Pro S. Roscio Amerino

124 CICERO : PRO ROSCIO. [CH. XLVIII.
wibh extortion, were always liable to be eondemned by the equestrian
courts. In the Civil War (83-82 b.c. ) the equites had as a body
supported the democratic cause ; and Sulla punished them by depriving
them of their judicial functions.
25. servi : more scornful than liberti—Chrysogonus is of course
referred to.
26. in aliis rebus : viz. in the proscriptions and confiseations.
27. munitet : subjunctive in dependent question ; munitare is the
iterative of munio. quod iter adfectet : quod is tlie reading of the
MSS. ; some editoi's ciiange quod to quo, but viam adfectare is a
regular phrase, and quod iter corresponds to quam viam, which
immediately precedes. The expressions are doubtless borrowed
from one of the comic poets.
30. aliquid : accusative of the extent of the action of posse.
32. hoc : ablative of cause, = eo, " for this reason," anticipating
quod, " because." verear : subjunctive denoting the cause assigned
at the time of the action described in the principal sentence. Here
it denotes the unreal or false cause ; while the indicative ausus est
(line 33) is used of the real or true cause.
33. ausus est : used absolutely, " had the daring," " been so
daring," " dared so much."
XLIX., §§ 141-144. Argument.— If the victory ofthe nobles ought
to be an advantage to the commomvealth, my speech should be acceptable
to all right-minded men. Anyone ivho thinks that I, by finding
fault with Chrysogonus, injure the good cause, shoivs that he does not
really understand what that cause is. Asfor my client, he accuses no
one, and makes no complaint of the loss of his property. All he wanta
is to be acquitted of this charge, and to be allowed to pass his life in
honourable poverty,
Ch. XLIX.— 1. texperrecta: "roused," as from a long slumber
a conjecture for the reading of the MSS. e.cpectata, " long-expected,"
which would refer to the time when Sulla was in the East. Perhaps
the correct reading is excitata. rem publicam " : the govemment."
2. servuli : the diminutive is used contemptuously.
4. hoc : i.e. the victory of the nobility.
5. maluerim : sub-dependent subjunctive in a relative clause
dependent on the aocusative and infinitive phrase me errasse ; but in
any case the subjunctive would be required, as the relative clause is
causal.
6. inermis : though I took no actual part in the fighting.
mento . . . emolumento : predicative datives.
oma-
10. causam : i.e. of the nobility.
11. is causam ignorat: since the cause has nothing to lose but
everything to gain by opposing such eontemptible creatures. -f-se
ipsum probe novit : Madvig's emendation of se ipsum prope non
novit, tlie reading of the MSS. The meaning is that such a one,
though ignorant of the true nature of the aristocra.tic cause, realises,
;