selections translated by Wilfred E. Major
A. Selections from In Verrem (Against Verres ) 2.4
In 70 BCE, Cicero prosecuted Gaius Verres, then governor of the Greek island of Sicily, for numerous improprities, including embezzlement, theft, extortion, and murder. This notorious case made Cicero the undisputed master orator of his day. In these excerpts, Cicero details how Verres plundered the artworks on Sicily.
3. Where could I better begin than with the very city which alone was in your heart and affections...Messana? Gaius Heius was from Messana, and everyone who has been in Messana easily concedes to me that he was the most distinguished man in every endeavor. This man’s house was perhaps the finest in Messana, certainly, at least, the best known, and it was most open and hospitable to our fellow Romans. This house was, before this man’s arrival, decorated such that it was itself a decoration to the city. For Messana itself, which is decorated by its walls on the site and its harbor, is now empty and stripped of what this man likes.
4. There was at Heius’ house a sanctuary of great significance in the building, an ancient inheritance from his ancestors, in which there were four gorgeous statues of the finest craftsmanship and quality. These statues could delight not only this "brilliant and intelligent" man, but also any of us, whom he labels amateurs. One was a marble statue of Cupid made by Praxiteles-- I should explain that I learned the names of the artists while conducting my investigation of this man. This is the same sculptor, I think, who made that similar Cupid at Thespiae, the very reason Thespiae gets visitors, since there is no other reason to visit. And what’s more, the famous Lucius Mummius, although he took from the town the statues of the Thespian Muses (which are now in the temple of Good Fortune) and other works which were not consecrated, this particular marble Cupid, which had been consecrated, he never touched.
5. But let me go back to that sancturary. There was a marble statue of Cupid I was talking about. Opposite it was an excellently crafted Hercules of bronze. It is said to be by Myron--at least I think so-- yes, it was. In the same place, right in front of these two statues, were small altars, of the sort which could prove the sanctity of any such sanctuary. There were also two additional statues, not very big, but extraordinarily charming, with the posture and dress of young women, with their hands raised up holding on their heads certain sacred objects in the fashion of young Athenian maidens. The statues were called the Kanephoroi [Basket-Carriers], but the sculptor was, um, who? who again? You said it right--they said it was Polyclitus. When any of us used to visit Messana, they would usually see them. They were available daily for everyone to see. The house was no more a decoration for its owner than for the town.
6. Gaius Claudius, who we all know served magnificently as aedile, used this Cupid for a while to decorate the forum for the immortal gods and the Roman people, and, since he a friend of the Heius family, and still a patron of the people of Messana, just as he used their kindness for his convenience, he himself was just as careful about returning it. Recently noble men of this sort, gentlemen of the jury, -- but why do I say "recently"?-- indeed just a little while ago and virtually just now we have seen men who would decorate the forum and the basilicas not with plunder from the provinces but with the artworks of their friends, the gifts of their guests, and not the thefts of criminals. And likewise they all returned the statues and decorations to their owners, rather than carrying them off from the cities of our allies and friends, for the sake of a four-day break, on the pretext of being aediles, and then take them home to their private villas.
7. But all these statues I have mentioned, gentlemen of the jury, Verres took from the house of Heius. Not one of them, I say, did he leave behind and nothing else either, except one old wooden figure, of Good Fortune, I think. This man didn’t want that in his house.
93. ...This man, in the town of Agrigentum (I believe because of the sheer number of guards and their excellence, and because so many Roman citizens in that town, brave and exemplary men, live and work closely with the residents of Agrigentum), did not dare to demand and take openly what interested him.
94. A temple of Hercules stands in Agrigentum not far from the forum, a place sincerely sacred and revered. In it there is a bronze image of Hercules himself. I could not easily say I have ever seen anything more beautiful, although I do not know as much about these things as I have seen them. Still, gentlemen of the jury, it is so beautiful that its open mouth and chin are a little worn down because when praying and offering thanks they tend not only to worship it but actually kiss it. To this temple, when this man was in Agrigentum, a storm of armed slaves led by Timarchides ran in at night and attacked. The alarm went out from the watchmen and temple guards, who at first, although they tried to prevent them and defend the place, were beaten with nails and clubs and driven off. Then with the retaining bolts ripped off and the doors broken open, they try to loosen the statue and slide it off with levers. Meanwhile, because of the yelling, word spread over the whole city that their homeland gods were under attack, not at the unforeseen approach of the enemy or the sudden attack of pirates, but from the governor's own company a band of convicts had come with their arms drawn.
95. No one in Agrigentum was so afflicted with age or weakness that they weren't stirred up by the news, arose, and snatched whatever weapon happened to be available. And so in a short time there was a rush on the temple from all over the city. For more than an hour a good many men had been struggling to loosen the statue. Nothing slipped anywhere for their efforts, although some were trying to move it by jamming levers underneath and others to take it with ropes and cable tied to its limbs. Then suddenly the population of Agrigentum runs in. A stone throwing fight ensued. The fly-by-night soldiers of our noble general run away. They did, however, carry off two very small statuettes so as not to return empty-handed to this temple-robbing pirate. In Sicily, things are never so bad that they can't make a good joke, so in this case they said that this gigantic swine [in Latin, the name Verres means "swine"] should be as famous as Hercules' labor of the Erymanthian boar.
132. [Cicero has just finished elaborating the massive thefts Verres committed in Syracuse, the largest city on the island.] What next? Do you think the people of Syracuse were mildly affected? Not at all, gentlemen of the jury. First, they are all moved by their religious faith and think that they must cling to and worship fervently the land's gods which they received from their ancestors. Next, this decorative stuff, these statues, artworks, paintings, delights the Greeks to the extreme. And so we can understand from their complaints that this is extremely harsh for them, while to us it perhaps seems silly and even laughable. Believe me, gentlemen of the jury, although I am certain you have heard the same yourselves, that although through the years our allies and foreign states have suffered many disasters, the Greeks bear and have borne nothing harder than these guttings of their sanctuaries and towns...
134. ...It is astonishing how the Greeks enjoy things which we despise. And so our ancestors easily permitted them to keep as much of this stuff as possible. Among our allies, it is so they can be as splendid and prosperous as possible in our empire. Even among those who pay tax and tribute, nevertheless they leave these objects so that they can have in the very things which are pleasing to them and silly to us, delight and comfort in their servitude.
Flush from his success in the case against Verres, among his many activities Cicero purchased and began refurbishing a villa in Tusculum, which would become a favorite place in ensuing years for Cicero to find respite from the turmoil of public life. In the following selections from various letters, he discusses the purchase of art objects to furnish this villa. All but one of these letters is addressed to his dear friend Atticus, whom he trusted to choose and purchase some of the collection.
Letters to Atticus 1.5.7 (November, 68 BCE)
I am glad you like the purchase you made in Epirus. I leave it to you and, as you wrote in your letter, would like you to take care of whatever you consider will be suitable to my place in Tusculum, as long as you do not trouble yourself too much. Because, for me, it is the one place away from all my troubles and hard work that I find peace.
Letters to Atticus 1.6.2.5-10 (November, 68 BCE)
I would like it if you, should you have the chance to acquire any decorative pieces for a Greek-style lecture hall, the sort of place with which you are not unfamiliar, would not let the opportunity pass. I like the Tusculan place so much that I am content with myself when, and only when, I come there.
Letters to Atticus 1.8.2 (after February 13, 67 BCE)
I have paid the 20,400 sesterces to Lucius Cincius for the statues made of marble from Megara, as you had written to me. Your statues of Hermes, made of marble from Pantela, with the bronze heads, about which you wrote to me, even now delight me. Accordingly, I would like for you to send them, the statues, and anything else which seems to you a match for the place, my interests, and your taste, and especially whatever will work best for a Greek-style lecture hall and colonnade. Because, I am so caught up in my eagerness for this sort of thing that you absolutely have to help me, and others practically have to scold me. If Lentulus’ ship will not be available, load them wherever meets your approval.
Letters to Atticus 1.9.2.1-6 (after March or April, 67 BCE)
As for the statues made of marble from Megara, about which you wrote to me, I can hardly wait for them. Whatever of this sort of thing you have and seems to you worthy of [the lecture hall I have named] the Academy, don’t hesitate to send it and count on my finances. This is my sort of wild desire. Whatever is especially "Greek lecture hall," I want it! Lentulus promises his ships. I ask you to tend to this carefully.
Letters to Atticus 1.10.3 (after c.May, 67 BCE)
My statues and the portrait bust of Hermes and Hercules, as you wrote about them, when at your greatest convenience, I would like you to send them and if you find anything just approprié for the you-know-which place, and especially whatever seems to you to belong in an exercise yard and lecture hall. In addition, I trust you to get some bas-reliefs which I can lay in the stucco of the small entrance hall and two figured puteals. As for your library collection, be sure you don’t betroth it to anyone else, even though you might find an ardent suitor, because I am saving up all my leftover crops so that I can acquire it as a haven in my old age.
Letters to Atticus 1.11.3 (after August, 67 BCE)
Do please send what you acquired for [the lecture hall I have named] the Academy as soon as possible. It is amazing how not just the use but even the thought of the place gives pleasure. And be sure you do not surrender your books to anyone else. Keep them for me, as you wrote you would. The greatest enthusiasm consumes me for them, as much as sheer hatred for everythng else. It’s unbelievable, in only a short time, how much worse you will find the situation than when you left.
Letters to Atticus 1.4.3 (early 66 BCE)
I am grateful for what you wrote about the portrait bust of Hermes and Athena. It is appropriate decoration for [the lecture hall I have named] the Academy, since Hermes is standard in all such places and Minerva is specifically a marker of this Greek-style lecture hall. So please, as you wrote you would, also decorate the place with as many other objects as possible. The statues which you sent me before I have not yet seen. They are at my home in Formiae, where I am now planning to set out. I will transport them all to Tusculum. If I begin to have an oversupply, I will decorate the house at Caieta [this is the same house as the one in Formiae, as it lay in between Caieta and Formiae]. Hold on to your books and don’t worry about my being able to make them mine. If I succeed in this, I surpass Crassus in wealth and can despise any man’s manors and meadows.
Letters to Friends 7.23.1-3 (this letter is of uncertain date, perhaps from the late 60’s but possibly as late as the 40’s BCE; it addressed to another of Cicero’s friends, Marcus Fadius Gallus, who has apparently made some purchases from Avianus on Cicero’s behalf.)
1. I had only just arrived from Arpinum when a letter from you was delivered to me. At the same time I received Avianus’ letter in which there is a very generous offer to enter the debt, when he came, on whatever day I wish. Now I ask you, put yourself in my position. Will it be rude on your part, or mine, first to haggle about the day and then ask for a year’s worth of delay in payment? But, my dear Gallus, everything would be easy if you had bought what I really wanted and within the budget I had requested. But as it is the things which you wrote that you had purchased I will not only consider mine but be happy about it. For I do realize that you employed not only interest in but affection for me, and, as a man, as I have often thought of you, in every way most cultured, made purchases of what you considered worthy of me.
2. But please let the art collector Damasippus stick to his intention to buy them instead! For, frankly, I like none of your purchases. But you were unaware of my usual practice. I would not pay as much for the entire race of statues everywhere as you sunk in to these four or five. You compare the Bacchante statues you bought with the statues of the Muses belonging to Metellus: but how are they alike? [Bacchantes are women in a frenzied devotion to the god Dionysos; they usually appear quite wild and chaotic. The Muses were the goddesses of artistic inspiration.] First of all, I wouldn’t have thought the Muses worth that much and I would have done so with the Muses themselves approving. But at least that was appropriate to a library and consistent with my interests. But where do I have room for Bacchantes? "But they are pretty things." I know them well. I’ve seen them often. I would have specifically directed you to statues known to me, if I had considered them worthwhile. I am in the habit of buying statues which contribute to the atmosphere of a Greek-style lecture hall in my park area. But where do I, the author of peace, have room for a statue of Mars, god of war? I’m just glad there wasn’t a statue of Saturn, a god of bad luck. With these two gods, I would have thought the statues themselves had inflicted this debt on me. I would rather some sort of Mercury, god of profit, had been available. I would have had been better able to deal with Avianus, I think.
3. As for the table-support which you had intended to keep for yourself, if you like it, take it. If, however, you change your mind, I will, of course, take it. As far as the total bill, I would much more happily have bought lodging in Terracina, so I would not always bother my host there. On the whole, I gather that my freedman, to whom I had clearly entrusted this particular business, is at fault. Likewise with Junius, whom I think you know, Avianus’ friend. I now have some reading niches in a little colonnade at my home in Tusculum. I have wanted to decorate it with pictures. In fact, if I like anything of that sort, it is a painting. But anyway, if I have to take these things, please inform me where they are, when they should be sent for, and what kind of transport. For if Damasippus does not stick to his intention, we will have to find a faux-Damasippus, even at a financial loss.