[107]
Oh but, I suppose, Sthenius thought it
honourable to himself for Verres to choose a man for his advocate out of the number
of Roman citizens who were his own friends and connections! Whom did he choose?
Whose name is written in the records? Caius Claudius, the son of Caius, of the
Palatine tribe. I do not ask who this
Claudius is; how illustrious, how honourable, how well suited to the business, and
deserving that, because of his influence and dignity, Sthenius should abandon the
custom of all the Sicilians, and have a Roman citizen for his advocate. I do not ask
any of these questions;—for perhaps Sthenius was influenced not by the
high position of the man, but by his intimacy with him.—What? What shall
we say if there was in the whole world a greater enemy to Sthenius than this very
Caius Claudius, both constantly in old times, and especially at this time and in
this affair?—if he appeared against him on the charge of tampering with
the public documents?—if he opposed him by every means in his power? Which
shall we believe,—that an enemy of Sthenius was actually appointed his
advocate, or that you, at a time of the greatest danger to Sthenius, made free with
the name of his enemy, to ensure his ruin?
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M. Tullius Cicero. The Orations of Marcus Tullius Cicero, literally translated by C. D. Yonge. London. George Bell & Sons. 1903.
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