Cicero was a power in the courts of the law, all the greater because he
had never yet prosecuted, but had kept himself to what was held the more
honorable task of defending persons accused.[2] Verres secured Hortensius.
He too was a great orator; Cicero had chosen him as the model which he
would imitate, and speaks of him as having been a splendid and energetic
speaker, full of life both in diction and action. At that time, perhaps,
his reputation stood higher than that of Cicero himself. It was something
to have retained so powerful an advocate; it would be still more if it
could be contrived that the prosecutor should be a less formidable person.
And there was a chance of contriving this. A certain Caecilius was induced
to come forward, and claim for himself, against Cicero, the duty of
prosecuting the late governor of Sicily. He too had been a quaestor in the
province, and he had quarreled, or he pretended that he had quarreled, with
Verres. The first thing there had to be argued before the court, which,
like our own, consisted of a presiding judge and a jury, was the
question, who was to prosecute, Cicero or Caecilius, or the two
together. Cicero made a great speech, in which he established his own
claim. He was the choice of the provincials; the honesty of his rival
was doubtful, while it was quite certain that he was incompetent. The
court decided in his favor, and he was allowed one hundred and ten days
to collect evidence. Verres had another device in store. This time a
member of the Senate came forward and claimed to prosecute Verres for
misdoings in the province of Achaia in Greece. He wanted one hundred and
eight days only for collecting evidence. If this claim should be
allowed, the second prosecution would be taken first; of course it was
not intended to be serious, and would end in an acquittal. Meanwhile all
the available time would have been spent, and the Sicilian affair would
have to be postponed till the next year. It was on postponement indeed
that Verres rested his hopes. In July Hortensius was elected consul for
the following year, and if the trial could only be put off till he had