urned. They had
found the man, but he was dead. Oppianicus dared not face the burst of
rage which this news excited, and fled from Larinum. But he was not at
the end of his resources. The Civil War between Sulla and the party of
Marius (for Marius himself was now dead) was raging, and Oppianicus fled
to the camp of Metellus Pius, one of Sulla's lieutenants. There he
represented himself as one who had suffered for the party. Metellus had
himself fought in the Social War, and fought against the side to which
the murdered prisoner belonged. It was therefore easy to persuade him
that the man had deserved his fate, and that his friends were unworthy
persons and dangerous to the commonwealth. Oppianicus returned to
Larinum with an armed force, deposed the magistrates whom the
towns-people had chosen, produced Sulla's mandate for the appointment of
himself and three of his creatures in their stead, as well as for the
execution of four persons particularly obnoxious to him. These four
were, the man who had publicly threatened him, two of his kinsfolk, and
one of the instruments of his own villainies, whom he now found it
convenient to get out of the way.

The story of the crimes of Oppianicus, of which only a small part has
been given, having been finished, Cicero related the true circumstances
of his death. After his banishment he had wandered about for a while
shunned by all his acquaintances. Then he had taken up his quarters in a
farmhouse in the Falernian country. From these he was driven away by a
quarrel with the farmer, and removed to a small lodging which he had
hired outside the walls of Rome. Not long afterwards he fell from his
horse, and received a severe injury in his side. His health was already
weak, fever came on, he was carried into the city and died after a few
days' illness.

Besides the charge of poisoning Oppianicus there were others that had to
be briefly dealt with. One only of these needs to be mentioned.
Cluentius, it was said, had put poison into a cup of honey wine, with
the intention of giving it to the younger Oppianicus. The occasion, it
was allowed, was the young man's wedding-breakfast, to which, as was
the custom at Larinum, a large company had been invited. The prosecutor
affirmed that one of the bridegroom's friends had intercepted the cup on
its way, drunk off its contents, and instantly expired. The answer to
this was complete. The young man had not instantly expired. On the
contrary, he