A Manual of Ancient History: Particularly with Regard to the Constitutions, the Commerce, and the Colonies, of the States of AntiquityHeeren, A. H. L. (Arnold Hermann Ludwig)
History
A Manual of Ancient History: Particularly with Regard to the Constitutions, the Commerce, and the Colonies, of the States of Antiquity
Heeren, A. H. L. (Arnold Hermann Ludwig)
Geography, Ancient; History, Ancient
5. These palliative remedies, however, availed nothing after the return
of C. Gracchus from Sicily with a full determination to tread in the
footsteps of his brother. Like him, it is true, he fell a victim to his
enterprise; but the storm that he raised during the two years of his
tribunate fell so much the more heavily, as the popular excitement was
more general, and from his possessing more of the shining talents
necessary to form a powerful demagogue than his brother.
First tribunate of C. Gracchus, 123. Renewal of the agrarian law, and
rendering its provisions more strict. Nevertheless, as he increased
the fermentation by his popular measures and by acting the demagogue,
and obtained the renewal of the tribunate for the following year, 122,
he so far extended his plan, as to render it not only highly dangerous
to the aristocracy, but even to the state itself. Establishment of
distributions of corn to the poor people. Plan for the formation of
the knights (_ordo equestris_) into a political body, as a
counterbalance to the senate, by conferring on it the right of
administering justice, (_judicia_,) which was taken from the senate.
Still more important project of granting to the Italian allies the
privileges of Roman citizenship; and also the formation of colonies,
not only in Campania, but also out of Italy, in Carthage. The highly
refined policy of the senate, however, by lessening this man of the
people in the eyes of his admirers, through the assistance of the
tribune Livius Drusius, prevented his complete triumph; and, once
declining, Gracchus soon experienced the fate of every demagogue,
whose complete fall is then irretrievable. General insurrection, and
assassination of C. Gracchus, 121.
6. The victory of the aristocratic faction was this time not only much
more certain and bloody, they turned the advantages it gave them to such
good account, that they eluded the agrarian law of Gracchus, and indeed,
at last, completely abrogated it. But the seeds of discord already
disseminated, especially among the Italian allies, could not be so soon
checked, when once the subjects of these states had conceived the idea
that they were entitled to a share in the government. How soon these
party struggles might be renewed, or indeed a civil war break out,
depended almost entirely upon foreign circumstances, and the chance of a
bolder leader being found.
Agrarian law evaded: at first by repealing an act which prohibited the
transfer of the national lands already divided, whereby the patricians
were enabled to buy them again;--afterwards by the _lex Thoria:_
complete stop put to all further divisions, a land-tax, to be
distributed among the people, being instituted in its stead; but even
this latter was very soon annulled.
# D. H. HEGEWISCH, _History of the Civil Wars of the Gracchi_.
Altona, 1801.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account