[59]
But now the examinations which have just been conducted in the hall of
liberty, are said to press against Milo? Who are the slaves who have been
examined? Do you ask? The slaves of Publius Clodius. Who demanded that they
should be examined? Appius. Who produced them? Appius. Where
were they brought from? From the house of Appius. O ye good gods, what can
be done with more animosity? There is no law which authorizes slaves to be
examined as witnesses against their master, except on accusations of
impiety, as was the case in the prosecution instituted against Clodius.
Clodius has been raised nearly to the gods, more nearly than even when he
penetrated into their sanctuary, when an investigation into the
circumstances of his death is carried on like one into a profanation of
sacred ceremonies. But still, our ancestors did not think it right that
slaves should be examined as witnesses against their masters, not because
the truth could not be discovered, but because it seemed a scandalous thing
to do, and more oppressive to the masters than even death itself. Well,
then, when the slaves of the prosecutor are examined as witnesses against
the defendant can the truth be found out?
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M. Tullius Cicero. The Orations of Marcus Tullius Cicero, literally translated by C. D. Yonge, B. A. London. George Bell & Sons, York Street, Covent Garden. 1891.
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