Dē quō nē multa disseram tantum dīcō, secūtum id esse Nerōnem et eius cōnsilium: quod Cornēlium līctōrem occīsum esse cōnstāret, putāsse nōn oportēre esse cuīquam nē in ulcīscendā quidem iniūriā hominis occīdendī potestātem. In quō videō Nerōnis iūdiciō nōn tē absolūtum esse improbitātis, sed illōs damnātōs esse caedis. Vērum ista damnātiō tamen cuius modī fuit? Audītē, quaesō, iūdicēs, et aliquandō miserēminī sociōrum et ostendite aliquid iīs in vestrā fide praesidī esse oportēre. Quod tōtī Asiae iūre occīsus vidēbātur istīus ille verbō līctor, rē vērā minister improbissimae cupiditātis, pertimuit iste nē Philodamus Nerōnis iūdiciō līberārētur; rogat et ōrat Dolābellam ut dē suā prōvinciā dēcēdat, ad Nerōnem proficīscātur; sē dēmōnstrat incolumem esse nōn posse, sī Philodamō vīvere atque aliquandō Rōmam venīre licuisset.
study aids
This paragraph picks up the rather vital piece of information that Cicero shared almost en passant as a seemingly unimportant interjection of Hortensius at the end of the previous. . . [full essay]
Grammar and Syntax:
- What kind of genitives are improbitatis and caedis?
- What kind of genitive is praesidi? On what word does it depend?
Style and Theme:
- What is the rhetorical effect of the sentence that begins Audite, quaeso…?
- What stylistic device does Cicero employ in the phrase aliquid iis in vestra fide praesidi? What is the rhetorical effect?