[188]
You, again and again I
implore and appeal to, most holy goddesses, who dwell around those lakes and groves
of Enna, and who preside over all
Sicily, which is entrusted to me to be
defended; you whose invention and gift of corn, which you have distributed over the
whole earth, inspires all nations and all races of men with reverence for your
divine power;—And all the other gods, and all the goddesses, do I implore
and entreat, against whose temples and religious worship that man, inspired by some
wicked frenzy and audacity, has always waged a sacrilegious and impious war, that,
if in dealing with this criminal and this cause my counsels have always tended to
the safety of the allies, the dignity of the Roman people, and the maintenance of my
own character for good faith; if all my cares, and vigilance, and thoughts have been
directed to nothing but the discharge of my duty, and the establishment of truth, I
implore them, O judges, so to influence you, that the thoughts which were mine when
I undertook this cause, the good faith which has been mine in pleading it, may be
yours also in deciding it.
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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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