A General History for Colleges and High Schools

P >> P. V. N. Myers >> A General History for Colleges and High Schools

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35

THE COVENANT AND THE TRIBUNES.--The patricians saw clearly that such a
division must prove ruinous to the state, and that the plebeians must be
persuaded to give up their enterprise and come back to Rome. The consul
Valerius was sent to treat with the insurgents. The plebeians were at
first obstinate, but at last were persuaded to yield to the entreaties of
the embassy to return, being won to this mind, so it is said, by one of
the wise senators, Menenius, who made use of the well-known fable of the
Body and the Members.

The following covenant was entered into, and bound by the most solemn
oaths and vows before the gods: The debts of the poor plebeians were to be
cancelled and those held in slavery set free; and two magistrates (the
number was soon increased to ten), called tribunes, whose duty it should
be to watch over the plebeians, and protect them against the injustice,
harshness, and partiality of the patrician magistrates, were to be chosen
from the commons. The persons of these officers were made sacred. Any one
interrupting a tribune in the discharge of his duties, or doing him any
violence, was declared an outlaw, whom any one might kill. That the
tribunes might be always easily found, they were not allowed to go more
than one mile beyond the city walls. Their houses were to be open night as
well as day, that any plebeian unjustly dealt with might flee thither for
protection and refuge.

We cannot overestimate the importance of the change effected in the Roman
constitution by the creation of this office of the tribunate. Under the
protection and leadership of the tribunes, who were themselves protected
by oaths of inviolable sanctity, the plebeians carried on a struggle for a
share in the offices and dignities of the state which never ceased until
the Roman government, as yet only republican in name, became in fact a
real democracy, in which patrician and plebeian shared equally in all
emoluments and privileges.

CORIOLANUS.--The tradition of Coriolanus illustrates in what manner the
tribunes cared for the rights of the common people and protected them from
the oppression of the nobles. During a severe famine at Rome, Gelon, the
King of Syracuse, sent large quantities of grain to the capital for
distribution among the suffering poor. A certain patrician, Coriolanus by
name, made a proposal that none of the grain should be given to the
plebeians save on condition that they give up their tribunes. These
officials straightway summoned him before the plebeian assembly,
[Footnote: This was the _Concilium Tributum Plebis_, an assembly
which came into existence about this time. It was made up wholly of
plebeians, and was presided over by the tribunes. Later, there came into
existence another tribal assembly, which was composed of patricians and
plebeians, and presided over by consuls or praetors. Some authorities are
inclined to regard these two assemblies as one and the same body; but
others, among whom is Mommsen, with probably better reason, look upon
them as two distinct organizations.] on the charge of having broken the
solemn covenant of the Sacred Mount, and so bitter was the feeling against
him that he was obliged to flee from Rome.

He now allied himself with the Volscians, enemies of Rome, and even led
their armies against his native city. An embassy from the Senate was sent
to him, to sue for peace. But the spirit of Coriolanus was bitter and
revengeful, and he would listen to none of their proposals. Nothing
availed to move him until his mother, at the head of a train of Roman
matrons, came to his tent, and with tears pleaded with him to spare the
city. Her entreaties and the "soft prayers" of his own wife and children
prevailed, and with the words "Mother, thou hast saved Rome, but lost thy
son," he led away the Volscian army.

CINCINNATUS MADE DICTATOR.--The enemies of Rome, taking advantage of the
dissensions of the nobles and commons, pressed upon the frontiers of the
republic on all sides. In 458 B.C., the AEquians, while one of the consuls
was away fighting the Sabines, defeated the forces of the other, and shut
them up in a narrow valley, whence escape seemed impossible. There was
great terror in Rome when news of the situation of the army was brought to
the city.

The Senate immediately appointed Cincinnatus, a noble patrician, dictator.
The ambassadors that carried to him the message from the Senate found him
upon his little farm near the Tiber, at work behind the plough. Accepting
the office at once, he hastily gathered an army, marched to the relief of
the consul, captured the entire army of the AEquians, and sent them beneath
the yoke. [Footnote: This was formed of two spears thrust firmly into the
ground and crossed a few feet from the earth by a third. Prisoners of war
were forced to pass beneath this yoke as a symbol of submission.]
Cincinnatus then led his army back to Rome in triumph, laid down his
office, and sought again the retirement of his farm.

THE DECEMVIRS AND THE TABLES OF LAWS.--Written laws are always a great
safeguard against oppression. Until what shall constitute a crime and what
shall be its penalty are clearly written down and well known and
understood by all, judges may render unfair decisions, or inflict unjust
punishment, and yet run little risk--unless they go altogether too far--of
being called to an account; for no one but themselves knows what the law
or the penalty really is. Hence in all struggles of the people against the
tyranny of the ruling class, the demand for written laws is one of the
first measures taken by the people for the protection of their persons and
property. Thus we have seen the people of Athens, early in their struggle
with the nobles, demanding and obtaining a code of written laws (see p.
119). The same thing now took place at Rome. The plebeians demanded that a
code of laws be drawn up, in accordance with which the consuls, who
exercised judicial powers, should render their decisions. The patricians
offered a stubborn resistance to their wishes, but finally were forced to
yield to the popular clamor.

A commission was sent to the Greek cities of Southern Italy and to Athens
to study the Grecian laws and customs. Upon the return of this embassy, a
commission of ten magistrates, who were known as decemvirs, was appointed
to frame a code of laws (451 B.C.). These officers, while engaged in this
work, were also to administer the entire government, and so were invested
with the supreme power of the state. The patricians gave up their consuls
and the plebeians their tribunes. At the end of the first year, the task
of the board was quite far from being finished, so a new decemvirate was
elected to complete the work. Appius Claudius was the only member of the
old board that was returned to the new.

The code was soon finished, and the laws were written on twelve tablets of
brass, which were fastened to the rostrum, or orator's platform in the
Forum, where they might be seen and read by all. These "Laws of the Twelve
Tables" were to Roman jurisprudence what the good laws of Solon (see p.
120) were to the Athenian constitution. They formed the basis of all new
legislation for many centuries, and constituted a part of the education of
the Roman youth--every school-boy being required to learn them by heart.

MISRULE AND OVERTHROW OF THE DECEMVIRS.--The first decemvirs used the
great power lodged in their hands with justice and prudence; but the
second board, under the leadership of Appius Claudius, instituted a most
infamous and tyrannical rule. The result was a second secession of the
plebeians to the Sacred Hill. This procedure, which once before had proved
so effectual in securing justice to the oppressed, had a similar issue
now. The situation was so critical that the decemvirs were forced to
resign. The consulate and the tribunate were restored. Eight of the
decemvirs were forced to go into exile; Appius Claudius and one other,
having been imprisoned, committed suicide.

CONSULAR, OR MILITARY TRIBUNES.--The overthrow of the decemvirate was
followed by a long struggle between the nobles and the commons, which was
an effort on the part of the latter to gain admission to the consulship;
for up to this time only a patrician could hold that office. The
contention resulted in a compromise. It was agreed that, in place of the
two consuls, the people _might_ elect from either order magistrates,
who should be known as "military tribunes with consular powers." These
officers, whose numbers varied, differed from consuls more in name than in
functions or authority. In fact, the plebeians had gained the office, but
not the name (444 B.C.).

THE CENSORS.--No sooner had the plebeians virtually secured admission to
the consulship, than the jealous and exclusive patricians commenced
scheming to rob them of the fruit of the victory they had gained. They
effected this by taking from the consulate some of its most distinctive
duties and powers, and conferring them upon two new patrician officers
called censors. The functions of these magistrates were many and
important. They took the census, and thus assigned to every man his
position in the different classes of the citizens; and they could, for
immorality or any improper conduct, not only degrade a man from his rank,
but deprive him of his vote. It was their duty to watch the public morals
and in case of necessity to administer wholesome advice. Thus we are told
of their reproving the young Romans for wearing tunics with long sleeves--
an Oriental and effeminate custom--and for neglecting to marry upon
arriving at a proper age. From the name of these Roman officers comes our
word _censorious_, meaning fault-finding.

The first censors were elected probably in the year 444 B.C.; about one
hundred years afterwards, in 351 B.C., the plebeians secured the right of
holding this office also.

SIEGE AND CAPTURE OF VEII.--We must now turn to notice the fortunes of
Rome in war. Almost from the founding of the city, we find its warlike
citizens carrying on a fierce contest with their powerful Etruscan
neighbors on the north. Veii was one of the largest and richest of the
cities of Etruria. Around this the war gathered. The Romans, like the
Grecians at Troy, attacked its walls for ten years. The length of the
siege, and the necessity of maintaining a force permanently in the field,
led to the establishment of a paid standing army; for hitherto the soldier
had not only equipped himself, but had served without pay. Thus was laid
the basis of that military power which was destined to effect the conquest
of the world, and then, in the hands of ambitious and favorite generals,
to overthrow the republic itself.

[Illustration: ROMAN SOLDIER.]

The capture of Veii by the dictator Camillus (396 B.C.) was followed by
that of many other Etruscan towns. Rome was enriched by their spoils, and
became the centre of a large and lucrative trade. The frontiers of the
republic were pushed out even beyond the utmost limits of the kingdom
before its overthrow. All that was lost by the revolution had been now
regained, and much besides had been won. At this moment there broke upon
the city a storm from the north, which all but cut short the story we are
narrating.

SACK OF ROME BY THE GAULS (390 B.C.).--We have already mentioned how, in
very remote times, the tribes of Gaul crossed the Alps and established
themselves in Northern Italy (see p. 223). While the Romans were
conquering the towns of Etruria, these barbarian hordes were moving
southward, and overrunning and devastating the countries of Central Italy.

[Illustration: GAULS IN SIGHT OF ROME.]

News was brought to Rome that they were advancing upon that city. A Roman
army met them on the banks of the river Allia, eleven miles from the
capital. The Romans were driven in great panic from the field. It would be
impossible to picture the consternation and despair that reigned at Rome
when the fugitives brought to the city intelligence of the terrible
disaster. It was never forgotten, and the day of the battle of Allia was
ever after a black day in the Roman calendar. The sacred vessels of the
temples were buried; the eternal fires of Vesta were hurriedly borne by
their virgin keepers to a place of safety in Etruria; and a large part of
the population fled in dismay across the Tiber. No attempt was made to
defend any portion of the city save the citadel. This stronghold was kept
by a little garrison, under the command of the hero Marius Manlius. A
tradition tells how, when the barbarians, under cover of the darkness of
night, had climbed the steep rock and had almost effected an entrance to
the citadel, the defenders were awakened by the cackling of some geese,
which the piety of the famishing soldiers had spared, because these birds
were sacred to Juno.

News was now brought the Gauls that the Venetians were overrunning their
possessions in Northern Italy. This led them to open negotiations with the
Romans. For one thousand pounds of gold, according to the historian Livy,
the Gauls agreed to retire from the city. As the story runs, while the
gold was being weighed out in the Forum, the Romans complained that the
weights were false, when Brennus, the Gallic leader, threw his sword also
into the scales, exclaiming, "_Vae, victis!_" "Woe to the vanquished."
Just at this moment, so the tale continues, Camillus, a brave patrician
general, appeared upon the scene with a Roman army that had been gathered
from the fugitives; and, as he scattered the barbarians with heavy blows,
he exclaimed, "Rome is ransomed with steel and not with gold." According
to one account Brennus himself was taken prisoner; but another tradition
says that he escaped, carrying with him not only the ransom, but a vast
booty besides.

THE REBUILDING OF ROME.--When the fugitives returned to Rome after the
withdrawal of the Gauls, they found the city a heap of ruins. Some of the
poorer classes, shrinking from the labor of rebuilding their old homes,
proposed to abandon the site and make Veii their new capital. But love for
the old spot at last prevailed over all the persuasions of indolence, and
the people, with admirable courage, set themselves to the task of
rebuilding their homes. It was a repetition of the scene at Athens after
the retreat of the Persians (see p. 136). The city was speedily restored,
and was soon enjoying her old position of supremacy among the surrounding
states. There were some things, however, which even Roman resolution and
perseverance could not restore. These were the ancient records and
documents, through whose irreparable loss the early history of Rome is
involved in great obscurity and uncertainty.

TREASON AND DEATH OF MANLIUS.--The ravages of the Gauls left the poor
plebeians in a most pitiable condition. In order to rebuild their
dwellings and restock their farms, they were obliged to borrow money of
the rich patricians, and consequently soon began again to experience the
insult and oppression that were ever incident to the condition of the
debtor class at Rome.

The patrician Manlius, the hero of the brave defence of the Capitol, now
came forward as the champion of the plebeians. He sold the larger part of
his estates, and devoted the proceeds to the relief of the debtor class.
It seems evident that in thus undertaking the cause of the commons he had
personal aims and ambitions. The patricians determined to crush him. He
was finally brought to trial before the popular assembly, on the charge of
conspiring to restore the office of king. From the Forum, where the people
were gathered, the Capitol, which Manlius had so bravely defended against
the barbarians, was in full sight. Pointing to the temples he had saved,
he appealed to the gods and to the gratitude of the Roman people. The
people responded to the appeal in a way altogether natural. They refused
to condemn him. But brought to trial a second time, and now in a grove
whence the citadel could not be seen, he was sentenced to death, and was
thrown from the Tarpeian Rock. [Footnote: The Tarpeian Rock was the name
given to the cliff which the Capitoline Hill formed on the side towards
the Tiber (or towards the Palatine, according to some). It received its
name from Tarpeia, daughter of one of the legendary keepers of the
citadel. State criminals were frequently executed by being thrown from
this rock.] This event occurred 384 B.C.

PLEBEIANS ADMITTED TO THE CONSULSHIP.--For nearly half a century after the
death of Manlius the most important events in the history of Rome centre
about the struggle of the plebeians, for admission to those offices of the
government whence the jealousy of the patricians still excluded them. The
Licinian laws, so called from one of their proposers, the tribune C.
Licinius, besides relieving the poor of usurious interest, and effecting a
more just division of the public lands, also provided that consuls should
be chosen yearly, as at first (see p. 238), and that one of the consuls
should be a plebeian. This last provision opened to any one of the
plebeian class the highest office in the state. The nobles, when they saw
that it would be impossible to resist the popular demand, had recourse to
the old device. They effected a compromise, whereby the judicial powers of
the consuls were taken from them and conferred upon a new magistrate, who
bore the name of praetor. Only patricians, of course, were to be eligible
to this new office. They then permitted the Licinian laws to pass (367
B.C.).

During the latter half of the fourth century B.C. (between the years 356-
300) the plebeians gained admittance to the dictatorship, the censorship,
the praetorship, and to the College of Augurs and the College of Pontiffs.
They had been admitted to the College of Priests having charge of the
Sibylline books, at the time of the passing of the Licinian laws. With
plebeians in all these positions, the rights of the lower order were
fairly secured against oppressive and partisan decisions on the part of
the magistrates, and against party fraud in the taking of the auspices and
in the regulation of the calendar. There was now political equality
between the nobility and the commonalty.

WARS FOR THE MASTERY OF ITALY.

THE FIRST SAMNITE WAR (343-341 B.C.).--The union of the two orders in the
state allowed the Romans now to employ their undivided strength in
subjugating the different states of the peninsula. The most formidable
competitors of the Romans for supremacy in Italy were the Samnites, rough
and warlike mountaineers who held the Apennines to the east of Latium.
They were worthy rivals of the "children of Mars." The successive
struggles between these martial races are known as the First, Second, and
Third Samnite wars. They extended over a period of half a century, and in
their course involved almost all the states of Italy.

Of the first of this series of wars we know very little, although Livy
wrote a long, but unfortunately very unreliable, narration of it. In the
midst of the struggle, Rome was confronted by a dangerous revolt of her
Latin allies, and, leaving the war unfinished, turned her forces upon the
insurgents.

REVOLT OF THE LATIN CITIES (340-338 B.C.).--The strife between the Romans
and their Latin allies was simply the old contest within the walls of the
capital between the patricians and the plebeians transferred to a larger
arena. As the nobles had oppressed the commons, so now both these orders
united in the oppression of the Latins--the plebeians in their bettered
circumstances forgetting the lessons of adversity. The Latin allies
demanded a share in the government, and that the lands acquired by
conquest should be distributed among them as well as among Roman citizens.
The Romans refused. All Latium rose in revolt against the injustice and
tyranny of the oppressor.

After about three years' hard fighting, the rebellion was subdued. The
Latin League was now broken up. Some of the towns retained their
independence (Tibur, Praeneste, and Cora); some received full Roman
citizenship (Aricia, Lanuvium, and Nomentum); while others received only
the private rights of Roman citizens, the right of suffrage being
withheld.

SECOND AND THIRD SAMNITE WARS (326-290 B.C.).--In a few years after the
close of the Latin contest, the Romans were at war again with their old
rivals, the Samnites. Notwithstanding the latter were thoroughly defeated
in this second contest, still it was not long before they were again in
arms and engaged in their third struggle with Rome. This time they had
formed a powerful coalition which embraced the Etruscans, the Umbrians,
the Gauls, and other nations.

Roman courage rose with the danger. The united armies of the league met
with a most disastrous defeat (at Sentinum, 295 B.C.), and the power of
the coalition was broken. One after another the states that had joined the
alliance were chastised, and the Samnites were forced to acknowledge the
supremacy of Rome. A few years later, almost all of the Greek cities of
Southern Italy, save Tarentum, also came under the growing power of the
imperial city.

WAR WITH PYRRHUS (282-272 B.C.).--Tarentum was one of the most noted of
the Hellenic cities of Magna Graecia. It was a seaport on the Calabrian
coast, and had grown opulent through the extended trade of its merchants.
The capture of some Roman vessels, and an insult offered to an envoy of
the republic by the Tarentines, led to a declaration of war against them
by the Roman Senate. The Tarentines turned to Greece for aid. Pyrrhus,
king of Epirus, a cousin of Alexander the Great, who had an ambition to
build up such an empire in the West as his renowned kinsman had
established in the East, responded to their entreaties, and crossed over
into Italy with a small army of Greek mercenaries and twenty war-
elephants. He organized and drilled the effeminate Tarentines, and soon
felt prepared to face the Romans.

The hostile armies met at Heraclea (280 B.C.). It is said that when
Pyrrhus, who had underestimated his foe, observed the skill which the
Romans evinced in forming their line of battle, he exclaimed, in
admiration, "In war, at least, these men are not barbarians." The battle
was won for Pyrrhus by his war-elephants, the sight of which, being new to
the Romans, caused them to flee from the field in dismay. But Pyrrhus had
lost thousands of his bravest troops. Victories gained by such losses in a
country where he could not recruit his army, he saw clearly, meant final
defeat. As he looked over the battle-field, he is said to have turned to
his companions and remarked, "Another such victory, and I must return to
Epirus alone." He noticed also, and not without appreciating its
significance, that the wounds of the Roman soldiers killed in the action
were all in front. "Had I such soldiers," said he, "I should soon be
master of the world."

The prudence of the victorious Pyrrhus led him to send to the Romans an
embassy with proposals of peace. When the Senate hesitated, its resolution
was fixed by the eloquence of the aged Appius: "Rome," exclaimed he,
"shall never treat with a victorious foe." The ambassadors were obliged to
return to Pyrrhus unsuccessful in their mission.

Pyrrhus, according to the Roman story-tellers, who most lavishly
embellished this chapter of their history, was not more successful in
attempts at bribery than in the arts of negotiation. Upon his attempting
by large offers of gold to win Fabricius, who had been intrusted by the
Senate with an important embassy, the sturdy old Roman replied, "Poverty,
with an honest name, is more to be desired than wealth."

After a second victory, as disastrous as his first, Pyrrhus crossed over
into Sicily, to aid the Grecians there in their struggle with the
Carthaginians. At first he was everywhere successful; but finally fortune
turned against him, and he was glad to escape from the island. Recrossing
the straits into Italy, he once more engaged the Romans, but at the battle
of Beneventum suffered a disastrous and final defeat at the hands of the
consul Curius Dentatus (274 B.C.). Leaving a sufficient force to garrison
Tarentum, the baffled and disappointed king set sail for Epirus. He had
scarcely embarked before Tarentum surrendered to the Romans (272 B.C.).
This ended the struggles for the mastery of Italy. Rome was now mistress
of all the peninsula south of the Arnus and the Rubicon. It was now her
care to consolidate these possessions, and to fasten her hold upon them,
by means of a perfect network of colonies and military roads. [Footnote:
"Colonies were not all of the same character. They must be distinguished
into two classes--the colonies of Roman citizens and the Latin colonies.
The colonies of Roman citizens consisted usually of three hundred men of
approved military experience, who went forth with their families to occupy
conquered cities of no great magnitude, but which were important as
military positions, being usually on the sea-coast. These three hundred
families formed a sort of patrician caste, while the old inhabitants sank
into the condition formerly occupied by the plebeians at Rome. The heads
of these families retained all their rights as Roman citizens, and might
repair to Rome to vote in the popular assemblies."--Liddell's _History
of Rome_.

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35