Chapter 54

Pergae fanum antiquissimum et sanctissimum Dianae scimus esse: id quoque a te nudatum ac

At Pergae we know there to be a most ancient and sacred shrine of Diana: that also by you was stripped and
spoliatum esse, ex ipsa Diana quod habebat auri detractum atque ablatum esse dico.

despoiled, I say that all the gold Diana had (upon Herself) was taken from her and carried away.
Quae, malum, est ista tanta audacia atque amentia! Quas enim sociorum atque amicorum urbis

What, in the name of evil, such is this audacity and mindlessness! If you had gone to the cities of allies and
adisti legationis iure et nomine, si in eas vi cum exercitu imperioque invasisses, tamen, opinor,

friends with an army and with military authority you had invaded those coties which you did go by law
quae signa atque ornamenta ex iis urbibus sustulisses, haec non in tuam domum neque in

and in the name of your office however I think that the statues you would have taken form those cities
suburbana amicorum, sed Romam in publicum deportasses.

would not have been placed in your house nor in the villas of your friends but for the use of the Roman public.

Literary Notes antiquissimum...sanctissimum- Hyperbole and repetition of the structure of the first sentence of chapter 53 to foreshadow events. nudatum- The idea that Verres would have seen Diana naked not only refrences the myth of Acteon but also would have added to the sacreligious nature of Verres crimes. Amentia- mindlessness is an anti-Stoic concept, Cicero here is demonstrating his knowledge Greek culture to contrast to Verres materialistic desires. vi cum exercitu imperioque Cicero uses a tricolon of expressions of force which would usually be expected of someone plundering a city; none of which Verres uses- particularly not the more nearly legal force behind exercitu and imperio. tuam..publicum- contrast drawn between the selfish nature of Verres and Roman ideals.