Matheson Collection > Pro S. Roscio Amerino

70 CICEBO : PRO ROSCIO. [CH. l.
29. plurimum : accusative denoting the extent of the action of
poi>sitnt.
30. ignorare : here " to disregard" ; its usual meaning is " to be
ignorant of."
32. fdebebam : " I was in duty bound " ; as usual, an historic tense
of deheo is constructed with a present infinitive. Dehebam is an
almost eertain conjecture for the reading of the MSS., debemn.
II., §§ 5-7. Aroument. — The reason lohy so many eminent men
have been deterred from und^rtaking ihis defence rests luith Chryso-
gonns ; he has seized the properly of Sextus JRoscius, aiid does not
think he will he able io keep .secure possession ofit unless ihe defendant
has heenfirst got out ofthe way.
[Consult the Index for Sulla, Chrysogonus.]
Ch. II. — 1. patronus : "pleader," "counsel," to be distinguished
from the advocatus, wlio was merely an adviser. The accused
usually had four patroni, but in this trial he had only one.
3. possem : consecutive subjunctive in a relative clause, lit.
" being a nian of such a lcind that I could."
4. defensus : sc. esset. uti ne : practically = ne ; uti is added to
balance uti in line 3, and to give a positive rather than a negative
effect to the clause.
6. sit : subjunctive in an indirect question.
7. impediat : conseeutive subjunctive.
8. capite et fortunis : the caput was properly the legal status or
■ personality of a Roman, and included the rights of citizenship and
of freedom as well as the riglit to live. As a rule the quaestiones
' could not inflict the death penalty, so that the highest deminutio
\ capitis possible would be loss of citizenship by voluntary exile.
; Under tlie Cornelian law the ancient death penalty of the ' ' sack "
^was retained, but only where the accused confessed his guilt.
\ Thus it would seem that Roscius was fighting for his rights as a
-. citizen, not for his property (which was already lost, there being
\ no question of restitution) ; the addition of fortunis is merely due
to tlie fact that capiit et fortunae was a liackneyed expression : loss
I of property was a usual accompaniment of loss of status, but in this
'■; case the meaiiing offortunae is not to be pressed. See Introd., § 8.
; 9. quod adhuc vos ignorare : subjectof mirum est ; quod, " this
circumstance," is object of ignorare.
10. accusatoribus : there was only one recognised accuser,
Erucius ; Cicero, in using the plural, wishes to emphasise the fact
that the part played by Erucius, a professional accuser of bad cha-
racter, was merely nominal, and that lie had been employed by
others. eius rei : were afraid of losing the property of the
murdered Roscius, and therefore made no mention of the fact that
it was in their hands.