Ab urbe condita

Assembly. Sextius was introducing an agrarian law, and stated that one of its provisions was that colonists be settled at Bolae. “Those,” he said, “who had captured Bolae deserved that the city and its territory should belong to them.” Postumius exclaimed, “It will be a bad thing for my soldiers if they do not keep quiet.” This exclamation was quite as offensive to the senators, when they heard of it, as it was to the

Assembly. The tribune of the plebs was a clever man and not a bad speaker; he had now got amongst his opponents a man of insolent temper and hot tongue, whom he could irritate and provoke into saying things which would bring odium not only upon himself, but upon his cause and upon the whole of his order. There was no one amongst the consular tribunes whom he oftener drew into argument before the Assembly than

Postumius. After the above quoted coarse and brutal utterance Sextius said, “Do you hear, Quirites, this man threatening his soldiers with punishment, as if they were slaves? Shall this monster appear in your eyes more worthy of his high office than the men who are trying to send you out as colonists to receive as a free gift city and land, and provide a resting-place for your old age; who are fighting gallantly for your interests against such savage and insolent opponents? Now you can begin to wonder why it is that so few take up your cause. What have they to hope for from you? Is it high office? You would rather confer it on your opponents than on the champions of the Roman people. You broke out into indignant murmurs just now when you heard what this man said. What difference does it

make? If you had to give your votes now, you would prefer this man who threatens you with punishment to those who want to secure for you lands and houses and property.” When this exclamation of Postumius was reported to the soldiers it aroused much more indignation in the camp. “What!” they said, “is the embezzler of the spoils, the robber, actually threatening his soldiers with punishment?” Open as the expressions of resentment were, the quaestor P. Sestius still thought that the excitement could be repressed by the same exhibition of violence by which it had been aroused. A lictor was sent to a soldier who was shouting, this led to uproar and

disorder. The quaestor was struck by a stone and got out of the crowd, the man who had hurt him exclaimed that the quaestor had got what the commander had threatened the

soldiers. Postumius was sent for to deal with the outbreak; he aggravated the general irritation by the ruthless way in which he made his investigations and the cruelty of the punishments he inflicted. At last, when his rage exceeded all bounds, and a crowd had gathered at the cries of those whom he had ordered to be put to death “under the hurdle,” [*](See description of execution of Turnus Herdonius in Book I. chap. li. Here, as no water is mentioned, it must have been the “pressing to death” beneath a hurdle loaded with large stones.) he rushed down from his tribunal in a frenzy to those who were interrupting the execution; the lictors and centurions tried in all directions to disperse the crowd, and drove them to such a pitch of exasperation that the tribune was overwhelmed beneath a shower of stones from his own

army. When this dreadful deed was reported at Rome, the consular tribunes urged the senate to order an inquiry into the circumstances of the death of their colleague, but the tribunes of the plebs interposed their veto. That matter was closely connected with another subject of

dispute. The senate were apprehensive lest the plebeians, either through dread of an investigation or from feelings of resentment, should elect the consular tribunes from their own body, and they did their utmost accordingly to secure the election of consuls. As the tribunes of the plebs would not allow the senate to pass a decree, and also vetoed the election of consuls, matters passed to an interregnum. The victory rested finally with the senate.