Titus Livius (Livy), Ab urbe condita, Rev. Canon Roberts (Translator), 2.27

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[1] After the defeat of the Auruncans, the Romans, who had, within a few days, fought so many successful wars, were expecting the fulfillment of the promises which the consul had made on the authority of the senate. Appius, partly from his innate love of tyranny and partly to undermine confidence felt in his colleague, gave the harshest sentences he could when debtors were brought before him.

[2] One after another those who had before pledged their persons as security were now handed over to their creditors, and others were compelled to give such security. A soldier to whom this happened appealed to the colleague of Appius. A crowd gathered round Servilius, they reminded him of his promises, upbraided him with their services in war and the scars they had received, and demanded that he should either get an ordinance passed by the senate, or, as consul, protect his people; as commander, his soldiers.

[3] The consul sympathised with them, but under the circumstances he was compelled to temporise; the opposite policy was so recklessly insisted on not only by his colleague but by the entire party of the nobility. By taking a middle course he did not escape the odium of the plebs nor did he win the favour of the patricians.

[4] These regarded him as a weak popularity-hunting consul, the plebeians considered him false, and it soon became apparent that he was as much detested as Appius.

[5] A dispute had arisen between the consuls as to which of them should dedicate the temple of Mercury. The senate referred the question to the people, and issued orders that the one to whom the dedication was assigned by the people should preside over the corn-market and form a guild of merchants¹ and discharge functions in the presence of the Pontifex Maximus.

[6] The people assigned the dedication of the temple to M. Laetorius, the first centurion of the legion, a choice obviously made not so much to honour the man, by conferring upon him an office so far above his station, as to bring discredit on the consuls.

[7] One of them, at all events, was excessively angry, as were the senate, but the courage of the plebs had risen, and they went to work in a very different method from that which they had adopted at first.

[8] For as any prospect of help from the consuls or the senate was hopeless, they took matters into their own hands, and whenever they saw a debtor brought before the court, they rushed there from all sides, and by their shouts and uproar prevented the consul's sentence from being heard, and when it was pronounced no one obeyed it.

[9] They resorted to violence, and all the fear and danger to personal liberty was transferred from the debtors to the creditors, who were roughly handled before the eyes of the consul.

[10] In addition to all this there were growing apprehensions of a Sabine war. A levy was decreed, but no one gave in his name. Appius was furious; he accused his colleague of courting the favour of the people, denounced him as a traitor to the common-wealth because he refused to give sentence where debtors were brought before him, and moreover he refused to raise troops after the senate had ordered a levy.

[11] Still, he declared, the ship of State was not entirely deserted nor the consular authority thrown to the winds; he, single-handed, would vindicate his own dignity and that of the senate.

[12] Whilst the usual daily crowd were standing round him, growing ever bolder in licence, he ordered one conspicuous leader of the agitation to be arrested. As he was being dragged away by the lictors, he appealed. There was no doubt as to what judgment the people would give, and he would not have allowed the appeal had not his obstinacy been with great difficulty overcome more by the prudence and authority of the senate than by the clamour of the people, so determined was he to brave the popular odium.

[13] From that time the mischief became more serious every day, not only through open clamour but, what was far more dangerous, through secession and secret meetings. At length the consuls, detested as they were by the plebs, went out of office —Servilius equally hated by both orders, Appius in wonderful favour with the patricians.

Ab urbe condita. Titus Livius (Livy). Rev. Canon Roberts (Translator). Medford, MA. 1997-10-28.

Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.

Funding provided by The National Endowment for the Humanities.

Current edition Perseus

History of Rome (English) (Volumes 1-2. Roberts, Canon, Rev, translator. London, New York: J. M. Dent and Sons; E. P. Dutton and Co., 1912.)

Editions (3)

Ab urbe condita Perseus (Pars I-IV, Libri I-XL. Editio Stereotypica. Weissenborn, Wilhelm; Mueller, Moritz, editors. Leipzig: Teubner, 1884-1911.) — 2.27 focus

[1] fusis Auruncis victor tot intra paucos dies bellis Romanus promissa consulis fidemque senatus expectabat, cum Appius et insita superbia animo et ut collegae vanam faceret fidem, quam asperrime poterat, ius de creditis pecuniis dicere. deinceps et, qui ante nexi fuerant, creditoribus tradebantur et nectebantur alii.

[2] quod ubi cui militi inciderat, collegam appellabat. concursus ad Servilium fiebat; illius promissa iactabant; illi exprobrabant sua quisque belli merita cicatricesque acceptas. postulabant, ut aut referret ad senatum, aut auxilio esset consul civibus suis, imperator militibus. movebant consulem haec, sed tergiversari res cogebat;

[3] adeo in alteram causam non collega solum praeceps erat, sed omnis factio nobilium. ita medium se gerendo nec plebis vitavit odium nec apud patres gratiam iniit.

[4] patres mollem consulem et ambitiosum rati, plebes fallacem; brevique apparuit aequasse eum Appii odium. (Certamen certamen consulibus inciderat,

[5] uter dedicaret Mercuri aedem. senatus a se rem ad populum reiecit: utri eorum dedicatio iussu populi data esset, eum praeesse annonae, mercatorum collegium instituere, sollemnia pro pontifice iussit suscipere.

[6] populus dedicationem aedis dat M. Laetorio, primi pili centurioni, quod facile appareret non tam ad honorem eius, cui curatio altior fastigio suo data esset, factum quam ad consulum ignominiam.

[7] saevire inde utique consulum alter patresque; sed plebi creverant animi, et longe alia quam primo instituerant via grassabantur.) grassabantur.

[8] desperato enim consulum senatusque auxilio, cum in ius duci debitorem vidissent, undique convolabant. neque decretum exaudiri consulis prae strepitu et clamore poterat, neque, cum decresset, quisquam obtemperabat.

[9] vi agebatur, metusque omnis et periculum, cum in conspectu consulis singuli a pluribus violarentur, in creditores a debitoribus verterant. super haec timor incessit Sabini belli;

[10] dilectuque decreto nemo nomen dedit, furente Appio et insectante ambitionem collegae, qui populari silentio rem publicam proderet et ad id, quod de credita pecunia ius non dixisset, adiceret, ut ne dilectum quidem ex senatus consulto haberet:

[11] non esse tamen desertam omnino rem publicam neque proiectum consulare imperium; se unum et suae et patrum maiestatis vindicem fore. cum circumstaret cotidiana multitude multitudo licentia accensa,

[12] arripi unum insignem ducem seditionum iussit. ille cum a lictoribus iam traheretur, provocavit; nec cessisset provocationi consul, quia non dubium erat populi iudicilm, nisi aegre victa pertinacia foret consilio magis et auctoritate principum quam populi clamore; adeo supererant animi ad sustinendam invidiam.

[13] crescere inde malum in dies non clamoribus modo apertis, sed, quod multo perniciosius erat, secessione occultisque conloquiis. tandem invisi plebi consules magistrate abeunt, Servilius neutris, Appius patribus mire gratus.

Ab urbe condita Perseus (Conway, Robert Seymour; Walters, Charles Flamstead; Johnson, Stephen Keymer, editors. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1914-1935. (Oxford Classical Texts)) — 2.27 focus

[1]

fusis Auruncis, uictor tot intra paucos dies bellis Romanus promissa consulis fidemque senatus exspectabat, cum Appius et insita superbia animo et ut collegae uanam faceret fidem, quam asperrime poterat ius de creditis pecuniis dicere. deinceps et qui ante nexi fuerant creditoribus tradebantur et nectebantur alii.

[2] quod ubi cui militi inciderat, collegam appellabat. concursus ad Seruilium fiebat; illius promissa iactabant; illi exprobrabant sua quisque belli merita cicatricesque acceptas. postulabant ut [aut] referret ad senatum, [aut] ut auxilio esset consul ciuibus suis, imperator militibus.

[3] mouebant consulem haec, sed tergiuersari res cogebat; adeo in alteram causam non collega solum praeceps erat sed omnis factio nobilium. ita medium se gerendo nec plebis uitauit odium nec apud patres gratiam iniit.

[4] patres mollem consulem et ambitiosum rati, plebes fallacem, breuique apparuit aequasse eum Appi odium.

[5] certamen consulibus inciderat, uter dedicaret Mercuri aedem. senatus a se rem ad populum reiecit: utri eorum dedicatio iussu populi data esset, eum praeesse annonae, mercatorum collegium instituere, sollemnia pro pontifice iussit suscipere.

[6] populus dedicationem aedis dat M. Laetorio , primi pili centurioni, quod facile appareret non tam ad honorem eius cui curatio altior fastigio suo data esset factum quam ad consulum ignominiam.

[7] saeuire inde utique consulum alter patresque; sed plebi creuerant animi et longe alia quam primo instituerant uia grassabantur.

[8] desperato enim consulum senatusque auxilio, cum in ius duci debitorem uidissent, undique conuolabant. neque decretum exaudiri consulis prae strepitu et clamore poterat, neque cum decresset quisquam obtemperabat.

[9] ui agebatur, metusque omnis et periculum, cum in conspectu consulis singuli a pluribus uiolarentur, in creditores a debitoribus uerterant.

[10] super haec timor incessit Sabini belli; dilectuque decreto nemo nomen dedit, furente Appio et insectante ambitionem collegae, qui populari silentio rem publicam proderet et ad id quod de credita pecunia ius non dixisset, adiceret ut ne dilectum quidem ex senatus consulto haberet;

[11] non esse tamen desertam omnino rem publicam neque proiectum consulare imperium; se unum et suae et patrum maiestatis uindicem fore.

[12] cum circumstaret cotidiana multitudo licentia accensa, arripi unum insignem ducem seditionum iussit. ille cum a lictoribus iam traheretur prouocauit; nec cessisset prouocationi consul, quia non dubium erat populi iudicium, nisi aegre uicta pertinacia foret consilio magis et auctoritate principum quam populi clamore; adeo supererant animi ad sustinendam inuidiam.

[13] crescere inde malum in dies, non clamoribus modo apertis sed, quod multo perniciosius erat, secessione occultisque conloquiis. tandem inuisi plebi consules magistratu abeunt, Seruilius neutris, Appius patribus mire gratus.

Ab urbe condita Perseus (Livy in Fourteen Volumes. Foster, Benjamin Oliver; Moore, Frank Gardener; Schlesinger, Alfred C., editors. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd., 1919-1959 (printing).) — 2.27 focus

[1]

fusis Auruncis victor tot intra paucos dies bellis Romanus promissa consulis fidemque senatus exspectabat, cum Appius et insita superbia animo et ut collegae vanam faceret fidem, quam asperrime poterat, ius de creditis pecuniis dicere. deinceps et qui ante nexi fuerant creditoribus tradebantur et nectebantur alii.

[2] quod ubi cui militi inciderat, collegam appellabat. concursus ad Servilium fiebat; illius promissa iactabant; illi exprobrabant sua quisque belli merita cicatricesque acceptas. postulabant ut aut referret ad senatum, aut ¹ auxilio esset consul civibus suis, imperator militibus.

[3] movebant consulem haec, sed tergiversari res cogebat; adeo in alteram causam non collega solum praeceps erat ² sed omnis factio nobilium. ita medium se gerendo nec plebis vitavit odium nec apud patres gratiam iniit.

[4] patres mollem consulem et ambitiosum rati, plebes fallacem; brevique apparuit adaequasse eum Appi odium.

[5] certamen consulibus inciderat uter dedicaret Mercuri aedem. senatus a se rem ad populum reiecit: utri eorum dedicatio iussu populi data esset, eum praeesse annonae, mercatorum collegium ³ instituere, sollemnia pro pontifice iussit suscipere.

[6] populus dedicationem aedis dat M. Laetorio, primi pili centurioni, quod facile appareret non tam ad honorem eius, cui curatio altior fastigio suo data esset, factum quam ad consulum ignominiam.

[7] saevire inde utique consulum alter patresque; sed plebi creverant animi, et longe alia quam primo instituerant via grassabantur.

[9] vi agebatur, metusque omnis et periculum, ⁴ cum in conspectu consulis singuli a pluribus violarentur, in creditores a debitoribus verterant.

[10] super haec timor incessit Sabini belli; dilectuque decreto nemo nomen dedit, furente Appio et insectante ambitionem collegae, qui populari silentio rem publicam proderet, et ad id quod de credita pecunia ius non dixisset, adiceret ut ne dilectum quidem ex senatus consulto haberet:

[11] non esse tamen desertam omnino rem publicam neque proiectum consulare imperium, se unum et suae et patrum maiestatis vindicem fore.

[12] cum circumstaret cotidiana multitudo multitude licentia accensa, arripi unum insignem ducem seditionum iussit. ille cum a lictoribus ⁵ iam traheretur, provocavit; nec cessisset provocationi consul, quia non dubium erat populi iudicium, nisi aegre victa pertinacia foret consilio magis et auctoritate principum quam populi clamore; adeo supererant animi ad sustinendam invidiam.

[13] crescere inde malum in dies non clamoribus modo apertis sed, quod multo perniciosius erat, secessione occultisque conloquiis. tandem invisi plebi consules magistratu abeunt, Servilius neutris, Appius patribus mire gratus.

Translations (2)

History of Rome Perseus (Foster, Benjamin Oliver; Moore, Frank Gardener; Sage, Evan T.; Schlesinger, Alfred C., translators. Cambridge, Mass.; London: Harvard University Press; William Heinemann, Ltd., 1919-1959. (Loeb Classical Library)) — 2.27 focus

[1]

Having routed the Aurunci, and having been, within a few days, victorious in so many wars, the Romans were looking for the help which the consul had promised and the senate guaranteed, when Appius, partly out of native arrogance, partly to discredit his colleague, began to pronounce judgment with the utmost rigour in suits to recover debts. In consequence, not only were those who had been bound over before delivered up to their creditors, but others were bound over.

[2] Whenever this happened to a soldier he would appeal to the other consul. The people flocked to the house of Servilius: it was he who had made them promises; it was he whom they reproached, as each rehearsed his services in the wars and displayed the scars he had received. They demanded that he should either lay the matter before the senate or lend his aid as consul to his fellow-citizens, as general to his soldiers.

[3] They moved the consul by this plea, but the situation forced him to temporize, so vehemently was the other side supported, not only by his colleague, but by the entire party of the nobles. And so he steered a middle course, and neither avoided the dislike of the plebs nor gained the goodwill of the Fathers.

[4] These considered him a pusillanimous consul and an agitator, while the commons held him to be dishonest; and it was soon apparent that he was as cordially hated as Appius.

[5] The consuls had got into a dispute as to which should dedicate the temple to Mercury. The senate referred the case to the people for decision. Whichever consul should, by command of the people, be entrusted with the dedication was to have charge of the corn-supply, to establish a guild of merchants, ¹² and perform the solemn rites in the presence of the

[6] pontifex. The people assigned the dedication to Marcus Laetorius, a centurion of the first rank —a choice which would readily be understood as intended not so much to honour Laetorius, to whom a commission had been given which was too exalted for his station in life, as to humiliate the

[7] consuls. Appius and the Fathers were furious then, if they had not been before; but the plebeians had plucked up heart and threw themselves into the struggle with far more spirit than they had shown at

[8] first. For, despairing of help from consuls and senate, they no sooner beheld a debtor being haled away than they flew to his assistance from every

[9] side. It was impossible for the consul's decree to be heard above the din and shouting, and when it had been pronounced nobody obeyed it. Violence was the order of the day, and fear and danger had quite shifted from the debtors to the creditors, who were singled out and maltreated by large numbers in full sight of the

[10] consul. To crown these troubles came the fear of a Sabine invasion. A levy was decreed, but no one enlisted. Appius stormed and railed at the insidious arts of his colleague, who, he said, to make himself popular, was betraying the state by his inactivity; and to his refusal to give judgment for debt was adding a fresh offence in refusing to hold the levy as the senate had

[11] directed. Nevertheless the welfare of the state was not wholly forgotten, nor the authority of the consulate abandoned; he would himself, single-handed, assert both his own and the senate's

[12] majesty. When the usual daily throng of lawless men was standing about him, he gave orders to seize one who was a conspicuous leader in their ³ disturbances. The lictors were already dragging the man away, when he appealed; nor would the consul have granted the appeal, for there was no question what the decision of the people would be, had not his obstinacy been with difficulty overcome, more by the advice and influence of the nobles than by the popular outcry, so steeled was he to endure men's

[13] hate. From that moment the trouble grew worse each day, and not only were there open disturbances, but what was far more pernicious, secret gatherings and conferences. At last the consuls whom the plebeians so hated went out of office. Servilius had the goodwill of neither party, but Appius was in high esteem with the senators.

History of Rome Perseus (Spillan, D.; Edmonds, Cyrus; McDevitte, William A., translators. London: Henry G. Bohn, 1849-1868. (Bohn's Classical Library)) — 2.27 focus

[1]

After the defeat of the Auruncians, the people of Rome, victorious in so many wars within a few days, were expecting the promises of the consul and the engagement of the senate (to be made good). But Appius, both through his natural pride, and in order to undermine the credit of his colleague, issued his decrees regarding borrowed money, with all possible severity. And from this time, both those who had been formerly in confinement were delivered up to their creditors, and others also were taken into custody.

[2] When this happened to a soldier, he appealed to the colleague, and a crowd gathered about Servilius: they represented to him his promises, severally upbraided him with their services in war, and with the scars they had received. They loudly called upon him to lay the matter before the senate, and that, as consul, he would relieve his fellow citizens, as a general, his soldiers.

[3] These remonstrances affected the consul, but the situation of affairs obliged him to back out; so completely had not only his colleague, but the whole body of the patricians, adopted an entirely opposite course. And thus, by acting a middle part, he neither escaped the odium of the people, nor gained the favour of the senators.

[4] The fathers looked upon him as a weak, popularity-hunting consul, and the people considered him as a deceiver.

[5] And it soon appeared that he was as odious to them as Appius himself. A dispute had happened between the consuls, as to which should dedicate the temple of Mercury. The senate referred the affair from themselves to the people, and ordained that to whichsoever of them the dedication should be granted by order of the people, he should preside over the markets, establish a company of merchants, and perform the functions of a pontifex maximus.

[6] The people gave the dedication of the temple to M. Laetorius, the centurion of the first legion, that it might plainly appear to have been done not so much out of respect to a person on whom an honour above his rank had been conferred, as to affront the consuls.

[7] Upon this one of the consuls particularly, and the senators, were highly incensed.

[8] But the people had acquired courage, and proceeded in a manner quite different from what they had at first intended. For when they despaired of redress from the consuls and senate, upon seeing a debtor led to the court, they flew together from all quarters.

[9] And neither the decree of the consul could be heard in consequence of the noise and clamour, nor, when he had pronounced the decree, did any one obey it.

[10] All was managed by violence, and the entire dread and danger with respect to personal liberty, was transferred from the debtors to the creditors, who were severally abused by the crowd in the very sight of the consul. In addition to all this, the dread of the Sabine war spread, and when a levy was decreed, nobody gave in his name; Appius being enraged, and bitterly inveighing against the ambitious arts of his colleague, who by his popular silence was betraying the republic, and besides his not passing sentence against the debtors, likewise neglected to raise the levies, after they had been voted by the senate.

[11] Yet he declared, that

the commonwealth was not entirely deserted, nor the consular authority altogether debased. That he alone would vindicate both his own dignity and that of the senators.

[12] When a daily mob, emboldened by licentiousness, stood round him, he commanded a noted ringleader of the sedition to be apprehended. He, as the lictors were carrying him off, appealed to the people; nor would the consul have allowed the appeal, because there was no doubt regarding the judgment of the people, had not his obstinacy been with difficulty overcome, rather by the advice and influence of the leading men, than by the clamours of the people; so much resolution he had to bear the weight of their odium.

[13] The evil gained ground daily, not only by open clamours, but, which was far more dangerous, by a secession and by secret meetings. At length the consuls, so odious to the commons, went out of office: Servilius liked by neither party, Appius highly esteemed by the senators.

Notes on the current edition

History of Rome, books 1-10, 21-45

1. The connection of these various functions appears to be that Mercury, as the god of commerce (hence merchant, market), would be the patron of the newly established guild of corn merchants, who would be especially connected with his new temple.

Titus Livius (Livy) Ab urbe condita 2.27

Rev. Canon Roberts (Translator)

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