the collectors of the tenths were also drawn up so carefully that it is not possible for more than the tenth to be extorted from the cultivator against his will.
20. quam legem corrigit, iudices, atque adeo totam tollit! ac diligentissime scriptam, quae lex omnibus custodiis subiectum aratorem decumano tradidit, ut neque in segetibus neque in areis neque in horreis neque in amovendo neque in exportando frumento grano uno posset arator sine maxima poena fraudare decumanum. lex ita diligenter est ut eum scripsisse appareat qui alia vectigalia non haberet, ita acute ut Siculum, ita severe ut tyrannum; qua lege Siculis tamen arare expediret; nam ita diligenter constituta sunt iura decumano ut tamen ab invito aratore plus decuma non possit auferri.
21. And though all these things were settled in this way, after so many years and even ages, Verres was found not only to change, but entirely to overturn them, and to convert to purposes of his own most infamous profit those regulations which had long ago been instituted and established for the safety of the allies and the benefit of the republic. In the first instance he appointed certain men, collectors of the tenths in name, in reality the ministers and satellites of his desires; by whom I will show that the province was for three years so harassed and plundered, O judges, that it will take many years and a long series of wise and incorruptible governors to recover it.
21. haec essent ita constituta, Verres tot annis atque adeo saeculis tot inventus est qui haec non commutaret sed everteret, eaque quae iam diu ad salutem sociorum utilitatemque rei publicae composita comparataque essent ad suos improbissimos quaestus converteret; qui primum certos instituerit nomine decumanos, re vera ministros ac satellites cupiditatum suarum, per quos ostendam sic provinciam per triennium vexatam atque vastatam, iudices, ut eam multis annis multorum innocentia sapientiaque recreare nequeamus.
22. The chief of all those who were called collectors, was Quintus Apronius, that man whom you see in court, concerning whose extraordinary wickedness you have heard the complaints of most influential deputations. Look, O judges, at the face and countenance of the man; and from that obstinacy which he retains now in the most desperate circumstances, you may imagine and recollect what his arrogance must have been in Sicily. This Apronius is the man whom Verres (though he had collected together the most infamous men from all quarters, and though he had taken with him no small number of men like himself in worthlessness, licentiousness, and audacity,) still considered most like himself of any man in the whole province. And so in a very short time they became intimate, not because of interest, nor of reason, nor of any introduction from mutual friends, but from the baseness and similarity of their pursuits.
22. Eorum omnium qui decumani vocabantur princeps erat Q. ille Apronius, quem videtis; de cuius improbitate singulari gravissimarum legationum querimonias audivistis., iudices, vultum hominis et aspectum, et ex ea contumacia quam hic in perditis rebus retinet illos eius spiritus Siciliensis quos fuisse putetis [cogitate ac] recordamini. est Apronius quem in provincia tota Verres, cum undique nequissimos homines conquisisset, et cum ipse secum sui similis duxisset non parum multos, nequitia luxuria audacia sui simillimum iudicavit; itaque istos inter se perbrevi tempore non res, non ratio, non commendatio aliqua, sed studiorum turpitudo similitudoque coniunxit.
23. You know the depraved and licentious habits of Verres. Imagine to yourselves, if you can, any one who can be in every respect equal to him in the wicked and dissolute commission of every crimes that man will be Apronius; who, as he shows not only by his life, but by his person and countenance, is a vast gulf and whirlpool of every sort of vice and infamy. Him did Verres employ as his chief agent in all his adulteries, in all his plundering of temples, in all his debauched banquets; and the similarity of their manners caused such a friendship and unanimity between them, that Apronius, whom every one else thought a boor and a barbarian, appeared to him alone an agreeable and an accomplished man; that, though every one else hated him, and could not bear the sight of him, Verres could not bear to be away from him; that, though others shunned even the banquets at which Apronius was to be presents Verres used the same cup with him; lastly, that, though the odour of Apronius's breath and person is such that even, as one may say, the beasts cannot endure him, he appeared to Verres alone sweet and pleasant. He sat next to him on the judgment-seat; he was alone with him in his chamber; he was at the head of his table at his banquets; and especially then, when he began to dance at the feast naked, while the young son of the praetor was sitting by.
23. Verris mores improbos impurosque nostis: fingite vobis si potestis, aliquem qui in omnibus isti rebus par ad omnium flagitiorum nefarias libidines esse possit; is erit Apronius ille qui, ut ipse non solum vita sed corpore atque ore significat, immensa aliqua vorago est aut gurges vitiorum turpitudinumque omnium. in omnibus stupris, hunc in fanorum expilationibus, hunc in impuris conviviis principem adhibebat; tantamque habet morum similitudo coniunctionem atque concordiam ut Apronius, qui aliis inhumanus ac barbarus, isti uni commodus ac disertus videretur; ut quem omnes odissent neque videre vellent, sine eo iste esse non posset; ut cum alii ne conviviis quidem isdem quibus Apronius, hic isdem etiam poculis uteretur; postremo ut odor Aproni taeterrimus oris et corporis,—quem, ut aiunt, ne bestiae quidem ferre possent,—uni isti suavis et iucundus videretur. erat in tribunali proximus, in cubiculo solus, in convivio dominus, ac tum maxime cum accubante praetextato praetoris filio saltare in convivio nudus coeperat.
24. This man, as I began to say, Verres selected for his principal agent in distressing and plundering the fortunes of the cultivators of the land. To this man's audacity, and wickedness, and cruelty, our most faithful allies and most virtuous citizens were given up, O judges, by this praetor, and were placed at his mercy by new regulations and new edicts, the entire law of Hiero, as I said before, having been rejected and repudiated.
24. , uti dicere institui, principem Verres ad fortunas aratorum vexandas diripiendasque esse voluit: huius audaciae nequitiae crudelitati fidelissimos socios optimosque civis scitota hoc praetore traditos, iudices, atque addictos fuisse novis institutis et edictis, tote Hieronica lege, quem ad modum antea dixi, reiecta ac repudiata.
25. First of all, listen, O judges, to his splendid edict. “Whatever amount of tithe the collector declared that the cultivator ought to pay, that amount the cultivator should be compelled to pay to the collector.”—How? Let him pay as much as Apronius demands? What is this? is the regulation of a praetor for allies, or the edict and command of an insane tyrant to conquered enemies? Am I to give as much as he demands? He will demand every grain that I can get out of my land. Am I to give all? Yes, and more too, if he chooses. What, then, am I to do? What do you think? You must either pay, or you will be convicted of having disobeyed the edict. O ye immortal gods, what a state of things is this For it is hardly credible. And indeed.
25. edictum, iudices, audite praeclarum: decumanus edidisset aratorem sibi decumae dare oportere, ut tantum arator decumano dare cogeretur. modo? poposcerit Apronius, dato. est hoc? utrum praetoris institutum in socios an in hostis victos insani edictum atque imperium tyranni? tantundem dabo quantum ille poposcerit? poscet omne quantum exaravero. omne? plus immo etiam, inquit, si volet. tum? quid censes? dabis aut contra edictum fecisse damnabere. deos immortalis, quid est hoc? veri enim simile non est.
26. I am persuaded, O judges, that, though you should think that all other vices are met in this man, still this must seem false to you. For I myself, though all Sicily told me of it, still should not dare to affirm this to you, if I was not able to recite to you these edicts from his own documents in those very words—as I will do. Give this, I pray you, to the clerk; he shall read from the register. Read the edict about the returns of property. [The edict about the returns of property is read.] He says I am not reading the whole. For that is what he seems to intimate by shaking his head. What am I passing over? is it that part where you take care of the interests of the Sicilians, and show regard for the miserable cultivators? For you announce in your edict, that you will condemn the collector in eightfold damages, if he has taken more than was due to him. I do not wish anything to be passed over. Read this also which he requires; read every word. [The edict about the eightfold damages is read.] Does this mean that the cultivator is to prosecute the collector at law? It is a miserable and unjust thing for men to be brought from the country into the forum, from the plough to the courts of justice; from habits of rustic life to actions and trials to which they are wholly unaccustomed.
26. mihi persuadeo, iudices, tametsi omnia in istum hominem convenire putetis, tamen hoc vobis falsum videri. enim, cum hoc tota Sicilia diceret, tamen adfirmare non auderem, si haec edicta non ex ipsius tabulis totidem verbis recitare possem, sicuti faciam., quaeso, scribae, recitet ex codice professionem.. edictvm de professione. me recitare totum; nam id significare nutu videtur. praetereo? an illud, ubi caves tamen Siculis et miseros respicis aratores? dicis enim te in decumanum, si plus abstulerit quam debitum sit, in octuplum iudicium daturum. mihi placet praetermitti; recita hoc quoque quod postulat totum.. edictvm de ivdicio in octvplvm. Iudicio ut arator decumanum persequatur? atque iniquum! agro homines traducis in forum, ab aratro ad subsellia, ab usu rerum rusticarum ad insolitam litem atque iudicium?
27. When in all the other countries liable to tribute, of Asia, of Macedonia, of Spain, of Gaul, of Africa, of Sicily, and in those parts of Italy also which are so liable; when in all these, I say, the farmer in every case has a right to claim and a power to distrain, but not to seize and take possession without the interference of the law, you established regulations respecting the most virtuous and honest and honourable class of men,—that is, respecting the cultivators of the soil,—which are contrary to all other laws. Which is the most just, for the collector to have to make his claim, or for the cultivator to have to recover what has been unlawfully seized? for them to go to trial when things are in their original state, or when one side is ruined? for him to be in possession of the property who has acquired it by hard labour, or him who has obtained it by bidding for it at an auction? What more? They who cultivate single acres, who never cease from personal labour, of which class there were a great number, and a vast multitude among the Sicilians before you came as praetor,—what are they to do? When they have given to Apronius all he has demanded, are they to leave their allotments? to leave their own household gods? to come to Syracuse, in order while you, forsooth, are praetor, to prosecute, by the equal law which they will find there, Apronius, the delight and joy of your life, in a suit for recovery of their property?
27. omnibus in aliis vectigalibus, Asiae Macedoniae Hispaniae Galliae Africae Sardiniae, ipsius Italiae quae vectigalia sunt —cum in his, inquam, rebus omnibus publicanus petitor ac pignerator, non ereptor neque possessor soleat esse, tu de optimo, de iustissimo, de honestissimo genere hominum, hoc est de aratoribus, ea iura constituebas quae omnibus aliis essent contraria? Vtrum est aequius, decumanum petere an aratorem repetere? iudicium integra re an perdita fieri? eum qui manu quaesierit, an eum qui digito sit licitus possidere?? qui singulis iugis arant, qui ab opere ipsi non recedunt,—quo in numero magnus ante te praetorem numerus ac magna multitudo Siculorum fuit,— quid facient cum dederint Apronio quod poposcerit? relinquent arationes, relinquent Larem familiarem suum? venient Syracusas, ut te praetore videlicet aequo iure Apronium, delicias ac vitam tuam, iudicio recuperatorio persequantur?
28. But so be it. Some fearless and experienced cultivator will be found, who, when he has paid the collector as much as he says is due, will seek to recover it by course of law, and will sue for the eightfold penalty. I look for the vigour of the edict, for the impartiality of the praetor; I espouse the cause of the cultivator; I wish to see Apronius condemned in the eightfold penalty. What now does the cultivator demand? Nothing but sentence for an eightfold penalty, according to the edict. What says Apronius? He is unable to object. What says the praetor? He bids him challenge the judges. Let us, says he, make out the decuries. What decuries? Those from my retinue; you will challenge the others. What? of what men is that retinue composed? Of Volusius the soothsayer, and Cornelius the physician, and the other dogs whom you see licking up the crumbs about my judgment-seat. For he never appointed any judge or recuperator from the proper body. He said all men who possessed one clod of earth were unfairly prejudiced against the collectors. People had to sue Apronius before these men who had not yet got rid of the surfeit from his last banquet. What a splendid and memorable court! what an impartial decision! what a safe resource for the cultivators of the soil!
28. esto: reperietur aliqui fortis et experiens arator, qui, cum tantum dederit decumano quantum ille deberi dixerit, iudicio repetat et poenam octupli persequatur: exspecto vim edicti, severitatem praetoris: faveo aratori, cupio octupli damnari Apronium. tandem postulat arator? nihil nisi ex edicto iudicium in octuplum. Apronius? non recusat. praetor? iubet recuperatores reicere. “scribamus.” decurias? “de cohorte mea reicies,” inquit. “? ista cohors quorum hominum est?” Volusi haruspicis et Corneli medici et horum canum quos tribunal meum vides lambere; nam de conventu nullum umquam iudicem nec recuperatorem dedit; iniquos decumanis aiebat omnis esse qui ullam agri glebam possiderent. erat ad eos contra Apronium qui nondum Aproniani convivi crapulam exhalassent. O praeclarum et commemorandum iudicium! o severum edictum! o tutum perfugium aratorum!
29. And that you may understand what sort of decisions are obtained in actions for the eightfold penalty, and what sort of judges those selected from that man's retinue are considered to be, listen to this. Do you think that any collector, when this licence was allowed him of taking from the cultivator whatever he claimed, ever did demand more than was due? Consider yourselves in your own minds, whether you think any one ever did so, especially when it might have happened, not solely through covetousness, but even though ignorance. Many must have done so. But I say that all extorted more, and a great deal more, than the proper tenths. Tell me of one man, in the whole three years of your praetorship, who was condemned in the eightfold penalty. Condemned, indeed! Tell me of one man who was ever prosecuted according to your edict. There was not, in fact, one cultivator who was able to complain that injustice had been done to him; not one collector who claimed one grain more as due to him than really was due. Far from that. Apronius seized and carried off whatever he chose from every one. In every district the cultivators, harassed and plundered as they were, were complaining, and yet no instance of a trial can be found.
29. ut intellegatis cuius modi ista iudicia in octuplum, cuius modi istius de cohorte recuperatores existimati sint, sic attendite. putatis decumanum, hac licentia permissa ut tantum ab aratore quantum poposcisset auferret, plus quam deberetur poposcisse? cum vestris animis vosmet ipsi ecquem putetis, praesertim cum id non solum avaritia sed etiam imprudentia accidere potuerit. necesse est. ego omnis dico plus, ac multo plus, quam decumam abstulisse. mihi unum ex triennio praeturae tuae qui octupli damnatus sit.? immo vero in quem iudicium ex edicto tuo postulatum sit. erat videlicet aratorum qui iniuriam sibi factam queri posset, nemo decumanorum qui grano amplius sibi quam deberetur deberi professus esset. vero contra rapiebat et asportabat quantum a quoque volebat Apronius, omnibus autem locis aratores spoliati ac vexati querebantur; neque tamen ullum iudicium reperietur.
30. Why is this? Why did so many bold, honourable, and highly esteemed men—so many Sicilians, so many Roman knights—when injured by one most worthless and infamous man, not seek to recover the eightfold penalty, which had most unquestionably been incurred? What is the cause, what is the reason? That reason alone, O judges, which you see,—because they knew they should come off at the trial defrauded and ridiculed. In truth, what sort of triad must that be, when three of the profligate and abandoned retinue of Verres sat on the tribunal under the name of judges?—slaves of Verres, not inherited by him from his father, but recommended to him by his mistress.
30. est hoc? viri fortes honesti gratiosi, tot Siculi, tot equites Romani, ab homine nequissimo ac turpissimo laesi poenam octupli sine ulla dubitatione commissam non persequebantur? causa, quae ratio est? una illa, iudices, quam videtis, quod ultro etiam inlusos se et inrisos ab iudicio discessuros videbant. quod esset iudicium, cum ex Verris turpissimo flagitiosissimoque comitatu tres recuperatorum nomine adsedissent adseculae istius, non a patre ei traditi sed a meretricula commendati?
31. The cultivator, forsooth, might plead his cause; he might show that no corn was left him by Apronius,—that even his other property was seized; that he himself had been driven away with blows. Those admirable men would lay their heads together, they would chat to one another about revels and harlots, if they could catch any when leaving the praetor. The cause would seem to be properly heard: Apronius would have risen, full of his new dignity as a knight; not like a collector all over dirt and dust, but reeking with perfumes, languid with the lateness of the last night's drinking party, with his first motion, and with his breath he would have filled the whole place with the odour of wine, of perfume, and of his person. He would have said, what he repeatedly has said, that he had bought, not the tenths, but the property and fortunes of the cultivators; that he, Apronius, was not a collector, but a second Verres,—the absolute lord and master of those men. And when he had said this, those admirable men of Verres's train, the judges, would deliberate, not about acquitting Apronius, but they would inquire how they could condemn the cultivator himself to pay damages to Apronius.
31. videlicet causam arator; nihil sibi frumenti ab Apronio relictum, bona sua etiam direpta, se pulsatum verberatumque diceret; conferrent viri boni capita, de comissatione loquerentur inter se ac de mulierculis, si quas a praetore abeuntis possent deprehendere; res agi videretur. Apronius, nova dignitas publicani, non ut decumanus squaloris plenus ac pulveris, sed unguentis oblitus, vino vigiliisque languidus; omnia primo motu ac spiritu suo vini unguenti corporis odore complesset. haec quae volgo dicere solebat, non se decumas emisse, sed bona fortunasque aratorum, non se decumanum esse Apronium, sed Verrem alterum dominum illorum ac tyrannum. cum dixisset, illi viri optimi de cohorte istius recuperatores non de absolvendo Apronio deliberarent, sed quaererent ecquo modo petitorem ipsum Apronio condemnare possent.
32. When you had granted this licence for plundering the cultivators to the collectors of the tenths,—that is, to Apronius,—by allowing him to demand as much as he chose, and to carry off as much as he demanded, were you preparing this defence for your trial,—that you had promised by edict that you would assign judges in a trial for an eightfold penalty? Even if in truth you were to give power to the cultivator, not only to challenge his judges, but even to pick them out of the whole body of the Syracusan assembly, (a body of most eminent and honourable men,) still no one could bear this new sort of injustice,—that, when one has given up the whole of one's produce to the farmer, and had one's property taken out of one's hands, then one is to endeavour to recover one's property and to seek its restitution by legal proceedings.
32. tu licentiam diripiendorum aratorum cum decumanis, hoc est cum Apronio permisisses, ut quantum vellet posceret, quantum poposcisset auferret, hoc tibi defensionis ad iudicium tuum comparabas, habuisse te edictum recuperatores daturum in octuplum? mehercule ex omni copia conventus Syracusani, splendidissimorum honestissimorumque hominum, faceres potestatem aratori non modo reiciendi sed etiam sumendi recuperatores, tamen hoc novum genus iniuriae ferre nemo posset, te, cum tuos omnis fructus publicano tradidisses et rem de manibus amisisses, tum bona tua repetere ac persequi lite atque iudicio.
33. But when what is granted by the edict is, in name indeed, a trial, but in reality a collusion of your attendants, most worthless men, with the collectors, who are your partners, and besides that, with the judges, do you still dare to mention that trial, especially when what you say is refuted, not merely by my speech, but by the facts themselves? when in all the distresses of the cultivators of the soil, and all the injustice of the collectors, not only has no trial ever taken place according to that splendid edict, but none has ever been so much as demanded?
33. vero verbo iudicium sit in edicto, re quidem vera tuorum comitum, hominum nequissimorum, conlusio cum decumanis, sociis tuis atque adeo procuratoribus, tamen audes ullius mentionem iudici facere? praesertim cum id non modo oratione mea sed etiam re ipsa refellatur, quod in tantis incommodis aratorum iniuriisque decumanorum nullum ex isto praeclaro edicto non modo factum sed ne postulatum quidem iudicium invenitur.
34. However, he will be more favourable to the cultivators than he appears; for the same man who has announced in his edict that he will allow a trial against the collectors, in which they shall be liable to an eightfold penalty, had it also set down in his edict, that he would grant a similar trial against the cultivators, in which they should be liable to a fourfold penalty. Who now dares to say that this man was unfavourably disposed or hostile to the cultivators? How much more lenient is he to them than to the collectors? He has ordered in his edict that the Sicilian magistrate should exact from the cultivator whatever the collector declared ought to be paid to him. What sentence has he left behind, which can be pronounced against a cultivator of the soil It is not a bad thing, says he, for that fear to exist; so that, when the money has been exacted from the cultivator, still there will be behind a fear of the court of justice, to prevent him from stirring himself. If you wish to exact money from me by process of law, remove the Sicilian magistrate. If you employ this violence, what need is there of a process of law? Moreover, who will there be who would not prefer paying to your collectors what they demand, to being condemned in four times the amount by your attendants.
34. tamen in aratores lenior quam videtur. qui in decumanos octupli iudicium se daturum edixit, idem habuit in edicto se in aratorem in quadruplum daturum. hunc audet dicere aratoribus infestum aut inimicum fuisse? quanto lenior est quam in publicanum! ut, quod decumanus edidisset sibi dari oportere, id ab aratore magistratus Siculus exigeret. est reliqui iudici quod in aratorem dari possit? “malum est,” inquit, “esse istam formidinem, ut, cum exactum sit ab aratore, tamen ne se commoveat reliquus metus iudici sit.” iudicio vis a me exigere, remove Siculum magistratum: si hanc vim adhibes, quid opus est iudicio? porro erit quin malit decumanis tuis dare quod poposcerint, quam ab adseculis tuis quadruplo condemnari?
35. But that is a splendid clause in the edict, that gives notice that in all disputes which arise between the cultivator and the collector, he will assign judges, if either party wishes it. In the first place, what dispute can there be when he who ought to make a claim, makes a seizure instead? and when he seizes, not as much as is due, but as much as he chooses? and when he, whose property is seized, cannot possibly recover his own by a suit at law? In the second place, this dirty fellow wants even in this to seem cunning and wily; for he frames his edict in these words—“If either wishes it, I will assign judges.” How neatly does he think he is robbing him! He gives each party the power of choice; but it makes no difference whether he wrote—“If either wishes it," or "If the collector wishes it.” For the cultivator will never wish for those judges of yours.
35. vero praeclara est clausula edicti, quod omnium controversiarum quae essent inter aratorem et decumanum, si uter velit, edicit se recuperatores daturum. quae potest esse controversia, cum is qui petere debet aufert, et cum is non quantum debetur sed quantum commodum est aufert, ille autem unde ablatum est iudicio suum recuperare nullo modo potest? in hoc homo luteus etiam callidus ac veterator esse vult, quod ita scribit, si vter volet, recvperatores dabo. lepide se furari putat! Vtrique facit potestatem, sed utrum ita scripserit, “si uter volet” an “si decumanus volet,” nihil interest; arator enim tuos istos recuperatores numquam volet.
36. What next? What sort of edicts are those which he issued to meet particular occasions, at the suggestion of Apronius? When Quintus Septitius, a most honourable man, and a Roman knight, resisted Apronius, and declared that he would not pay more than a tenth, a sudden special edict makes its appearance, that no one is to remove his corn from the threshing-floor before he has settled the demands of the collector. Septitius put up with this injustice also, and allowed his corn to be damaged by the rain, while remaining on the threshing-floor, when on a sudden that most fruitful and profitable edict comes out, that every one was to have his tenths delivered at the water-side before the first of August.
36. ? illa cuius modi sunt quae ex tempore ab Apronio admonitus edixit? Q. Septicio, honestissimo equite Romano, resistente Apronio et adfirmante se plus decuma non daturum, exoritur peculiare edictum repentinum, ne quis frumentum de area tolleret antequam cum decumano pactus esset. hanc quoque iniquitatem et imbri frumentum corrumpi in area patiebatur, cum illud edictum repente uberrimum et quaestuosissimum nascitur, ut an te Kalendas Sextilis omnis decumas ad aquam deportatas haberent.
37. By this edict, it was not the Sicilians, (for he had already sufficiently crushed and ruined them by his previous edicts,) but all those Roman knights who had fancied that they could preserve their rights against Apronius, excellent men, and highly esteemed by other praetors, who were delivered bound hand and foot into the power of Apronius. For just listen and see what sort of edicts these are. “A man,” says he, “is not to remove his corn from the threshing-floor, unless he has settled all demands.” This is a sufficiently strong inducement to making unfair demands; for I had rather give too much, than not remove my corn from the threshing-floor at the proper time. But that violence does not affect Septitius, and some others like Septitius, who say, “I will rather not remove my corn, than submit to an extortionate demand.” To these then the second edict is opposed. “You must have delivered it by the first of August.” I will deliver it then.—“Unless you have settled the demands, you shall not remove it.” So the fixing of the day for delivering it at the waterside, compelled the man to remove his corn from the threshing floor. And the prohibition to remove, unless the demand were settled, made the settlement compulsory and not voluntary.
37. edicto non Siculi, nam eos quidem superioribus edictis satis perdiderat atque adflixerat, sed isti ipsi equites Romani qui suum ius retinere se contra Apronium posse erant arbitrati, splendidi homines et aliis praetoribus gratiosi, vincti Apronio traditi sunt. enim cuius modi edicta sint. ne tollat, inquit, ex area, nisi erit pactvs. haec magna vis est ad inique paciscendum; malo enim plus dare quam non mature ex area tollere. ista vis Septicium et non nullos similis non coercet, qui ita dicunt, “tollam potius quam paciscar.” hoc opponitur, “habeas ante Kalendas Sextilis.” igitur. “Nisi pactus eris, non commovebis.” deportandi dies praestituta tollere cogebat ex area: prohibitio tollendi, nisi pactus esset, vim adhibebat pactioni, non voluntatem.
38. But what follows is not only contrary to the law of Hiero, not only contrary to the customs of all former praetors, but even contrary to all the rights of the Sicilians, which they have as granted them by the senate and people of Rome,—that they shall not be forced to give security to appear in any courts of justice but their own. Verres made a regulation that the cultivator should appear to an action brought by a collector in any court which the collector might choose. So that in this way also gain might accrue to Apronius, when he dragged a defendant all the way from Leontini to Lilybaeum to appear before the court there, by making false accusations against the wretched cultivators. Although that device for false accusation was also contrived with singular cunning, when he ordered that the cultivators should make a return of their acres, as to what they were sown with. And this had not only great power in causing most iniquitous claims to be submitted to, as we shall show hereafter, and that too without any advantage to the republic, but at the same time it gave a great handle to false accusations, which all men were liable to if Apronius chose.
38. vero illud non solum contra legem Hieronicam nec solum contra consuetudinem superiorum, sed etiam contra omnia iura Siculorum, quae habent a senatu populoque Romano, ne quis extra suum forum vadimonium promittere cogatur. iste ut arator decumano quo vellet decumanus vadimonium promitteret, ut hic quoque Apronio, cum ex Leontino usque Lilybaeum aliquem vadaretur, ex miseris aratoribus calumniandi quaestus accederet. illa fuit ad calumniam singulari consilio reperta ratio, quod edixerat ut aratores iugera sationum suarum profiterentur. res cum ad pactiones iniquissimas magnam vim habuit, sicut ostendam, neque ad ullam utilitatem rei publicae pertinuit, tum vero ad calumnias, in quas omnes inciderent quos vellet Apronius.
39. For, as any one said anything contrary to his inclination, immediately he was summoned before the court on some charge relative to the returns made of his lands. Through fear of which action a great quantity of corn was extorted from many, and vast sums were collected; not that it was really difficult to male a correct return of a man's acres, or even to make an extravagantly liberal one, (for what danger could there be in doing that?) but still it opened a pretext for demanding a trial because the cultivator had not made his return in the terms of the edict. And you must feel sure what sort of trial that would be while that man was praetor, if you recollect what sort of a train and retinue he had about him. What is it, then, which I wish you to understand, O judges, from the iniquity of these new edicts? That any injury has been done to our allies? That you see. That the authority of his predecessors has been overruled by him? He will not dare to deny it.
39. Vt enim quisque contra voluntatem eius dixerat, ita in eum iudicium de professione iugerum postulabatur, cuius iudici metu magnus a multis frumenti numerus ablatus magnaeque pecuniae coactae sunt; non quo iugerum numerum vere profiteri esset difficile aut amplius etiam profiteri, quid enim in eo periculi esse posset? sed causa erat iudici postulandi quod ex edicto professus non esset. autem quod fuerit isto praetore, si quae cohors et qui comitatus fuerit meministis, scire debetis. igitur est quod ex hac iniquitate novorum edictorum intellegi velim, iudices? factam sociis? at videtis. superiorum repudiatam? non audebit negare.
40. That Apronius had such great influence while he was praetor? That he must unavoidably confess. But perhaps you will inquire in this place, as the law reminds you to do, whether he himself has made any money by this conduct. I will show you that he has made vast sums, and I will prove that he established all those iniquitous rules which I have mentioned before, with no object but his own profit, when I have first removed out of his line of defence that rampart which he thinks he shall be able to employ against all my attacks. I sold, says he, the tenths at a high price. What are you saying? Did you, O most audacious and senseless of men, sell the tenths? Did you sell those portions which the senate and people of Rome allowed you to sell, or the whole produce; and in that the whole property and fortunes of the cultivators? If the crier had openly given notice by your order, that there was being sold, not a tenth, but half the corn, and if purchasers had come with the idea of buying half the corn—if then you had sold the half for more than the other praetors had sold the tenth part of it, would that seem strange to any one? But what shall we say if the crier gave notice of a sale of the tenths, but if, in fact, by your regulation,—by your edict,—by the terms of the sale which you offered, more than a half portion Was sold? Will you still think that creditable to yourself, to have sold what you had no right to sell for more than others sold what they fairly could?
40. Apronium isto praetore potuisse? confiteatur necesse est. vos fortasse, quod vos lex commonet,(40) (16) id in hoc loco quaeretis, num quas ex hisce rebus pecunias ceperit. cepisse maximas, omnisque eas iniquitates de quibus antea dixi sui quaestus causa constituisse vincam, si prius illud propugnaculum quo contra omnis meos impetus usurum se putat ex defensione eius deiecero. “Magno,” inquit, “decumas vendidi.” ais? an tu decumas, homo audacissime atque amentissime, vendidisti? partis eas quas te senatus populusque Romanus voluit, an fructus integros atque adeo bona fortunasque aratorum omnis vendidisti? palam praeco iussu tuo praedicasset non decumas frumenti sed dimidias venire partis, et ita emptores accessissent ut ad dimidias partis emendas, si pluris vendidisses tu dimidias quam ceteri decumas, cuinam mirum videretur?? si praeco decumas pronuntiavit, re vera,—hoc est lege, edicto, condicione,—plus etiam quam dimidiae venierunt, tamen hoc tibi praeclarum putabis, te pluris quod non licebat quam ceteros quod oportebat vendidisse? decumas vendidisti quam ceteri.