Cicero, In Verrem Secunda (1.28):
Dionem HS deciens centena milia numerasse ut causam certissimam obtineret; praeterea greges equarum eius istum abigendos curasse, argenti, vestis stragulae quod fuerit curasse auferendum.
Dio paid a million sesterces to win a case that should have been absolutely certain; furthermore, that man [Verres] made sure his herds of mares were driven away; he made sure whatever silver and tapestry he had were carried off.
The traditional English term of venery for a grex equarum (‘group of mares’) is a ‘stud,’ and this word is still in occasional use, but the expression ‘studs of mares’ seems too rare to consider using.
The vestis stragula (lit. ‘covering cloth’) is apparently the same as the tapete, which is a kind of ornamental, decorated cloth or rug, used generally for covering walls, floors, and furniture.
I wasn’t exactly sure how best to render causa certissima. The idea is that in a fair court, without a trumped-up charge or false witnesses, there would have been no case against him at all.
[For abigo.]
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