38.59
But in
Scipio's case the very terms of the peace formed the grounds of suspicion as
being too favourable to Antiochus. "His kingdom," they say, "has been left
to him in its entirety; after his defeat he remained in possession of all that had
belonged to him before the war. Though he had a large amount of gold and
silver, none of it has been brought into the treasury; it has all passed into
private hands." Was not the amount of gold and silver borne before all men's
eyes in Lucius Scipio's triumph greater than in any other ten triumphs if it
were all collected together? What am I to say about the limits of the king's
dominions? Antiochus held all Asia and the adjacent parts of Europe; how
great a part of the world that is, stretching from the Taurus to the Aegean,
you all know. This tract of country, more than thirty days' march in length
and, measured from sea to sea, ten days' march in breadth, extending right
up to the Taurus, has been taken from Antiochus. He has been banished to
the most remote corner of the world. What more, pray, could have been
taken from him, even if peace had been granted without any conditions?
After Philip's defeat, Macedonia was left to him as Lacedaemon was to
Nabis, and yet no criminal inquiry was instituted against Quinctius. He had
not Africanus for his brother, whose great reputation ought to have helped
Lucius instead of injuring him by the jealousy it aroused. It was stated in the
trial that the amount of gold and silver brought into Lucius Scipio's house
was greater than could have been realised by the sale of the whole of his
property. Where, then, is that gold and silver and all the benefactions he has
received? Surely this access of fortune must have been in evidence in a house
which is not wasted with extravagance. Yes, but what cannot be got out of
his property, his enemies will get out of his person by insult and torture, in
order that a man so illustrious may be shut up with burglars and highwaymen
in the inmost dungeon and breathe out his life in darkness, and his naked
body flung out of the prison doors. That would not bring a deeper disgrace
upon the house of the Cornelii than upon the whole City of Rome.