Matheson Collection > Pro S. Roscio Amerino

INTRODTTCTION. 9
Tlie property tlius remaiued in tlie hands of Chrysogonus
and his allies ; but they could not feel themselves seciu-e in
the possession of it till Roscius had been removed from
their path, since at any time the swing of the political
pendulum might enable the sons of the proscribed to
recover their estates. Hence plots were formed against the
life of Eoscius, and by the advice of his friends he left
Ameria, where he had resided during these events, and
found shelter at Eome in the house of Caecilia, a noble
lady belonging to the family of the Metelli, who had been
on friendly terms with his iather.
Sextus Eoscius was now no longer an unknown, friend-
less countryman who could be persecuted with impunity.
The Metelli were staunch adherents of Sulla ; Q. Caecilius
Metellus was the colleague of SuUa in the consulsliip in the
year of Eoscius' trial ; SuUa had also married a Metella.
Eoscius' influential f riends might well be expected to draw
Sulla's attention to the real state of affairs, and Chryso-
gonus would theh be forced to give up his ill-gotten gains.
Thus the position of the three conspirators had become
very insecure. The Eoscii now pointed out to Chrysogonus
a way of escape from their embarrassing position. They
suggested that Eoscius himself should be charged with
his father's murder. In this way the very crime by means
of which the father had been got out of the way could be
used for the purpose of ridding themselves of the son.
§ 4. Character of the Accusation. Conduct of the Case.
Tlie Accusation. This inspired suggestion of the Eoscii
was eagerly adopted by Chrysogonus. He relied on the
following considerations. The relations between father
and son had been distant, if not actually strained; and
the difference could be easily exaggerated so as to make it
appear that the two were on bad terms with each other.
The murderers of Eoscius still remained undetected ; the
two slaves who had accompanied him on the night of the
crime, and who alone could throw light on the matter, were
now the property of Chrysogonus, and their new master's
permission was necessary before they could be put under
examination. It was moreover a long time since a trial