Roman life in the days of CiceroChurch, Alfred John
History
Roman life in the days of Cicero
Church, Alfred John
Rome -- Social life and customs
Pompey resolved that better order should be kept for the future, and
occupied all the approaches to the court with troops. The rest of the
witnesses were heard and cross-examined without interruption. April 11th
was the last day of the trial. Three speeches were delivered for the
prosecution; for the defense one only, and that by Cicero. It had been
suggested that he should take the bold line of arguing that Clodius was
a traitor, and that the citizen who slew him had deserved well of his
country. But he judged it better to follow another course, and to show
that Clodius had been the aggressor, having deliberately laid an ambush
for Milo, of whose meditated journey to Lanuvium he was of course aware.
Unfortunately for his client the case broke down. Milo had evidently
left Rome and the conflict had happened much earlier than was said,
because the body of the murdered man had reached the capital not later
than five o'clock in the afternoon. This disproved the assertion that
Clodius had loitered on his way back to Rome till the growing darkness
gave him an opportunity of attacking his adversaries. Then it came out
that Milo had had in his retinue, besides the women and boys, a number
of fighting men. Finally there was the damning fact, established, it
would seem, by competent witnesses, that Clodius had been dragged from
his hiding-place and put to death. Cicero too lost his presence of mind.
The sight of the city, in which all the shops were shut in expectation
of a riot, the presence of the soldiers in court, and the clamor of a
mob furiously hostile to the accused and his advocate, confounded him,
and he spoke feebly and hesitatingly. The admirable oration which has
come down to us, and professes to have been delivered on this occasion,
was really written afterwards. The jury, which was allowed by common
consent to have been one of the best ever assembled, gave a verdict of
guilty. Milo went into banishment at Marseilles--a punishment which he
seems to have borne very easily, if it is true that when Cicero excused
himself for the want of courage which had marred the effect of his
defense, he answered, "It was all for the best; if you had spoken
better I should never have tasted these admirable Marseilles mullets."
Naturally he tired of the mullets before long. When Caesar had made
himself master of Rome, he hoped to be recalled from banishment. But
Caesar did not want him, and preferred to have him where he was. Enraged
at this treatment, he came over to Italy and attempted to raise an
insurrection in favor of Pompey. The troops whom he endeavored to
corrupt refused to follow him. He retreated with his few followers into
the extreme south of the peninsula, and was there killed.
CHAPTER XII.
CATO, BRUTUS, AND PORCIA.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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