514 



GRACCHUS. 



whii-h Grairhus liiul ahvady obtained, dt livered him 

 from tlit: ignominious treatment contemplated in the 

 decree; and finally, only Mancinus was given up, 

 and even lie \vas dismissed uninjured by the Nunian- 

 tines. 



This transaction gave a direction to the whole 

 political life uf Gracchus, and tended much to make 

 him an opponent of the senate, and a supporter of 

 the cause of the people. He offered himself as a 

 candidate for the tribuneship of the people, which 

 office rendered his person inviolable so long as he 

 was invested with it, and placed him in a situation 

 to advance his great plans for the improvement of 

 the condition of the people in a legal way. The 

 poverty of the greater part of the sovereign people 

 of Rome, which he had particularly noticed in his 

 last journey from the province to the capital, inspired 

 him with the design of increasing the number of 

 landed proprietors in Italy, and thereby applying a 

 remedy to the poverty of the mass of the people, and 

 the greatest evils under which the republic suffered. 

 As the Romans were not fond of innovations, he 

 sought to obtain his object by the revival of an old 

 law, passed 232 years before, but long forgotten. At 

 that time it had been decreed, on the proposition of 

 the tribune of the people, Licinius Stolo, after vio- 

 lent contentions on the subject, " that no one should 

 possess more than 500 acres (jugera, each 28,000 

 square feet) of the public domains (ager publicus), 

 and that the overplus should be equally divided 

 among the plebeians." This law, which was now 

 called, after Gracchus, the Sempronian, or, by way 

 of eminence, the agrarian law, he revived, but with 

 the introduction of several softening clauses. The 

 possessors of surplus land were to receive compensa- 

 tion for the buildings erected on it and other improve- 

 ments ; every son who was of age might possess the 

 whole quantity allowed by law to a citizen and house- 

 holder ; and every son under age might possess half 

 that quantity (250 jugera). Nevertheless, the pro- 

 position of Sempronius was met with the most deter- 

 mined opposition by the ruling party, the nobles or 

 patricians. Besides, the Italian nations were also 

 injured by it. They had, since their submission, 

 under the name of allies of the Roman people, con- 

 tributed greatly to the advancement of the Roman 

 power, by their supplies of money and troops ; and 

 they had, under various titles, acquired rights to 

 many tracts of the Roman public lands. It is pro- 

 bable that Tiberius promised, byway of indemnifica- 

 tion, to some of them, especially the Latins, the 

 rights of Roman citizenship ; and to all, better pro- 

 tection against the extortions of the Roman magis- 

 trates. To counteract his plans, the senate gained 

 over one of the tribunes of the people, Marcus 

 Octavius, a young, rich, and daring man ; and when 

 Tiberius, after having, according to custom, exposed 

 his law nineteen days to the public view, proceeded 

 to take the votes of the assembled people upon it, 

 Octavius interposed with his veto, and thus seemed 

 at once to have defeated the whole undertaking. 

 Tiberius now exerted all the prerogative of his office, 

 sealed up the treasury, and forbade all the authorities 

 the discharge of their several offices. He saw, how- 

 ever, that this was of no service to his plan. He 

 therefore took a step till then unheard of in Roman 

 history. At the next assembly of the people, he 

 proposed the expulsion of Octavius from his office, 

 as faithless to the cause of the people. Seventeen ol 

 the thirty-five tribes had already voted for his expul- 

 sion, when Tiberius approached Octavius (who hat] 

 been the friend of his youth), and begged and adjured 

 him to withdraw his veto. Octavius bade him pro- 

 ceed in taking the votes ; and hardly had the next 

 tribe given their voice for his expulsion, when the 



infuriated populace rushed upon him, he having now 

 lost the inviolability of his person with his office. 

 The exertions of Tiberius, who spared no pains to 

 moderate the fury of the people ; the fidelity of a 

 slave, who sacrificed himself for him ; and the eliorts 

 of the aristocratic party, were scarcely able to save his 

 life. The same assembly passed the law of Tiberius, 

 and three commissioners were appointed to carry it 

 into execution, namely, Tiberius himself, his brother 

 Caius, and his father-in-law, Appius Claudius. All 

 the difficulties which stood in the way of the law, 

 now appeared in their full light. Even the prepara- 

 tory business of ascertaining which was public land, 

 and which private property, was found to have its 

 full share. Outcries and complaints were made from 

 every part of Italy. Thus the popularity of Tiberius 

 began to sink; and his adversaries did not remain 

 inactive. 



Things were in such a state, when A ugust of the 

 year 620 U. C. came on, in which the tribunes for 

 the following year were to be elected ; and Tiberius, 

 who had endeavoured to regain the favour of the 

 people by some new propositions, offered himself 

 again, as candidate for the office. The aristocrats 

 used every effort to prevent his election, and the 

 ferment in Rome was carried to the highest pitch. 

 One election day went by without any election being 

 made. On the next, a vast multitude beset the 

 forum, and the senate assembled in the neighbouring 

 temple of faith (Fides.) Tiberius strove in vain to 

 speak to the raging populace. To express to them 

 that his life was in danger, he touched his head. Im- 

 mediately his enemies exclaimed, that he sought a 

 diadem. The accusation was groundless, almost 

 ridiculous ; but what will not passion believe, when 

 a hated enemy is the object? Scipio Nasica, a mem- 

 ber of one of the most distinguished families, who 

 had been consul, a great land-owner and a violent 

 aristocrat, arose, and called upon the consuls to 

 use force. When they refused, he called out, irritated 

 to fury, " Whoever loves the republic let him follow 

 me," and, with his followers, rushed from the curia 

 in haste. A great multitude, consisting principally 

 of senators and persons who had been magistrates, 

 armed themselves with clubs and similar weapons, 

 and made an onset upon the people, who, more out 

 of respect for their dignity than in fear, gave way 

 before them, few making any attempt to defend 

 themselves. In the tumult which followed, Tiberius 

 himself, with 300 of his followers, was slain. But 

 this first shedding of the blood of citizens was not 

 sufficient to allay the ferment which had been ex- 

 cited. - A democratic party was formed in opposition 

 to the senate, and considered itself justified in pro- 

 ceeding to extremities. The boldest speakers pressed 

 into the tribuneship, and disguised their ambitions 

 projects under the revered name of Gracchus. In 

 this way, the tribune of the people, Carbo, two 

 years after the death of Tiberius, disturbed the quiet 

 of the state with new propositions. He subsequently 

 rejoined the aristocratic party. Another princi- 

 pal man among the people, Fulvius Flaccus, even 

 became consul, and, while in that high office, would 

 have excited great troubles, by the large promises 

 which he made to the allies, had not the senate given 

 him a command -in Gaul. The execution of the 

 Sempronian law, too, which still continued, the law 

 being in no way affected by the death of Tiberius, 

 afforded continual occasion for fresh commotions. 

 The place of the murdered Tiberius was filled by 

 Licinius Crassus, father-in-law of Caius Gracchus ; 

 and on his death, Carbo, Fulvius Flaccus and Caius 

 Gracchus, constituted the committee appointed for 

 the enforcement of the law. 



In this way, the parties had struggled with vari- 



