Against Quintus Caecilius (M. Tullius Cicero)

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	Against Quintus Caecilius Author: M. Tullius Cicero	Translator: C. D. Yonge
1	si quis vestrum , iudices , aut eorum qui adsunt , forte miratur me , qui tot annos in causis iudiciisque publicis ita sim versatus ut defenderim multos , laeserim neminem , subito nunc mutata voluntate ad accusandum descendere , is , si mei consili causam rationemque cognoverit , una et id quod facio probabit , et in hac causa profecto neminem praeponendum mihi esse actorem putabit .	If any one of you, O judges, or of these who are present here, marvels perhaps at me, that I, who have for so many years been occupied in public causes and trials in such a manner that I have defended many men but have prosecuted no one could now on a sudden change my usual purpose, and descend to act as accuser;—he, if he becomes acquainted with the cause and reason of my present intention, will both approve of what I am doing, and will think, I am sure, that no one ought to be preferred to me as manager of this cause.
2	Cum quaestor in Sicilia fuissem , iudices , itaque ex ea provincia decessissem ut Siculis omnibus iucundam diuturnamque memoriam quaesturae nominisque mei relinquerem , factum est uti cum summum in veteribus patronis multis , tum non nullum etiam in me praesidium suis fortunis constitutum esse arbitrarentur . quare nunc populati atque vexati cuncti ad me publice saepe venerunt , ut suarum fortunarum omnium causam defensionemque susciperem . me saepe esse pollicitum , saepe ostendisse dicebant , si quod tempus accidisset , quo tempore aliquid a me requirerent , commodis eorum me non defuturum .	As I had been quaestor in Sicily, O judges, and had departed for that province so as to leave among all the Sicilians a pleasing and lasting recollection of my quaestorship and of my name, it happened, that while they thought their chief protection lay in many of their ancient patrons, they thought there was also some support for their fortunes secured in me, who, being now plundered and harassed, have all frequently come to me by the public authority, entreating me to undertake the cause and the defence of all their fortunes. They say that I repeatedly promised and repeatedly assured them, that, if any time should arrive when they wanted anything of me, I would not be wanting to their service.
3	venisse tempus aiebant non iam ut commoda sua , sed ut vitam salutemque totius provinciae defenderem ; sese iam ne deos quidem in suis urbibus ad quos confugerent habere , quod eorum simulacra sanctissima C . Verres ex delubris religiosissimis sustulisset ; quas res luxuries in flagitiis , crudelitas in suppliciis , avaritia in rapinis , superbia in contumeliis efficere potuisset , eas omnis sese hoc uno praetore per triennium pertulisse ; rogare et orare ne illos supplices aspernarer quos me incolumi nemini supplices esse oporteret .	They said that the time had come for me to defend not only the advantages they enjoyed, but even the life and safety of the whole province, that they had now not even any gods in their cities to whom they could flee, because Caius Verres had carried off their most sacred images from the very holiest temples. That whatever luxury could accomplish in the way of vice, cruelty in the way of punishment, avarice in the way of plunder, or arrogance in the way of insult, had all been borne by them for the last three years, while this one man was praetor. That they begged and entreated that I would not reject them as suppliants, who, while I was in safety, ought to be suppliants to no one.
4	tuli graviter et acerbe , iudices , in eum me locum adduci ut aut eos homines spes falleret qui opem a me atque auxilium petissent , aut ego , qui me ad defendendos homines ab ineunte adulescentia dedissem , tempore atque officio coactus ad accusandum traducerer . dicebam habere eos actorem Q . Caecilium , qui praesertim quaestor in eadem provincia post me quaestorem fuisset . quo ego adiumento sperabam hanc a me posse molestiam demoveri , id mihi erat adversarium maxime ; nam illi multo mihi hoc facilius remisissent si istum non nossent , aut si iste apud eos quaestor non fuisset .	I was vexed and distressed, O judges, at being brought into such a strait, as to be forced either to let those men's hopes deceive them who had entreated succour and assistance of me, or else, when I had from my very earliest youth devoted myself entirely to defending men, to be now, under the compulsion of the occasion and of my duty, transferred to the part of an accuser. I told them that they had an advocate in Quintus Caecilius, who had been quaestor in the same province after I was quaestor there. But the very thing which I thought would have been an assistance to me in getting rid of this difficulty, was above all things a hindrance to me; for they would have much more easily excused me if they had not known him, or if he had never been among them as quaestor.
5	adductus sum , iudices , officio , fide , misericordia , multorum bonorum exemplo , vetere consuetudine institutoque maiorum , ut onus huius laboris atque offici non ex meo , sed ex meorum necessariorum tempore mihi suscipiendum putarem . quo in negotio tamen illa me res , iudices , consolatur , quod haec quae videtur esse accusatio mea non potius accusatio quam defensio est existimanda . defendo enim multos mortalis , multas civitates , provinciam Siciliam totam ; quam ob rem , quia mihi unus est accusandus , prope modum manere in instituto meo videor et non omnino a defendendis hominibus sublevandisque discedere .	I was induced, O judges, by the considerations of duty, good faith, and pity; by the example of many good men; by the ancient customs and habits of our ancestors, to think that I ought to take upon myself this burden of labour and duty, not for any purpose of my own, but in the time of need to my friends. In which business, however, this fact consoles me, O judges, that this pleading of mine which seems to be an accusation is not to be considered an accusation, but rather a defence. For I am defending many men, many cities, the whole province of Sicily. So that, if one person is to be accused by me, I still almost appear to remain firm in my original purpose, and not entirely to have given up defending and assisting men.
6	quodsi hanc causam tam idoneam , tam inlustrem , tam gravem non haberem ,— si aut hoc a me Siculi non petissent aut mihi cum Siculis causa tantae necessitudinis non intercederet , et hoc quod facio me rei publicae causa facere profiterer , ut homo singulari cupiditate , audacia , scelere praeditus , cuius furta atque flagitia non in Sicilia solum , sed in Achaia , Asia , Cilicia , Pamphylia , Romae denique ante oculos omnium maxima turpissimaque nossemus , me agente in iudicium vocaretur ,— quis tandem esset qui meum factum aut consilium posset reprehendere ?	But if I had this cause so deserving, so illustrious, and so important; if either the Sicilians had not demanded this of me, or I had not had such an intimate connection with the Sicilians; and if I were to profess that what I am doing I am doing for the sake of the republic, in order that a man endowed with unprecedented covetousness, audacity, and wickedness,—whose thefts and crimes we have known to be most enormous and most infamous, not in Sicily alone, but in Achaia, in Asia, in Cilicia, in Pamphylia, and even at Rome, before the eyes of all men,—should be brought to trial by my instrumentality, still, who would there be who could find fault with my act or my intention?
7	quid est , pro deum hominumque fidem , in quo ego rei publicae plus hoc tempore prodesse possim ? quid est quod aut populo Romano gratius esse debeat , aut sociis exterisque nationibus optatius esse possit , aut saluti fortunisque omnium magis accommodatum sit ? populatae , vexatae , funditus eversae provinciae , socii stipendiariique populi Romani adflicti , miseri , iam non salutis spem sed solacium exiti quaerunt .	What is there, in the name of gods and men! by which I can at the present moment confer a greater benefit on the republic? What is there which either ought to be more pleasing to the Roman people, or which can be more desirable in the eves of the allies and of foreign nations, or more adapted to secure the safety and fortunes of all men? The provinces depopulated, harassed, and utterly overturned; the allies and tributaries of the Roman people afflicted and miserable, are seeking now not for any hope of safety, but for comfort in their destruction.
8	qui iudicia manere apud ordinem senatorium volunt , queruntur accusatores se idoneos non habere : qui accusare possunt , iudiciorum severitatem desiderant . populus Romanus interea , tametsi multis incommodis difficultatibusque adfectus est , tamen nihil aeque in re publica atque illam veterem iudiciorum vim gravitatemque requirit . iudiciorum desiderio tribunicia potestas efflagitata est , iudiciorum levitate ordo quoque alius ad res iudicandas postulatur , iudicum culpa atque dedecore etiam censorium nomen , quod asperius antea populo videri solebat , id nunc poscitur , id iam populare et plausibile factum est .	They who wish the administration of justice still to remain in the hands of the senatorial body, complain that they cannot procure proper accusers; those who are able to act as accusers, complain of the want of impartiality in the decisions. In the meantime the Roman people, although it suffers under many disadvantages and difficulties, yet desires nothing in the republic so much as the restoration of the ancient authority and importance to the courts of law. It is from a regret at the state of our courts of law that the restoration of the power of the tribunes is so eagerly demanded again. It is in consequence of the uncertainty of the courts of law, that another class is demanded to determine law-suits; owing to the crimes and infamy of the judges, even the office of censor, which formerly was used to be accounted too severe by the people, is now again demanded, and has become popular and praiseworthy.
9	in hac libidine hominum nocentissimorum , in populi Romani cotidiana querimonia , iudiciorum infamia , totius ordinis offensione , cum hoc unum his tot incommodis remedium esse arbitrarer , ut homines idonei atque integri causam rei publicae legumque susciperent , fateor me salutis omnium causa ad eam partem accessisse rei publicae sublevandae quae maxime laboraret .	In a time of such licentiousness on the part of the wicked, of daily complaint on the part of the Roman people, of dishonour in the courts of law, of unpopularity of the whole senate, as I thought that this was the only remedy for these numerous evils, for men who were both capable and upright to undertake the cause of the republic and the laws, I confess that I, for the sake of promoting the universal safety, devoted myself to upholding that part of the republic which was in the greatest danger.
10	nunc quoniam quibus rebus adductus ad causam accesserim demonstravi , dicendum necessario est de contentione nostra , ut in constituendo accusatore quid sequi possitis habeatis . ego sic intellego , iudices : cum de pecuniis repetundis nomen cuiuspiam deferatur , si certamen inter aliquos sit cui potissimum delatio detur , haec duo in primis spectari oportere , quem maxime velint actorem esse ii quibus factae esse dicantur iniuriae , et quem minime velit is qui eas iniurias fecisse arguatur .	Now that I have shown the motives by which I was influenced to undertake the cause, I must necessarily speak of our contention, that, in appointing an accuser, you may have some certain line of conduct to follow. I understand the matter thus, O judges:—when any man is accused of extortion, if there be a contest between any parties as to who may best be entrusted with the prosecution, these two points ought to be regarded most especially; first, whom they, to whom the injury is said to have been done, wish most to be their counsel; and secondly, whom he, who is accused of having done those injuries, would least wish to be so.
11	in hac causa , iudices , tametsi utrumque esse arbitror perspicuum , tamen de utroque dicam , et de eo prius quod apud vos plurimum debet valere , hoc est de voluntate eorum quibus iniuriae factae sunt ; quorum causa iudicium de pecuniis repetundis est constitutum . Siciliam provinciam C . Verres per triennium depopulatus esse , Siculorum civitates vastasse , domos exinanisse , fana spoliasse dicitur . adsunt , queruntur Siculi universi ; ad meam fidem , quam habent spectatam iam et cognitam , confugiunt ; auxilium sibi per me a vobis atque a populi Romani legibus petunt ; me defensorem calamitatum suarum , me ultorem iniuriarum , me cognitorem iuris sui , me actorem causae totius esse voluerunt .	In this cause, O judges, although I think both these points plain, yet I will dilate upon each, and first on that which ought to have the greatest influence with you, that is to say, on the inclination of those to whom the injuries have been done; of those for whose sake this trial for extortion has been instituted. Caius Verres is said for three years to have depopulated the province of Sicily, to have desolated the cities of the Sicilians, to have made the houses empty, to have plundered the temples. The whole nation of the Sicilians is present, and complains of this. They fly for protection to my good faith, which they have proved and long known; they entreat assistance for themselves from you and from the laws of the Roman people through my instrumentality; they desire me to be their defender in these their calamities; they desire me to be the avenger of their injuries, the advocate of their rights, and the pleader of their whole cause.
12	Vtrum , Q . Caecili , hoc dices , me non Siculorum rogatu ad causam accedere , an optimorum fidelissimorumque sociorum voluntatem apud hos gravem esse non oportere ? si id audebis dicere , quod C . Verres , cui te inimicum esse simulas , maxime existimari vult , Siculos hoc a me non petisse , primum causam inimici tui sublevabis , de quo non praeiudicium , sed plane iudicium iam factum putatur , quod ita percrebruit , Siculos omnis actorem suae causae contra illius iniurias quaesisse .	Will you, O Quintus Caecilius, say this, that I have not approached the cause at the request of the Sicilians? or that the desire of those most excellent and most faithful allies ought not to be of great influence with these judges? If you dare to say that which Caius Verres, whose enemy you are pretending to be, wishes especially to be believed,—that the Sicilians did not make this request to me,—you will in the first place be supporting the cause of your enemy, against whom it is considered that no vague presumption, but that an actual decision has been come to, in the fact that has become notorious, that all the Sicilians have begged for me as their advocate against his injuries.
13	hoc si tu , inimicus eius , factum negabis , quod ipse , cui maxime haec res obstat , negare non audet , videto ne nimium familiariter inimicitias exercere videare . deinde sunt testes viri clarissimi nostrae civitatis , quos omnis a me nominari non est necesse : eos qui adsunt appellabo , quos , si mentirer , testis esse impudentiae meae minime vellem . scit is qui est in consilio , C . Marcellus , scit is quem adesse video , Cn . Lentulus Marcellinus ; quorum fide atque praesidio Siculi maxime nituntur , quod omnino Marcellorum nomini tota illa provincia adiuncta est .	If you, his enemy, deny that this is the case, which he himself to whom the fact is most injurious does not dare to deny, take care lest you seem to carry on your enmity in too friendly a manner. In the second place, there are witnesses, the most illustrious men of our state, all of whom it is not necessary that I should name, those who are present I will appeal to; while, if I were speaking falsely, they are the men whom I should least wish to be witnesses of my impudence. He, who is one of the assessors on this bid, Caius Marcellus, knows it; he, whom I see here present, Cnaeus Lentulus Marcellinus, knows it; on whose good faith and protection the Sicilians principally depend, because the whole of that province is inalienably connected with the name of the Marcelli.
14	hi sciunt hoc non modo a me petitum esse , sed ita saepe et ita vehementer esse petitum ut aut causa mihi suscipienda fuerit aut officium necessitudinis repudiandum . sed quid ego his testibus utor , quasi res dubia aut obscura sit ? adsunt homines ex tota provincia nobilissimi , qui praesentes vos orant atque obsecrant , iudices , ut in actore causae suae deligendo vestrum iudicium ab suo iudicio ne discrepet . omnium civitatum totius Siciliae legationes adsunt praeter duas civitates ; quarum duarum si adessent , duo crimina vel maxima minuerentur quae cum his civitatibus C . Verri communicata sunt .	These men know that this request was not only made to me, but that it was made so frequently and with such earnestness, that I had no alternative except either to undertake the cause, or to repudiate the duty of friendship. But why do I cite these men as witnesses, as if the matter were doubtful or unknown? Most noble men are present here from the whole province, who being present, beg and entreat you, O judges, not to let your judgment differ from their judgment in selecting an advocate for their cause. Deputations from every city in the whole of Sicily, except two, are present; and if deputations from those two were present also, two of the very most serious of the crimes would be lessened in which these cities are implicated with Caius Verres.
15	at enim cur a me potissimum hoc praesidium petiverunt ? si esset dubium petissent necne , dicerem cur petissent : nunc vero , cum id ita perspicuum sit ut oculis iudicare possitis , nescio cur hoc mihi detrimento esse debeat , si id mihi obiciatur , me potissimum esse delectum .	But why have they entreated this protection from me above all men? If it were doubtful whether they had entreated it from me or not, I could tell why they had entreated it; but now, when it is so evident that you can see it with your eyes, I know not why it should be any injury to me to have it imputed to me that I was selected above all men.
16	verum id mihi non sumo , iudices , et hoc non modo in oratione mea non pono , sed ne in opinione quidem cuiusquam relinquo , me omnibus patronis esse praepositum . non ita est ; sed unius cuiusque temporis , valetudinis , facultatis ad agendum ducta ratio est . mea fuit semper haec in hac re voluntas et sententia , quemvis ut hoc mallem de iis qui essent idonei suscipere quam me , me ut mallem quam neminem .	But I do not arrogate any such thing to myself, and I not only do not say it, but I do not wish even to leave any one to believe that I have been preferred to every possible advocate. That is not the fact but a consideration of the opportunities of each individual and of his health, and of his aptitude for conducting this cause, has been taken into account. My desire and sentiments on this matter have always been these, that I would rather that any one of those who are fit for it should undertake it than I; but I had rather that I should undertake it myself than that no one should.
17	reliquum est iam ut illud quaeramus , cum hoc constet , Siculos a me petisse , ecquid hanc rem apud vos animosque vestros valere oporteat , ecquid auctoritatis apud vos in suo iure repetundo socii populi Romani , supplices vestri , habere debeant . de quo quid ego plura commemorem ? quasi vero dubium sit quin tota lex de pecuniis repetundis sociorum causa constituta sit ;	The next thing is, since it is evident that the Sicilians have demanded this of me, for us to inquire whether it is right that this fact should have any influence on you and on your judgments; whether the allies of the Roman people, your suppliants, ought to have any weight with you in a matter of extortion committed on themselves. And why need I say much on such a point as this? as if there were any doubt that the whole law about extortion was established for the sake of the allies.
18	nam civibus cum sunt ereptae pecuniae , civili fere actione et privato iure repetuntur . haec lex socialis est , hoc ius nationum exterarum est , hanc habent arcem , minus aliquanto nunc quidem munitam quam antea , verum tamen si qua reliqua spes est quae sociorum animos consolari possit , ea tota in hac lege posita est ; cuius legis non modo a populo Romano , sed etiam ab ultimis nationibus iam pridem severi custodes requiruntur .	For when citizens have been robbed of their money, it is usually sought to be recovered by civil action and by a private suit. This is a law affecting the allies,—this is a right of foreign nations. They have this fortress somewhat less strongly fortified now than it was formerly, but still if there be any hope left which can console the minds of the allies, it is all placed in this law. And strict guardians of this law have long since been required, not only by the Roman people, but by the most distant nations.
19	quis ergo est qui neget oportere eorum arbitratu lege agi quorum causa lex sit constituta ? Sicilia tota si una voce loqueretur , hoc diceret : ' quod auri , quod argenti , quod ornamentorum in meis urbibus , sedibus , delubris fuit , quod in una quaque re beneficio senatus populique Romani iuris habui , id mihi tu , C . Verres , eripuisti atque abstulisti ; quo nomine abs te sestertium miliens ex lege repeto .' si universa , ut dixi , provincia loqui posset , hac voce uteretur : quoniam id non poterat , harum rerum actorem quem idoneum esse arbitrata est ipsa delegit .	Who then is there who can deny that it is right that the trial should be conducted according to the wish of those men for whose sake the law has been established? All Sicily, if it could speak with one voice, would say this:—“All the gold, all the silver, all the ornaments which were in my cities, in my private houses, or in my temples,—all the rights which I had in any single thing by the kindness of the senate and Roman people,—all that you, O Caius Verres, have taken away and robbed me of, on which account I demand of you a hundred million of sesterces according to the law.” If the whole province, as I have said, could speak, it would say this, and as it could not speak, it has of its own accord chosen an advocate to urge these points, whom it has thought suitable.
20	in eius modi re quisquam tam impudens reperietur qui ad alienam causam , invitis iis quorum negotium est , accedere aut adspirare audeat ?	In a matter of this sort, will any one be found so impudent as to dare to approach or to aspire to the conduct of the cause of others against the will of those very people whose affairs are involved in it?
21	si tibi , Q . Caecili , hoc Siculi dicerent : ' te non novimus , nescimus qui sis , numquam te antea vidimus ; sine nos per eum nostras fortunas defendere cuius fides est nobis cognita ,' nonne id dicerent quod cuivis probare deberent ? nunc hoc dicunt , utrumque se nosse ; alterum se cupere defensorem esse fortunarum suarum , alterum plane nolle .	If, O Quintus Caecilius, the Sicilians were to say this to you,—we do not know you—we know not who you are, we never saw you before; allow us to defend our fortunes through the instrumentality of that man whose good faith is known to us; would they not be saying what would appear reasonable to every one? But now they say this—that they know both the men, that they wish one of them to be the defender of their cause, that they are wholly unwilling that the other should be.
22	cur nolint , etiamsi taceant , satis dicunt ; verum non tacent . tamen iis invitissimis te offeres ? tamen in aliena causa loquere ? tamen eos defendes qui se ab omnibus desertos potius quam abs te defensos esse malunt ? tamen iis operam tuam pollicebere qui te neque velle sua causa nec , si cupias , posse arbitrantur ? cur eorum spem exiguam reliquarum fortunarum , quam habent in legis et in iudici severitate positam , vi extorquere conaris ? cur te interponis invitissimis iis quibus maxime lex consultum esse vult ? cur , de quibus in provincia non optime es meritus , eos nunc plane fortunis omnibus conaris evertere ? cur iis non modo persequendi iuris sui , sed etiam deplorandae calamitatis adimis potestatem ?	Even if they were silent they would say plainly enough why they are unwilling. But they are not silent; and yet will you offer yourself, when they are most unwilling to accept you! Will you still persist in speaking in the cause of others? Will you still defend those men who would rather be deserted by every one than defended by you? Will you still promise your assistance to those men who do neither believe that you wish to give it for their sake, nor that, if you did wish it, you could do it? Why do you endeavour to take away from them by force the little hope for the remainder of their fortunes which they still retain, built upon the impartiality of the law and of this tribunal? Why do you interpose yourself expressly against the will of those whom the law directs to be especially consulted? Why do you now openly attempt to ruin the whole fortunes of those of whom you did not deserve very well when in the province? Why do you take away from them, not only the power of prosecuting their rights, but even of bewailing their calamities?
23	nam te actore quem eorum adfuturum putas , quos intellegis non ut per te alium , sed ut per alium aliquem te ipsum ulciscantur laborare ?	If you are their counsel, whom do you expect to come forward of those men who are now striving, not to punish some one else by your means, but to avenge themselves on you yourself, through the instrumentality of some one or other?
24	at enim solum id est , ut me Siculi maxime velint : alterum illud , credo , obscurum est , a quo Verres minime se accusari velit . ecquis umquam tam palam de honore , tam vehementer de salute sua contendit quam ille atque illius amici ne haec mihi delatio detur ? sunt multa quae Verres in me esse arbitratur , quae scit in te , Caecili , non esse ; quae cuius modi in utroque nostrum sint , paulo post commemorabo ;	But this is a well established fact, that the Sicilians especially desire to have me for their counsel; the other point, no doubt, is less clear,—namely, by whom Verres would least like to be prosecuted! Did any one ever strive so openly for any honour, or so earnestly for his own safety, as that man and his friends have striven to prevent this prosecution from being entrusted to me? There are many qualities which Verres believes to be in me, and which he knows, O Quintus Caecilius, do not exist in you: and what qualities each of us have I will mention presently;
25	nunc tantum id dicam quod tacitus tu mihi adsentiare , nullam rem in me esse quam ille contemnat , nullam in te quam pertimescat . itaque magnus ille defensor et amicus eius tibi suffragatur , me oppugnat ; aperte ab iudicibus petit ut tu mihi anteponare , et ait hoc se honeste sine ulla invidia ac sine ulla offensione contendere . ' non enim ,' inquit , ' illud peto quod soleo , cum vehementius contendi , impetrare : reus ut absolvatur non peto , sed ut potius ab hoc quam ab illo accusetur , id peto . da mihi hoc ; concede quod facile est , quod honestum , quod non invidiosum ; quod cum dederis , sine ullo tuo periculo , sine infamia illud dederis , ut is absolvatur cuius ego causa laboro .'	at this moment I will only say this, which you must silently agree to, that there is no quality in me which he can despise, and none in you which he can fear. Therefore, that great defender and friend of his votes for you and opposes me; he openly solicits the judges to have you preferred to me; and he says that he does this honestly, without any envy of me, and without any dislike to me. “For,” says he, “I am now asking for that which I usually obtain when I strive for it earnestly. I am not asking to have the defendant acquitted; but I am asking this, that he may be accused by the one man rather than by the other. Grant me this; grant that which is easy to grant, and honourable, and by no means invidious; and when you have granted that, you will, without any risk to yourself, and without any discredit, have granted that he shall be acquitted in whose cause I am labouring.”
26	et ait idem , ut aliquis metus adiunctus sit ad gratiam , certos esse in consilio quibus ostendi tabellas velit ; id esse perfacile ; non enim singulos ferre sententias , sed universos constituere ; ceratam uni cuique tabellam dari cera legitima , non illa infami ac nefaria . atque is non tam propter Verrem laborat quam quod eum minime res tota delectat ; videt enim , si a pueris nobilibus , quos adhuc elusit , si a quadruplatoribus , quos non sine causa contempsit semper ac pro nihilo putavit , accusandi voluntas ad viros fortis spectatosque homines translata sit , sese in iudiciis diutius dominari non posse .	He says also, in order that some alarm may be mingled with the exertion of his influence, that there are certain men on the bench to whom he wishes their tablets to be shown, and that that is very easy, for that they do not give their votes separately, but that all vote together; and that a tablet, covered with the proper wax, and not with that illegal wax which has given so much scandal, is given to every one. And he does not give himself all this trouble so much for the sake of Verres, as because he disapproves of the whole affair. For he sees that, if the power of prosecuting is taken away from the high-born boys whom he has hitherto played with, and from the public informers, whom he has always despised and thought insignificant (not without good reason), and to be transferred to fearless men of well-proved constancy, he will no longer be able to domineer over the courts of law as he pleases.