Pro S. Roscio Amerino

PBO SEX. Eoscio, §^ 149—153. 65
kind-hearteduess and pity ; and if this abides Tve can even
now secure our safety. But if the brutal spirit which at
the present day is prevalent in the commonwealth makes
youi- hearts—but that surely cannot be—harder and bitterer,
it is all over, gentlemen : it werebetterto spendone's
life among wild beasts than to dwell amidst such savages
as these.
151. Is it for this that you were reseiwed? Is it
for this that you were chosen,—to condemn men whom
brokers and cut-throats had found it impOissible to murder ?
Grood generals when they join in battle are wont to post
Iroops in the spot to which they thhik the flight of the
enemy will be directed, so that any who fly from the
battle-field may fall in with them unawares ; doubtless
those purchasers of property think that you, men hke you,
are seated here to catch those who escape from their own
hands. Heaven forbid, gentlemen, that this court, which
our ancestors desired to be called the court of the people,
should be regarded as the refuge of bidders at pubHc
sales.
152. What, gentlemen, do you not understaud that their
sole object is to get rid of the children of the proscribed by
auy means whatever, and that they are seeking a precedent
for this course iu your sworn judgmeut aud the trial of
Sextus Eoscius ? Is there any doubt as to whom the guilt
attaches to when you see on the one side a broker, an
enemy, a cut-throat, ay, and yet at the same time an
accuser, ou the other side a poor man, a son who had wou
the esteem of his owu kin, to wliom not only uo reproach,
but not even a suspicion can attach itself ? Sui-ely you
cannot see anythiug against my cheut except that his
father's goods have been put up for auction ?
153. But if you undertake the task aud promise your
help for their pui-pose, if you sit there just to have the
childreu of those whose goods have been pubhcly sold
brought before you, iu Heaveu's name, gentlemeu, beware
lest a fresh and a far more ruthless proscription seem to
have been set on foot by your act. The former proscription,
which was di-awn up agaiust those who could take
arms, the senate nevertheless refused to be responsible for.