[19]
He sees Verres in the crowd by the arch of Fabius; 1 he speaks to the man, and with a loud
voice congratulates him on his victory. He does not say a word to Hortensius
himself, who had been made consul, or to his friends and relations who were present
attending on him; but he stops to speak to this man, embraces him, and bids him cast
off all anxiety. “I give you notice,” said he, “that
you have been acquitted by this day's comitia.” And as many most
honourable men heard this, it is immediately reported to me; indeed, every one who
saw me mentioned it to me the first thing. To some it appeared scandalous, to others
ridiculous; ridiculous to those who thought that this cause depended on the
credibility of the witnesses, on the importance of the charges, and on the power of
the judges, and not on the consular comitia; scandalous to those who looked deeper,
and who thought that this congratulation had reference to the corruption of the
judge.
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1 This arch had been erected to commemorate the victory obtained by Fabius over the Allobroges; and it was erected in the Via Sacra, as Cicero mentions in his speech Pro Plancio.
M. Tullius Cicero. The Orations of Marcus Tullius Cicero, literally translated by C. D. Yonge. London. George Bell & Sons. 1903.
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