Political Speeches (Oxford World's Classics)

by Cicero

  whose holy and beautiful image: a statue of Zeus Ourios (sender of favouring winds), stolen from a temple at Syracuse.

  Melita and Samos: in this list Cicero will include acts of sacrilege from Verres’ whole career, particularly from the period of his legateship under Gnaeus Cornelius Dolabella in 80–79. Melita is the modern Malta.

  at Syracuse … roof and walls: Verres allegedly removed the ancient paintings of battle-scenes with which the temple was decorated, and placed them in a brothel.

  Latona … Delos: Latona (Leto) gave birth to the twins Apollo and Diana (Artemis) at Delos. Verres stole some statues from the famous temple to Apollo there, but they were recovered when his ship was wrecked in a storm.

  Perga: in Pamphylia.

  Publius Africanus: i.e. Publius Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus Africanus, in the Third Punic War (149–146 BC).

  Mercury … Tyndaris: Verres persuaded the senate of Tydaris to give him their statue of Mercury (Hermes) only after binding their chief magistrate naked to a bronze statue in the forum of Tyndaris in freezing weather. Hermes was the patron god of athletics and his statue was often placed in public exercise-grounds.

  he attempted to … carry away: the attempt was unsuccessful: the slaves were driven off by the townspeople.

  holy mother of Ida: Rhea, mother of Jupiter (Zeus), who bore him on Crete and gave him to the Curetes (to whom the Engyium temple was dedicated) on Mount Ida in Crete to look after.

  except for the name of Africanus: Verres removed some bronze urns and armour which Scipio Aemilianus had dedicated, but left the dedicatory inscription behind.

  from whose temple … profit and plunder: when he was city praetor in 74, Verres profited from having an imaginary defect in the columns of the temple of Castor and Pollux corrected (the temple was at the south-west corner of the forum, and the senate often met there—hence ‘the great deliberations’).

  whose route … for his own profit: also during his praetorship, but we do not know the details; on the face of it, this hardly seems something to offend the gods. If Verres had instead neglected the road, Cicero would no doubt have criticized him at least as strongly.

  Ceres and Libera … grandeur and mystery: a reference to the Eleusinian mysteries, held at Eleusis near Athens in honour of Demeter (Ceres) and Persephone (Libera); on these gods, see first note on §36 above. The omission of Liber (Bacchus, Dionysus), the third member of the Aventine triad, is striking. Cicero does not claim that Verres outraged Liber (or indeed Venus), for obvious reasons; cf. §§27 ‘he concluded that he owed the rest of his time to Venus and to Bacchus’, 142 ‘a devotee of Venus’.

  its rightful home at Henna: see note on §99 above.

  DE IMPERIO CN. POMPEI

  the spot where I am now standing: the rostra.

  to defending my friends in their hour of need: i.e. speaking for his friends in court as their advocate. The prosecution of Verres need not be seen as an exception to this pattern, since that could be represented as a defence of Cicero’s friends the Sicilians. Note the play on words, ‘time … hour’.

  because of successive reruns … the votes of all the centuries: for the procedure for the election of praetors by the centuriate assembly, see second note on Ver. 2.5.38 above. Cicero was the choice of each century until he had obtained the support of sufficient centuries (97 out of 193) to be declared elected; he obtained a majority of the centuries before any of the other candidates did; and although the election was held all over again twice (because of postponements we otherwise know nothing about, no doubt caused by violence), he achieved the same result each time.

  Asia: references to ‘Asia’ denote the Roman province of Asia, i.e. the western end of Asia Minor, the former kingdom of Attalus III of Pergamum, bequeathed to Rome in 133 BC.

  Bithynia, which is now a province of yours: since it was bequeathed to Rome by Nicomedes IV in late 75 or early 74.

  the kingdom of Ariobarzanes: Cappadocia. It bordered with the Roman province of Cilicia.

  his successor: Manius Acilius Glabrio, the consul of 67, appointed as commander in Bithynia and Pontus in 66. See note on Ver. 4 above.

  that man: Mithridates. Cicero refers to his ‘Asiatic vespers’ of 88 BC.

  Lucius Sulla … and so did Lucius Murena: both triumphs were held in 81, Sulla’s having been delayed as a result of the civil war with the Marians.

  and Murena by Sulla: I suspect there is just a hint of criticism of Sulla here, for not allowing Murena to complete the job. Criticism of Sulla would be appropriate before a popular audience (cf. note on §47 below).

  the kingdom of the Bosporus: i.e. the Cimmerian Bosporus, the kingdom immediately to the east of the Crimea.

  to the chiefs: in fact to one Roman commander, the rebel Sertorius (for whom see note on Ver. 2.5.72 above). Cicero’s choice of the word ‘chief’ denies Sertorius the privilege of being considered a Roman; the rhetorical plural makes the reference still vaguer. An equally colourful account of Mithridates’ dealings with Sertorius is given at Mur. 32: ‘This king, after spending some years making the necessary plans and preparing his forces for war, had such high hopes for himself that he fully expected to link the Atlantic Ocean with the Black Sea and the forces of Sertorius with his own.’ The topic was clearly a gift to any orator with imagination.

  your forefathers wanted Corinth … extinguished: in 146 BC four Roman envoys addressing an assembly of the Achaean League at Corinth were insulted and perhaps treated with violence. The Romans under Lucius Mummius then destroyed the city, one of the richest and most historic in Greece, as an example to the other Greek states. Cicero expresses his disapproval of this action at Off. 3.46 (and less unequivocally at1.35).

  who put a legate of the Roman people … and then killed him: Manius Aquillius, the consul of 101, had led the commission to Asia which restored Nicomedes IV to his throne in Bithynia, but had then forced him to invade Pontus, thus precipitating the First Mithridatic War (88–85 BC). Upon Aquillius’ capture by Mithridates in 88, he was tied to a donkey and paraded around wearing a placard; afterwards he was executed by having molten gold poured down his throat. Mithridates then proceeded to his next atrocity, the ‘Asiatic vespers’, referred to twice in this paragraph.

  two kings: Mithridates and Tigranes.

  especially seeing that you have already sent someone else: i.e. Glabrio (whom Cicero refrains from complimenting).

  even though it is for a naval war that he has come: the war against the pirates, now completed.

  wars against Antiochus, Philip, the Aetolians, and the Carthaginians: i.e. the Antiochean War (192–189 BC) against Antiochus III of Syria and the Aetolians, the First and Second Macedonian Wars (214–205, 200–197) against Philip V of Macedon, and the three Punic Wars (264–241, 218–201, 149–146) against the Carthaginians. All these wars were undertaken at least nominally in defence of allies.

  the harbour duty, the tithes, and the grazing tax: the harbour duty (portorium) was a 2½ per cent duty levied on imports and exports at the borders of provinces (cf. ‘the size of its exports’, §14 above); the tithe (decuma) was a 10 per cent tax on crops, fruit, and wine (cf. ‘the productiveness of its soil, the variety of its crops’); and the grazing tax (scriptura) was a charge imposed for grazing cattle on public land (cf. ‘the extent of its pasturage’).

  in the guard-posts: probably lookout posts designed to prevent goods being smuggled into or out of the province without the harbour duty being paid.

  at the beginning of our hostilities with him: in 88 BC, after the ‘Asiatic vespers’.

  A large and well-equipped fleet … by this same commander: Sertorius (see second note on § 9 above) had sent Mithridates a representative, Marcus Marius (a senator), whom the king had put in charge of a part of his fleet; in 72 Lucullus destroyed this fleet at Lemnos and executed Marius. On the reading ‘puffed up’ (inflata) for the manuscripts’ ‘set on fire’ (inflammata), see my note at CQ, NS 55 (2005), 309–10.

  Sinope and Ami
sus … his approach and arrival: both in fact withstood long sieges before being taken. Sinope was the capital of Pontus and the birthplace of Mithridates.

  with other kings in other countries: with Tigranes, with his son Machares, ruler of the kingdom of the Bosporus, and with Arsaces, king of Parthia.

  the famous Medea: in myth, Medea was the daughter of Aeëtes, the king of Colchis. She fell in love with Jason, the leader of the Argonauts, helped him to obtain the golden fleece, and ran away with him in his ship. Her father pursued them, and to prevent him catching them up, Medea murdered her brother Absyrtus and scattered his limbs in the sea for her father to collect.

  in the earlier war: the first.

  a certain extremely wealthy … temple: probably the temple of Nanaea of Anaïtis in Elymais (between Susa and the Persian Gulf), previously the object of raids by Parthian and Syrian kings. It was in fact much too far away for Lucullus to think of going to. His ultimate goal was Artaxata, in the opposite direction.

  one city from Tigranes’ kingdom: Tigranocerta. Cicero’s wording contains a veiled criticism, that Lucullus only succeeded in capturing one city out of many.

  to them the name of king is something great and venerated: to the Romans, on the other hand, it was detested. They were proud of having expelled their last king, Tarquinius Superbus, in 509 BC.

  our disaster: Triarius’ defeat at Zela (67 BC). This was Mithridates’ greatest success against the Romans: 7,000 Romans were killed and their camp was taken.

  to his father’s army … against formidable enemies: Pompey (born 106 BC) served in the Social War under his father the consul Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo at Asculum in 89.

  at the end of his childhood … of a great commander: he continued to serve under his father during the civil war of 87.

  at the beginning of his youth … of a great army: during 83–81, when he fought for Sulla in Italy, Sicily, and Africa. His father had died in 87.

  Civil, African, Transalpine, Spanish … slave, and naval wars: Pompey fought civil wars against the Marian consul Gnaeus Papirius Carbo in Sicily (82) and against the anti-Sullan rebel Marcus Aemilius Lepidus in Etruria (77); he fought against Cinna’s son-in-law the Marian Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus and King Iarbas in Africa (81); against Gallic tribes while on his way to Spain (77–76); against the Marian rebel Sertorius in Spain (76–72); against the remnants of Spartacus’ slave revolt (71); and against the pirates (67).

  you: the Roman people.

  how many cities of your allies … captured by the pirates?: Plutarch (at Pomp. 24, a fascinating account of the extent of piracy before 67 BC and the Romans’ utter powerlessness in the face of it) says that the pirates captured 400 cities.

  the crossing from Brundisium: to Greece.

  twelve axes: i.e. two praetors, with their twelve lictors (‘axes’ refers to the fasces: see Glossary). Plutarch (Pomp. 24) gives the praetors’ names as Sextilius and Bellienus; we do not know their year of office.

  Can you be unaware … by pirates at Misenum?: nothing is known about the incident at Caieta (a port in Latium close to Campania); the praetor was certainly not Marcus Antonius Creticus, as is sometimes suggested. The general whose child was kidnapped at Misenum (at the tip of the northern headland of the Bay of Naples) is known from Plut. Pomp. 24 to have been Marcus Antonius, the orator (see second note on Ver. 2.5.3 above). Antonius was praetor in 102 and fought a war against the Cilician pirates, triumphing at the end of 100; he was then consul in 99. Plutarch says that it was Antonius’ daughter that was kidnapped (‘as she was taking a trip into the countryside’), whereas Cicero says ‘the children’; but in Latin ‘children’ was sometimes written for ‘child’, as at S. Rosc. 96 (cf. Aulus Gellius 2.13). Plutarch adds that the daughter ‘fetched a very rich ransom’.

  that setback at Ostia: Dio also mentions this (36.22.2), but gives no date and says nothing about a consul (Dio’s account of the problem of piracy, less informative than Plutarch’s but still useful, is at36.20–3). Ostia, the port of Rome, was ‘virtually under your very eyes’ because it was only 15 miles from Rome, at the mouth of the Tiber.

  within the mouth of Ocean: i.e. in the Mediterranean, the mouth of Ocean being the Strait of Gibraltar.

  people from as far away as Crete: Quintus Caecilius Metellus (afterwards ‘Creticus’), the consul of 69, had been engaged in conquering Crete, with great cruelty, since 68, and the Cretans were anxious to surrender to Pompey so as to secure better terms than they would obtain from Metellus. Metellus and Pompey fell out over the incident. Metellus organized Crete as a Roman province in 66.

  completed by midsummer: 67 BC. Pompey cleared the western Mediterranean in forty days and then the eastern Mediterranean in forty-nine days.

  more from a comparison with others: the passage which follows contains strong criticism of other, unnamed contemporary generals. Cicero must mean his audience to think first of Lucullus: had he not intended this, he would have excluded him explicitly.

  statues, paintings, and other works of art … theirs for the taking: Lucullus was a great art collector (Plut. Luc. 39); this reference of Cicero’s is an indication that he is thinking of Lucullus throughout this passage.

  in a war that affected all peoples: the war against the pirates. Cicero is referring to the day on which the lex Gabinia was passed.

  after the catastrophic defeat … a short while ago: at Zela, referred to at §25.

  the province: Asia.

  the enemies of the Roman people: the pirates.

  and when envoys … wished to surrender!: on this incident, see first note on §35 above. Pompey was in Pamphylia at the time (§35); Cicero greatly exaggerates the distance involved, which was only about 400 miles. It is also misleading of him to suggest that the Cretans offered their surrender to Pompey rather than to Metellus because his authority was greater: they were hoping for more favourable terms.

  And did not Mithridates … to Gnaeus Pompeius?: we know about Mithridates’ negotiations with Sertorius in Spain (§9), but hear nothing anywhere else about any approach he may have made to Pompey at that time. Such an approach seems on the face of it highly improbable.

  those who resented … expressly to Pompeius: the reference will be to Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius (first cousin once removed of Metellus Creticus, the ‘commander of ours’ referred to above). Metellus Pius had been consul with Sulla in 80, and had then fought unsuccessfully against Sertorius in Spain until being joined by Pompey in 76. It would not have been unnatural if he felt resentment towards Pompey, who was not even yet a senator, but he did in fact co-operate fully with him in the campaign against Sertorius.

  those kings: Mithridates and Tigranes.

  Maximus, Marcellus, Scipio, Marius: see notes above on Ver. 2.5.25 (Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus), 2.5.84 (Marcellus), and 2.5.14 (Scipio Aemilianus and Marius). Sulla, though famed for his luck, is not mentioned, since Cicero is speaking before the people (who, generally speaking, had been well disposed to Marius and had hated Sulla; cf. second note on §8 above).

  as indeed you do: a reminder that in this speech Cicero is preaching to the converted.

  Quintus Catulus … Quintus Hortensius: Quintus Lutatius Catulus (the consul of 78) and Quintus Hortensius Hortalus (the consul of 69), the chief opponents of the bill. Both were prominent conservatives; Hortensius was married to Catulus’ sister. On Catulus, see second note on Ver. 44 above. Hortensius was Rome’s most foremost orator until defeated by Cicero in the Verres trial in 70; the complimentary reference to his ‘talent’, below, is to his oratorical ability. After Cicero attained the consulship, he and Hortensius worked together as partners in the courts; but they were never close friends. The people had a great respect for Catulus; Hortensius, by contrast, was not popular.