The Story of Greece and Rome for boys and girls
- Автор: Macgregor Mary
- Год: 1914
- Язык: английский
- Жанр: Зарубежная литература для детей
Электронная книга - «The Story of Greece and Rome for boys and girls». Краткое содержание книги:
The Story of Greece: Told to Boys and Girls от Mary Macgregor
The Story of Rome, From the Earliest Times to the Death of Augustus, Told to Boys and Girls от Mary Esther Miller MacGregor
But Gracchus went on toward the Capitol, where he was joyfully greeted by his friends.
The voting began almost immediately, but again and again it was interrupted by the enemies of Gracchus, until at length he determined to settle the matter by force.
He gave the signal he had arranged with his followers, and they flew to his aid. Before long a riot had begun, and the opponents of Gracchus were driven away by a fierce attack of stones and cudgels.
The Optimates were enraged by this rebuff. They declared in their anger that Gracchus wished to overthrow the nobles that he might become king.
They had seen him raise his hand to his head. It was the signal he had arranged to give his friends, but they said that it was a sign to the people that he hoped to wear a crown. Some even asserted that he had already been presented with a royal diadem and a purple robe.
The Consul, they agreed, ought to employ force to scatter the followers of Gracchus.
But Mucius Scævola was a wise Consul, and refused to kill a single citizen without a trial.
‘Since the Consul betrays the republic,’ cried Scipio Nasica, ‘I call upon those men to follow me who desire to preserve the laws of our country.’ Then, drawing his toga over his head, Nasica marched against the followers of Gracchus at the head of a band of senators and knights.
The people saw the officers of state marching towards them, and stricken with fear they fled, leaving Gracchus, whom they had promised to defend, alone and unprotected.
Tiberius hastened toward the temple of Jupiter, thinking that he would find shelter there, but the priest had closed the door.
As he turned away he stumbled for the second time that day. But he quickly raised himself, only, however, to be struck brutally on the head by one of his enemies. Before he could recover from the blow, a second stroke ended the life of the unfortunate man. Three hundred of his followers were slain before the tumult ended, and the bodies of the victims were thrown into the Tiber.
Gaius begged that he might be allowed to bury his brother, but his request was refused, and the body of Tiberius was also dragged to the river and flung into the tide.
Tiberius had paid with his life for his reforms, but he had been successful in wresting the land laws from the patricians, and in shaking the power of the Senate by his appeal to the people. Nor was the law repealed after his death.
The place left empty on the committee by the murder of Tiberius was filled by Publius Crassus, the father-in-law of Gaius, and the division of land for the good of the people was slowly carried on.
CHAPTER LXXXII
THE DEATH OF GAIUS GRACCHUS
There were some citizens who did not fear to show their regret for the death of Tiberius Gracchus, and one of these was named Carbo.
That the populace was sorry that it had forsaken Gracchus at the critical moment was proved by the sympathy it gave to Carbo, and by its choice of him as their tribune in 131 B.C.
Carbo determined to carry on the reforms of Tiberius Gracchus, and his first measure was to try to make it legal for a tribune to be elected for two years in succession.
In the Assembly of the people Scipio Africanus opposed this, and also declared that Tiberius was put to death justly for trying to be elected tribune a second time.
Ominous mutterings were heard among the crowd at these words.
But Scipio was always masterful, and, annoyed at the interruption, he sternly said: ‘Let no man speak to whom Italy is but a stepmother.’
He said this to remind the people that many of them had been conquered by the Romans, and had not even the full rights of citizens.
Not to have the full rights of citizenship was a sore point with the Italians, and at so bitter a taunt they grew the more threatening.
‘Do you think,’ added Scipio scornfully, as he noticed their attitude, ‘do you think I fear the men whom I brought here in chains now that they are set free?’
The influence of Scipio was so great that Carbo’s bill was rejected.
In 129 B.C. Scipio was at the height of his power, and more popular than ever before. Crowds gathered to watch and admire him as he went to and fro from his house to the Senate.
One day as he left the Forum his progress was like a triumph. He left his admirers early that evening, and took his writing tablets to his room to prepare a speech which he intended to give the next day. But when morning came he was found dead in bed. At his funeral it was plain that he had been respected not only by his friends but by those too who did not agree with his views. His great success at Carthage was never forgotten, and in him Rome knew that she had lost one of her truest and noblest citizens.
Meanwhile, after the murder of his brother, Gaius Gracchus lived quietly in his own home.
The enemies of Tiberius began to hope that Gaius would prove unlike his brother, and be willing to leave the laws of his country alone. But they forgot that Cornelia had trained Gaius even as she had trained her elder son. Gaius never dreamed of letting his brother’s fate keep him from serving his country. He was but waiting for the best opportunity to follow in his footsteps.
In 123 B.C. Gaius was elected tribune. The Optimates, it is true, did their utmost to defeat him. But, as in the time of Tiberius, the people flocked from all parts of Italy to vote for him.
In the place of Assembly many could find no room. But, rather than be thwarted, the excited people climbed on to the roofs of the neighbouring buildings, and raised their voices in favour of Gaius.
The younger Gracchus was even more eloquent than his brother, and his quick, passionate words swayed the people this way or that, as he willed.
Sometimes in his earnestness he lost control of his voice, and spoke more loudly than was pleasant, and he had invented a curious way to check this habit.
When he spoke in public a slave always stood near to him, a flute in his hand. Should his master’s voice rise, the slave would strike a few soft notes on his flute, and Gaius hearing, would remember, and strive to regain control of his voice.
After his election Gaius reminded the people of his brother’s cruel death, and they wept. He told them that he meant to carry on the reforms for which Tiberius had died, and they applauded.
The first effort of the young tribune was to try to punish Octavius for having opposed his brother.
He brought forward a bill proposing that any man who had been deposed from one office should henceforth be incapable of being elected to another.
Octavius had been deposed, and if this bill became law he could no longer hope to serve his country in a public position.
But Cornelia was wiser than her son, and knowing that such a law would only anger the people, she persuaded Gaius to withdraw his bill.
In many ways Gaius tried to keep the affections of the people. He built bridges, and ordered milestones to be erected for their benefit. He brought in laws making grain cheaper for the poor, and this greatly increased his popularity. Above all, he was eager to give the full rights of citizenship to all Italians.
The laws passed for these and other measures were called the Sempronian laws, as Sempronius was the name of the family to which the Gracchi belonged.
Meanwhile the Senate was growing alarmed. Gaius Gracchus promised to give more trouble even than his brother had done. Reforms were being carried out too rapidly to please either the Senate or the patricians. His enemies resolved not to kill him as they had killed his brother, for they believed that they could injure him in a more subtle way.
From that time, if Gaius proposed a measure for the good of the people, one of the Optimates would suggest another, that would be sure to please them more than that of Gaius.
Drusus was the man employed by the enemies of Gracchus to undermine his influence in this way. He was rich, and eloquent as Gaius himself, and little by little he wormed his way into the favour of the people. The more Drusus grew in favour with the plebeians, the less popular became Gaius.