Ab urbe condita

The tribune replied that he was not going to inflict punishment upon a man not yet found guilty; but he should keep him in prison till the day of the trial, that the Roman people might be in a position to punish one who has taken a man's life.

The other tribunes were appealed to, and they saved their prerogative by a compromise;[*](saved their prerogative —The fact of an appeal being made to them by a patrician gave them the opportunity of magnifying their office, whilst, on the other hand, to have set him unconditionally at liberty would have weakened their influence with the plebs.) they forbade him to be cast into prison, and announced as their decision that the accused should appear in court, and if he failed to do so, he should forfeit a sum of money to the people. The question was, what sum would it be fair to

fix? The matter was referred to the senate, the accused was detained in the Assembly whilst the senators were deliberating. They decided that he should give sureties, and each surety was bound in 3000

“ ases.” It was left to the tribunes to decide how many should be given; they fixed the number at ten. The prosecutor released the accused on that bail. Caeso was the first who gave securities on a state trial. After leaving the Forum, he went the following night into exile amongst the Tuscans. When the day for the trial came, it was pleaded in defence of his non-appearance that he had changed his domicile by going into

exile. Verginius, nevertheless, went on with the proceedings, but his colleagues, to whom an appeal was made, dismissed the

Assembly. The money was unmercifully extorted from the father, who had to sell all his property and live for some time like a banished man in an out-of-the-way hut on the other side of the Tiber.