Rulers who maltreat anyone they wish

Rulers who imitate The Thirty Tyrants, who were installed after the defeat of Athens during the Peloponnesian War, make it their business to maltreat in a light fashion any person they may wish, as though everyone else were guilty, and they had proved themselves the men of the highest virtue. Lysias. Defense against a Charge of subverting the Democracy. Book 25. Section 31.

Mosaic showing Roman entertainments from the 1st century. Jamahiriya Museum, Tripoli, Libya.
From Dar Buc Ammera villa (Zliten). Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.