La tragedia di uno schiavo in un discorso di Metello Scipione (Ascon. 35,7—11 = ORF 154, F2 Manuwald)

This article aims to reconstruct an episode recorded only in the speech delivered by Quintus Metellus Scipio in the Senate on 18 February 52 BC; Scipio’s speech is known to us from a summary by Asconius (35,7–10). According to the reconstruction presented in the article, Scipio attributed to Milo – whose cold ferocity was emphasised – the intention of killing Clodius’ young son. Milo was said to have violently interrogated the slave responsible for looking after the child in an attempt to find the boy, but the slave died under torture rather than betray his masters. Scipio exploited the episode for emotional effect, aiming to arouse indignation against Milo and admiration for the loyal slave, whose name, exceptionally, was also recorded. The reliability of this story, which comes from a highly biased source, is impossible to verify, but notably, Asconius did not include it in his own account of the facts.