He was supreme judge in all
civil and criminal cases. He negotiated with the parties to every suit
which was brought before him, and then sold his decisions. He confiscated
estates on fictitious accusations. The island was rich in works of art.
Verres had a taste for such things, and seized without scruple the finest
productions of Praxiteles or Zeuxis. If those who were wronged dared to
complain, they were sent to forced labor at the quarries, or, as dead men
tell no tales, were put out of the world. He had an understanding with the
pirates, which throws light upon the secret of their impunity. A shipful
of them were brought into Messina as prisoners, and were sentenced to be
executed. A handsome bribe was paid to Verres, and a number of Sicilians
whom he wished out of the way were brought out, veiled and gagged that
they might not be recognized, and were hanged as the pirates' substitutes.
By these methods Verres was accused of having gathered out of Sicily three
quarters of a million of our money. Two thirds he calculated on having to
spend in corrupting the consuls and the court before which he might be
prosecuted. The rest he would be able to save, and with the help of it to
follow his career of greatness through the highest offices of state. Thus
he had gone on upon his way, secure, as he supposed, of impunity.
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