Pro S. Roscio Amerino

PRO SBX. ROSCIO, §§ 21—26. 9
gant extravagance in dealing with another man's property
as he had shown mean parsim mj in dealing with his own :
not a few things he openly removed to his own house ; a
great many he got rid of secretly ; a vast quantity he
lavished with great extravagance upon his confederates ;
the rest he put up for auction and sold them.
24. This was regarded at Ameria as such an abominable
proceeding that the whole city was filled with tears and
mourning. For assuredly there were many causes for
sorrow before their eyes at the same time : there was the
cruel death of the rich and prosperous Sextus Eoscius, the
shameful destitution of his son, whom that impious brigand
had not left from his vast inheritance even a right of way to
his father's tomb ; and again, his seizure of the property,his
shameful occupation of the estates, his thefts and robberies,
and the largesses to his friends. There was not a man who
would not prefer that all those possessions should be in
flames rather than to see Titus Eoscius pluming himself
and lordiug it in the midst of the goods of the worthy and
honourable Sextus Roscius.
25. Accordingly a decree of the town council was immediately
passed, to the eifect that their ten leading nien
should proceed to Lucius SuIIa and give him information
about Sextus Eoscius' excellent character ; that they should
lodge complaints with regard to the guilty deeds of the
prosecutors, and entreat the dictator to consent to the preserving
of the deceased man's i'eputation and of his innocent
son's possessions. And hear, I pray you, the decree itself.
(The decree of the town council is read.) The envoys came
to the camp. It can be understood that these crimes and
villainies were perpetrated, as I have already stated, without
the knowledge of Lucius Sulla. For with no delay
Chrysogonus not only went to them himself, but commissioned
men of rank to go also, and request the envoys
not to interview SuIIa, and promise that Chrysogonous
would do all they wished.
26. Nay, such was his terror, that he would rather have
died than let SuIIa be informed of the facts of this case.
Being men of the old stamp, who formed their conception
of the rest of the world from their own character, they