e a fine thing if he were to be punished even by finding him
guilty of a crime which he had not committed.

In defending his client, Cicero relied as much upon the terrible list
of crimes which had been proved against the dead Oppianicus as upon any
thing else. Terrible indeed it was, as a few specimens from the
catalogue will prove.

Among the wealthier inhabitants of Larinum was a certain Dinaea, a
childless widow. She had lost her eldest son in the Social War (the war
carried on between Rome and her Italian allies), and had seen two others
die of disease. Her only daughter, who had been married to Oppianicus,
was also dead. Now came the unexpected news that her eldest son was
still alive. He had been sold into slavery, and was still working among
a gang of laborers on a farm in Gaul. The poor woman called her kinsfolk
together and implored them to undertake the task of recovering him. At
the same time she made a will, leaving the bulk of her property to her
daughter's son, the younger Oppianicus, but providing for the missing
man a legacy of between three and four thousand pounds. The elder
Oppianicus was not disposed to see so large a sum go out of the family.
Dinaea fell ill, and he brought her his own physician. The patient
refused the man's services; they had been fatal, she said, to all her
kinsfolk. Oppianicus then contrived to introduce to her a traveling
quack from Ancona. He had bribed the man with about seventeen pounds of
our money to administer a deadly drug. The fee was large, and the fellow
was expected to take some pains with the business; but he was in a
hurry; he had many markets to visit; and he gave a single dose which
there was no need to repeat.

Meanwhile Dinaea's kinsfolk had sent two agents to make inquiries for
the missing son. But Oppianicus had been beforehand with them. He had
bribed the man who had brought the first news, had learned where he was
to be found, and had caused him to be assassinated. The agents wrote to
their employers at Larinum, saying that the object of their search could
not be found, Oppianicus having undoubtedly tampered with the person
from whom information was to be obtained. This letter excited great
indignation at Larinum; and one of the family publicly declared in the
market-place that he should hold Oppianicus (who happened to be present)
responsible if any harm should be found to have happened to the missing
man. A few days afterwards the agents themselves ret