Tiberius and Caius Gracchus

He had a helmet which he wore in battle, exceptionally adorned and splendid; into this serpents crawled unnoticed, laid eggs there and hatched them out. For this reason Tiberius was all the more disturbed by the signs from the birds. But nevertheless he set out, on learning that the people were assembled on the Capitol;

and before he got out of the house, he stumbled against the threshold. The blow was so severe that the nail of his great toe was broken and the blood ran out through his shoe. He had gone on but a little way when ravens were seen fighting on the roof of a house to his left hand; and though there were many people, as was natural, passing by, a stone dislodged by one of the ravens fell at the foot of Tiberius himself. This caused even the boldest of his followers to pause;

but Blossius of Cumae, who was present, said it would be a shame and a great disgrace if Tiberius, a son of Gracchus, a grandson of Scipio Africanus, and a champion of the Roman people, for fear of a raven should refuse to obey the summons of his fellow citizens; such shameful conduct, moreover, would not be made a mere matter of ridicule by his enemies, but they would decry him to the people as one who was at last giving himself the airs of a tyrant.

At the same time also many of his friends on the Capitol came running to Tiberius with urgent appeals to hasten thither, since matters there were going well. And in fact things turned out splendidly for Tiberius at first; as soon as he came into view the crowd raised a friendly shout, and as he came up the hill they gave him a cordial welcome and ranged themselves about him, that no stranger might approach.

But after Mucius began once more to summon the tribes to the vote, none of the customary forms could be observed because of the disturbance that arose on the outskirts of the throng, where there was crowding back and forth between the friends of Tiberius and their opponents, who were striving to force their way in and mingle with the rest. Moreover, at this juncture Fulvius Flaccus, a senator, posted himself in a conspicuous place, and since it was impossible to make his voice heard so far, indicated with his hand that he wished to tell Tiberius something meant for his ear alone.

Tiberius ordered the crowd to part for Flavius, who made his way up to him with difficulty, and told him that at a session of the senate the party of the rich, since they could not prevail upon the consul to do so, were purposing to kill Tiberius themselves, and for this purpose had under aims a multitude of their friends and slaves.