[60.1] “As to my severity and my having acted as the patron of wicked men, with which he has reproached me, calling me an enemy of the people and a champion of oligarchy because I adhere to the aristocracy, these accusations apply equally to all those among you who, as men of superior worth, think it beneath you to be governed by your inferiors or to allow the form of government you have inherited from your ancestors to be overthrown by the worst of all constitutions, a democracy. [2] For if this man sees fit to call the government of the best men an oligarchy, it does not therefore follow that the thing itself, because it is traduced by that appellation, will be destroyed. But we can bring a much juster and truer reproach against him, that of flattering the people and desiring tyrannical measures; for all the world knows that every tyrant springs from a flatterer of the people and that the direct road for those who wish to enslave their country is that which leads to domination through the favour of the worst citizens — the very ones whom this man has ever courted and does not cease even to this day to court. [3] For you know full well that these vile and low wretches would not have dared to commit such offences, had they not been urged on by this high and mighty man, this lover of his country, and made to believe that the act would be attended with no danger and that not only would they go unpunished, but their lot would even be improved by it. You will be convinced of the truth of what I say if you will recall that, while he was frightening you with a war and showing the necessity of an accommodation, he we are told you at the same time also that the poor would not be contented with an abolition of their debts, but would also call for some assistance, and would no longer submit to be governed by you as before. And in closing he exhorted you to acquiesce in the present state of affairs and to grant everything the people should think fit to demand as the conditions of their return, without distinguishing whether those demands were honourable or shameful, just or unjust. [4] With so much arrogance has the senseless multitude been inspired by this old man who has enjoyed every honour you could confer upon him. Did it, then, become you, Valerius, to utter against others the reproaches they have not deserved, when you yourself lie open to such accusations?
[61.1] “As for the calamities which this man has uttered against me, what I have said suffices. But concerning the subject which you have met to discuss, it seems to me that what I not only proposed at first, but even now, continuing of the same opinion, still propose, was just, worthy of the commonwealth, and advantageous for yourselves, namely, not to disturb the form of our government nor to alter the unalterable customs of our ancestors, nor to banish from among men good faith, a sacred thing, through the possession of which every state dwells in security, nor to give way to a stupid populace which desires unjust and unlawful things. [2] And not only do I not retract any part of my opinion through fear of my adversaries, who endeavour to frighten me by rousing the plebeians in the city against me, but I am much more than ever confirmed in my resentment, and my indignation at the demands of the people is doubled. And I am surprised, senators, at the inconsistency of your judgment, in that, after refusing to grant to the people at their request an abolition of their debts and a discharge from the judgments against them before they were as yet openly your enemies, you now, when they are in arms and are committing acts of hostility, deliberate whether you will grant these demands and anything else they may think fit. They will think fit, of course, and will make it the first of their demands to have an equal share of honours with us and to enjoy the same privileges. [3] Will not the government then be transformed into a democracy, which of all human constitutions, as I said, is the most senseless and the least expedient for you who presume to rule over others? It will not be, if you are in your right senses. Otherwise you would be the most foolish of all men if, after regarding it as intolerable to be governed by one tyrant, you should now deliver yourselves up to the populace, a many-headed tyranny, and grant these things to them, not as a gracious concession to their pleading, but constrained by necessity and, on the assumption that it is not in our power to do anything else now, yielding against your will. [4] And when this senseless multitude, instead of being punished for its offences, even obtains honours as a reward for those offences, how headstrong and arrogant do you think it will become? For do not encourage yourselves with the hope that the people will moderate their demands if it becomes known to them that you all concurred in this resolution.
[62.1] “But in this matter Menenius, a prudent man who imputes good intentions to others judging them by himself, is very much mistaken. For they will urge you with an importunity grievous beyond all measure, encouraged both by arrogance, which tends always to accompany victory, and by folly, of which the multitude has so great a share. And if not at first, then certainly later, upon every occasion when their demands are not granted, they will take up arms and attack you violently in the same way as before. So that if you yield to their first demands as a matter of expediency, you will presently have something worse imposed upon you, and then something else still harsher than that, upon the supposition that your first concessions too flowed from fear, till at last they drive you out of the city, as has happened in many other places, and, most recently, at Syracuse, where the landowners were expelled by their clients. [2] If, then, in your indignation in those circumstances you intend to oppose their demands, why do you not from this instant begin to assume the spirit of free men? For it is better the display your proud spirit on a slighter provocation to start with and before suffering any injury, than, after submitting to many injuries, than, after submitting to many injuries, to be indignant only then at what had happened, refuse to endure any more, and begin too late to be prudent. Let none of you be terrified either by the threatening clamour of the seceders or by this foreign war; and do not disparage our domestic forces as being insufficient to preserve the commonwealth. [3] For the strength of the fugitives is slight, and they will not be able to hold out long in the open in huts during the winter season, as they are now doing; and far from being able to go on securing provisions by plundering when they have consumed their present store, they will not be able even to purchase any elsewhere and convey them to their camp, by reason of their poverty, since they have no money, either individually or in common, and wars, as a rule, can only be kept up by plenty of money. Besides, anarchy, in all probability, and sedition, growing out of anarchy, will seize them and soon confound and bring to naught their counsels. [4] For surely they will not consent to deliver themselves up to either the Sabines or the Tyrrhenians or any other foreigners and become slaves to those whom they themselves together with you once deprived of their liberty; and, most important of all, men who have wickedly and shamefully endeavoured to destroy their own country will not even be trusted by these other nations, for fear they might treat the country that receives them in the same manner. For all the nations round us are governed by aristocracies, and the plebeians in no state lay claim to an equal share in the government; so that the leading men in every state, who do not permit their own populace to make any innovations, will doubtless never receive this foreign and seditious multitude into their country, lest, by permitting them to enjoy equal rights and privileges, they themselves should one day be deprived of their own position of equality. [5] But if I am mistaken after all, and any state should receive them, they would thereupon reveal themselves as enemies and men deserving to be treated as such. We have, as hostages for them, their parents, their wives, and the rest of their relations, and better hostages we could not ask of the gods in our prayers; let us place these in the sight of their relations, threatening, in case they dare to attack us, to put them to death under the most ignominious tortures. And once they understand this, be assured you will find them resorting to entreaties and lamentations, and delivering themselves up to you unarmed, and ready to submit to anything whatever. For such natural ties have remarkable power to upset all arrogant calculations and bring them to naught.
[63.1] “These are the reasons why I do not think we should fear a wa
r on the part of the fugitives. As to the dangers from foreign nations, this is not the first time those dangers will have been proved to be such in words only, but even before this, whenever they have given us the opportunity of putting them to the test, they have been found less terrible than we apprehended. And let those who believe our domestic forces to be inadequate and dread war chiefly for this reason learn that they are not sufficiently acquainted with them. [2] So far indeed as the seceders among the citizens are concerned, we shall have an adequate force to cope with them if we see fit to choose out the most vigorous of our slaves and give them their freedom. For it is better to grant these their freedom than to be deprived of our supremacy by the others. The slaves are already possessed of sufficient military skill by having attended us in many campaigns. [3] Against our foreign enemies let us not only march out ourselves with all possible alacrity, but let us take along all our clients and such plebeians as remain; and in order that they may be eager for the struggle, let us grant them an abolition of their debts, not to all collectively, but to each one individually. For if we must yield to the times and show some moderation, let not that moderation be extended toward such of the citizens as are our enemies, but towards such as are our friends, on whom we shall then seem to be bestowing favours, not under compulsion, but as the result of persuasion. And if still other assistance shall be needed, this being thought insufficient, let us send for the garrisons of the fortresses and recall the men from the colonies. [4] How large the number of these is may be easily learned from the last census, when there were assessed 130,000 Romans of military age, of which the fugitives would not make a seventh part. I say nothing of the thirty cities of the Latin nation, which would be only too glad to fight our battles by reason of their kinship, if you would but grant them equal rights of citizenship, which they have constantly sought.
[64.1] “But the greatest advantage in war is one which neither you yourselves have yet thought of nor any of your advisers mentions. This I will add to those I have named, and then make an end. There is nothing so essential to those who are to have their wars crowned with success as good generals. In these our commonwealth is rich, while there is a scarcity of them among our enemies. [2] For very numerous armies, when led by generals who know not how to command, disgrace themselves and bring about their own defeat as a rule, and the larger their bulk is, the more liable they are to this fate; whereas good generals, even though the armies they receive are small, soon make them large. Hence, as long as we have generals able to command, we shall never lack men ready to obey. [3] Bearing these things in mind, therefore, and recalling the achievements of the commonwealth, vote for nothing mean, ignoble, or unworthy of yourselves. What course of action, then, if anyone should ask me, do I advise you to take? For this is what you have probably long been eager to know. My advice, then, is neither to send ambassadors to the seceders nor to decree an abolition of their debts, nor to do anything else that might seem to betray fear or perplexity. But if they lay down their arms, return to the city, and leave it to you to consult about them at leisure, I advise you first to examine the situation and then to treat them with moderation, knowing as you do that all senseless creatures, particularly a rabble, behave themselves with arrogance toward the meek and with meekness toward the arrogant.”
[65.1] When Claudius had done speaking, a great clamour and prodigious tumult filled the senate-chamber for a long time. For those who were reputed to be of the aristocratic party and thought they ought to consider the more just course in preference to the unjust concurred in the opinion of Claudius, and asked the consuls preferably to join the better side, considering that the power of the magistracy they held derived from the kings, not from the people; but if they could not do this, then to keep themselves neutral and not bring pressure to bear upon either faction, but after counting the opinions of the senators, to align themselves with the majority. [2] And if they scorned both these courses and themselves assumed the sole power of concluding the accommodation, they said they would not permit it, but would oppose them with the utmost vigour, with words as far as they could, and, if it should prove necessary, with arms. These were a powerful group, and almost all the young patricians adhered to this policy. [3] But all the lovers of peace espoused the opinion of Menenius and Valerius, particularly those who were advanced in years and remembered all the calamities which come upon states as the result of civil wars. Nevertheless, being overborne by the clamour and disorderly behaviour of the young men and viewing with concern their spirit of rivalry and fearing lest the insolence with which they treated the consuls might come close to violence unless some concession were made to them, they at last had recourse to weeping and entreating their opponents.
[66.1] The tumult being appeased and silence restored at last, the consuls after some consultation together pronounced their decision, as follows: “As for us, senators, what we desired most was that you should all be of one mind, particularly when you were deliberating about the public safety; but if that could not be, then we desired that the younger senators should yield to the older men among you and not contend with them, bearing in mind that when they have come to the same age they will received the same deference from their juniors. But since we observe that you have fallen into strife, the most baneful of all human maladies, and that the arrogance dwelling in the young men among you is great, for the present, since the remaining part of the day is short and there is not time for you to reach a final decision, leave the senate-chamber and go home; and you will come to the next session more moderate in spirit and with better counsels. [2] But if your contentiousness shall persist, we will no longer make use of young men either as judges or counsellors concerning what is advantageous, but for the future shall restrain their disorderly behaviour by fixing a legal age that senators must have reached. As to the older members, we shall again give them an opportunity of delivering their opinions; and if they do not agreed, we shall put an end to their strife by a speedy method which it is better you should hear of and learn beforehand. [3] You are doubtless aware that we have had a law, as long as we have inhabited this city, by which the senate is invested with sovereign power in everything except the appointing of magistrates, the enacting of laws, and declaring or terminating of wars, and that the power of determining these three matters rests with the people, by their votes. Now at the present time we are discussing nothing other than war or peace, so that there is every necessity that the people should be given the opportunity to vote and confirm our resolutions. [4] We shall therefore summon them to present themselves in the Forum pursuant to this law, and after you have delivered your opinions, we shall take their votes, believing this to be the best means of putting an end to your strife; and whatever the majority of the people shall determine, we shall regard that as valid. This honour, I presume, is deserved by those who have remained loyal to the commonwealth and are to share both our good and bad fortune.”
[67.1] Having said this, they dismissed the session; and during the following days they ordered proclamation to be made that all who were in the country and in the fortresses should present themselves, and they gave notice to the senate to assemble on the same day. When they found the city was thronged with people and that the sentiments of the patricians had yielded to the entreaties, tears and lamentations both of the parents and infant children of the seceders, they went on the appointed day to the Forum, which was completely packed with a concourse of all sorts of people who had been there from far back in the night. [2] And proceeding to the sanctuary of Vulcan, where it was custom for the people to hold their assemblies, they first commended them for their alacrity and zeal in attending en masse, and then advised them to wait quietly till the preliminary decree of the senate should be passed; and they exhorted the kinsmen of the seceders to entertain good hopes of getting back in a short time those who were dearest to them. After that they went to the senate-house, where they not only themselves spoke with reasonableness and moderation, but also asked the rest to deliver
opinions that were expedient and humane. And ahead of all the others they called upon Menenius, who, rising up, spoke to the same effect as before, exhorting the senate to make the accommodation, and expressed the same opinion, asking that envoys should speedily be sent to the seceders with full powers in regard to the accommodation.
[68.1] After him the others who had held the office of consul, being called upon according to their age, rose up and all favoured adopting the opinion of Menenius, till it came to the turn of Appius to speak. He, rising up, said: “I see, senators, that it is the pleasure both of the consuls and of almost all the rest of you to bring back the people upon their own terms; and I alone am left of all those who opposed the accommodation, with the result that I continue to be hated by them and at the same time am no longer of any use to you. [2] Nevertheless, I shall not on this account depart from my former opinion nor willingly desert my post as a citizen; but the more I am abandoned by those who formerly espoused the same sentiments, the more I shall one day be esteemed by you; while I live, I shall be praised by you, and when I am dead, I shall be remembered by posterity. But do thou, Jupiter Capitolinus, and ye guardian gods of our city, ye heroes and divinities who keep watch over the land of the Romans, grant that the return of the fugitives may be honourable and advantageous to all, and that I may be mistaken in my forebodings regarding the future. [3] But if any misfortune should come upon the commonwealth as a result of these measures — and this will soon be manifest — may ye yourselves speedily correct them and grant safety and security to the commonwealth! And to me, who neither upon any other occasion ever chose to say the things that were most agreeable instead of those that were most profitable, nor am now betraying the state while securing my own safety, may ye be favourable and propitious! [4] These are the prayers I address to the gods; for speeches are of no further use. The opinion I express is the same as before, namely, to relieve of their debts the people who remain in the city, but to make war upon the seceders with the utmost vigour as long as they remain in arms.”
Delphi Complete Works of Dionysius of Halicarnassus (Illustrated) (Delphi Ancient Classics Book 79) Page 57