"Great resort upon this was made by the people to Servilius,
showing him their wounds, calling him to witness how they had
behaved themselves, and minding him of his promise. Poor
Servilius was sorry, but so overawed with the headiness of his
colleague, and the obstinacy of the whole faction of the
nobility, that, not daring to do anything either way, he lost
both parties, the fathers conceiving that he was ambitious, and
the people that he was false; while the Consul Claudius,
continuing to countenance such as daily seized and imprisoned
some of the indebted people, had still new and dangerous
controversies with them, insomuch that the commonwealth was torn
with horrid division, and the people (because they found it not
so safe or so effectual in public) minded nothing but laying
their heads together in private conventicles. For this Aulus
Virginius and Titus Vetusius, the new Consuls, were reproved by
the Senate as slothful, and upbraided with the virtue of Appius
Claudius. Whereupon the Consuls having desired the Senate that
they might know their pleasure, showed afterward their readiness
to obey it, by summoning the people according to command, and
requiring names whereby to draw forth an army for diversion, but
no man would answer. Report hereof being made to the Senate, the
younger sort of the fathers grew so hot with the Consuls that
they desired them to abdicate the magistracy, which they had not
the courage to defend.
Pages:
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262