Plutarch: Lives of the noble Grecians and Romans
against him to the censors, he desired leave to defend himself,
and did it so effectually, that, when he ended, he was regarded as
one who had been very much injured. He made it then appear, that
he had served twelve years in the army, whereas others are obliged
to serve only ten; that he had continued quaestor to the general
three years, whereas he might by law have returned at the end of
one year; and alone of all who went on the expedition, he had
carried out a full, and had brought home an empty purse, while
others, after drinking up the wine they had carried out with them,
brought back the wine-jars filled again with gold and silver from
the war.
After this, they brought other accusations and writs against him,
for exciting insurrection amongst the allies, and being engaged
in the conspiracy that was discovered about Fregellae. But having
cleared himself of every suspicion, and proved his entire
innocence, he now at once came forward to ask for the tribuneship;
in which, though he was universally opposed by all persons of
distinction, yet there came such infinite numbers of people from
all parts of Italy to vote for Caius, that lodgings for them could
not be supplied in the city; and the Field being not large enough
to contain the assembly, there were numbers who climbed upon the
roofs and the tilings of the houses to use their voices in his
favor. However, the nobility so far forced the people to their
pleasure and disappointed Caius's hope, that he was not returned
the first, as was expected, but the fourth tribune. But when he
came to the execution of his office, it was seen presently who was
really first tribune, as he was a better orator than any of his
contemporaries, and the passion with which he still lamented his
brother's death, made him the bolder in speaking. He used on all
occasions to remind the people of what had happened in that
tumult, and laid before them the examples of their ancestors, how
they declared war against the Faliscans, only for giving
scurrilous language to one Genucius, a tribune of the people; and
sentenced Caius Veturius to death, for refusing to give way in the
forum to a tribune; "Whereas," said he, "these men did, in the
presence of you all, murder Tiberius with clubs, and dragged the
slaughtered body through the middle of the city, to be cast into
the river. Even his friends, as many as could be taken, were put
to death immediately, without any trial, notwithstanding that just
and ancient custom, which has always been observed in our city,
that whenever anyone is accused of a capital crime, and does not
make his personal appearance in court, a trumpeter is sent in the
morning to his lodging, to summon him by sound of trumpet to
appear; and before this ceremony is performed, the judges do not
proceed to the vote; so cautious and reserved were our ancestors
about business of life and death."
Having moved the people's passion with such addresses (and his
voice was of the loudest and strongest), he proposed two laws.
The first was, that whoever was turned out of any public office by
the people, should be thereby rendered incapable of bearing any
office afterwards; the second, that if any magistrate condemn a
Roman to be banished, without a legal trial, the people be
authorized to take cognizance thereof.
One of these laws was manifestly leveled at Marcus Octavius, who,
at the instigation of Tiberius, had been deprived of his
tribuneship. The other touched Popilius, who, in his praetorship,
had banished all Tiberius's friends; whereupon Popilius, being
unwilling to stand the hazard of a trial, fled out of Italy. As
for the former law, it was withdrawn by Caius himself, who said he
yielded in the case of Octavius, at the request of his mother
Cornelia. This was very acceptable and pleasing to the people,
who had a great veneration for Cornelia, not more for the sake of
her father than for that of her children; and they afterwards
erected a statue of brass in honor of her, with this inscription,
Cornelia, the mother of the Gracchi. There are several
expressions recorded, in which he used her name perhaps with too
much rhetoric, and too little self-respect, in his attacks upon
his adversaries. "How," said he, "dare you presume to reflect
upon Cornelia, the mother of Tiberius?" And because the person
who made the redactions had been suspected of effeminate courses,
"With what face," said he, "can you compare Cornelia with
yourself? Have you brought forth children as she has done? And
yet all Rome knows, that she has refrained from the conversation
of men longer than you yourself have done." Such was the
bitterness he used in his language; and numerous similar
expressions might be adduced from his written remains.
Of the laws which he now proposed, with the object of gratifying
the people and abridging the power of the senate, the first was
concerning the public lands, which were to be divided amongst the
poor citizens; another was concerning the common soldiers, that
they should be clothed at the public charge, without any
diminution of their pay, and that none should be obliged to serve
in the army who was not full seventeen years old; another gave the
same right to all the Italians in general, of voting at elections,
as was enjoyed by the citizens of Rome; a fourth related to the
price of corn, which was to be sold at a lower rate than formerly
to the poor; and a fifth regulated the courts of justice, greatly
reducing the power of the senators. For hitherto, in all causes
senators only sat as judges, and were therefore much dreaded by
the Roman knights and the people. But Caius joined three hundred
ordinary citizens of equestrian rank with the senators, who were
three hundred likewise in number, and ordained that the judicial
authority should be equally invested in the six hundred. While he
was arguing for the ratification of this law, his behavior was
observed to show in many respects unusual earnestness, and whereas
other popular leaders had always hitherto, when speaking, turned
their faces towards the senate house, and the place called the
comitium, he, on the contrary, was the first man that in his
harangue to the people turned himself the other way, towards them,
and continued after that time to do so. An insignificant movement
and change of posture, yet it marked no small revolution in state
affairs, the conversion, in a manner, of the whole government from
an aristocracy to a democracy; his action intimating that public
speakers should address themselves to the people, not the senate.
When the commonalty ratified this law, and gave him power to
select those of the knights whom he approved of, to be judges, he
was invested with a sort of kingly power, and the senate itself
submitted to receive his advice in matters of difficulty; nor did
he advise anything that might derogate from the honor of that
body. As, for example, his resolution about the corn which Fabius
the propraetor sent from Spain, was very just and honorable; for
he persuaded the senate to sell the corn, and return the money to
the same provinces which had furnished them with it; and also that
Fabius should be censured for rendering the Roman government
odious and insupportable. This got him extraordinary respect and
favor among the provinces. Besides all this, he proposed measures
for the colonization of several cities, for making roads, and for
building public granaries; of all which works he himself undertook
the management and superintendence, and was never wanting to give
necessary orders for the dispatch of all these different and great
undertakings; and that with such wonderful expedition and
diligence, as if he had been but engaged upon one of them;
insomuch that all persons, even those who hated or feared him,
stood amazed to see what a capacity he had for effecting and
completing all he undertook. As for the people themselves, they
were transported at the very sight, when they saw him surrounded
with a crowd of contractors, artificers, public deputies, military
officers, soldiers, and scholars. All these he treated with an
easy familiarity, yet without abandoning his dignity in his
gentleness; and so accommodated his nature to the wants and
occasions of everyone who addressed him, that those were looked
upon as no better than envious detractors, who had represented him
as a terrible, assuming, and violent character. He was even a
greater master of the popular leader's art in his common talk and
his actions, than he was in his public addresses.
His most especial exertions were given to constructing the roads,
which he was careful to make beautiful and pleasant, as well as
convenient. They were drawn by his directions through the fields,
exactly in a straight line, partly paved with hewn stone, and
partly laid with solid masses of gravel. When he met with any
valleys or deep watercourses crossing the line, he either caused
them to be filled up with rubbish, or bridges to be built over
them, so well leveled, that all being of an equal height on both
sides, the work presented one uniform and beautiful prospect.
Besides this, he caused the roads to be all divided into miles
(each mile containing little less than eight furlongs, and erected
pillars of stone to signify the distance from one place to
another. He likewise placed other stones at small distances from
one another, on both sides of the way, by the help of which
travelers might get easily on horseback without wanting a groom.
For these reasons, the people highly extolled him, and were ready
upon all occasions to express their affection towards him. One
day, in an oration to them, he declared that he had only one favor
to request, which if they granted, he should think the greatest
obligation in the world; yet if it were denied, he would never
blame them for the refusal. This expression made the world
believe that his ambition was to be consul; and it was generally
expected that he wished to be both consul and tribune at the same
time. When the day for election of consuls was at hand, and all
in great expectation, he appeared in the Field with Caius Fannius,
canvassing together with his friends for his election. This was
of great effect in Fannius's favor. He was chosen consul, and
Caius elected tribune the second time, without his own seeking or
petitioning for it, but at the voluntary motion of the people.
But when he understood that the senators were his declared
enemies, and that Fannius himself was none of the most zealous of
friends, he began again to rouse the people with other new laws.
He proposed that a colony of Roman citizens might be sent to
re-people Tarentum and Capua, and that the Latins should enjoy the
same privileges with the citizens of Rome. But the senate,
apprehending that he would at last grow too powerful and
dangerous, took a new and unusual course to alienate the people's
affections from him, by playing the demagogue in opposition to
him, and offering favors contrary to all good policy. Livius
Drusus was fellow-tribune with Caius, a person of as good a family
and as well educated as any amongst the Romans, and noways
inferior to those who for their eloquence and riches were the most
honored and most powerful men of that time. To him, therefore,
the chief senators made their application, exhorting him to attack
Caius, and join in their confederacy against him; which they
designed to carry on, not by using any force, or opposing the
common people, but by gratifying and obliging them with such
unreasonable things as otherwise they would have felt it honorable
for them to incur the greatest unpopularity in resisting.
Livius offered to serve the senate with his authority in this
business; and proceeded accordingly to bring forward such laws as