Tiberius and Caius Gracchus

It would appear that the disagreement between the two men arose chiefly through the ambition of Tiberius and from the friends and sophists who urged him on. But this disagreement certainly resulted in no mischief past remedy. And in my opinion Tiberius would never have met with his great misfortunes if Scipio Africanus had been present at Rome during his political activity. But as it was, Scipio was already at Numantia[*](Scipio was sent against Numantia in 134 B.C., and took and destroyed the city in the following year, in which year also Tiberius was killed.) and waging war there when Tiberius began to agitate for his agrarian laws. The occasion of this was as follows.

Of the territory which the Romans won in war from their neighbours, a part they sold, and a part they made common land, and assigned it for occupation to the poor and indigent among the citizens, on payment of a small rent into the public treasury.

And when the rich began to offer larger rents and drove out the poor, a law was enacted forbidding the holding by one person of more than five hundred acres of land. For a short time this enactment gave a check to the rapacity of the rich, and was of assistance to the poor, who remained in their places on the land which they had rented and occupied the allotment which each had held from the outset.