Download LESSON V THE GRACCHI The first part of Lesson V is based on the

LESSON V
THE GRACCHI
The first part of Lesson V is based on the history of Appian. Appian was a Greek historian who lived
and wrote almost one hundred years after the fall of the Roman Republic. The source for Lesson V is his
book called The Civil Wars.
As the Romans conquered their Italian neighbors, they took part of their lands to build towns and set up colonies.
The best lands were given to Roman colonists, but those lands that had been destroyed by war were kept by the
Republic. The Republic offered anyone in Italy the chance to use and to improve these lands in return for a share of
the crops. The Romans did this because they wanted to improve the land and to give all Italians a chance to farm.
But the very opposite of what they had hoped for happened. It was the rich who came to own the public lands.
Having begun to use these lands, they soon began to treat them as their own. And since they believed the Republic
would never take the land away from them, they began to buy more of the land owned by their poor neighbors.
Partly by buying it, partly by force, they came to own great estates. They used slaves as workers because they knew
that free laborers would be called away from time to time to fight in the Legions. They made much more money
from their slaves and these slaves were exempt from military service.
In this way, certain powerful men became very rich and the race of slaves multiplied throughout the country.
Meanwhile, the Italian people shrunk in numbers and strength and were hurt badly by poverty, taxes and military
service.
For these reasons, the People became concerned that soon the Republic would be endangered by the great number of
slaves. It was hard to find a way to cure the problem for it did not seem fair to take land away from men that had
held it for so long. The first step was a law proposed by the Tribunes and passed with difficulty that nobody should
be allowed to own more than three hundred acres of public land. To assure that this law was obeyed the requirement
was added that three free laborers must be employed on this land. [The date of this agricultural or Agrarian Law was
367 B.C.]
The Tribunes wrote this law and they required everyone to take an oath. They made penalties for breaking it and it
was assumed that each individual who owned more than three hundred acres of public land would give the excess
back to the Republic which would then give it to the poor. But the rich did not obey their oaths or the law. The small
number of people who seemed to obey the law gave the land to their relatives. The greater part disobeyed it
completely.
This went on until Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus, a famous man, a man eager for glory and a powerful speaker, and
for these reasons very popular, delivered an eloquent speech about the people of Italy while he was serving as
Tribune.
He said that it was wrong that people so brave in war and related by blood to the Romans were falling little by little
into poverty and destruction.
He pointed to the great number of slaves and said they were useless in war and never faithful to their masters.
He pointed out that just two years before there had been a revolt of slaves in Sicily and he pointed out how terrible
the war against those slaves had been.
After speaking in this way, he again brought forward the law which said that nobody should hold more than 300 of
public land. But now he added a new clause to the old law: that each of the sons of the rich land owners could hold
only 150 acres and that all the rest would be divided among the poor by three elected officials who would be
changed each year. The three officials were to be called Triumvirs which means “three men”. [The date of this
agricultural or Agrarian Law was 133 B.C.]
This law of Gracchus upset the rich. Because of the Triumvirs, the rich could no longer break the law as they had
done before. They gathered together in groups and accused the poor of taking away the land that they had made
valuable. Some said they had paid the price of the land to their neighbors. Were they to lose the money and the
land? Many of them had borrowed money using this land as security. All kinds of complaints were heard.
On the other side could be heard the cries of the poor: that they had been ruined; that they were poor; that they could
no longer afford to have children. They pointed out the victories they had won as soldiers. They said that they were
the ones who had conquered this land. They were angry that they had been robbed of their share of the public land.
They attacked the rich for using slaves instead of free men who were citizens and soldiers.
While the two classes were accusing each other, everyone else took sides with one faction or the other. These
factions made speeches against each other and waited for the chance to vote on the new law. One faction determined
to prevent the law being passed; the other wanted to pass it at all costs.
What Gracchus had in mind in proposing this new law was not money but men. Gracchus believed in the importance
of hard work. He saw that unless Italy was filled with free workers, nothing good could happen to it.
When the time came for voting on his law he brought up many arguments. He asked whether or not it was fair for
the common people to have the common property; whether or not a citizen was worth more than a slave; whether or
not a man who served in the army was not more useful than one who did not; and whether or not one who had a
stake and a share in his country was not more likely to support the Republic than a beggar.
He passed over a long comparison between free men and slaves but he did point out that the Romans owned most of
their territory by conquest. He added that they had hopes of conquering the rest of the world.
He pointed out that there was a great question that had not been answered: he asked whether in the future Romans
would have plenty of proud brave men to fight or whether they would grow weak and lose to their enemies.
He warned the rich to be careful and told them that it was in their own self-interest to give this land as a free gift to
men who would raise children who would be able to fight for the Republic. He asked them to forget about small
things and to look at big ones. He pointed out that they would be given complete ownership of 300 acres of the
public land without any cost and half again as much as that for each son.
After saying much more to the same effect he ordered the clerk to read the law.
Marcus Octavius was also a Tribune that year. He was, therefore, a colleague of Gracchus. He was
persuaded by those who owned public land to veto the command that Gracchus had just given to the clerk to read the
law. (For among the Romans, a veto always stops an action.) When Octavius gave his veto, Gracchus postponed the
Assembly to the following day.
The next day, Gracchus brought to the Assembly a large number of friends as if to force Octavius to accept
this action against his will, and once again, he ordered the clerk to read the law to the people. The clerk began to
read, but then Octavius again stepped forward, and once again, vetoed the action. Then the Tribunes began to argue
with each other and a scuffle broke out.
The leading citizens asked the Tribunes to bring their quarrel to the Senate for a decision. Gracchus agreed, for he
believed that his law was acceptable to all sensible people and he went quickly to the Senate House. There, he found
that he had only a few supporters, and that he was hated by the rich. He ran back to the Forum where the Assembly
met, and said he would take a vote at the Assembly the next day, both on the law itself and on the right of Octavius
to veto an action that was in the people’s interest.
The next day, when Octavius again vetoed the action, Gracchus proposed to take a vote on whether or not a Tribune
working against the interest of the people could still hold the office of Tribune.
When the first Tribe voted to take away the Tribuneship from Octavius, Gracchus turned to him and begged him not
to veto anymore. But Octavius would not agree. Gracchus then took the votes of the other Tribes.
There were thirty-five Tribes at that time. The seventeen that voted first supported the law of Gracchus. If the
eighteenth agreed, that would make a majority. Again, Gracchus, in the sight of all the people, begged Octavius not
to veto an action which was just and useful to all of Italy. He begged him not to frustrate the wishes of the people.
After speaking in this way, he called on the Gods to witness that he did not wish to take away Octavius’ office. But
Octavius did not give in. The eighteenth Tribe voted and Octavius ceased to be Tribune. He was reduced to the rank
of private citizen. Another man was chosen Tribune in his place and then the Agrarian Law was passed.
The first Triumvirs appointed to divide the land were Tiberius Gracchus himself and his brother Caius and his
father-in-law, since the people feared that the law would be disobeyed unless Gracchus put his own family in
charge. Tiberius Gracchus became very popular because of the law and was escorted home by a great crowd as
though he were the founding father of Italy.
After this, members of the victorious faction went back to their farms. The defeated faction stayed in the city and
talked the matter over. They accused Tiberius of being a criminal and said that as soon as he laid down his office he
would be sorry about what he had done to Octavius. They said that he had attacked the office to Tribune and had
introduced class war into Italy.
It was now summer and the election of Tribunes was approaching. When the day for voting came, it was clear that
the rich were supporting candidates who would work against Tiberius Gracchus.
Tiberius feared that his law would be destroyed if he was not re-elected for that year. He called all his friends from
the fields to come to the election. But it happened that they were busy at that time with the harvest, and as the day of
voting came near, he could rely only on the poor of the city. So he went around the Forum asking each citizen to
elect him Tribune for the next year. When the voting took place the first two Tribes voted for Tiberius Gracchus.
Then the rich objected that it was not legal for the same man to hold the same office twice in a row. The Tribune
Rubrius, who had been chosen by lot to be President of the Assembly, was in doubt. Mummius (who had been
chosen to replace Octavius) asked Rubrius to hand the Assembly over to him and he did so. But the other Tribunes
said that this should be done by lot. They said that since Rubrius had been chosen by lot, that if he resigned,
whoever replaced him should also be chosen by lot. There was much dispute about this question and Gracchus,
whose side was losing the argument, put off the voting to the following day.
In despair, Tiberius Gracchus put on black clothes (though he was still in office) and walked around the Forum with
his son. He introduced his son to every citizen he met and asked for his vote. He said that if he lost tomorrow his
own life and the life of his son would be in danger.
When the poor had time to think about this, they were very sad, both for their own sakes (for they saw that soon they
would no longer be able to live in a free country with equal laws but would be reduced to slavery by the rich) and on
account of Tiberius himself who was in such great danger. So all the poor went in tears to his house that evening and
asked him to be brave. Tiberius cheered up, and the next morning, he gathered all of the members of his faction at
dawn and told them to be prepared to defend their rights when he gave the signal.
He then went up to the temple on Capitol Hill where the voting was to take place, and sat in the middle of the
Assembly. Other Tribunes and the rich tried to stop the votes from being taken. At that moment he gave the signal to
the people to defend themselves. There was a shout and then there was bloodshed. Some of the supporters of
Tiberius took position around him like bodyguards. They drove the rich out of the Assembly and the other Tribunes
ran away. People ran around and scattered rumors. Some said that Tiberius had gotten rid of all the other Tribunes.
This was believed because none of them could be seen. Others said that he had declared himself Tribune for the next
year without an election.
Hearing these things, the Senate assembled. It is astonishing to me that they never thought of appointing a dictator in
this crisis, for they had often been protected by a dictator in times of peril, but a dictator had not been elected for
many years, and they did not think of it.
The Senators decided to march up to the Capitol and the Senator Cornelius Scipio Nasica led the way and
shouted,“Let those who would save the Republic follow me!” A fight on Capitol Hill broke out, and in the fighting
many of the supporters of Gracchus were killed. Gracchus himself was killed at the door of the temple near the
statues of the kings. All the bodies of his friends and his own were thrown that night into the Tiber River. In this
way, on the Capitol, and while still a Tribune, Tiberius, the son of that Gracchus who was twice Consul, and the son
of Cornelia, the daughter of the great Scipio who had burned Carthage, died.
Tiberius Gracchus lost his life because of an excellent plan pursued with too much violence. This was the first time
there was bloodshed in the public Assembly. This crime was never without parallels from this time on.
On the subject of the murder of Tiberius, the city was divided between sorrow and joy. Some mourned for
themselves and for him, believing that the Republic no longer existed but had been replaced by force. Others
considered that their dearest dreams had come true.
The rest of Lesson V will be Plutarch’s Life of Caius Gracchus, the brother of Tiberius who was killed.
(Plutarch also wrote a Life of Tiberius Gracchus.)
At first, Caius, either because he was scared of his brother’s enemies or because he was hoping to make the People
hate those enemies even more, kept out of the Assemblies, and stayed in his own house. Some said he disliked what
his brother had done and had given up defending his laws. But he was nine years younger than Tiberius, and
Tiberius was not even thirty when he was killed. When Caius gave up private life, his true character became known.
His character was inconsistent with quiet and hiding, and not the least likely to be satisfied with eating, drinking and
making money. He studied rhetoric with great care as if it would be the wings that would carry him up in the air and
it was clear that he did not intend to remain quiet. When a friend of his was on trial, he defended him, and the People
were amazed with his eloquence, so much so that the other orators seemed like children in comparison, and soon the
rich and powerful citizens began to fear him. They decided that they must prevent Caius from becoming Tribune.
Soon, however, it happened that he was elected Quaestor and went with the Consul into Sardinia. His enemies were
glad to have him out of the way and he, too, was happy, for in Sardinia he had a chance to fight and he enjoyed war.
Besides, he was still cautious about going into politics. Nevertheless, most people think that Caius was far more
ambitious even than Tiberius and more of a demagogue. Yet it is certain that he entered politics not out of choice but
because he had to. Cicero tells us that when he had decided not to follow in his brothers footsteps and not to become
Tribune, he had a dream in which his brother came to him and said, “What are you waiting for, Caius? There is no
escape. Both of us have the same destiny. We must give our lives for the People of Rome.”
While Caius was in Sardinia he gave proofs of his excellence. He was skilled in war. He showed justice and he was
obedient to his superior officer. In addition, he showed temperance, frugality and industry. It just so happened that
the winter that year was very cold. It was so cold that there were not enough clothes for the Roman soldiers. When
the Consul, who was Governor, asked the cities of Sardinia for clothes, they said they could provide none. The
Senate in Rome also said that the Consul would have to find them for himself. Soon the soldiers were freezing. But
Caius Gracchus went from one city to another, and by his power in speaking he persuaded the Sardinians to clothe
the whole Roman army. When this was reported to Rome, it made his enemies angry for it proved that he could be a
popular leader and the Senators were jealous. The Senators were so angry that they decided to extend Caius’
command in Sardinia to keep him out of the way.
When Caius found out about this he sailed at once for Rome, and when he appeared there, his friends and his
enemies were angry. Everyone thought it was wrong for him to leave Sardinia while still Quaestor. Nevertheless,
when somebody accused him of this to the Censors, he defended himself and did so well, in fact, that he persuaded
everyone that he had been wronged. He said that he had already served twelve years in the army while others were
required only to serve ten, and that he had been Quaestor in Sardinia for three years whereas he was required by law
to serve only one. He pointed out that of all those who went to Sardinia, he alone had gone with a full purse and had
brought home an empty one, while the others, after drinking up the wine they had carried to Sardinia with them,
brought back wine jars filled with gold and silver. After this, his enemies brought other accusations and charges
against him. They accused him of treason and conspiracy but he cleared himself of every charge and proved his
innocence. Then he came forward to run for Tribune.
In running for this office, he was opposed by many powerful people. But friends of his from all over Italy came to
Rome to vote for him. So many farmers came that there were not enough places in Rome for them to stay, and the
place where the Assembly was held was not large enough to hold all of the People so that some were forced to climb
the roofs of houses and shout their votes.
Despite these great numbers, his enemies were so powerful that he was not the first Tribune to be elected that year
but the fourth. But when it came to being Tribune it was soon seen that he was truly the first. He was a better
speaker than any of his colleagues, and the passion he felt for his dead brother made him an even better speaker. He
reminded the people of how his brother had been killed. He reminded them that once upon a time Romans had
destroyed a neighboring city simply because it had insulted a Roman Tribune. He reminded them that a Roman
citizen had once been put to death for refusing to respect a Tribune in the Forum. “But now,” he said, “these rich
men murdered my brother Tiberius with clubs and dragged his body through the middle of the city and threw it into
the river. His friends were put to death without any trial. This went against all our laws which have always been
observed in our city - that whenever anyone is accused of a crime that can be punished with death, that a court must
make every effort to let him answer the charge.”
Having stirred up the people with speeches like this, and his voice was the loudest and strongest, he proposed two
laws. The first was that whomever had been turned out of office by the People would from now on never be able to
hold office again. The second was that if any magistrate banished a Roman without legal trial, the People had the
right to overturn that decision. One of these laws was obviously aimed at Octavius, who Tiberius Gracchus had
forced to step down from the Tribuneship. The other was aimed at a Praetor who had banished all of Tiberius’
friends.
It happened that Caius himself withdrew the first law because of a request from his mother, Cornelia. This was very
pleasing to the People who had great respect for Cornelia. They respected her both because of her father Scipio, and
for her children. Afterwards they made a statue of brass in her honor with this message:
“Cornelia, the mother of the Gracchi”.
The purpose of the additional laws he now proposed was to make the people stronger and the Senate weaker. (1) The
first law concerned the public lands which were to be divided among the poor citizens. (2) Another law concerned
the common soldiers and stated that they should be clothed at public expense without any lessening of their pay and
that none would be forced to serve in the army who was not at least seventeen. (3) Another law gave every Italian
the right to vote at elections as Roman citizens. (4) A fourth law related to the price of bread, which was to be sold
from now on at a lower price to the poor. (5) The fifth law changed the law courts and reduced the power of the
Senators. Up until this time, in all cases, only Senators had been on the jury. For this reason, the courts were dreaded
by the Roman Knights. But Caius joined three hundred citizens of knightly rank to the list of Senators (of whom
there were also three hundred) and his law required that every jury should be made up half of Senators and half of
Knights.
While he was arguing for this last law, Caius changed an old Roman custom. Before, when any speaker spoke in the
Forum, he always faced towards the Senate House, with the People at his back. Caius was the first man to speak to
the People turning himself toward them, and he continued to do so after that time. This might seem like a small
movement, only a change of direction, but it marked a great revolution in the Republic.
This changed, one might say, the whole government from an oligarchy to a democracy. His action indicated that
public speakers should speak to the People and not to the Senate. When the People passed the law adding knights to
the juries, they also gave Caius the power to select whatever Knights he wanted to be on the jury, giving him great
power. He persuaded the Senate to do many things that made Rome more popular in the provinces. He passed laws
for new colonies, new roads, for building new storehouses for food, and all of these things he supervised himself. He
was so careful that even those who hated and feared him were amazed by his hard work.
The people loved him and were very impressed when they saw him surrounded with contractors, magistrates,
builders, soldiers and scholars. He always acted with dignity and always listened carefully to whoever was speaking
to him. He was no less skilled in his ability to talk one to one than in his ability to make a great speech to many. He
gave a great deal of care to building new roads and he made them beautiful as well as well-designed. They ran in
straight lines and were paved with stones and covered with gravel. When the road came to a valley, he would fill it
up or build a bridge so that all of his roads were of great quality. He also put up markers to mark the miles.
For all these reasons, the People praised him and were always ready to help him. Caius was elected Tribune for a
second time by a motion of the people themselves and was thus elected without even running for the office. When
he saw that the Senate was angrier at him than ever, he began to work on new laws. He proposed that a colony of
Roman citizens be sent to Capua, and he suggested that every Italian be given the same rights as Roman citizens.
But now the Senate began to work against him. They feared that he had become too powerful and dangerous. They
decided to use a new trick against him. What they did was to play a demagogue off against him.
Livius Drusus was a fellow Tribune of Caius, a person of good family and well-educated and superior in his
eloquence and riches. The leading Senators went to him and persuaded him to attack Caius and join with them
against him. They decided to get rid of Caius, not by force, and not by opposing the People, but by giving and
promising the People unreasonable things that would rob Caius of his popularity. Livius Drusus agreed, and
therefore he brought forward laws that were in reality neither honorable nor advantageous for the public. His whole
purpose was to outdo Caius in pleasing the people, as if it had been in some comedy. He used flattery of every kind
and gratified the People’s wishes. The Senate thus proved how much it hated Caius, for whatever they did, they did
to lessen his popularity. When Caius proposed the settlement of two colonies and selected the better class of citizens
for colonists, the Senate accused him of abusing the People, and they were pleased with Drusus when he proposed
sending out twelve colonies, everyone to have 3000 colonists who were to be the poorest he could find. When Caius
divided the public land among the poor citizens, and charged them a small rent that was to be paid to the Republic,
Drusus was angry with him and accused him of robbing the people. The Senate praised Livius Drusus when he
proposed that the people should pay nothing. In all his speeches to the People, Livius always told them that he
proposed no laws that were unpopular with the Senate. He said that the Senate was the friend of the people; and
indeed this is the only good thing that he did, because he made the Senate and the People of Rome get along better
than they had before. For in the past, the People had hated the leading Senators.
Another thing that made Drusus popular was that he never seemed to propose any law in his own self- interest. He
always appointed other people to be officials for colonies and he never distributed any money himself, whereas
Caius always took the lead in these projects. When another Tribune of the People proposed to have Carthage rebuilt
(Carthage had been destroyed by Scipio Aemilianus) it became the job of Caius to do this and he sailed to Africa.
Drusus took advantage of his being away to win the People over to himself. He did this by accusing a man called
Fulvius, who was a friend of Caius and who had been appointed an official by him to divide up the public lands.
Fulvius was a strong-willed fellow who was hated by the Senate. He was also suspected by the People, though there
was little evidence to support the rumors about him. He was one of the most important causes of the ruin of Caius.
When Scipio Aemilianus suddenly died and no cause of his death could be found, only some marks on his body
which suggested that he had been killed, many suspected Fulvius because Fulvius had been his enemy. Indeed,
Caius himself was also suspected. This great crime, done to one of the greatest and noblest men in Rome, was never
solved. The people opposed any judicial investigation, for they feared that Caius was guilty. And so, while Caius
was in Africa working to rebuild Carthage, it is said that many bad signs were observed. For a sudden gust of wind
blew over a flag one of the soldiers was holding and it fell to the ground. When they staked out new borders for a
new city, wolves came and carried the markers away. Nevertheless, Caius did all of his business in only seventy
days, and then returned to Rome.
Upon his return to Rome, Caius quickly saw the danger he was in because of Fulvius and he saw that one of his
enemies was now running for the Consulship. It was generally believed that if this enemy became Consul, he would
ruin Caius. The power of Caius was already weakening because the People no longer loved him as much as they
used to, because there were so many others who seemed to be working in their interests.
Caius gave up his house on the Palatine Hill and went to live near the marketplace. He tried to make himself more
popular by living in that part of the city where most of the poor citizens lived. He then brought forward the
remainder of his laws and intended to have them passed by popular vote. To support them, he collected a great
number of people from everywhere. But the Senate persuaded the Consuls to command all people who were not
born Romans to leave the city. When he heard this, Caius made another announcement accusing the Consuls of
breaking the law, and telling the Italians that if they came to Rome, he would protect them. However, he was not
able to keep his word. He saw some of his friends dragged to prison by the officers of the Consuls and he was
unable to help them because he was afraid to test his power, which had already declined, or because he was
frightened to give his enemies the opportunity which they had long hoped for: fighting and bloodshed.
About this time another thing happened that hurt his reputation. A show of Gladiators was to be given before the
People in the marketplace and most of the Tribunes built bleachers with the intention of renting seats to the People
so they could make money. Caius commanded them to take down the bleachers so that the poor people might be
able to see the sport without paying anything. But nobody obeyed these orders of his, so he gathered about him some
workers to pull the bleachers down the night before the contest was to take place. By the next morning, the
marketplace was cleared and the common people could see the fights for free. In doing this, the people thought he
had done the right thing. But his colleagues - his fellow Tribunes - were very angry at him because it made them
look bad. This is considered to be the major reason that he was not elected Tribune for the third time. He got the
most votes, but it is said that his colleagues, to get revenge, stuffed the ballot boxes and falsified the voting returns.
But this matter is still not known. One thing is certain - that he was very angry at not getting re-elected.
As it happened, his enemy Opimius was chosen Consul. As a result, several of Caius’ laws were cancelled. Opimius
attacked him for what he had done at Carthage. Caius was patient at first, but afterwards, persuaded by Fulvius’
friend, he decided to oppose the Consul, by force if necessary. When the day came in which Opimius was going to
throw out the laws of Caius, the two factions met early on the Capitol. And when the Consul walked past and some
friends of Gracchus stood in his way, one of the Consul’s supporters said, “You faction-living citizens! Get out of
the way of honest men!” Some say that in addition to this language, he made an insulting gesture with his hand. He
was then killed with the kind of pens that you use in writing. This murder caused great confusion in the whole
Assembly. The heads of each faction had different views of it. Caius was very angry with the members of his faction
because they had given his enemies an excuse to accuse him of crime. Opimius the Consul, pleased to have this
chance, urged the People to get revenge, but all of a sudden there was a thunderstorm which put an end to the
business for the day.
Early the next morning, the Consul gathered the Senate. While he was talking to the Senators in the Senate House,
the corpse of his supporter who had been killed was brought to the marketplace and was placed in front of the Senate
House. Many people were crying. Opimius, who had planned this thing, seemed to be surprised and wondered what
was going on. The Senators then went outside to see what was happening. Seeing the corpse of Opimius’ friend,
they complained about the barbarous murder.
The People, in the meantime, felt hatred for the Senators. They remembered that the Senators themselves had killed
Tiberius Gracchus while Tiberius was doing his job, and had thrown his body in the river. Now they were weeping
in the Forum for the corpse of a hired man who had died mostly because of his own fault. They saw that the Senate
was trying to weaken one of their defenders. Soon after, the Senators left the Forum. They ordered Opimius the
Consul to be given special powers to protect the Republic and to defend against tyrants. This decree being passed,
Opimius commanded the Senators to take weapons and told the Roman Knights to get ready for the next morning.
On the other side, Fulvius also prepared the People. At this time, Caius, who was returning from the marketplace,
stopped in front of the statue of his father. Fixing his eyes on the image of his father’s face, he paused for a long
time. At length, he sighed, and cried, and left. This made a great impression on those who saw it, and they regretted
that they had deserted so noble a man as Caius. Therefore, they went to his house and guarded it all through the
night. The group of people that guarded Caius was very different from those gathered by Fulvius, for Fulvius got
drunk and so did all of his friends, and they said and did many ugly things.
As daylight appeared, and Fulvius, who was still hung-over, was awakened, the party which guarded Caius gathered
weapons and made their way to the Aventine Hill. Caius could not be persuaded to bring a sword. He put on his
gown as if he had been going to the Assembly of the People, although he did bring along a small knife. As he was
leaving, his wife came running to him at the gate, holding him with one hand and his young child in the other. She
said, “Alas, Caius, I do not now say goodbye to you to let you speak to the People either as a Tribune or as a
law-giver. Nor do I say farewell to you as if you were going to some honorable war. In both of these, even if you
died, my grief and mourning would still be respected. You go now, my husband, to expose yourself to the same men
who murdered your brother Tiberius. You are going unarmed, and this is right, because you are choosing rather to
suffer the worst of injuries than to do the least yourself. But it is sad to remember that your death will not help the
People. Now, faction has come to Rome. Force has replaced justice. Even if you had fallen in battle against
barbarians, the enemy would have given back your body. But I fear that if you die, your body will be thrown into the
Tiber, like your brother’s. For since Tiberius was not spared, what trust can we place in the laws or in our Gods?”
This was the speech of Licinia, the wife of Caius Gracchus. With difficulty, Caius pulled himself from her arms and
left with his friends. She tried to stop him by pulling his gown. She fell on the earth, lying there speechless. Her
servants thought that she was dead and took her to her brother.
When the people were gathered together, Fulvius (by the advice of Caius) sent his youngest son into the
marketplace. Fulvius’ son was a handsome boy and he approached the Consul and tie Senate offering to make peace.
The greatest part of the Assembly wanted to accept his proposals but Opimius said that Fulvius and Caius had no
right to send messengers, but should surrender to the Senate and to the laws like loyal citizens. He commanded the
boy not to come back unless they would surrender.
It is reported that Caius was willing to go before the Senate and try to defend himself. None of his friends would let
him. Fulvius sent his son the second time, but Opimius, who had decided that a battle must take place, arrested the
youth. Some soldiers began to attack the men of Fulvius, and he also had some bowmen fire their arrows. They
wounded so many that the friends of Fulvius ran. Fulvius escaped into a public bath. Here he was discovered, and he
and his oldest son were killed. Caius did no violence against anyone and he retreated into a temple. There he tried to
kill himself but his friends stopped him. They took his knife away from him and tried to persuade him to escape. As
soon as the Senate announced that only Caius would be punished and that all of his followers would be pardoned,
most of them left his side. It is reported that falling upon his knee and lifting up his hands, he prayed to the Gods
that the Roman People, as a punishment for their ingratitude and treachery to him, might always remain in slavery.
Caius tried to make his escape but he was chased by his enemies. He crossed over a bridge and two of his trusted
friends told him that they would stay and guard the bridge while he escaped. While he ran, people encouraged him
and told him they hoped he would get away. But his enemies gained ground on him. He just had time to hide himself
in a little forest which had been dedicated to the Furies. In that place, his servant, a Greek named Philocrates, first
killed him, and then killed himself and fell dead upon his master.
They say that Caius’ head was cut off and that one of Opimius’ friends brought it in to collect the reward. Before the
battle, it had been announced that whoever would bring the head either of Caius or Fulvius would get the weight of
that head in gold as a reward. A friend of Opimius put the head of Caius on the top of his spear and presented it to
the Consul. They brought the scales and it was found to weigh about seventeen pounds. This event showed the
cruelty and the wickedness of the friend of Opimius, for he had taken out the brain of Caius and had filled the skull
with lead to make sure he got more reward. The bodies of Fulvius and Caius as well as all the rest who had been
killed (and these were about 3000) were thrown into the Tiber. Their property was taken away. Their widows were
forbidden to go into mourning. They dealt even more harshly with Licinia, the wife of Caius. They also murdered
the youngest son of Fulvius, his only crime being that he had come to bring them an offer of peace. But that which
angered the common people the most was that in memory of this success, Opimius built the Temple of Concord as if
he was proud of himself for having slaughtered so many fellow citizens. In the middle of the night, someone wrote
the following words on this temple:
‘Stupidity and Discord built Concord’s Temple’.
This Opimius was the first Consul to condemn citizens without a trial, among them, Gracchus and Fulvius, one of
whom had Triumphed and been Consul, and the other who had excelled all of the other Romans in virtue and honor.
Afterwards, Opimius was found to be a thief. When he was sent as an ambassador to Jugurtha, the king of Numidia,
he was corrupted by bribes, and when he returned he was convicted of it. He lost all his honors and grew old hated
by the People.
The People let everybody see that they respected the memory of the Gracchi. They ordered that their statues be
made and set up in the Forum. They declared the places where they had been killed to be holy and offered sacrifices
there.
It is reported that Cornelia, the mother of the Gracchi, took the loss of her two sons with a noble spirit. Those who
talked with her were very surprised when she would talk about her memories of her father, Scipio Africanus, and of
his habits and way of life. But what was most admirable was to hear her talk about her sons. Without any tears or
sign of grief, she told the full story of their actions and their misfortunes, as if she had been telling the story of some
ancient heroes. This made some think that age and the greatness of her pain had made her senseless and had taken
away her mother’s love. But those who thought this were themselves truly senseless, not to see how much a noble
nature and a good education can help to overcome pain. Though chance may often be powerful and may defeat the
efforts of virtue to avoid disaster, it cannot prevent our bearing it with courage.
This ends The Life of Caius Gracchus.