Authors, Latin -- Biography; Cicero, Marcus Tullius; Statesmen -- Rome -- Biography
In the matter Sthenius was incorruptible, and not even the Prætor could
carry them away without his aid. Cicero, who is very warm in praise of
Sthenius, declares that "here at last Verres had found one town, the
only one in the world, from which he was unable to carry away something
of the public property by force, or stealth, or open command, or
favor."[118] The governor was so disgusted with this that he abandoned
Sthenius, leaving the house which he had plundered of everything, and
betook himself to that of one Agathinus, who had a beautiful daughter,
Callidama, who, with her husband, Dorotheus, lived with her father They
were enemies of Sthenius, and we are given to understand that Verres
ingratiated himself with them partly for the sake of Callidama, who
seems very quickly to have been given up to him,[119] and partly that he
might instigate them to bring actions against Sthenius. This is done
with great success; so that Sthenius is forced to run away, and betake
himself, winter as it was, across the seas to Rome. It has already been
told that when he was at Rome an action was brought against him by
Verres for having run away when he was under judgment, in which Cicero
defended him, and in which he was acquitted. In the teeth of his
acquittal, Verres persecuted the man by every form of law which came to
his hands as Prætor, but always in opposition to the law. There is an
audacity about the man's proceedings, in his open contempt of the laws
which it was his special duty to carry out, making us feel how confident
he was that he could carry everything before him in Rome by means of his
money. By robbery and concealing his robberies, by selling his judgments
in such a way that he should maintain some reticence by ordinary
precaution, he might have made much money, as other governors had done.
But he resolved that it would pay him better to rob everywhere openly,
and then, when the day of reckoning came, to buy the judges wholesale.
As to shame at such doings, there was no such feelings left among
Romans.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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