[72.1] While Cassius by these arguments frequently changed the minds of the multitude in the meetings of the assembly, one of the tribunes, Gaius Rabuleius, a man not lacking in intelligence, came forward and promised that he would soon put an end to the dissension between the consuls and would also make it clear to the populace what they ought to do. And when a great demonstration of approval followed, and then silence, he said: “Are not these, Cassius and Verginius, the chief issues of this law — first, whether the public land should be distributed with an equal portion for everyone, and second, whether the Latins and the Hernicans should receive a share of it?”
[2] εἶεν δή: σὺ μέν, εἶπεν, ὦ Κάσσιε, ἀμφότερα ταῦτ᾽ ἐπιψηφίζειν ἀξιοῖς τὸν δῆμον, σὺ δὲ δὴ πρὸς θεῶν, ὦ Οὐεργίνιε, λέξον ἡμῖν, πότερα θάτερον ἀκυροῖς τῆς. Κασσίου γνώμης μέρος τὸ κατὰ τοὺς συμμάχους οὐκ οἰόμενος δεῖν ἰσομοίρους ἡμῖν Ἕρνικάς τε καὶ Λατίνους ποιεῖν, ἢ καὶ θάτερον μόνον ἀκυροῖς ἀξιῶν οὐδὲ ἡμῖν αὐτοῖς διανέμειν τὰ κοινά; ταυτὶ γὰρ ἀπόκριναί μοι μηδὲν ἀποκρυψάμενος.
[2] And when they assented, he continued: “Very well. You, Cassius, ask the people to vote for both provisions. But as for you, Verginius, tell us, for Heaven’s sake, whether you oppose that part of Cassius’ proposal which relates to the allies, believing that we ought not to make the Hernicans and the Latins equal sharers with us, or whether you oppose the other also, holding that we should not distribute the property of the state even among ourselves. Just answer these questions for me without concealing anything.”
[3] εἰπόντος δὲ τοῦ Οὐεργινίου τῇ Λατίνων τε καὶ Ἑρνίκων ἀντιλέγειν ἰσομοιρίᾳ, τὸ δὲ κατὰ τοὺς πολίτας, εἰ πᾶσι δόξειε, διανέμεσθαι συγχωρεῖν, ἐπιστρέψας ὁ δήμαρχος εἰς τὸν ὄχλον εἶπεν: ἐπεὶ τοίνυν τὸ μὲν ἕτερον τῆς γνώμης μέρος ἀμφοτέροις τοῖς ὑπάτοις συνδοκεῖ, τὸ δ᾽ ἕτερον ἀντιλέγεται πρὸς θατέρου, ἰσότιμοι δ᾽ ἀμφότεροι, καὶ οὐχ οἷόν τε βιάσασθαι θατέρῳ τὸν ἕτερον, ὃ μὲν δίδοται δοται παρ᾽ ἀμφοτέρων, ἤδη λάβωμεν, ὑπὲρ οὗ δ᾽ ἀμφισβητοῦσιν,
[3] When Verginius said that he opposed giving an equal share of the land to the Hernicans and the Latins, but consented to its being divided among the Roman citizens, if all were of that opinion, the tribune, turning to the multitude, said: “Since, then, one part of the proposed measure is approved of by both consuls and the other is opposed by one of them, and as both men are equal in rank and neither can use compulsion on the other, let us accept now the part which both are ready to grant us, and postpone the other, concerning which they differ.”
[4] ἀναβαλώμεθα. ἐπισημήναντος δὲ τοῦ πλήθους ὡς τὰ πράτιστα ὑποθεμένῳ καὶ καταλύειν ἐκ τοῦ νόμου τὸ ποιοῦν διχοστασίαν μέρος ἀξιοῦντος, ἀπορῶν, ὅ τι χρὴ πράττειν, ὁ Κάσσιος καὶ οὔτ᾽ ἀναθέσθαι τὴν γνώμην προαιρούμενος οὔτε μένειν ἐπ᾽ αὐτῆς ἀντιπραττόντων τῶν δημάρχων δυνάμενος, τότε [p. 237] μὲν διέλυσε τὴν ἐκκλησίαν, ταῖς δ᾽ ἑξῆς ἡμέραις ἀρρωστίαν σκηπτόμενος οὐκέτι κατέβαινεν εἰς τὴν ἀγοράν, ἀλλ᾽ ὑπομένων ἔνδον ἐπραγματεύετο βίᾳ καὶ χειροκρασίᾳ κυρῶσαι τὸν νόμον: καὶ μετεπέμπετο Λατίνων τε καὶ Ἑρνίκων ὅσους ἐδύνατο πλείστους ἐπὶ τὴν ψηφοφορίαν.
[4] The multitude signified by their acclamations that his advice was most excellent and demanded that he strike out of the law that part which gave occasion for discord; whereupon Cassius was at a loss what to do, and being neither willing to withdraw his proposal nor able to adhere to it while the tribunes opposed him, he dismissed the assembly for that time. During the following days he feigned illness and no longer went down to the Forum; but remaining at home, he set about getting the law passed by force and violence, and sent for as many of the Latins and Hernicans as he could to come and vote for it.
[5] οἱ δὲ συνῄεσαν ἀθρόοι, καὶ δι᾽ ὀλίγου μεστὴ ξένων ἦν ἡ πόλις. ταῦτα μαθὼν ὁ Οὐεργίνιος κηρύττειν ἐκέλευσε κατὰ τοὺς στενωποὺς ἀπιέναι τοὺς μὴ κατοικοῦντας ἐν τῇ πόλει, χρόνον ὁρίσας οὐ πολύν. ὁ δὲ Κάσσιος τἀναντία ἐκέλευσε κηρύττειν παραμένειν τοὺς μετέχοντας τῆς ἰσοπολιτείας, ἕως ἂν ἐπικυρωθῇ ὁ νόμος.
[5] These assembled in great numbers and presently the city was full of strangers. Verginius, being informed of this, ordered proclamation to be made in the streets that all who were not residents of the city should depart; and he set an early time limit. But Cassius ordered the contrary to be proclaimed — that all who possessed the rights of citizens should remain till the law was passed.
[1] ὡς δ᾽ οὐδὲν ἐγίνετο πέρας, δείσαντες οἱ πατρίκιοι, μὴ ψήφων θ᾽ ἁρπαγαὶ καὶ χειρῶν ἐπιβολαὶ γένωνται καὶ ἄλλα, ὅσα φιλεῖ βίαια συμβαίνειν ἐν ταῖς στασιαζούσαις ἐκκλησίαις εἰσφερομένου τοῦ νόμου, συνῆλθον εἰς τὸ συνέδριον ὡς ὑπὲρ ἁπάντων ἅπαξ βουλευσόμενοι.
[73.1] There being no end of these contests, the patricians, fearing that when the law came to be proposed there would be stealing of votes, recourse to violence, and all the other forcible means that are wont to be employed in factious assemblies, met in the senate-house to deliberate concerning all these matters once and for all.
[2] Ἄππιος μὲν οὖν πρῶτος ἐρωτηθεὶς γνώμην οὐκ εἴα συγχωρεῖν τῷ δήμῳ τὴν διανομὴν διδάσκων, ὡς χαλεπὸς ἔσται καὶ ἀλυσιτελὴς σύνοικος ὄχλος ἀργὸς ἐθισθεὶς τὰ δημόσια λιχνεύειν, καὶ οὐθὲν ἐάσει ποτὲ τῶν κοινῶν οὔτε κτημάτων οὔτε χρημάτων ἔτι κοινὸν μένειν: αἰσχύνης τ᾽ ἄξιον πρᾶγμα εἶναι λέγων, εἰ Κασσίου κατηγοροῦντες ὡς πονηρὰ καὶ ἀσύμφορα πολιτευομένου καὶ τὸν δῆμον διαφθείροντος, ἔπειτ᾽ αὐτοὶ κοινῇ γνώμῃ ταῦτ᾽ ἐπικυρώσουσιν ὡς δίκαια καὶ συμφέροντα: ἐνθυμεῖσθαί τ᾽ αὐτοὺς ἀξιῶν, ὡς οὐδ᾽ ἡ χάρις ἡ παρὰ τῶν πενήτων, εἰ τὰ κοινὰ διανείμαιντο [p. 238] τοῖς συγχωρήσασι καὶ ἐπιψηφισαμένοις, ὑπάρξει, ἀλλ᾽ ἑνὶ τῷ προθέντι τὴν γνώμην Κασσίῳ καὶ δόξαντι ἠναγκακέναι τὴν βουλὴν ἄκουσαν ἐπικυρῶσαι.
[2] Appius, upon being asked his opinion first, refused to grant the distribution of land to the people, pointing out that an idle multitude accustomed to devour the public stores would prove troublesome and unprofitable fellow citizens and would never allow any of the common possessions, whether property or money, to continue to be held in common. He did note that it would be a shameful thing if the senators, who had been accusing Cassius of introducing mischievous and disadvantageous measures and o
f corrupting the populace, should then themselves by common consent ratify these measures as just and advantageous. He asked them also to bear in mind that even the gratitude of the poor, if they should divide up among themselves the public possessions, would not be shown to those who gave their consent and sanction to this law, but to Cassius alone, who had proposed it and was believed to have compelled the senators to ratify it against their will.
[3] προειπὼν δὴ ταῦτα καὶ παραπλήσια τούτοις ἕτερα τελευτῶν τάδε συνεβούλευσεν: ἄνδρας ἐκ τῶν ἐντιμοτάτων βουλευτῶν ἑλέσθαι δέκα, οἵτινες ἐπελθόντες τὴν δημοσίαν γῆν ἀφοριοῦσι, καὶ εἴ τινα ἐξ αὐτῆς κλέπτοντες ἢ βιαζόμενοί τινες ἰδιῶται κατανέμουσιν ἢ ἐπεργάζονται διαγνόντες ἀποδώσουσι τῷ δημοσίῳ. τὴν δ᾽ ὁρισθεῖσαν ὑπ᾽ ἐκείνων γῆν διαιρεθεῖσαν εἰς κλήρους ὅσους δή τινας καὶ στήλαις εὐκόσμοις διαγραφεῖσαν τὴν μὲν ἀπεμποληθῆναι παρῄνει καὶ μάλιστα περὶ ἧς ἀμφίλογόν τι πρὸς ἰδιώτας ἦν, ὥστε τοῖς ὠνησαμένοις μὴ εἶναι πρὸς τοὺς ἀντιποιησομένους ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν κρίσεις, τὴν δὲ πενταετῆ μισθοῦν χρόνον: τὸ δὲ προσιὸν ἐκ τῶν μισθώσεων ἀργύριον εἰς τοὺς ὀψωνιασμοὺς τῶν στρατευομένων ἀναλοῦσθαι καὶ εἰς τὰς μισθώσεις ὧν οἱ πόλεμοι χορηγιῶν δέονται:
[3] After saying this and other things to the same purport, he ended by giving them this advice — to choose ten of the most distinguished senators to go over the public land and fix its bounds, and if they found that any private persons were by fraud or force grazing or tilling any part of it, to take cognizance of this abuse and restore the land to the state. And he further advised that when the land thus delimited by them had been divided into allotments, of whatever number, and marked off by pillars duly inscribed, one part of it should be sold, particularly the part about which there was any dispute with private persons, so that the purchasers might be involved in litigation over it with any who should lay claim to it, and the other part should be let for five years; and that the money coming in from these rents should be used for the payment of the troops and the purchase of the supplies needed for the wars.
[4] νῦν μὲν γάρ, ἔφησεν, ὁ φθόνος τῶν πενήτων ὁ πρὸς τοὺς πλουσίους, ὅσοι σφετερισάμενοι τὰ κοινὰ διακατέχουσι, δίκαιός ἐστι: καἰ οὐθὲν θαυμαστόν, εἰ τὰ κοινὰ πάντας διανείμασθαι μᾶλλον ἀξιοῦσιν, ἢ τοὺς ἀναιδεστάτους τε καὶ ὀλίγους κατέχειν: ἐὰν δ᾽ ἀφισταμένους αὐτῆς [p. 239] ὁρῶσι τοὺς νῦν καρπουμένους καὶ τὰ κοινὰ ὄντως κοινὰ γινόμενα, παύσονται φθονοῦντες ἡμῖν, τήν τ᾽ ἐπιθυμίαν τῆς κατ᾽ ἄνδρα διανομῆς τῶν ἀγρῶν ἐπανήσουσι μαθόντες, ὅτι λυσιτελεστέρα τῆς μικρᾶς ἑκάστῳ
[4] “For, as things now stand,” he said, “the envy of the poor against the rich who have appropriated and continue to occupy the public possessions is justified, and it is not at all to be wondered at if they demand that the public property should be divided among all the citizens rather than held by a few, and those the most shameless. Whereas, if they see the persons who are now enjoying them give them up and the public possessions become really public, they will cease to envy us and will give up their eagerness for the distribution of our fields to individuals, once they have learnt that joint ownership by all the citizens will be of greater advantage to them than the small portion that would be allotted to each.
[5] μερίδος ἡ κοινὴ μετὰ πάντων ἔσται κτῆσις. διδάσκωμεν γὰρ αὐτούς, ἔλεγεν, ὅσον τὸ διάφορον, καὶ ὡς εἷς μὲν ἕκαστος τῶν πενήτων γῄδιον οὐ μέγα λαβὼν καὶ εἰ τύχοι γείτονας ὀχληροὺς ἔχων οὔτ᾽ αὐτὸς ἱκανὸς ἔσται τοῦτο γεωργεῖν δι᾽ ἀπορίαν, οὔτε τὸν μισθωσόμενον ὅτι μὴ τὸν γείτονα εὑρήσει: εἰ δὲ μεγάλοι κλῆροι ποικίλας τε καὶ ἀξιολόγους ἔχοντες γεωργοῖς ἐργασίας ὑπὸ τοῦ κοινοῦ μισθοῖντο, πολλὰς οἴσουσι προσόδους: καὶ ὅτι κρεῖττον αὐτοῖς ἐστιν, ὅταν ἐξίωσιν ἐπὶ τοὺς πολέμους ἐκ τοῦ δημοσίου ταμιείου τὸν ἐπισιτισμόν τε καὶ ὀψωνιασμὸν λαμβάνειν, ἢ ἐκ τῶν ἰδίων οἴκων εἰς τὸ ταμιεῖον ἕκαστον εἰσφέρειν τεθλιμμένων ἔστιν ὅτε τῶν βίων καὶ ἔτι μᾶλλον ἐν τῷ συμπορίζειν τὸ ἀργύριον ἐπιβαρησομένων.
[5] Let us show them, in fact,” he said, “what a great difficult it makes, and that if each one of the poor receives a small plot of ground and happens to have troublesome neighbours, he neither will be able to cultivate it himself, by reason of his poverty, nor will he find anyone to lease it of him but that neighbour, whereas if large allotments offering varied and worthwhile tasks for the husbandmen are let out by the state, they will bring in large revenues; and that it is better for them, when they set out for the wars, to receive both their provisions and their pay from the public treasury than to pay in their individual contributions each time to the treasury out of their private estates, when, as sometimes happens, their means of livelihood are scanty and will be still further cramped by providing this money.”
[1] ταύτην εἰσηγησαμένου τὴν γνώμην Ἀππίου καὶ σφόδρα δόξαντος εὐδοκιμεῖν δεύτερος ἐρωτηθεὶς Αὖλος Σεμπρώνιος Ἀτρατῖνος ἔλεξεν: Ἄππιον μὲν οὐ νῦν ἔχω πρῶτον ἐπαινεῖν, ὡς φρονῆσαί τε ἱκανώτατον πρὸ πολλοῦ τὰ μέλλοντα καὶ γνώμας τὰς καλλίστας τε καὶ ὠφελιμωτάτας ἀποδεικνύμενον βέβαιόν [p. 240] τε καὶ ἀμετακίνητον ἐν τοῖς κριθεῖσι καὶ οὔτε φόβῳ εἴκοντα οὔτε χάρισιν ὑποκατακλινόμενον. ἀεὶ γὰρ ἐπαινῶν αὐτὸν καὶ θαυμάζων διατελῶ τοῦ τε φρονίμου καὶ τῆς γενναιότητος, ἣν παρὰ τὰ δεινὰ ἔχει. γνώμην τ᾽ οὐχ ἑτέραν, ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτὸς ταύτην ἀποδείκνυμαι, μικρὰ ἔτι προσθεὶς αὐτῇ, ἅ μοι παραλιπεῖν Ἄππιος ἐδόκει.
[74.1] After Appius had introduced this motion and appeared to win great approval, Aulus Sempronius Atratinus, who was called upon next, said:
“This is not the first time that I have had occasion to praise Appius as a man highly capable of grasping eventualities long in advance, and as one always offering the most excellent and useful opinions, a man who is firm and unshaken in his judgements and neither yields to fear nor is swayed by favour. For I have never ceased to praise and admire him both for his prudence and the noble spirit he shows in the presence of danger. And it is not a different motion that I offer, but I too make the same one, merely adding a few details which Appius seemed to me to omit.
[2] Ἕρνικας μὲν γὰρ καὶ Λατίνους, οἷς νεωστὶ δεδώκαμεν τὴν ἰσοπολιτείαν, οὐδ᾽ αὐτὸς οἶμαι δεῖν κληρουχεῖν τὰ ἡμέτερα. οὐ γά
ρ, ἐξ οὗ προσῆλθον εἰς τὴν φιλίαν ἡμῖν, ταύτην τὴν γῆν κτησάμενοι ἔχομεν, ἀλλὰ παλαίτερον ἔτι τοῖς ἑαυτῶν κινδύνοις οὐθενὸς ἄλλου προσωφελήσαντος ἀφελόμενοι τοὺς ἐχθρούς. ἀποκρινώμεθά τ᾽ αὐτοῖς, ὅτι τὰς μὲν πρότερον ὑπαρχούσας ἡμῖν κτήσεις, ὅσας ἕκαστοι εἴχομεν, ὅτε τὴν φιλίαν συνετιθέμεθα, ἰδίας τε καὶ ἀναφαιρέτους ἑκάστοις δεῖ μένειν, ὅσων δ᾽ ἄν, ἀφ᾽ οὗ τὰς συνθήκας ἐποιησάμεθα, κοινῇ στρατεύσαντες ἐκ πολέμου κύριοι γενώμεθα, τούτων ὑπάρξει τὸ ἐπιβάλλον ἑκάστοις λάχος.
[2] As regards the Hernicans and the Latins, to whom we recently granted equal rights of citizenship, I too think they ought not to share in the allotment of our lands; for it was not after they entered into friendship with us that we acquired this land which we now occupy, but still earlier, when by our own perilous efforts, without the assistance of anyone else, we took it from our enemies. Let us give them this answer: that the possessions which each of us already had when we entered into the treaty of friendship must remain the peculiar and inalienable property of each, but that in the case of all that we may come to possess through war when taking the field together, from the time we made this treaty, each shall have his share.
Delphi Complete Works of Dionysius of Halicarnassus (Illustrated) (Delphi Ancient Classics Book 79) Page 626
