Sextus Roscius, the father of this man, was a citizen A municeps was a citizen of a municipium. For a full explanation of these terms see Smith, Dict. Ant.
p.259, v. Colonia. of Ameria, by far the first man not only of his
municipality, but also of his neighbourhood, in birth, and nobility and wealth, and also
of great influence, from the affection and the ties of hospitality by which he was
connected with the most noble men of Rome. For
he had not only connections of hospitality with the Metelli, the Servilii, and the
Scipios, but he had also actual acquaintance and intimacy with them; families which I
name, as it is right I should, only to express my sense of their honour and dignity. And
of all his property he has left this alone to his son,—for domestic robbers have
possession of his patrimony, which they have seized by force the fame and life of this
innocent man is defended by his paternal connections The Latin word
is hospes, answering to the Greek ce/nos. and friends.
As he had at all times been a favourer of the side of the nobility, so, too, in this
last disturbance, when the dignity and safety of all the nobles was in danger, he, beyond
all others in that neighbourhood, defended that party and that cause with all his might,
and zeal, and influence. He thought it right, in truth, that he should fight in defence of
their honour, on account of whom he himself was reckoned most honourable among his
fellow-citizens. After the victory was declared, and we had given up arms, when men were
being proscribed, and when they who were supposed to be enemies were being taken in every
district, he was constantly at Rome, and in the
Forum, and was daily in the sight of every one; so that he seemed rather to exult in the
victory of the nobility, than to be afraid lest any disaster should result to him from it.
He had an ancient quarrel with two Roscii of
Ameria, one of whom I see sitting in the
seats of the accusers, the other I hear is in possession of three of this man's farms; and
if he had been as well able to guard against their enmity as he was in the habit of
fearing it, he would be alive now. And, O judges, he was not afraid without reason. In
these two Roscii, (one of whom is surnamed Capito; the one who is present here is called
Magnus,) are men of this sort. One of them is an old and experienced gladiator, who has
gained many victories, but this one here has lately betaken himself to him as his tutor:
and though, before this contest, he was a mere tyro in knowledge, he easily surpassed his
tutor himself in wickedness and audacity.
For when this Sextus Roscius was at Ameria,
but that Titus Roscius at Rome; while the
former, the son, was diligently attending to the farm, and in obedience to his father's
desire had given himself up entirely to his domestic affairs and to a rustic life, but the
other man was constantly at Rome, Sextus
Roscius, returning home after supper, is slain near the
Palatine baths. I hope from this very fact, that it is not obscure on whom
the suspicion of the crime falls; but if the whole affair does not itself make plain that
which as yet is only to be suspected, I give you leave to say my client is implicated in
the guilt.
When Sextus Roscius was slain, the first
person who brings the news to Ameria, is a
certain Mallius Glaucia, a man of no consideration, a freedman, the client and intimate
friend of that Titus Roscius; and he brings the news to the house, not of the son, but of
Titus Capito, his enemy, and though he had been slain about the first hour of the night,
this messenger arrives at Ameria by the first
dawn of day. In ten hours of the night he travelled fifty-six miles in a gig; not only to
be the first to bring his enemy the wished-for news, but to show him the blood of his
enemy still quite fresh, and the weapon only lately extracted from his body.
Four days after this happened, news of the deed is brought to
Chrysogonus to the camp of Lucius Sulla at Volaterra. The greatness of his fortune is
pointed out to him, the excellence of his farms,—for he left behind him thirteen farms,
which nearly all border on the Tiber—the poverty and desolate condition of his son is
mentioned they point out that, as the father of this, man, Sextus Roscius a man so
magnificent and so popular, was slain without any trouble this man, imprudent and
unpolished as he was and unknown at Rome, might
easily be removed. They promise their assistance for this business; not to detain you
longer, O judges, a conspiracy is formed.
As at this time there was no mention of a proscription, and as even those who had been
afraid of it before, were returning and thinking themselves now delivered from their
dangers, the name of Sextus Roscius, a man most zealous for the nobility, is proscribed
and his goods sold; Chrysogonus is the purchaser; three of his finest farms, are given to
Capito for his own, and he possesses them to this day; all the rest of his property that
fellow Titus Roscius seizes in the name of Chrysogonus, as he says himself. This property,
worth six millions of sesterces, is bought for two
thousand. I well know, O judges, that all this was done without the knowledge of Lucius
Sulla;
and it is not strange that while he is surveying
at the same time both the things which are past, and those which seem to be impending;
when he alone has, the authority to establish peace, and the power of carrying on war;
when all are looking to him alone, and he alone is directing all things; when he is
occupied incessantly by such numerous and such important affairs that he cannot breathe
freely, it is not strange, I say, if he fails to notice some things; especially when so
many men are watching his, busy condition, and catch their opportunity of doing something
of this sort the moment he looks away. To this is added, that although he is fortunate, as
indeed he is, yet no man can have such good fortune, as in a vast household to have no
one, whether slave or freedman, of worthless character.
In the meantime Titus Roscius, excellent man, the agent of Chrysogonus, comes to
Ameria; he enters on this man's farm; turns
this miserable man, overwhelmed with grief, who had not yet performed all the ceremonies
of his father's funeral, naked out of his house, and drives him headlong from his paternal
hearth and household gods; he himself becomes the owner of abundant wealth. He who had
been in great poverty when he had only his own property, became, as is usual, insolent
when in possession of the property of another; he carried many things openly off to his
own house; he removed still more privily; he gave no little abundantly and extravagantly
to his assistants; the rest he sold at a regular auction.
Which appeared to the citizens of Ameria so
scandalous, that there was weeping and lamentation over the whole city. In truth, many
things calculated to cause grief were brought at once before their eyes; the most cruel
death of a most prosperous man, Sextus Roscius, and the most scandalous distress of his
son; to whom that infamous robber had not left out of so rich a patrimony even enough for
a road to his father's tomb; the flagitious purchase of his property, the flagitious
possession of it; thefts, plunders, largesses. There was no one who would not rather have
had it all burnt, than see Titus Roscius acting as owner of and glorying in the property
of Sextus Roscius, a most virtuous and honourable man.
Therefore a decree of their senate is, immediately passed, that the ten chief men The decuriones were the senators in a
colony. Only a decuric could be a magistrate, and their
body possessed whatever power had once belonged to the community. Smith, Dict. Ant. v.
Colonia. should go to Lucius Sulla, and
explain to him what a man Sextus Roscius had been; should complain of the wickedness and
outrages of those fellows, should entreat him to see to the preservation both of the
character of the dead man, and of the fortunes of his innocent son, And observe, I entreat
you, this decree— [here the decree is read] —The deputies come to the camp. It is now
seen, O judges, as I said before, that these crimes and atrocities were committed without
the knowledge of Lucius Sulla. For immediately Chrysogonus himself comes to them, and
sends some men of noble birth to them too, to beg them not to go to Sulla, and to promise
them that Chrysogonus, will do everything which they wish.
But to such a degree was he alarmed, that he would rather have died
than have let Sulla be informed of these things. These old-fashioned men, who judged of
others by their own nature, when he pledged himself to have the name of Sextus Roscius
removed from the lists of proscription, and to give up the farms unoccupied to his son,
and when Titus Roscius Capito, who was one of the ten deputies, added his promise that it
should be so, believed him; they returned to Ameria without presenting their petition. And at first those fellows began
every day to put the matter off and to procrastinate; then they began to be more
indifferent; to do nothing and to trifle with them; at last, as was easily perceived, they
began to contrive plots against the life of this Sextus Roscius, and to think that they
could no longer keep possession of another man's property while the owner was alive.
As soon as he perceived this, by the advice of his friends and relations he fled to
Rome, and betook himself to Caecilia, the
daughter of Nepos, (whom I name to do her honour,) with whom his father had been
exceedingly intimate; a woman in whom, O judges, even now, as all men are of opinion, as
if it were to serve as a model, traces of the old-fashioned virtue remain. She received
into her house Sextus Roscius, helpless, turned and driven out of his home and property,
flying from the weapons and threats of robbers, and she assisted her guest now that he was
overwhelmed and now that his safety was despaired of by every one. By her virtue and good
faith and diligence it has been caused that he now is rather classed as a living man among
the accused, than as a dead man among the proscribed.
For after they perceived that the life of Sextus Roscius was protected with the greatest
care, and that there was no possibility of their murdering him, they adopted a counsel
full of wickedness and audacity, namely, that of accusing him of parricide; of procuring
some veteran accuser to support the charge, who could say something even in a case in
which there was no suspicion whatever; and lastly, as they could not have any chance
against him by the accusation, to prevail against him on account of the time; for men
began to say, that no trial had taken place for such a length of time, that the first man
who was brought to trial ought to be condemned; and they thought that he would have no
advocates because of the influence of Chrysogonus; that no one would say a word about the
sale of the property and about that conspiracy; that because of the mere name of parricide
and the atrocity of the crime he would be put out of the way, without any trouble, as he
was defended by no one.