HOW THE PLEBEIANS WON THEIR RIGHTS 43
The plebeians demanded written laws ; and instead of consuls and tribunes , decemviri were chosen to ascertain what the laws were and set up the Twelve Tables in the forum .
Enraged at the crimes of Appius Claudius , the plebeians again withdrew to the Sacred Mountain , but returned on being promised tribunes . The Valerio-Horatian Laws gave these tribunes the right to listen to whatever went on in the senate and veto whatever measures they chose . It also provided that measures passed by the plebeian assembly of tribes should become laws. The plebeians were soon allowed to marry into patrician families and to hold the office of " military tribune with consular power. Then the pa tricians elected censors , who held much of the consular power . The plebeians finally won the right to become consuls , and by 300 B.C. patricians and plebeians had equal rights in the state .
SUGGESTIONS FOR WRITTEN WORK
A plebeian tells how much he suffered from war .
One of the plebeians tells the story of the secession to the Sacred Mountain .
Spurius Cassius explains and defends his law .
HOW ROME BECAME RULER OF ITALY
WHILE the plebeians were struggling for their share in the government of the city , and the patricians were doing their best to keep it out of their hands , there was some danger that no city would be left for either of them to govern . They held Rome and a little land around it ; but the Latins and the Her' a
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44 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE
ni - cans were their only allies, and all the other tribes of Italy were their enemies. No one would have expected the little settlement on the Tiber to become strong enough to rule Italy , but that is just what was coming to pass .
It took a long while to bring this about and a great deal of fighting; though this fighting was not always what we should call war in these days . Their enemies, especially the Æ'qui ans and the Vol'sci -ans, were so near that whenever they had a good chance, they made sudden raids upon the Roman lands, did all the damage they could , and then hurried home . The Romans did the same thing in return . Sometimes there were real battles, and a city was taken by one party or the other . Not much is known of these wars except that the Romans were finally victorious ; but there are two or three fine old stories about them that ought not to be forgotten . One is the story of a valiant soldier named Caius Mar'ci-us . The Romans were be sieging Co -ri'o-li, a town held by the Vol scians , when the Volscians suddenly threw open the gates and dashed out upon them. The young Caius Marcius and his follow ers repelled their attack , rushed in through the open gates , caught up firebrands, and set fire to the houses nearest the wall. Then the Volscian women and chil dren wailed , and the men cried out in terror , for they were in the hands of their enemies . In memory of this exploit , the Romans gave the young hero the name of Co-ri-o -la'
A CAPTAIN
HOW ROME BECAME RULER OF ITALY 45
nus , and after this he was known as Caius Marcius Corio lanus .
A little later there was a famine in Rome . Corn was brought from Sicily, and the senators were discussing at what price it should be sold to the plebeians . Coriolanus had from the first been indignant that the plebeians should be gaining power in the state , and he said , If the plebeians want corn at the old rates , let them give up their tribunes and restore to the senators their own proper rights . The plebeians learned of this speech , and they were so angry that Coriolanus had to flee to the Volscians . He offered to lead them against Rome . They were delighted to have so famous a leader, and he set out with a large army. He took one Roman town after another , and pitched his camp only a few miles from Rome. Then the Romans were in great alarm . They sent some of the senators , old friends of Coriolanus , to ask him to make peace ; but he refused . Then the priests went to him , wear ing their robes of office and bearing the images of the gods ; but he still refused . Suddenly a friend told him that a great company of noble ladies was approaching the camp . And unless my eyes deceive me, said the friend , your mother and wife and children are at their head . Coriolanus sprang from his seat . Before him stood his mother , with his wife on one side , and his children on the other. He would have thrown his arms about his mother's neck , but she drew back. First let me know , she said sternly , whether I am com ing to my son or to an enemy . Is it possible that you can lay waste this land which gave you birth and has cared for you ? Look at your wife and children , and think that if you
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46 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE
persist , they must either die or become slaves. The whole company of women moaned and lamented and begged him to spare the city. His children and his wife kissed him and em braced him and begged for mercy. At last Coriola nus yielded . He turned to his mo ther and said sadly, Mother, this is a happy victory for you Vignon and for Rome , but it is shame and ruin for your son. He withdrew his troops and re turned to the Volscians. Some say that in their anger they put him to death , and some say that he remained an exile among them as long as he lived .
CORIOLANUS YIELDS TO HIS MOTHER'S PRAYERS
From the wars with the Æquians comes the story of Lu cius Quinc'ti-us, called Cin - cin -na'tus, or the curly -haired . He was a patrician , but he was poor, and he and his wife lived contentedly on their little farm just beyond the Tiber. One warm day he had thrown off his toga, and, wearing only his tunic, was busily ploughing when some men from Rome came into the field . They greeted one another in friendly fashion . Then the men spoke to him formally . Listen to
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