For you know that the kings of Syria, the
boyish sons of King Antiochus, have lately been at Rome. And they came not on account of the kingdom of Syria; for that they had obtained possession of
without dispute, as they had received it from their father and their ancestors; but
they thought that the kingdom of Egyptbelonged to them and to Selene their mother. When they, being
hindered by the critical state of the republic at that time, were not able to obtain
the discussion of the subject as they wished before the senate, they departed for
Syria, their paternal kingdom. One of
them—the one whose name is Antiochus—wished to make his journey through Sicily. And so, while Verres was praetor, he came to
Syracuse.
On this Verres thought that an inheritance had come to him, because a man whom he
had heard, and on other accounts suspected had many splendid things with him, had
come into his kingdom and into his power. He sends him presents—liberal enough—for
all domestic uses; as much wine and oil as he thought fit; and as much wheat as he
could want, out of his tenths. After that he invites the king himself to supper. He
decorates a couch abundantly and magnificently. He sets out the numerous, and
beautiful silver vessels, in which he was so rich; for he had not yet made all those
golden ones. He takes care that the banquet shall be splendidly appointed and
provided in every particular. Why need I make a long story of it? The king departed
thinking that Verres was superbly provided with everything, and that he himself had
been magnificently treated. After that, he himself invites the praetor to supper. He
displays all his treasures; much silver, also not a few goblets of gold, which, as
is the custom of kings, and especially in Syria, were studded all over with most splendid jewels. There was
also a vessel for wine, a ladle hollowed out of one single large precious stone,
with a golden handle, concerning which, I think, you heard Quintus Minutius speak, a
sufficiently capable judge, and sufficiently credible witness.
Verres took each separate piece of plate into his hands, praised it—admired it. The
king was delighted that that banquet was tolerably pleasant and agreeable to a
praetor of the Roman people. After the banquet was over, Verres thought of nothing
else, as the facts themselves showed, than how he might plunder and strip the king
of everything before he departed from the province. He sends to ask for the most
exquisite of the vessels which he had seen at Antiochus's lodgings. He said that he
wished to show them to his engravers. The king, who did not know the man, most
willingly sent them, without any suspicion of his intention. He sends also to borrow
the jeweled ladle. He said that he wished to examine it more attentively; that also
is sent to him.
Now, O judges, mark what followed; things which you have already heard, and which
the Roman people will not hear now for the first time, and which have been reported
abroad among foreign nations to the furthest corners of the earth. The kings, whom I
have spoken of, had brought to Romea
candelabrum of the finest jewels, made with most extraordinary skill, in order to
place it in the Capitol; but as they found that temple not yet finished, they could
not place it there. Nor were they willing to display it and produce it in common, in
order that it might seem more splendid when it was placed at its proper time in the
shrine of the great and good Jupiter; and
brighter; also, as its beauty would come fresh and untarnished before the eyes of
men. They determined, therefore, to take it back with them into Syria, with the intention, when they should hear
that the image of the great and good
Jupiterwas dedicated, of sending ambassadors
who should bring that exquisite and most beautiful present, with other offerings, to
the Capitol.
The matter, I know not how, got to his ears. For the king had wished it kept
entirely concealed; not because he feared or suspected anything, but because he did
not wish many to feast their eyes on it before the Roman people. He begs the king,
and entreats him most earnestly to send it to him; he says that he longs to look at
it himself, and that he will not allow any one else to see it. Antiochus, being both
of a childlike and royal disposition, suspected nothing of that man's dishonesty,
and orders his servants to take it as secretly as possible, and well wrapped up, to
the praetor's house. And when they brought it there, and placed it on a table,
having taken off the coverings, Verres began to exclaim that it was a thing worthy
of the kingdom of Syria, worthy of being a
royal present, worthy of the Capitol. In truth, it was of such splendour as a thing
must be which is made of the most brilliant and beautiful jewels; of such variety of
pattern that the skill of the workmanship seemed to vie with the richness of the
materials; and of such a size that it might easily be seen that it had been made not
for the furniture of men, but for the decoration of a most noble temple. And when he
appeared to have examined it sufficiently, the servants begin to take it up to carry
it back again. He says that he wishes to examine it over and over again; that he is
not half satiated with the sight of it; he orders them to depart and to leave the
candelabrum. So they then return to Antiochus empty-handed.
The king at first feared nothing, suspected nothing. One day passed—two days—many
days. It was not brought back. Then the king sends to Verres to beg him to return
it, if he will be so good. He bids the slaves come again. The king begins to think
it strange. He sends a second time. It is not returned. He himself calls on the man;
he begs him to restore it to him. Think of the face and marvellous impudence of the
man. That thing which he knew, and which he had heard from the king himself was to
be placed in the Capitol, which he knew was being kept for the great and good
Jupiter, and for the Roman people, that
he began to ask and entreat earnestly to have given to him. When the king said that
he was prevented from complying by the reverence due to Jupiter Capitolinus, and by
his regard for the opinion of men, because many nations were witnesses to the fact
of the candelabrum having been made for a present to the god, the fellow began to
threaten him most violently. When he sees that he is no more influenced by threats
than he had been by prayers, on a sadden he orders him to leave his province before
night. He says, that he has found out that pirates from his kingdom were coming
against Sicily.
The king, in the most frequented place in Syracuse, in the forum,—in the forum at Syracuse, I say, (that no man may suppose I am
bringing forward a charge about which there is any obscurity, or imagining anything
which rests on mere suspicion,) weeping, and calling gods and men to witness, began
to cry out that Caius Verres had taken from him a candelabrum made of jewels, which
he was about to send to the Capitol, and which he wished to be in that most splendid
temple as a memorial to the Roman people of his alliance with and friendship for
them. He said that he did not care about the other works made of gold and jewels
belonging to him which were in Verres's hands, but that it was a miserable and
scandalous thing for this to be taken from him. And that, although it had long ago
been consecrated in the minds and intentions of himself and his brother, still, that
he then, before that assembled body of Roman citizens, offered, and gave, and
dedicated, and consecrated it to the great and good
Jupiter, and that he invoked
Jupiterhimself as a witness of his
intention and of his piety. What voice, what lungs, what power of mine can adequately express the indignation
due to this atrocity? The King Antiochus, who had lived for two years at Romein the sight of all of us, with an almost royal
retinue and establishment,—though he had been the friend and ally of the Roman
people; though his father, and his grandfather, and his ancestors, most ancient and
honourable sovereigns, had been our firmest friends; though he himself is monarch of
a most opulent and extensive kingdom, is turned headlong out of a province of the
Roman people.
How do you suppose that foreign nations will take this? How do you suppose the news
of this exploit of yours will be received in the dominions of other kings, and in
the most distant countries of the world, when they hear that a king has been
insulted by a praetor of the Roman people in his province? that a guest of the Roman
people has been plundered? a friend and ally of the Roman people insultingly driven
out? Know that your name and that of the Roman people will be an object of hatred
and detestation to foreign nations. If this unheard-of insolence of Verres is to
pass unpunished, all men will think, especially as the reputation of our men for
avarice and covetousness has been very extensively spread, that this is not his
crime only, but that of those who have approved of it. Many kings, many free cities,
many opulent and powerful private men, cherish intentions of ornamenting the Capitol
in such a way as the dignity of the temple and the reputation of our empire
requires. And if they understand that you show a proper indignation at this kingly
present being intercepted, they will then think that their zeal and their presents
will be acceptable to you and to the Roman people. But if they hear that you have
been indifferent to the complaint of so great a king, in so remarkable a case, in
one of such bitter injustice, they will not be so crazy as to spend their time, and
labour, and expense on things which they do not think will be acceptable to you.
And in this place I appeal to you, O Quintus
Catulus; The Capitol had been burnt in the civil war between
Marius and Sulla, and it was now being restored under the superintendence of
Quintus Catulus, to whom that office had been entrusted by the senate.for I
am speaking of your most honourable and most splendid monument. You ought to take
upon yourself not only the severity of a judge with respect to this crime, but
something like the vehemence of an enemy and an accuser. For, through the kindness
of the senate and people of Rome, your
honour is connected with that temple. Your name is consecrated at the same time as
that temple in the everlasting recollection of men. It is by you that this case is
to be encountered; by you, that this labour is to be undergone, in order that the
Capitol, as it has been restored more magnificently, may also be adorned more
splendidly than it was originally; that then that fire may seem to have been sent
from heaven, not to destroy the temple of the great and good
Jupiter, but to demand one for him more
noble and more magnificent.
You have heard Quintus Minucius Rufus say, that King Antiochus stayed at his house
while at Syracuse; that he knew that
this candelabrum had been taken to Verres's house; that he knew that it had not been
returned. You heard, and you shall hear from the whole body of Roman settlers at
Syracuse, that they will state to
you that in their hearing it was dedicated and consecrated to the good and great
Jupiterby King Antiochus. If you were
not a judge, and this affair were reported to you, it would be your especial duty to
follow it up; to reclaim the candelabrum, and to prosecute this cause. So that I do
not doubt what ought to be your feelings as judge in this prosecution, when before
any one else as judge you ought to be a much more vehement advocate and accuser than
I am.
And to you, O judges, what can appear more scandalous or more intolerable than
this? Shall Verres have at his own house a candelabrum, made of jewels and gold,
belonging to the great and good Jupiter?
Shall that ornament be set out in his house at banquets which will be one scene of
adultery and debauchery, with the brilliancy of which the temple of the great and
good Jupiterought to glow and to be lighted
up? Shall the decorations of the Capitol be placed in the house of that most
infamous debauchee with the other ornaments which he has inherited from Chelidon?
What do you suppose will ever be considered sacred or holy by him, when he does not
now think himself liable to punishment for such enormous wickedness? who dares to
come into this court of justice, where he cannot, like all others who are arraigned,
pray to the great and good Jupiter, and
entreat help from him? from whom even the immortal gods are reclaiming their
property, before that tribunal which was appointed for the benefit of men, that they
might recover what had been extorted unjustly from them? Do we marvel that Minerva
at Athens, Apollo at Delos, Juno at Samos, Diana at Perga, and that many other gods besides all over
Asiaand Greece, were plundered by him, when he could not keep his hands off
the Capitol? That temple which private men are decorating and are intending to
decorate out of their own riches, that Caius Verres would not suffer to be decorated
by a king.
And, accordingly, after he had once conceived this nefarious wickedness, he
considered nothing in all Sicilyafterwards
sacred or hallowed; and he behaved himself in his province for three years in such a
manner that war was thought to have been declared by him, not only against men, but
also against the immortal gods. Segesta is a very ancient town in Sicily, O judges, which its inhabitants assert was founded by Aeneas
when he was flying from Troyand coming to
this country. And accordingly the Segestans think that they are connected with the
Roman people, not only by a perpetual alliance and friendship, but even by some
relationship. This town, as the state of the Segestans was at war with the
Carthaginians on its own account and of its own accord, was formerly stormed and
destroyed by the Carthaginians; and everything which could be any ornament to the
city was transported from thence to Carthage. There was among the Segestans a statue of Diana, of brass,
not only invested with the most sacred character, but also wrought with the most
exquisite skill and beauty. When transferred to Carthage, it only changed its situation and its worshippers; it
retained its former sanctity. For on account of its eminent beauty it seemed, even
to their enemies, worthy of being most religiously worshipped.
Some ages afterwards, Publius Scipio took Carthage, in the third Punic war; after which victory, (remark the
virtue and carefulness of the man, so that you may both rejoice at your national
examples of most eminent virtue, and may also judge tire incredible audacity of
Verres worthy of the greater hatred by contrasting it with that virtue,) he summoned
all the Sicilians, because he knew that during a long period of time Sicilyhad repeatedly been ravaged by the
Carthaginians, and bids them seek for all they had lost, and promises them to take
the greatest pains to ensure the restoration to the different cities of everything
which had belonged to them. Then those things which had formerly been removed from
Himera, and which I have mentioned before, were restored to the people of Thermae;
some things were restored to the Gelans, some to the Agrigentines; among which was
that noble bull, which that most cruel of all tyrants, Phalaris, is said to have
had, into which he was accustomed to put men for punishment, and to put fire under.
And when Scipio restored that bull to the Agrigentines, he is reported to have said,
that he thought it reasonable for them to consider whether it was more advantageous
to the Sicilians to be subject to their own princes, or to be under the dominion of
the Roman people, when they had the same thing as a monument of the cruelty of their
domestic masters, and of our liberality.
At that time the same Diana of which I am speaking is restored with the greatest
care to the Segestans. It is taken back to Segesta; it is replaced in its ancient situation, to the greatest joy
and delight of all the citizens. It was placed at Segesta on a very lofty pedestal,
on which was cut in large letters the name of Publius Africanus; and a statement was
also engraved that “he had restored it after having taken Carthage.” It was worshipped by the citizens;
it was visited by all strangers; when I was quaestor it was the very first thing,
they showed me. It was a very large and tall statue with a flowing robe, but in
spite of its large size it gave the idea of the age and dress of a virgin; her
arrows hung from her shoulder, in her left hand she carried her bow, her right hand
held a burning torch.
When that enemy of all sacred things, that violator of all religious scruples saw
it, he began to burn with covetousness and insanity, as if he himself had been
struck with that torch. He commands the magistrates to take the statue down and give
it to him; and declares to them that nothing can be more agreeable to him. But they
said that it was impossible for them to do so; that they were prevented from doing
so, not only by the most extreme religious reverence, but also by the greatest
respect for their own laws and courts of justice. Then he began to entreat this
favour of them, then to threaten them, then to try and excite their hopes, then to
arouse their fears. They opposed to his demands the name of Africanus; they said
that it was the gift of the Roman people; that they themselves had no right over a
thing which a most illustrious general, having taken a city of the enemy, had chosen
to stand there as a monument of the victory of the Roman people.
As he did not relax in his demand, but urged it every day with daily increasing
earnestness, the matter was brought before their senate. His demand raises a violent
outcry on all sides. And so at that time, and at his first arrival at Segesta, it is refused. Afterwards, whatever
burdens could be imposed on any city in respect of exacting sailors and rowers, or
in levying corn, he imposed on the Segestans beyond all other cities, and a good
deal more than they could bear. Besides that, he used to summon their magistrates
before him; he used to send for all the most noble and most virtuous of the
citizens, to hurry them about with him to all the courts of justice in the province,
to threaten every one of them separately to be the ruin of him, and to announce to
them all in a body that he would utterly destroy their city. Therefore, at last, the
Segestans, subdued by much ill-treatment and by great fear, resolved to obey the
command of the praetor. With great grief and lamentation on the part of the whole
city, with many tears and wailings on the part of all the men and women, a contract
is advertised for taking down the statue of Diana.
See now with what religious reverence it is regarded. Know, O judges, that among
all the Segestans none was found, whether free man or slave, whether citizen or
foreigner, to dare to touch that statue. Know that some barbarian workmen were
brought from Lilybaeum; they at length,
ignorant of the whole business, and of the religious character of the image, agreed
to take it down for a sum of money, and took it down. And when it was being taken
out of the city, how great was the concourse of women! how great was the weeping of
the old men! some of whom even recollected that day when that same Diana being
brought back to Segesta from Carthage,
had announced to them, by its return, the victory of the Roman people. How different
from that time did this day seem! then the general of the Roman people, a most
illustrious man, was bringing back to the Segestans the gods of their fathers,
recovered from an enemy's city; now a most base and profligate praetor of the same
Roman people, was taking away, with the most nefarious wickedness, those very same
gods from a city of his allies. What is more notorious throughout all Sicilythan that all the matrons and virgins of
Segesta came together when Diana was being taken out of their city? that they
anointed her with precious unguents? that they crowned her with chaplets and
flowers? that they attended her to the borders of their territory with frankincense
and burning perfumes?
If at the time you, by reason of your covetousness and audacity, did not, while in
command, fear these religious feelings of the population, do you not fear them now,
at a time of such peril to yourself and to your children? What man, against the will
of the immortal gods, or what god, when you so trample on all the religious
reverence due to them, do you think will come to your assistance? Has that Diana
inspired you, while in quiet and at leisure, with no religious awe;—she, who though
she had seen two cities, in which she was placed stormed and burnt, was yet twice
preserved from the flames and weapons of two wars; she who, though she changed her
situation owing to the victory of the Carthaginians, yet did not lose her holy
character; and who, by the valour of Publius Africanus afterwards recovered her old
worship, together with her old situation? And when this crime had been executed, as
the pedestal was empty, and the name of Publius Africanus carved on it, the affair
appeared scandalous and intolerable to every one, that not only was religion
trampled on, but also that Caius Verres had taken away the glory of the exploits,
the memorial of the virtues, the monument of the victory of Publius Africanus, that
most gallant of men.
But when he was told afterwards of the pedestal and the inscription, he thought
that men would forget the whole affair, if he took away the pedestal to which was
serving as a sort of signpost to point out his crime. And so, by his command, the
Segestans contracted to take away the pedestal too; and the terms of that contract
were read to you from the public registers of the Segestans, at the former pleading.
Now, O Publius Scipio,
I appeal to you; to you, I say, a most virtuous and accomplished youth; from you I
request and demand that assistance which is due to your family and to your name. Why
do you take the part of that man who has embezzled the credit and honour of your
family? Why do you wish him to be defended? Why am I undertaking what is properly
your business? Why am I supporting a burden which ought to fall on you?—Marcus
Tullius is reclaiming the monuments of Publius Africanus; Publius Scipio is
defending the man who took them away. Though it is a principle handed down to us
from our ancestors, for every one to defend the monuments of his ancestors, in such
a way as not even to allow them to be decorated by one of another name, will you
take the part of that man who is not charged merely with having in some degree
spoilt the view of the monuments of Publius Scipio, but who has entirely removed and
destroyed them?
Who then, in the name of the immortal gods, will defend the memory of Publius
Scipio now that he is dead? who will defend the memorials and evidences of his
valour, if you desert and abandon them; and not only allow them to be plundered and
taken away, but even defend their plunderer and destroyer? The Segestans are
present, your clients, the allies and friends of the Roman people. They inform you
that Publius Africanus, when he had destroyed Carthage, restored the image of Diana to their ancestors; and that
was set up among the Segestans arid dedicated in the name of that general;—that
Verres has had it taken down and carried away, and as far as that is concerned, has
utterly effaced and extinguished the name of Publius Scipio. They entreat and pray
you to restore the object of their worship to them, its proper credit and glory to
your own family, so enabling them by your assistance to recover from the house of a
robber, what they recovered from the city of their enemies by the beneficence of
Publius Africanus. What
can you reply to them with honour, or what can they do but implore the aid of you
and your good faith? They are present, they do implore it. You, O Publius, can
protect the honour of your family renown; you can, you have every advantage which
either fortune or nature ever gives to men. I do not wish to anticipate you in
gathering the fruit that belongs to you; I am not covetous of the glory which ought
to belong to another. It does not correspond to the modesty of my disposition, while
Publius Scipio, a most promising young man, is alive and well, to put myself forward
as the defender and advocate of the memorials of Publius Scipio.