Livy

“ They were not objected to so strongly by the great body of the citizens as they were by the different individuals who were immediately affected by them. Those who had married the wives of the political exiles and those who had appropriated any of their property were as indignant as though they were to lose what belonged to themselves, instead of restoring what belonged to others. The slaves who had been freed by the tyrant saw not only their liberty gone but an even worse slavery awaiting them if they had to pass into the power of their enraged masters. ”

“ Why is the poverty of others disguised under this appearance of law so that they may be thought to have possessed, had the law allowed it, what it was quite out of their power to possess?'
Do you want, Quirites, to plunge your wives into a rivalry of this nature, where the rich desire to have what no one else can afford, and the poor, that they may not be despised for their poverty, stretch their expenses beyond their means? Depend upon it, as soon as a woman begins to be ashamed of what she ought not to be ashamed of she will cease to feel shame at what she ought to be ashamed of. ”

“ Who does not see that the poverty and wretched condition of the citizens, every one of whom had to devote his money to the needs of the commonwealth, were the real enactors of that law which was to remain in force as long as the reason for its enactment remained in force? If every decree made by the senate and every order made by the people to meet the emergency is to remain in force for all time, why are we repaying to private citizens the sums they advanced? ”

“ Now, when a consul, two praetors and three Roman armies are occupying Spain, and not a single Carthaginian has been seen in this province for the last ten years, our dominion on this side of the Ebro has been lost to us. It is your duty to win this back by your arms and courage and to compel a nation, which starts a war in a spirit of recklessness rather than of steady determination, to submit once more to the yoke which it has cast off." After these words of encouragement he announced that he should lead them that night against the enemy's camp. ”

“ This would show the whole world whether it was the Romans who were in the habit of telling lies or the Aetolians, who in their public speeches had spread abroad the notion that it was a mistake to entrust their liberties to Rome and that they had only changed their Macedonian for Roman masters. But that people never cared in the least what they said or what they did. He advised the other States to measure their friends by their deeds and not by their words, and so learn whom to trust and whom to beware of. They must use their liberty in moderation ”

“ Neatness, elegance, personal adornment, attractive appearance and looks - these are the distinctions they covet, in these they delight and pride themselves; these things our ancestors called the ornament of women. What do they lay aside when they are in mourning except their gold and purple, to resume them when they go out of mourning? How do they prepare themselves for days of public rejoicing and thanksgiving beyond assuming richer personal adornment? ”

“ Why should a rich man object to a poor man sitting by his side? It was a piece of unheard-of arrogance neither adopted nor wished for by any other senate in the world. Even Africanus himself, who when consul was responsible for the change, was said to have regretted it. So distasteful is any departure from ancient usage; so much do men prefer to stand in the old ways except where they are clearly condemned by experience. ”

“ No intervening sea protects us from these brigands. What, then, will be our fate, T. Quinctius, if they make a stronghold for themselves in the very heart of Greece? They have nothing Greek about them but the language, any more than they have anything human about them but the form and appearance of men; their customs and rites are more horrid than those of any barbarians, nay, even than those of savage beasts. ”

“ That what is permitted to another should be forbidden to you may naturally create a feeling of shame or indignation, but when all are upon the same level as far as dress is concerned why should any one of you fear that you will not attract notice ? The very last things to be ashamed of are thriftiness and poverty, but this law relieves you of both since you do not possess what it forbids you to possess. The wealthy woman says, 'This levelling down is just what I do not tolerate. Why am I not to be admired and looked at for my gold and purple? ”

“ We, their husbands, shall wear purple, the toga praetexta will mark those holding magisterial and priestly offices, our children will wear it, with its purple border; the right to wear it belongs to the magistrates in the military colonies and the municipal towns. Nor is it only in their lifetime that they enjoy this distinction; when they die they are cremated in it. You husbands are at liberty to wear a purple wrap over your dress, will you refuse to allow your wives to wear a purple mantle? Are the trappings of your horses to be more gorgeous than the dress of your wives? ”

“ If everyone who feels himself personally aggrieved by a law is to destroy it and get rid of it, what is gained by the whole body of citizens making laws which those against whom they are enacted can in a short time repeal? I want, however, to learn the reason why these excited matrons have run out into the streets and scarcely keep away from the Forum and the Assembly. Is it that those taken prisoners by Hannibal - their fathers and husbands and children and brothers - may be ransomed? ”

“ He led his troops round to the rear of the enemy's camp and formed them into line at daybreak, after which he sent three cohorts right up to the hostile rampart. Startled by the appearance of the Romans behind their lines, the barbarians flew to arms. Meanwhile the consul briefly addressed his men. "There is no hope," he said, "anywhere but in courage, and indeed I have taken care that there shall not be. Between us and our camp is the enemy, and behind us enemy country. The noblest course is also the safest, and that is to rest all your hopes in your valour." ”

“ The nobility, together with the various classes of society in the different cities, must study to preserve internal harmony, and the States as a whole must endeavour after mutual concord. As long as they were of one mind neither king nor tyrant would ever be strong enough to hurt them, but discord and sedition gave every advantage to those who were seeking to destroy their liberty, since the party which was worsted in a domestic struggle would rather join hands with a foreigner than submit to a fellow-citizen. ”

“ We suffer them now to dabble in politics and mix themselves up with the business of the Forum and public debates and election contests. What are they doing now in the public roads and at the street corners but recommending to the plebs the proposal of their tribunes and voting for the repeal of the law. Give the reins to a headstrong nature, to a creature that has not been tamed, and then hope that they will themselves set bounds to their licence if you do not do it yourselves. ”

“ The brighter and better the fortunes of the republic become day by day, and the greater the growth of its dominion - and now we are penetrating into Greece and Asia, regions filled with everything that can tempt appetite or excite desire, and are even laying hands on the treasures of kings - so much the more do I dread the prospect of these things taking us captive rather than we them. ”

“ We ask you therefore, Romans, to rescue Argos from Nabis and settle the affairs of Greece in such a way that you may leave this country at peace and security even against the robber practices of the Aetolians." A general outcry against the Aetolians arose, and the Roman commander said that he would have replied to their charges had he not seen that the delegates were all so incensed against them that they needed to be calmed rather than excited further. He should now put the question, "What do you decide as to war with Nabis, if he does not restore Argos to the Achaeans?" ”

“ This step aroused such bitter feeling that many of them destroyed themselves, for they were a brave and high-spirited nation, and did not think life worth living without the possession of arms. On this being reported to the consul he summoned the senators in all the cities to meet him. "It is not," he told them, "more in our interest than in yours that you should abstain from hostilities; hitherto your wars have always involved more suffering for the Spaniards than toil and trouble for the Romans. ”

“ Surely you do not make yourselves more attractive in public than in private, to other women's husbands more than to your own? If matrons were kept by their natural modesty within the limits of their rights, it would be most unbecoming for you to trouble yourselves even at home about the laws which may be passed or repealed here.' Our ancestors would have no woman transact even private business except through her guardian, they placed them under the tutelage of parents or brothers or husbands. ”

“ As things are now our liberty of action, which has been checked and rendered powerless by female despotism at home, is actually crushed and trampled on here in the Forum, and because we were unable to withstand them individually we have now to dread their united strength. I used to think that it was a fabulous story which tells us that in a certain island the whole of the male sex was extirpated by a conspiracy amongst the women; there is no class of women from whom the gravest dangers may not arise, if once you allow intrigues, plots, secret cabals to go on. ”

“ Whilst the Romans were measuring out the site of their camp, and Quinctius had ridden forward with some infantry and cavalry, they were attacked by the tyrant's auxiliary troops. They were not prepared for anything of the kind, as they had met with no opposition on their march; the country through which they passed might have been a friendly territory. For some time there was considerable confusion, the cavalry calling for help from the infantry and the infantry from the cavalry, no man feeling any confidence in himself. ”

“ As usual with the crowd they encouraged one another by saying that they hoped for the best and that Fortune helped the brave. Encouraged by the general voice, the tyrant gave out that Antiochus and the Aetolians would assist them, and he meanwhile had enough troops to stand a siege. Nobody now still talked of peace, and unable to remain quiet any longer they ran off to attack the enemy's advanced posts. The offensive movements of small bodies of skirmishers and the discharge of their missiles removed any doubt from the minds of the Romans that war was inevitable. ”

“ When Cato saw the whole battleground filled with fugitives he galloped back to the second legion which was stationed in reserve, ordered the standards to be borne before him and the whole legion to follow him at the double to attack the hostile camp. When a man in his eagerness ran out of his rank the consul rode up and struck him with his sparus and ordered the military tribunes and centurions to chastise him. The attack on the camp had already begun, but the Romans were unable to reach the stockade, as they were held up by stones and stakes and every description of missile. ”

“ I suppose you think that if you repeal the Oppian Law, and should wish to forbid anything which the law forbids now, it will not be in your power to do so, and that some will lose all legal rights over their daughters and wives and sisters. No; women are never freed from subjection as long as their husbands and fathers are alive; they deprecate the freedom which orphanhood and widowhood bring. They would rather leave their personal adornment to your decision than to that of the law. It is your duty to act as their guardians and protectors and not treat them as slaves ”

“ I hear far too many people praising and admiring those which adorn Athens and Corinth and laughing at the clay images of our gods standing in front of their temples. I for my part prefer these gods who are propitious to us, and I trust that they will continue to be so as long as we allow them to remain in their present abodes. ”

“ The next day Nabis said that he would evacuate Argos and withdraw his garrison whenever the Romans wished, and would also surrender the prisoners and deserters. Should any further demands be made, he requested that they might be put in writing in order that he might consult his friends about them. Time was allowed him for the purpose, and Quinctius on his side also called the friendly cities into council. The majority were in favour of continuing the war and getting rid of the tyrant; for they felt certain that the freedom of Greece would never be safe otherwise. ”