Tiberius and Caius Gracchus

After this the agrarian law was passed, and three men were chosen or he survey and distribution of the public land, Tiberius himself, Appius Claudius his father-in-law, and Caius Gracchus his brother, who was not at Rome, but was serving under Scipio in the expedition against Numantia.

These measures were carried out by Tiberius quietly and without opposition, and, besides, he procured the election of a tribune in the place of Octavius. The new tribune was not a man of rank or note, but a certain Mucius, a client of Tiberius. The aristocrats, however, who were vexed at these proceedings and feared the growing power of Tiberius, heaped insult upon him in the senate. When he asked for the customary tent at public expense, for his use when dividing up the public land, they would not give it,

although other men had often obtained one or less important purposes; and they fixed his daily allowance for expenses at nine obols.[*](That is, in Roman money, nine sestertii, equivalent to about twenty pence, or forty cents.) These things were done on motion of Publius Nasica, who surrendered completely to his hatred of Tiberius. For he was a very large holder of public land, and bitterly resented his being forced to give it up.

But the people were all the more inflamed; and when a friend of Tiberius died suddenly and his body broke out all over with evil spots, they ran in throngs to the man’s funeral, crying out that he had been poisoned to death, and they carried the bier themselves, and stood by at the last ceremonies. And their suspicions of poison were thought to be not without reason.

For the dead body burst open and a great quantity of corrupt humours gushed forth, so that the flame of the funeral pyre was extinguished. And when fresh fire was brought, again the body would not burn, until it was carried to another place, where, after much trouble, the fire at last took hold of it. Upon this, Tiberius, that he might exasperate the multitude still more, put on a garb of mourning, brought his children before the assembly, and begged the people to care for them and their mother, saying that he despaired of his own life.