[86.1] “A commonwealth resembles in some measure a human body. For each of them is composite and consists of many parts; and no one of their parts either has the same function or performs the same service as the others. [2] If, now, these parts of the human body should be endowed, each for itself, with perception and a voice of its own and a sedition should then arise among them, all of them uniting against the belly alone, and the feet should say that the whole body rests on them; the hands, that they ply the crafts, secure provisions, fight with enemies, and contribute many other advantages toward the common good; the shoulders, that they bear all the burdens; the mouth, that it speaks; the head, that it sees and hears and, comprehending the other senses, possesses all those by which the thing is preserved; and then all these should say to the belly, ‘And you, good creature, which of these things do you do? What return do you make and of what use are you to us? Indeed, you are so far from doing anything for us or assisting us in accomplishing anything useful for the common good that you are actually a hindrance and a trouble to us and — a thing intolerable — compel us to serve you and to bring things to you from everywhere for the gratification of your desires. [3] Come now, why do we not assert our liberty and free ourselves from the many troubles we undergo for the sake of this creature?’ If, I say, they should decide upon this course and none of the parts should any longer perform its office, could the body possibly exist for any considerable time, and not rather be destroyed within a few days by the worst of all deaths, starvation No one can deny it. Now consider the same condition existing in a commonwealth. [4] For this also is composed of many classes of people not at all resembling one another, every one of which contributes some particular service to the common good, just as its members do to the body. For some cultivate the fields, some fight against the enemy in defence of those fields, others carry on much useful trade by sea, and still others ply the necessary crafts. If, then, all these different classes of people should rise against the senate, which is composed of the best men, and say, ‘As for you, senate, what good do you do us, and for what reason do you presume to rule over others? Not a thing can you name. Well then, shall we not now at last free ourselves from this tyranny of yours and live without a leader?’ [5] If, I say, they should take this resolution and quit their usual employments, what will hinder this miserable commonwealth from perishing miserably by famine, war and every other evil? Learn, therefore, plebeians, that just as in our bodies the belly thus evilly reviled by the multitude nourishes the body even while it is itself nourished, and preserves it while it is preserved itself, and is a kind of feast, as it were, provided by joint contributions, which as a result of the exchange duly distributes that which is beneficial to each and all, so in commonwealths the senate, which administers the affairs of the public and provides what is expedient for everyone, preserves, guards, and corrects all things. Cease, then, uttering those invidious remarks about the senate, to the effect that you have been driven out of your country by it and that because of it you wander about like vagabonds and beggars. For it neither has done you any harm nor can do you any, but of its own accord calls you and entreats you, and opening all hearts together with the gates, is waiting to welcome you.”
[87.1] While Menenius was thus speaking, many and various were the cries uttered by the audience throughout his whole speech. But when at the close of it he had recourse to lamentations, and enumerating the calamities that would befall both those who remained in the city and those who were driven out of it, bewailed the misfortunes of both, tears flowed from the eyes of all and they cried out to him with one mind and voice to lead them back to the city without waste of time. And they came very near quitting the assembly that moment and entrusting all their affairs to the envoys without settling anything else relating to their security. But Brutus, coming forward, restrained their eagerness, saying that, while in general the promises made by the senate were advantageous to the people and he thought it very proper that the latter should feel very grateful to them for those concessions, he nevertheless feared the time to come and the tyrannical men who might one day if occasion offered, again attempt to make the people feel their resentment for what they had done. [2] There was one safeguard only, he said, any who were afraid of their superiors, and that was for them to be convinced that those who desired to injure them had not the power to do so; for as long as there was the power to do evil, evil men would never lack the will. If, therefore, the plebeians could obtain this safeguard, they would need nothing more. [3] And Menenius, having replied and asked him to name the safeguard he thought the people still needed, he said: “Give us leave to choose out of our own body every year a certain number of magistrates who shall be invested with no other power than to relieve those plebeians to whom any injury or violence is offered, and to permit none of them to be deprived of their rights. This favour we entreat and beg you to add to those you have already granted us, if our accommodation is not one in word only, but a reality.”
[88.1] When the people heard these words, they cheered Brutus loud and long, and asked the envoys to grant them this also. These, having withdrawn from the assembly and conferred briefly, returned after a short time. And when silence prevailed, Menenius came forward and said: “This is a matter of great moment, plebeians, and one full of strange suspicions, and we feel some alarm and concern lest we shall form two states in one. However, so far as we ourselves are concerned, we do not oppose even this request of yours. [2] But grant us this privilege, which is also for your own interest. Allow some of the envoys to go to the city and inform the senate of these matters; for even though we have the power from them to conclude the accommodation in such a manner as we think fit and may at our own discretion make such promises in their name as we please, yet we do not think proper to take this upon ourselves, but since a new matter has been unexpectedly proposed to us, we will divest ourselves of our own power and refer the matter to the senate. However, we are persuaded that the senate will be of the same opinion as we are. I, therefore, will remain here together with some of the other envoys, and Valerius with the rest shall go to the senate.” [3] This was agreed upon, and the persons appointed to inform the senate of what had happened took horse and rode in all haste to Rome. When the consuls had proposed the matter to the senators, Valerius expressed the opinion that this favour also should be granted to the people. On the other hand, Appius, who from the first had opposed the accommodation, spoke openly in opposition on this occasion also, crying out, calling the gods to witness, and foretelling what seeds of future evils to the commonwealth they were about to sow. But he was not able to prevail with the majority of the senate, who, as I said, were determined to put an end to the sedition. Accordingly, a decree of the senate was passed confirming all the promises made by the envoys to the people and granting the safeguard they desired. [4] The envoys, having transacted this business, returned to the camp the next day and made known the decision of the senate. Thereupon Menenius advised the plebeians to send some persons to receive the pledges which the senate was to give; and pursuant to this, Lucius Junius Brutus, whom I mentioned before, was sent, and with him Marcus Decius and Spurius Icilius. Of the envoys who had come from the senate one half returned to the city with Brutus and his associates; but Agrippa with the rest remained in the camp, having been asked by the plebeians to draw up the law for the creation of their magistrates.
[89.1] The next day Brutus and those who had been sent with him returned, having effected the agreement with the senate through the arbiters of peace who are called by the Romans fetiales. And the people, dividing themselves into the clans of that day, or whatever one wishes to term the divisions which the Romans call curiae, chose for their annual magistrates the following persons: Lucius Junius Brutus and Gaius Sicinius Bellutus, whom they had had as their leaders up to that time, and, in addition to these, Gaius and Publius Licinius and Gaius Visellius Ruga. [2] These five persons were the first who received the tribunician power, on the fourth day before the ides of D
ecember, as is the custom even to our time. The election being over, the envoys of the senate considered that everything for which they had been sent was now properly settled. But Brutus, calling the plebeians together, advised them to render this magistracy sacred and inviolable, insuring its security by both a law and an oath. [3] This was approved of by all, and a law was drawn up by him and his colleagues, as follows: “Let no one compel a tribune of the people, as if he were an ordinary person, to do anything against his will; let no one whip him or order another to whip him; and let no one kill him or order another to kill him. If anybody shall do any one of these things that are forbidden, let him be accursed and let his goods be consecrated to Ceres; and if anybody shall kill one who has done any of these things, let him be guiltless of murder.” [4] And to the end that the people might not even in future be at liberty to repeal this law, but that it might forever remain unalterable, it was ordained that all the Romans should solemnly swear over the sacrificial victims to observe it for all time, both they and their posterity; and a prayer was added to the oath that the heavenly gods and the divinities of the lower world might be propitious to those who observed it, and that the displeasure of the gods and divinities might be visited upon those who violated it, as being guilty of the greatest sacrilege. From this the custom arose among the Romans of regarding the persons of the tribunes of the people as sacrosanct, which custom continues to this day.
[90.1] After they had passed this vote they erected an altar upon the summit of the mount where they had encamped, which they named in their own language the altar of Jupiter the Terrifier, from the terror which had possessed them at that time; and when they had performed sacrifices to this god and had consecrated the place which had received them, they returned to the city with the envoys. [2] After this they also returned thanks to the gods worshipped in the city, and prevailed upon the patricians to pass a vote for the confirmation of their new magistracy. And having obtained this also, they asked further that the senate should allow them to appoint every year two plebeians to act as assistants to the tribunes in everything the latter should require, to decide such causes as the others should refer to them, to have the oversight of public places, both sacred and profane, and to see that the market was supplied with plenty of provisions. [3] Having obtained this concession also from the senate, they chose men whom they called assistants and colleagues of the tribunes, and judges. Now, however, they are called in their own language, from one of their functions, overseers of sacred places or aediles, and their power is no longer subordinate to that of other magistrates, as formerly; but many affairs of great importance are entrusted to them, and in most respects they resemble more or less the agoranomoi or “market-overseers” among the Greeks.
[91.1] When affairs had been settled and the commonwealth restored to its former state, an army was raised by the generals against their foreign foes, as the people now displayed great alacrity and in a short time got everything ready that was necessary for the war. The consuls having drawn lots for their official duties according to custom, Spurius Cassius, to whom the oversight of affairs in the city fell, remained at home, retaining a sufficient part of the forces which had been raised, while Postumus Cominius took the field with the rest of the army, consisting of not only an adequate part of the Romans themselves but also no small auxiliary force of Latins. [2] And deciding to attack the Volscians first, he took a city of theirs called Longula at the first assault, though the inhabitants undertook to make some show of bravery and sent some forces into the field in hopes of holding back the enemy; but these were put to shameful flight before they had performed any brilliant action and did not display the least courage even during the assault on their walls. At all events the Romans in one day not only possessed themselves of their country without effort, but also took their city by storm without much difficulty. [3] The Roman general permitted the soldiers to divide all the goods left in the city, and then, leaving a garrison there, led his army against another city of the Volscians called Polusca, not far distant from Longula. When none dared to oppose him, he marched through the country with great ease and assaulted the walls; and then, some of the soldiers forcing open the gates and others scaling the walls, they made themselves masters of this city also that same day. [4] After the consul had taken the city he chose out a few of the inhabitants who had been the authors of the revolt and put them to death; and having punished the rest by taking away their effects and disarmed them, he obliged them to be subjects of the Romans for the future.
[92.1] He left in this city also a small part of the army as a garrison, and the next day marched with the rest to Corioli, a city of very great note and the mother-city, so to speak, of the Volscians. Here a strong force had been assembled, the walls were not easy to be taken, and everything necessary for war had been prepared long before by the inhabitants. The consul undertook to storm the walls and persisted in his efforts till late in the afternoon, but was repulsed by the enemy after he had lost many of his men. [2] The next day he got ready battering rams, mantlets, and scaling-ladders and was preparing to make an attempt against the city with his entire forces; but learning that the Antiates were planning to come with a large force to the assistance of the Coriolani because of their kinship with them, and that those chosen to make the expedition were already upon the march, he divided his army and determined to continue the assault on the city with one half of it, leaving Titus Larcius in command, with the other half to stop the advance of the approaching force. [3] Thus two actions took place on the same day, and the Romans gained the victory in both, as all of them fought with great ardour and one man in particular displayed incredible bravery and performed deeds that beggar description. This man was of patrician rank and of no obscure lineage, Gaius Marcius by name; he was sober and restrained in his private life and had the spirit of a freeman in full measure. The circumstances of the two actions were as follows: Larcius, having marched out of the camp with his army at break of day, advanced to the walls of Corioli and assault the city in many places. The Coriolani, for their part, elated by their expectation of aid from the Antiates, which they were convinced would son reach them, opened all their gates and made a general sally against the enemy. [4] The Romans sustained their first attack and wounded many of those who engaged them, but later, as the number of the assailants increased, they were forced down hill and gave way. Marcius, whom I mentioned before, upon seeing this, stood his ground with a few followers and awaited the solid mass of the enemy as they attacked. When he had struck down many of them and the rest gave way and fled toward the city, he followed, slaying, one after another, all who came within reach, and calling out without intermission to those of his own men who fled to face about, to take courage, and to follow him. [5] These, ashamed of their behaviour, rallied and pressed hard upon their opponents, smiting and pursuing them; and in a short time they had all routed their antagonists and were attacking the walls of the city. Marcius, exposing himself now with greater boldness, kept advancing farther and farther, and coming to the very gates, entered along with those who were fleeing inside the walls. And when many others also forced their way inside with him, there ensued a great slaughter on both sides in many parts of the city, some fighting in the streets and others in defence of the houses that were being taken. [6] Even women assisted the inhabitants in their struggle by hurling down tiles upon the enemy from the roofs; and everyone according to his strength and power bravely defended his native city. However, they did not hold out long against these perils, but were obliged to surrender to the conquers. The city having been taken in this manner, most of the Romans turned to plundering the property found there, and continued for a long time intent on the booty, as there was a large quantity of money and a great number of slaves in the place.
[93.1] But Marcius, who had been the first and only man to sustain the shock of the enemy and had distinguished himself above all the Romans both in the storming of the city and in the struggles which took place inside the walls, gai
ned greater distinction in the second battle, which was fought against the Antiates. For he resolved not to be absent from this action either, but as soon as the city was captured, he took with him the small number of men who were able to follow him, and advancing at a run, found the two armies already drawn up and on the point of engaging. He was the first to inform the Romans of the capture of the city, and as a proof of it showed them the smoke which was rising in great volume from the houses that had been set on fire. And having obtained leave of the consul, he drew up his men in a compact body opposite the strongest force of the enemy. [2] As soon as the battle signals were raised, he was the first to come to grips with his opponents, and having killed many of those he encountered, he forced his way into the midst of their ranks. The Antiates no longer ventured to engaged him hand to hand, but leaving their ranks where he attacked, they surrounded him in a body, and retreating as he advanced and pursued them, they assailed him with their missiles. Postumus, being informed of this and fearing lest the man, thus isolated, might meet with some disaster, sent the bravest of the youth to his relief. These, doubling their files, charged the enemy; and when the first line failed to sustain their charge, but turned to flight, they pressed forward and found Marcius covered with wounds and saw many lying round him, some dead and others dying. [3] Thereupon they advanced together under Marcius as leader against those of the enemy who still kept their ranks, killing all who made any resistance and treating them like slaves. Though all the Romans displayed notable valour in this action, and the bravest of them were those who defended Marcius, yet brave beyond all the rest was Marcius himself, who was without any doubt the chief cause of the victory. When at last it grew dark, the Romans retired to their camp greatly exulting in their victory, having killed many of the Antiates and carrying with them a great number of prisoners.
Delphi Complete Works of Dionysius of Halicarnassus (Illustrated) (Delphi Ancient Classics Book 79) Page 60