The History of Rome, Books 01 to 08
lowest, but even the leading men in the commons had sunk so low in
spirit, that no enterprising and adventurous man had courage, not only
to stand for the military tribuneship among the patricians, (for which
privilege they had strained all their energies,) but not even to take on
them and sue for plebeian magistracies: and the patricians seemed to
have for ever recovered the possession of an honour that had been only
usurped by the commons for a few years. A trifling cause, as generally
happens, which had the effect of producing a mighty result, intervened
to prevent the other party from exulting too much in that. Two daughters
of Marcus Fabius Ambustus, an influential man, both among persons of his
own station, and also with the commons, because he was by no means
considered a despiser of persons of that order, had been married, the
elder to Servius Sulpicius, the younger to Caius Licinius Stolo, a
distinguished person, but still a plebeian; and the fact of such an
alliance not having been scorned, had gained influence for Fabius with
the people. It so happened, that when the two sisters, the Fabiæ, were
passing away the time in conversation in the house of Servius Sulpicius,
military tribune, a lictor of Sulpicius, when he returned home from the
forum, rapped at the door, as is usual, with the rod. When the younger
Fabia, a stranger to this custom, was frightened at it, she was laughed
at by her sister, who was surprised at her sister not knowing the
matter. That laugh, however, gave a sting to the female mind, sensitive
as it is to mere trifles. From the number of persons attending on her,
and asking her commands, her sister's match, I suppose, appeared to her
to be a fortunate one, and she repined at her own, according to that
erroneous feeling, by which every one is most annoyed at being
outstripped by those nearest to him. When her father happened to see her
disappointed after the recent mortification, by kindly inquiring he
prevailed on her, who was dissembling the cause of her annoyance, (as
being neither affectionate with respect to her sister, nor respectful
towards her husband,) to confess, that the cause of her chagrin was,
that she had been united to an inferior, and married into a house which
neither honour nor influence could enter. Ambustus then, consoling his
daughter, bid her keep up good spirits; that she should soon see the
same honours at her own house, which she now sees at her sister's. Upon
this he began to draw up his plans with his son-in-law, having attached
to himself Lucius Sextius, an enterprising young man, and one to whose
hope nothing was wanting but patrician descent.
35. There appeared a favourable opportunity for making innovations on
account of the immense load of debt, no alleviation of which evil the
commons could hope for unless their own party were placed in the highest
authority. To [bring about] that object [they saw] that they should
exert themselves. That the plebeians, by endeavouring and persevering,
had already gained a step towards it, whence, if they struggled forward,
they might reach the summit, and be on a level with the patricians, in
honour as well as in merit. For the present it was resolved that
plebeian tribunes should be created, in which office they might open for
themselves a way to other honours. And Caius Licinius and Lucius
Sextius, being elected tribunes, proposed laws all against the power of
the patricians, and for the interests of the commons: one regarding the
debt, that, whatever had been paid in interest being deducted from the
principal, the remainder should be paid off in three years by equal
instalments; the other concerning the limitation of land, that no one
should possess more than five hundred acres of land; a third, that there
should be no election of military tribunes, and that one at least of the
consuls should be elected from the commons; all matters of great
importance, and such as could not be attained without the greatest
struggles. A contest therefore for all those objects, of which there is
ever an inordinate desire among men, viz. land, money, and honours,
being now proposed, the patricians became terrified and dismayed, and
finding no other remedy in their public and private consultations except
the protest, which had been tried in many previous contests, they gained
over their colleagues to oppose the bills of the tribunes. When they saw
the tribes summoned by Licinius and Sextius to announce their votes,
surrounded by bands of patricians, they neither suffered the bills to be
read, nor any other usual form for taking the votes of the commons to be
gone through. And now assemblies being frequently convened to no
purpose, when the propositions were now considered as rejected; "It is
very well," says Sextius; "since it is determined that a protest should
possess so much power, by that same weapon will we protect the people.
Come, patricians, proclaim an assembly for the election of military
tribunes; I will take care that that word, I FORBID IT, which you listen
to our colleagues chaunting with so much pleasure, shall not be very
delightful to you." Nor did the threats fall ineffectual: no elections
were held, except those of ædiles and plebeian tribunes. Licinius and
Sextius, being re-elected plebeian tribunes, suffered not any curule
magistrates to be appointed, and this total absence of magistrates
continued in the city for the space of five years, the people
re-electing the two tribunes, and these preventing the election of
military tribunes.
36. There was an opportune cessation of other wars: the colonists of
Velitræ, becoming wanton through ease, because there was no Roman army,
made repeated incursions on the Roman territory, and set about laying
siege to Tusculum. This circumstance, the Tusculans, old allies, new
fellow-citizens, imploring aid, moved not only the patricians, but the
commons also, chiefly with a sense of honour. The tribunes of the
commons relaxing their opposition, the elections were held by the
interrex; and Lucius Furius, Aulus Manlius, Servius Sulpicius, Servius
Cornelius, Publius and Caius Valerius, found the commons by no means so
complying in the levy as in the elections; and an army having been
raised amid great contention, they set out, and not only dislodged the
enemy from Tusculum, but shut them up even within their own walls.
Velitræ began to be besieged by a much greater force than that with
which Tusculum had been besieged; nor still could it be taken by those
by whom the siege had been commenced. The new military tribunes were
elected first: Quintius Servilius, Caius Veturius, Aulus and Marcus
Cornelius, Quintus Quinctius, Marcus Fabius. Nothing worthy of mention
was performed even by these at Velitræ. Matters were involved in greater
peril at home: for besides Sextius and Licinius, the proposers of the
laws, re-elected tribunes of the commons now for the eighth time, Fabius
also, military tribune, father-in-law of Stolo, avowed himself the
unhesitating supporter of those laws of which he had been the adviser.
And whereas, there had been at first eight of the college of the
plebeian tribunes protesters against the laws, there were now only five:
and (as is usual with men who leave their own party) dismayed and
astounded, they in words borrowed from others, urged as a reason for
their protest, that which had been taught them at home; "that a great
number of the commons were absent with the army at Velitræ; that the
assembly ought to be deferred till the coming of the soldiers, that the
entire body of the commons might give their vote concerning their own
interests." Sextius and Licinius with some of their colleagues, and
Fabius one of the military tribunes, well-versed now by an experience of
many years in managing the minds of the commons, having brought forward
the leading men of the patricians, teased them by interrogating them on
each of the subjects which were about to be brought before the people:
"would they dare to demand, that when two acres of land a head were
distributed among the plebeians, they themselves should be allowed to
have more than five hundred acres? that a single man should possess the
share of nearly three hundred citizens; whilst his portion of land
scarcely extended for the plebeian to a stinted habitation and a place
of burial? Was it their wish that the commons, surrounded with usury,
should surrender their persons to the stocks and to punishment, rather
than pay off their debt by [discharging] the principal; and that persons
should be daily led off from the forum in flocks, after being assigned
to their creditors, and that the houses of the nobility should be filled
with prisoners? and that wherever a patrician dwelt, there should be a
private prison?"
37. When they had uttered these statements, exasperating and pitiable
in the recital, before persons alarmed for themselves, exciting greater
indignation in the hearers than was felt by themselves, they affirmed
"that there never would be any other limit to their occupying the lands,
or to their butchering the commons by usury, unless the commons were to
elect one consul from among the plebeians, as a guardian of their
liberty. That the tribunes of the commons were now despised, as being an
office which breaks down its own power by the privilege of protest. That
there could be no equality of right, where the dominion was in the hands
of the one party, assistance only in that of the other. Unless the
authority were shared, the commons would never enjoy an equal share in
the commonwealth; nor was there any reason why any one should think it
enough that plebeians were taken into account at the consular elections;
unless it were made indispensable that one consul at least should be
from the commons, no one would be elected. Or had they already
forgotten, that when it had been determined that military tribunes
should be elected rather than consuls, for this reason, that the highest
honours should be opened to plebeians also, no one out of the commons
was elected military tribune for forty-four years? How could they
suppose, that they would voluntarily confer, when there are but two
places, a share of the honour on the commons, who at the election of
military tribunes used to monopolize the eight places? and that they
would suffer a way to be opened to the consulship, who kept the
tribuneship so long a time fenced up? That they must obtain by a law,
what could not be obtained by influence at elections; and that one
consulate must be set apart out of the way of contest, to which the
commons may have access; since when left open to dispute it is sure ever
to become the prize of the more powerful. Nor can that now be alleged,
which they used formerly to boast of, that there were not among the
plebeians qualified persons for curule magistracies. For, was the
government conducted with less activity and less vigour, since the
tribunate of Publius Licinius Calvus, who was the first plebeian elected
to that office, than it was conducted during those years when no one but
patricians was a military tribune? Nay, on the contrary, several
patricians had been condemned after their tribuneship, no plebeian.
Quæstors also, as military tribunes, began to be elected from the
commons a few years before; nor had the Roman people been dissatisfied
with any one of them. The consulate still remained for the attainment of
the plebeians; that it was the bulwark, the prop of their liberty. If
they should attain that, then that the Roman people would consider that
kings were really expelled from the city, and their liberty firmly
established. For from that day that every thing in which the patricians
surpassed them, would flow in on the commons, power and honour, military