[88]
This appears to be a single crime, this of the Tyndaritan Mercury, and it is
brought forward by me as a single one; but there are many crimes contained in
it—only I do not know how to separate and distinguish them. It is a case
of money extorted, for he took away from the allies a statue worth a large sum of
money. It is a case of embezzlement, because he did not hesitate to appropriate a
public statue belonging to the Roman people, taken from the spoils of the enemy,
placed where it was in the name of our general. It is a case of treason, because he
dared to overturn and to carry away monuments of our empire, of our glory, and of
our exploits. It is a case of impiety, because he violated the most solemn
principles of religion. It is a case of inhumanity, because he invented a new and
extraordinary description of punishment for an innocent man, an ally and friend of
our nation.
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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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