Chapter 53

Aspendum vetus oppidum et nobile in Pamphylia scitis esse, plenissimum signorum optimorum.

You know Aspendos to be an old and noble city most full of the best statues.
non dicam illinc hoc signum ablatum esse et illud: hoc dico, nullum te Aspendi signum, Verres,

I will not say that this or that statue was taken from there: This I say, no statue of Aspendos You,
reliquisse, omnia ex fanis, ex locis publicis, palam, spectantibus omnibus, plaustris evecta

Verres, have left behind, all (of them) from the public places, openly with everyone looking on
exportataque esse.

were loaded onto wagons and carried away.

atque etiam illum Aspendium citharistam, de quo saepe audistis id quod est Graecis hominibus

And even that lyre player of Aspendos about whom you have often heard in proverbs popular
in proverbio, quem omnia 'intus canere' dicebant sustulit et in intimis suis aedibus posuit, ut

amongst the Greeks, which say it could song within itself. He took it away and put it in the
etiam illum ipsum suo artificio superasse videatur.

innermost part of his house to appear to have surpassed even the statue in its art.

Literary Notes
scitis esse- You know implies the audiences intelligence and pays them a compliment through the assumption (Captatio Benevolentiae). plenissimum...optimorum- Hyperbole to emphasis seriousness of the crime. Non Dicam- Praetoritio (Allusion to something by denying that it will be

mentioned)
Dicam...Dico- Anaphora to emphasis the praetoritio and second point. Omnia ex fanis, ex locis publicis, palam- Pleonasm to show the shamelessness of the crime crimes, enforced by pallam. Sustulit et in intimis suis aedibus posuit- Sibilance to imply his trickery/secrecy. ut etiam illium ipsum suo artifice superasse videatur- Comparison of Verres to the statue with Verres trickery or art compared to the trickery implied by the craftsmanship of the statue (irony).