give up his throne, put an end to the war, and only ask for his own
property and that of his relatives and friends, upon which to live in
exile. Many were inclined to agree to this, and amongst them Collatinus,
when Brutus, an inflexible and harsh-tempered man, rushed into the
Forum, calling out that his colleague was a traitor, who wished to
furnish the tyrant with the means of continuing the war and recovering
his throne, when he ought rather to grudge him food to keep him from
starving. The citizens assembled, and Caius Minucius, a private citizen,
was the first man who addressed them, encouraging Brutus, and pointing
out to the Romans how much better it was that the money should be used
to help them than to help their enemies. In spite of this, however, the
Romans decided that, as they now possessed the liberty for which they
had fought, they would not lose the additional blessing of peace for the
sake of this property, but would cast it from them after the tyrant to
which it belonged.
Tarquin really cared little for the property, and the demand was merely
made in order to sound the people and arrange a plot for the betrayal of
the state, which was managed by the ambassadors whom he had nominally
sent to look after his property. These men were selling some part of it,
keeping some safe, and sending some of it away, and meanwhile intrigued
so successfully that they won over two of the best families in Rome,
that of the Aquillii, in which were three senators, and that of the
Vitellii, among whom were two. All these men were, on the mother's side,
nephews of the consul Collatinus, and the Vitellii were also related to
Brutus, for he had married their sister, and by her had a large family.
The Vitellii, being relatives and intimate friends of the two elder sons
of Brutus, induced them to take part in the conspiracy, holding out to
them the hope that they might ally themselves to the great house of
Tarquin, soon to be restored to the throne, and would rid themselves of
their father's stupidity and harshness. By harshness, they alluded to
his inexorable punishment of bad men, and the stupidity was that which
he himself affected for a long time, in order to conceal his real
character from the tyrant, which was made matter of reproach to him
afterwards.
IV. So, after they had persuaded these young men, they conferred again
with the Aquillii, and determined that all the conspirators should swear
a great and terrible oath, in which a man is killed, and each person
then pours a libation of his blood, and touches his entrails. The room
in which they meant to do this was, as may be supposed, a dark and
half-ruined one. Now a servant of the name of Vindicius happened to
conceal himself in it; not that he had any designs or any knowledge of
what was going on, but chancing to be in the room when the conspirators
solemnly entered, he was afraid of being detected there, and so hid
himself behind a chest, where he could see what was done and hear what
was said by them. They agreed to assassinate both consuls, and wrote a
letter to Tarquin acquainting him with their determination, which they
gave to the ambassadors, who were lodging in the house of the Aquillii
as their guests, and were present at this scene. After this they
dispersed, and Vindicius came out from his hiding-place. He was at a
loss what use to make of the discovery which Fortune had thrown in his
way, for he thought it a shocking thing, as indeed it was, for him to
make such a fearful revelation to Brutus about his sons, or to
Collatinus about his nephews, and he would not trust any private citizen
with a secret of such importance. Tormented by his secret, and unable to
remain quiet, he addressed himself to Valerius, chiefly moved to do so
by his affable kindly temper; for his house was open all day to those
who wished to speak with him, and he never refused an interview or
rejected a poor man's petition.
V. When, then, Vindicius came before him and told him all that he knew
in the presence only of his wife and his brother Marcus, Valerius was
astounded and horrified. He would not let the man go, but locked him up,
set his wife to guard the door, and bade his brother to surround the
king's quarters, to seize the letter, if possible, keeping a strict
watch over all the servants there. He himself, with a large train of
clients, friends and servants, went to the house of the Aquillii, who
were not within. As no one expected him, he pushed into the house and
found the letter lying in the ambassadors' apartments.
While he was thus employed, the Aquillii returned in haste, and
assembling a force at the door endeavoured to take away the letter from
him. His own party came to his assistance, and with their gowns twisted
round their necks with much buffeting made their way to the Forum. The
same thing happened at the king's quarters, where Marcus laid hold of
another letter which was being taken thither concealed among some
baggage, and brought as many of the king's party as he could into the
Forum.
VI. When the consuls had put a stop to the confusion, Vindicius, at
Valerius's command, was brought out of his prison, and a court was held.
The letters were recognised, and the culprits had nothing to say for
themselves. All were silent and downcast, and a few, thinking to please
Brutus, hinted at banishment as the penalty of their crime. Collatinus
by his tears, and Valerius by his silence gave them hopes of mercy. But
Brutus, addressing each of his sons by name, said, "Come, Titus, come
Tiberius, why do you make no answer to the charges against you?" As,
after being asked thrice, they made no answer, he, turning his face to
the lictors, said, "I have done my work, do yours." They immediately
seized upon the young men, tore off their clothes, tied their hands
behind their backs, and scourged them. Although the people had not the
heart to look at so dreadful a sight, yet it is said that Brutus never
turned away his head, and showed no pity on his stern countenance, but
sat savagely looking on at the execution of his sons until at last they
were laid on the ground and their heads severed with an axe. Then he
handed over the rest of the culprits to be dealt with by his colleague,
rose, and left the Forum. His conduct cannot be praised, and yet it is
above censure. Either virtue in his mind overpowered every other
feeling, or his sorrow was so great as to produce insensibility. In
neither case was there anything unworthy, or even human in his conduct,
but it was either that of a god or a brute beast. It is better, however,
that we should speak in praise of so great a man rather than allow our
weakness to distrust his virtue. Indeed the Romans think that even the
foundation of the city by Romulus was not so great an event as the
confirmation of its constitution by Brutus.
VII. When he left the Forum all men were silent for a long while,
shuddering at what had been done. The Aquillii took heart at the
mildness of Collatinus, and asked for time to prepare their defence.
They also begged that Vindicius might be given up to them, because he
was their servant, and ought not to be on the side of their accusers.
Collatinus was willing to allow this, but Valerius said that he was not
able to give the man up, because he was surrounded by so large a crowd,
and called upon the people not to disperse without punishing the
traitors. At last he laid his hands upon the two corpses, called for
Brutus, and reproached Collatinus for making his colleague act against
nature by condemning his own sons to death, and then thinking to please
the wives of these traitors and public enemies by saving their lives.
The consul, vexed at this, ordered the lictors to seize Vindicius. They
forced their way through the crowd, tried to lay hold of him, and struck
those who defended him, but the friends of Valerius stood in front of
him and beat them off, and the people raised a shout for Brutus. He
returned, and when silence was restored said that he had, as a father,
full power to condemn his sons to death, but that as for the other
culprits, their fate should be decided by the free vote of the citizens,
and that any one might come forward and address the people. The people,
however, would listen to no speeches, but voted unanimously for their
death, and they were all beheaded.
Collatinus, it seems, had been viewed with suspicion before because of
his connection with the royal family, and his second name, Tarquinius,
was odious to the people. After these events, having utterly failed as
consul, he voluntarily laid down that office, and left the city. So now
there was another election, and Valerius received the due reward of his
patriotism and was gloriously made consul. Thinking that Vindicius ought
to receive something for his services, he made him a freedman, the first
ever made in Rome, and allowed him to vote in whatever tribe he chose to
be enrolled. The other freedmen were not allowed the suffrage till, long
after, it was given them by Appius to obtain popularity among them. The
whole ceremony is up to the present day called _vindicta_, after
Vindicius, we are told.
VIII. After this they allowed the king's property to be plundered, and
destroyed the palace. Tarquinius had obtained the pleasantest part of
the Field of Mars, and had consecrated it to that god. This field had
just been cut, and the corn lay on the ground, for the people thought
that they must not thresh it or make any use of it, because of the
ground being consecrated, so they took the sheaves and threw them into
the river. In the same way they cut down the trees and threw them in,
leaving the whole place for the god, but uncultivated and unfruitful.
As there were many things of different sorts all floating together in
the river, the current did not carry them far, but when the first masses
settled on a shallow place, the rest which were carried down upon them
could not get past, but became heaped up there, and the stream compacted
them securely by the mud which it deposited upon them, not only
increasing the size of the whole mass, but firmly cementing it together.
The waves did not shake it, but gently beat it into a solid consistency.
Now, from its size, it began to receive additions, as most of what the
river brought down settled upon it. It is now a sacred island close by
the city, with temples and walks, and in the Latin tongue it has a name
which means "between two bridges." Some state that this did not happen
when Tarquinia's field was consecrated, but in later times when
Tarquinia gave up another field next to that one, for the public use.
This Tarquinia was a priestess, one of the Vestal virgins, and she was
greatly honoured for having done so, and was allowed to appear as a
witness in court, which no other woman could do; she also was permitted
to marry, by a decree of the senate, but did not avail herself of it.
These are the legends which they tell about this island.
IX. Tarquin now gave up all hopes of recovering his throne by intrigue,
and appealed to the Etruscans, who willingly espoused his cause and
endeavoured to restore him with a great army. The consuls led out the
Romans to fight against them, posting them in holy places one of which
is called the Arsian grove, and another the Aesuvian meadow. When they
were about to join battle, Aruns, the son of Tarquin, and Brutus, the
Roman consul, attacked one another, not by chance, but with fell hatred
and rage, the one urging his horse against the tyrant and enemy of his
country, the other against the man who drove him into exile. Falling
upon one another with more fury than judgment, they made no attempt to
defend themselves, but only to strike, and both perished. The struggle,
so terribly begun, was continued with equal ferocity on both sides,
until the armies, after great losses, were separated by a tempest.
Valerius was in great straits, not knowing how the battle had gone, and
observing that his soldiers were despondent when they looked at the
corpses of their comrades, and elated when they saw those of the enemy,
so equal and undecided had been the slaughter. Yet each side, when it
viewed its own dead close by, was more inclined to own itself defeated,
than to claim the victory because of the supposed losses of the enemy.
Night came on, and it was spent as may be imagined by men who had fought
so hard. When all was quiet in both camps, we are told that the grove
was shaken, and that from it proceeded a loud voice which declared that
the Etruscans had lost one man more than the Romans. Apparently it was
the voice of a god; for immediately the Romans raised a bold and joyous
shout, and the Etruscans, panic-stricken, ran out of their camp and
dispersed. The Romans attacked the camp, took prisoners all that were
left in it, something less than five thousand, and plundered it. The
dead, when counted, proved to be eleven thousand three hundred of the
enemy, and of the Romans the same number save one. This battle is said
to have been fought on the Calends of March. Valerius triumphed after it
in a four-horse chariot, being the first consul that ever did so. And it
was a magnificent sight, and did not, as some say, offend the
spectators; for, if so, the habit of doing it would not have been so
carefully kept up for so many years. The people were also pleased with
the honours which Valerius paid to his colleague in arranging a splendid
funeral for him; he also pronounced a funeral oration over him, which
was so much approved of by the Romans that from that day forth it became
the custom for all good and great men at their deaths to have an oration
made over them by the leading men of the time. This is said to have been
older even than the Greek funeral orations, unless, as Anaximenes tells
us, Solon introduced this custom.
X. But the people were vexed and angry, because though Brutus, whom they
thought the author of their liberty, would not be consul alone, but had
one colleague after another, yet "Valerius," they said, "has got all
power into his own hands, and is not so much the heir of the consulship
of Brutus as of the tyranny of Tarquin. And what use is it for him to
praise Brutus while he imitates Tarquin in his deeds, swaggering down
into the Forum with all the rods and axes before him, from a house
larger than the king's palace used to be." Indeed, Valerius lived in
rather too splendid a house on the Velian Hill, looking down into the
Forum, and difficult to climb up to, so that when he walked down from it
he did indeed look like a tragedy king leaving his palace. But now he
proved how valuable a thing it is for a statesman engaged in important
matters to keep his ears open to the truth, and shut against flattery.
Hearing from his friends what the people thought of him, he did not
argue or grieve at it, but suddenly assembled a number of workmen and
during the night destroyed his entire house down to the very
foundations, so that on the next day the Romans collected in crowds to
see it, admiring the magnanimity of the man, but sorrowing at the
destruction of so great and noble a house, which, like many a man, had
been put to death undeservedly, and expressing their concern for their
consul, who had no house to live in. Valerius, indeed, had to be
entertained by his friends, until the people gave him a site and built
him a house upon it, of more moderate proportions than the other, in the
place where at the present day stands the temple of Vica Pota. Wishing
to make not only himself but his office cease to be an object of terror
to his countrymen, he removed the axes from the bundles of rods carried
by the lictors, and when he entered the assembly of the people he
ordered his _fasces_ to be bowed and lowered before them, to show
respect to the majesty of the people. This custom the consuls observe to
this day. By these acts he did not really humble himself as he appeared
to the Romans to be doing, but he so completely destroyed any illwill
which had been felt against him that by giving up the semblance of power
he really gained the reality, as the people were eager to serve him and
obey him. For this reason they surnamed him _Poplicola_, which means
"lover of the people," and this name so took the place of his former one
that we shall use it during the remainder of this account of his life.
XI. He permitted any one to become a candidate for the consulship; and
while he was sole consul he used his power to effect the greatest of his
reforms, because he did not know who his new colleague might be, and
whether he would not thwart him through ignorance or illwill. First of
all he brought up the senate to its proper number, for many senators had
perished, some at Tarquin's hands in former years, and some in the late
battle. It is said that he elected no less than a hundred and sixty-four
new senators. After this, he enacted laws which greatly added to the
power of the people, the first one of which gave accused persons a power
of appeal from the decision of the consuls to the people. The second
appointed the penalty of death to those who entered upon any public
office without the consent of the people. The third was to assist the
poor, as it relieved them from taxes and enabled them all to apply
themselves with greater assiduity to trade. The law, too, which he
enacted about disobedience to the consuls is no less popular in its
spirit, and favours the people more than the great nobles. He assessed
the fine for disobedience at the price of five oxen and two sheep. Now
the value of a sheep was ten obols, and that of an ox a hundred, for at
this period the Romans did not make much use of coined money, but
possessed abundance of cattle. For this reason at this day they call
property _peculia_, from _pecus_, a sheep, and on their oldest coins
they marked the figure of an ox, a sheep, or a pig. Their children, too,
were distinguished by the names of Suillii, Bubulci, Caprarii and
Porcii, for _capra_ means a goat, and _porcus_ a pig.
XII. Though Poplicola favoured the people so much in these laws, and
showed such great moderation, yet in one instance he appointed a
terrible penalty. One of his laws enacted that any citizen was at
liberty to put to death anyone who tried to make himself king, without
any form of trial. No penalty was to be enforced, if the man could bring
forward proofs of the other's intention. His reason for this was that it
was impossible for any one to attempt to make himself king, unperceived
by some of his countrymen, but quite possible for him, although
detected, to become too powerful to be brought to trial. So, before he
made his attempt on the crown, any one was at liberty to exact from him
that penalty, which he would be unable to do after his success.
His law about the treasury was also much approved. It being necessary
that the citizens should contribute taxes to carry on the war, as he did
not wish to touch the revenue himself or to allow his friends to do so,
and was even unwilling that the public money should be brought into a
private man's house, he appointed the Temple of Saturn to be used as a
treasury, which it is to this day, and he appointed also two of the
younger citizens as quaestors, to manage the accounts. The first
quaestors were Publius Venturius and Marcus Minucius, and a large sum of
money was collected, for a hundred and thirty thousand persons were
taxed, although orphans and widows were exempted.
When he had settled all these matters, he nominated Lucretius, the
father of Lucretia, as his colleague, and gave up the _fasces_ to him as
a mark of respect, because he was the elder man. This custom, that the
elder of the two consuls has the _fasces_ carried before him, remains to
this day. As Lucretius died shortly afterwards, a new election took
place, and Marcus Horatius was elected, and acted as Poplicola's
colleague for the remainder of his year of office.
XIII. As Tarquin was stirring up the Etruscans to a second war with
Rome, a great portent is said to have taken place. While he was yet
king, and had all but finished the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, he,
either in accordance with some prophecy or otherwise, ordered certain
Etruscan workmen at Veii to make an earthenware four-horse chariot to be
placed on the top of the temple. Shortly afterwards he was driven from
the throne, and the chariot, which had been modelled in clay, was placed
in the furnace. Here it did not, as clay generally does, shrink and
become smaller in the fire, as the wet dries out of it, but swelled to
so great a size, and became so hard and strong that it could only be got
out of the furnace by taking off the roof and sides. As this was decided
by the prophets to be a sign from Heaven that those who possessed the
chariot would be prosperous and fortunate, the Veientines determined not
to give it up to the Romans, arguing that it belonged to Tarquin, not to
those who had cast him out.
A few days afterwards there were horse-races there; everything
proceeded as usual, but as the driver of the winning chariot, after
receiving his crown as victor, was driving slowly out of the circus, the
horses suddenly became excited for no apparent cause, and, either guided
by Heaven or by chance, rushed towards Rome, their driver with them, for
he finding it impossible to stop them was forced to let them whirl him
along until they reached the Capitol, where they threw him down near
what is called the Ratumenan Gate. The Veientines, struck with fear and
wonder at this event, permitted the workmen to deliver up the
earthenware chariot to the Romans.
XIV. Tarquinius the son of Demaratus, when at war with the Sabines,
vowed that he would build the temple of Jupiter Olympius, but it was
built by Tarquinius Superbus, the son or grandson of him who made the
vow. He had not time to dedicate it, but was dethroned just before its
completion. Now when it was finished and thoroughly decorated, Poplicola
was eager to have the glory of dedicating it. Many of the nobles,
however, grudged him this, and were more incensed at this than at all
the glory which he had won as a general and as a legislator; for _that_,
they said, was his vocation, but _this_ was not. They stirred up
Horatius to oppose him and urged him to claim the right to dedicate the
temple. So when Poplicola was of necessity absent on military service,
the senate decreed that Horatius should dedicate it, and brought him up
into the Capitol to do so, a thing which they never could have done had
Poplicola been present. Some say that the two consuls casts lots, and
that the one, sorely against his will, drew the lot to command the army
in the field, and the other that to dedicate the temple. But we may
conjecture how this was, from the events which took place at the
dedication. On the Ides of September, which corresponds with the full
moon in our month Metageitnion, all the people assembled in the Capitol,
and Horatius, after silence had been enjoined upon all, performed the
ceremony of dedication. When, as is customary, he was about to take hold
of the doors of the temple and say the prayer of dedication, Marcus,
Poplicola's brother, who had long been standing near the doors watching
his opportunity, said to him, "Consul, your son has just died of
sickness in the camp." All who heard this were grieved, but Horatius,
undisturbed, merely said, "Fling his corpse where you please, for I
cannot grieve for him," and completed the dedication service. The story
was false, invented by Marcus to confuse Horatius. His conduct is a
remarkable instance of presence of mind, whether it be that he at once
saw through the trick, or believed the story and was not disturbed by
it.