 Part 17 of Volume 1 of Plutarch's Parallel Lives. Volume 1 of Plutarch's Parallel Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans, translated by Bernadotte Perrin. Solon, Part 3. But in general Solon's laws concerning women seem very absurd. For instance, he permitted an adulterer caught in the act to be killed, but if a man committed rape upon a free woman, he was merely to be fined a hundred drachmas, and if he gained his end by persuasion twenty drachmas, unless it were with one of those who sell themselves openly, meaning of course the courtesans, for these go openly to those who offer them their price. Still further, no man is allowed to sell a daughter or a sister unless he finds that she is no longer a virgin. But to punish the same offence now severely and inexorably, and now mildly and pleasantly making the penalty a slight fine, is unreasonable, unless money was scarce in the city at that time, and the difficulty of procuring it made these monetary punishments heavy. In the valuations of sacrificial offerings at any rate, a sheep and a bushel of grain are reckoned at a drachma. The victor in the Isthmian games was to be paid a hundred drachmas, and the Olympic victor five hundred. The man who brought in a wolf was given five drachmas, and for a wolf's welp one. The former sum, according to Demetrius the Falyrian, was the price of an ox, the latter that of a sheep. For although the prices which Solon fixes in his sixteenth table are for choice victims, and naturally many times as great as those for ordinary ones, still even these are low in comparison with present prices. Now the Athenians were from of old great enemies of wolves, since their country was better for pastureage than for tillage. And there are those who say that their four tribes were originally named not from the sons of Ion, but from the classes into which occupations were divided. Thus the warriors were called hoplitei, the craftsmen ergadice, and of the remaining two the farmers were called jileontes, the shepherds and herdsmen igikorice. Since the country was not supplied with water by ever-flowing rivers or lakes or copious springs, but most of the inhabitants used wells which had been dug, he made a law that where there was a public well within a hippicon, a distance of four furlongs, that should be used. But where the distance was greater than this, people must try to get water of their own. If however after digging to a depth of ten fathoms on their own land they could not get water, then they might take it from a neighbour's well, filling a five-gallon jar twice a day, for he thought it his duty to aid the needy not to provision the idle. He also showed great experience in the limits which he set to the planting of trees. No one could set out a tree in a field within five feet of his neighbour's field, or in case it was a fig tree or an olive tree within nine. For these reach out farther with their roots and injure some trees by their proximity, taking away their nourishment and emitting an exhalation which is sometimes noxious. He that would dig a pit or a trench must dig it at the distance of its own depth from his neighbours, and he that would set out hives of bees must put them three hundred feet away from those which another had already installed. Of the products of the soil he allowed oil only to be sold abroad, but forbade the exportation of others. And if any did so export the archon was to pronounce curses upon them or else himself pay a hundred drachmas into the public treasury. His first table is the one which contains this law. One cannot therefore wholly disbelieve those who say that the exportation of figs was anciently forbidden and that the one who showed up or pointed out such exporters was called a sycophant or fig shower. He also enacted a law concerning injuries received from beasts according to which a dog that had bitten anybody must be delivered up with a wooden collar three cubits long fastened to it. A happy device this for promoting safety. But the law concerning naturalised citizens is of doubtful character. He permitted only those to be made citizens who were permanently exiled from their own country or who removed to Athens with their entire families to ply a trade. This he did as we are told not so much to drive away other foreigners as to invite these particular ones to Athens with the full assurance of becoming citizens. He also thought that reliance could be placed both on those who had been forced to abandon their own country and on those who had left it with a fixed purpose. Characteristic of Solon also was his regulation of the practice of eating at the public table in the town hall for which his word was parasitine. The same person was not allowed to eat there often, but if one whose duty it was to eat there refused, he was punished. Solon thought the conduct of the first grasping that of the second contemptuous of the public interests. All his laws were to have force for a hundred years and they were written on axonies or wooden tablets which revolved with the oblong frames containing them. Slight remnants of these were still preserved in the Britonium when I was at Athens and they were called, according to Aristotle, curbice. Cretinus also, the comic poet somewhere, says, by Solon and by Draco too I make mine oath whose curbice now are used to patch our barley-corns. But some say that only those tablets which relate to sacred rites and sacrifices are properly called curbice and the rest are called axonies. However that may be the council took a joint oath to ratify the laws of Solon and each of the Thesmothetai or guardians of the statutes swore separately at the herald stone in the marketplace vowing that if he transgressed the statutes in any way he would dedicate at Delphi a golden statue of commensure at worth. Observing the irregularity of the month and that the motion of the moon does not always coincide with the rising and setting of the sun but that often she overtakes and passes the sun on the same day he ordered that day to be called the old and new, assigning the portion of it which preceded the conjunction to the expiring month and the remaining portion to the month that was just beginning. He was thus the first as it would seem to understand Homer's verse which speaks of a day when this month is waning and the next is setting in and the day following this he called the first of the month. After the twentieth he did not count the days by adding them to twenty but by subtracting them from thirty on a descending scale like the waning of the moon. No sooner were the laws of Solon put into operation than some would come to him every day with praise or censure of them or with advice to insert something into the documents or take something out. Very numerous too were those who came to him with inquiries and questions about them urging him to teach and make clear to them the meaning and purpose of each several item. He saw that to do this was out of the question and that not to do it would bring odium upon him and wishing to be wholly rid of these perplexities and to escape from the captiousness and sensoriousness of the citizens for in great affairs as he says himself it is difficult to please all. He made his ownership of a vessel an excuse for foreign travel and set sail after obtaining from the Athenians leave of absence for ten years. In this time he hoped they would be accustomed to his laws. In the first place then he went to Egypt and lived as he himself says where Nile pours forth his floods near the Canobic shore. He also spent some time in studies with Cenophis of Heliopolis and Sunkis of Seis who were very learned priests. From these as Plato says he heard the story of the lost Atlantis and tried to introduce it in a poetical form to the Greeks. Next he sailed to Cyprus and was greatly beloved of Philo-Cyprus one of the kings of the island. This prince had a small city founded by Demophan the son of Theseus and lying near the river Clarius in a position which was strong but otherwise incomodious and sorry. So long therefore persuaded him to remove the city to the fair plain which lay below it and make it more spacious and pleasant. He also remained and took charge of the new city's consolidation and helped to arrange it in the best possible manner both for convenience of living and for safety. The result was that many colonists flocked to Philo-Cyprus and he was the envy of the other kings. He therefore paid Solon the honour of naming the new city after him and called it Solai. Its name had been Ipaya. Solon himself also makes mention of this consolidation. In his eleges, namely, he addresses Philo-Cyprus and says Now mayest thou long time be lord and master for the Solii here, dwelling in this city thyself and thy family after thee. But may I and my swift ship, as we leave this storied isle, be brought upon our way in safety by Cyprus of the violet crown. Upon this settlement of thine may she bestow favour and glory and upon me an auspicious return to my fatherland. As for his interview with Cresus some think to prove by chronology that it is fictitious. But when a story is so famous and so well attested and what is more to the point when it comports so well with the character of Solon and is so worthy of his magnanimity and wisdom I do not propose to reject it out of deference to any chronological canons, so called, which thousands are to this day revising without being able to bring their contradictions into any general agreement. So then they say that Solon, on visiting Sardis at the invitation of Cresus had much the same experience as an inland man who goes down for the first time to the sea. For just as such a man thinks each successive river that he sees to be the sea so Solon as he passed through the court and beheld many of the king's retainers in costly apparel and moving proudly amid a throng of courtiers and armed guards thought each in turn to be Cresus until he was brought to the king himself who was decked out with everything in the way of precious stones, dyed raiment and wrought gold that men deem remarkable or extravagant or enviable in order that he might present a most august and gorgeous spectacle. But when Solon in this presence neither showed any astonishment at what he saw nor made any such comments upon it as Cresus had expected but actually made it clear to all discerning eyes that he despised such vulgarity and pettiness the king ordered his treasure chambers to be thrown open for the guest and that he should be led about to behold the rest of his sumptuous equipments. Of this there was no need for the man himself sufficed to give Solon an understanding of his character. However, when Solon had seen everything and had been conducted back again, Cresus asked him if he had ever known a happier man than he. Solon said he had and that the man was Tellus a fellow citizen of his own. Tellus, he went on to say, had proved himself an honest man, had left reputable sons behind him, and had closed a life which knew no serious want with a glorious display of valor in behalf of his country. Cresus at once judged Solon to be a strange and uncouth fellow since he did not make an abundance of gold and silver his measure of happiness, but admired the life and death of an ordinary private man more than all this display of power and sovereignty. Notwithstanding he asked him again whether, next to Tellus, he knew any other man more fortunate than he. Again Solon said he did, naming Cleobis and Bito, men surpassing all others in brotherly love and in dutiful affection towards their mother. For once he said when the car in which she was riding was delayed by the oxen, they took the yoke upon their own shoulders and brought their mother to the temple of Hera where her countrymen called her a happy woman and her heart was rejoiced. Then after sacrifice and feasting they laid themselves to rest and never rose again but were found to have died a painless and tranquil death with so great honor fresh upon them. What! said Cresus, who by this time was angered, does now not count us among happy men at all? Then Solon, who was unwilling to flatter him and did not wish to exasperate him further, said, O King of Lydia, as the deity has given us Greeks all other blessings in moderation, so our moderation gives us a kind of wisdom which is timid in all likelihood and fit for common people, not one which is kingly and splendid. This wisdom, such as it is, observing that human life is ever subject to all sorts of vicissitudes, forbids us to be puffed up by the good things we have, or to admire a man's felicity while there is still time for it to change. For the future, if which is advancing upon everyone, is varied and uncertain, but when the deity bestows prosperity on a man up to the end, that man we consider happy. To pronounce anyone happy, however, while he is still living and running the risks of life, is like proclaiming an athlete victorious and crowning him while he is still contending for the prize. The verdict is insecure and without authority. When he had said this, Solon departed, leaving Cresus vexed, but none the wiser for it. Now it so happened that Esop, the writer of fables, was in Sardis, having been summoned thither by Cresus and receiving much honour at his hands. He was distressed that Solon met with no kindly treatment and said to him by way of advice, Oh Solon, our converse with kings should be either as rare or as pleasing as is possible. No indeed, said Solon, but either as rare or as beneficial as is possible. At this time then, Cresus held Solon in a contempt like this, but afterwards he encountered Cyrus, was defeated in battle, lost his city, and was taken alive and condemned to be burnt, and then as he lay bound upon the pyre in the sight of all the Persians and of Cyrus himself, with all the reach and power of which his voice was capable, he called out Thrice, Oh Solon. Cyrus then, astonished at this, sent men to ask him what man or god this Solon was, and whom alone he called in his extremity. And Cresus, without any concealment, said, This man was one of the sages of Greece, and I sent for him, not with any desire to hear or learn the things of which I stood in need, but in order that he might behold, and when he left me, bear testimony to the happiness I then enjoyed, the loss of which I now see to be a greater evil than its possession was a good, for when it was mine the good I derived from it was matter of report and men's opinion, but its departure from me issues in terrible sufferings and irreparable calamities which are real, and that man, conjecturing this future from what he then saw, bad me look to the end of my life, and not let insecure conjectures embolden me to be proud and insolent. When this was reported to Cyrus, since he was a wiser man than Cresus, and saw the word of Solon confirmed in the example before him, he not only released Cresus, but actually held him in honour as long as he lived, and thus Solon had the reputation of saving one king and instructing another by means of a single saying. But the people of Athens were again divided into factions while Solon was away. The plain men were headed by Lycurgus, the shoremen by Megacles the son of Alchmion, and the hillmen by Pisistratus. Among the last was the multitude of Thetes who were the bitter enemies of the rich. As a consequence, though the city still observed the new laws, yet all were already expecting a revolution and desirous of a different form of government, not in hopes of inequality, but each party thinking to be bettered by the change and to get the entire mastery of its opponents. Such was the state of affairs when Solon returned to Athens. He was revered and honoured by all, but owing to his years he no longer had the strength or the ardour to speak and act in public as before. He did, however, confer privately with the chiefs of the opposing factions, endeavouring to reconcile and harmonise them, and Pisistratus seemed to pay him more heed than the others. For Pisistratus had an insinuating and agreeable quality in his address. He was ready to help the poor and was reasonable and moderate in his enmities. Even those virtues which nature had denied him were imitated by him so successfully that he won more confidence than those who actually possessed them. He was thought to be a cautious and order-loving man, one that prized equality above all things and would take it ill if any one disturbed the existing order and attempted a change. On these points indeed he completely deceived most people, but Solon quickly detected his real character and was the first to perceive his secret designs. He did not, however, treat him as an enemy, but tried to soften and mould him by his instructions. He actually said to him and to others that if the desire for preeminence could but be banished from his soul and his eager passion for the tyranny be cured, no other man would be more naturally disposed to virtue or a better citizen. Thespis was now beginning to develop tragedy, and the attempt attracted most people because of its novelty, although it was not yet made a matter of competitive contest. Solon, therefore, who was naturally fond of hearing and learning anything new, and who in his old age more than ever before indulged himself in leisurely amusement, yes, and in wine and song, went to see Thespis act in his own play as the custom of the ancient poets was. After the spectacle he accosted Thespis and asked him if he was not ashamed to tell such lies in the presence of so many people. Thespis answered that there was no harm in talking and acting that way in play, whereupon Solon smoked the ground sharply with his staff and said, Soon, however, if we give play of this sort so much praise and honour, we shall find it in our solemn contracts. Now, when Pysistratus, after inflicting a wound upon himself, came into the marketplace riding in a chariot and tried to exasperate the populace with the charge that his enemies had plotted against his life on account of his political opinions, and many of them greeted the charge with angry cries, Solon drew near and accosted him, saying, O son of Hippocrates, thou art playing the Homeric Odysseus badly, for when he disfigured himself it was to deceive his enemies, but thou doest it to mislead thy fellow-citizens. After this the multitude was ready to fight for Pysistratus and a general assembly of the people was held. Here Ariston made a motion that Pysistratus be allowed a bodyguard of fifty club-bearers, but Solon formally opposed it and said many things which were like what he has written in his poems. Ye have regard indeed to the speech and words of a wily man, yet every one of you walks with the steps of a fox, and in you all dwells an empty mind. But when he saw that the poor were tumultuously bent on gratifying Pysistratus, while the rich were fearfully slinking away from any conflict with him, he left the assembly, saying that he was wiser than the one party and braver than the other, wiser than those who did not understand what was being done, and braver than those who, though they understood it, were nevertheless afraid to oppose the tyranny. So the people passed the decree, and then held Pysistratus to no strict account of the number of his club-bearers, but suffered him to keep and lead about in public as many as he wished, until at last he seized the Acropolis. When this had been done, and the city was in an uproar, Megacles straightway fled with the rest of the Alchemyonidae. But Solon, although he was now a very old man, and had none to support him, went nevertheless into the marketplace and reasoned with the citizens, partly blaming their folly and weakness, and partly encouraging them still and exhorting them not to abandon their liberty. Then it was too that he uttered the famous saying that earlier it had been easier for them to hinder the tyranny while it was in preparation, but now it was a greater and more glorious task to uproot and destroy it when it had been already planted and was grown. No one had the courage to side with him, however, and so he retired to his own house, took his arms, and placed them in the street in front of his door, saying, I have done all I can to help my country and its laws. From that time on he lived in quiet retirement, and when his friends urged him to fly, he paid no heed to them, but kept on writing poems in which he heaped reproaches on the Athenians. If now ye suffer grievously through cowardice all your own, cherish no wrath against the gods for this, for ye yourselves increased the usurper's power by giving him a guard, and therefore are ye now in base subjection. In view of this many warned him that the tyrant would put him to death, and asked him on what he relied that he was so lost to all sense, to which he answered, my old age. However, when by Zistratus had become master of the situation, he paid such court to Solon by honouring him, showing him kindness, and inviting him to his palace, that Solon actually became his counsellor and approved of many of his acts. For he retained most of Solon's laws, observing them first himself, and compelling his friends to do so. For instance, he was summoned before the Ariopagus on a charge of murder, when he was already tyrant, and presented himself there to make his defence in due form, but his accuser did not put in an appearance. He also made other laws himself, one of which provides that those who are maimed in war shall be maintained at the public charge. But Heraclides says that even before that Solon had caused a decree to be passed to this effect in the case of Thosippus, who had been so maimed, and that by Zistratus was following his example. Moreover, Theophrastus writes that the law against idleness, in consequence of which the country became more productive and the city more tranquil, was not made by Solon, but by Pysistratus. Now Solon, after beginning his great work on the story or fable of the lost Atlantis, which, as he had heard from the learned men of Seus, particularly concerned the Athenians, abandoned it not for lack of leisure, as Plato says, but rather because of his old age fearing the magnitude of the task. Footnote. There is no trace of any such work of Solon's, and the attribution of it to him is probably a play of Plato's fancy. End of footnote. For that he had abundant leisure such verses as these testify, but I grow old, ever learning many things, and again, but now the works of the Cyprus-born goddess are dear to my soul, of Dionysus II and the Muses, which impart delights to men. Plato, ambitious to elaborate and adorn the subject of the lost Atlantis, as if it were the soil of a fair estate unoccupied, but appropriately his, by virtue of some kinship with Solon, began the work by laying out great porches, enclosures, and courtyards, such as no story, tale, or poetry ever had before. But he was late in beginning, and ended his life before his work. Therefore the greater our delight in what he actually wrote, the greater is our distress in view of what he left undone. For as the Olympium in the city of Athens, so the tale of the lost Atlantis in the wisdom of Plato, is the only one among many beautiful works to remain unfinished. Well then Solon lived on after Pisistratus had made himself tyrant, as Heraclides Ponticus states, long time, but as Phanias of Erisos says, less than two years. For it was in the Arkonship of Comeas that Pisistratus began his tyranny, and Phanias says that Solon died in the Arkonship of Hegestratus the successor of Comeas. The story that his body was burned and his ashes scattered on the island of Salamis is strange enough to be altogether incredible and fabulous, and yet it is given by noteworthy authors, and even by Aristotle the philosopher. End of Solon Part 3. Recording by Graham Redman Part 18 of Volume 1 of Plutarch's Parallel Lives This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Volume 1 of Plutarch's Parallel Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans, translated by Bernadotte Perrin. Publikula Part 1. Such was Solon, and with him we compare Publikula, to whom the Roman people gave this surname later as a mark of honor. Before that he was called Publius Valerius, and was reputed to be a descendant of that ancient Valerius, who was most instrumental in making the Romans and the Sabines one people instead of enemies. For it was he, more than anyone else, that persuaded their kings to come together and settle their differences. Such being his lineage, Valerius, as we are told, while Rome was still a kingdom, was conspicuous for his eloquence and wealth, always employing the one with integrity and boldness in the service of justice, while with the other he gave liberal and kindly aid to the poor and needy. It was therefore clear that, should Rome become a democracy, he would at once be one of its foremost men. Now Tarquinius Superbus had not acquired his power honorably, but by the violation of divine and human laws, nor did he exercise it in kingly fashion, but after the manner of an insolent and haughty tyrant. The people therefore hated him, resented his oppressions, and found occasion for revolt in the fate of Lucretia, who made away with herself after violence had been done to her. Lucius Brutus, engaging in the revolution, came to Valerius first of all, and with his most zealous assistance drove out the kings. Then as long as the people were likely to elect one man as their commander in place of the king, Valerius acquiesced, thinking it more fitting that Brutus should have the office, because he had led the way to freedom. But the very name of monarchy was odious to the people, who thought it would be less vexatious to submit to an authority which was divided, and therefore proposed and demanded that two men should be elected to the highest office. Then Valerius, who hoped that he would be chosen next to Brutus, and would be consul with him, was disappointed. For against the wishes of Brutus, Tarquinius Colatinus, the husband of Lucretia, was elected as his colleague instead of Valerius. He was a man of no greater excellence than Valerius, but the influential citizens were afraid of the kings, who were still putting forth many efforts outside, and trying to appease resentment inside the city, and they therefore desired to have as their commander the most pronounced enemy of the royal family, believing that he would make no concessions to them. Valerius, accordingly, vexed that his desire to do his utmost for his country should be doubted, merely because he had received no private injury at the hands of the tyrants, withdrew from the senate, gave up his practice as an advocate, and abandoned entirely his public activities. This caused anxious remark among the multitude. They feared lest, in his wrath, he should attach himself to the royal exiles, and subvert the established order of the city, which was in a dangerous pass. But when Brutus, who had his suspicions of certain others also, desired the senators to take a sacrificial oath, and set a day for the ceremony, Valerius went down with a glad countenance into the forum, and was the first to take oath that he would make no submission or concession to the tarquins, but would fight with all his might in defense of freedom. This pleased the senate, and inspired the consuls with courage, and his actions speedily confirmed his oath. For envoys came from Tarquin, bringing letters calculated to seduce the people, in specious words by which they thought the multitude were most likely to be corrupted, coming as they did from a king who seemed to have humbled himself, and to ask only moderate terms. These envoys the consuls thought should be brought before the assembled people, but Valerius would not suffer it. He was unalterably opposed to giving poor men, who considered a war a greater burden than tyranny, occasions and excuses for revolution. After this other envoys came announcing that Tarquin abdicated his throne, and ceased to wage war upon the city, but demanded for himself, his friends, and his kinsmen, their monies and effects, wherewith to maintain themselves in exile. Many were inclined to grant this favor, and Cullitinus in particular joined in advocating it. But Brutus, a man of harsh and unyielding temper, ran forth into the forum, and denounced his colleague as a traitor, because he would bestow the means for waging a war, and maintaining tyranny on man to whom it were a terrible mistake to vote even a bare subsistence in exile. And when an assembly of the citizens was held, the first to speak among them was Gaius Minicius, a private man who exhorted Brutus, and advised the Romans to see to it that the treasures fought with them against the tyrants, rather than with the tyrants against them. However, the Romans decided that, since they had the liberty for which they were at war, they would not sacrifice peace for the sake of wealth, but cast this also out along with the tyrants. Now the wealth, of course, was a very slight consequence to Tarquin, but the demand for it was at once a test of the people's disposition and a means of instigating treachery among them. And it was with this that the envoys busied themselves, making the property merely a pretext for remaining in the city, and saying that they were selling part of it, and reserving part, and sending part of it away. At last they succeeded in corrupting two of the noble families of Rome, that of the Achilles, which had three senators, and that of the Vitelli, which had two. All these, by the mother's side, were nephews of Colatinus the consul, and besides, the Vitelli were related in another manner to Brutus. For Brutus had married a sister of theirs, and she had borne him several sons. Two of these, who had come to manhood, and were near Kinrid and close companions, the Vitelli won over and persuaded to join the plot for betraying the city, and to ally themselves with the great family and the royal expectations of the Tarquins, and rid themselves of the stupidity and cruelty of their father. For they gave of the name of cruelty to that father's inexorable treatment of criminals. And as for his stupidity, he had for a long time, as it appears, feigned and assumed this, to ensure his safety among the cruel designs of the tyrants, and afterwards the surname of Brutus, which had been given him for it, clung to him. When, accordingly, the youths had been persuaded and held conference with the Aquile, it was decided that all the conspirators should swear a great and dreadful oath, pouring in libation the blood of a slain man, and touching his entrails. For this purpose they met in the house of the Aquile. Now the room in which the ceremony was to be held was, as was natural, dark, and somewhat desolate. Without there knowing it, therefore, a slave named Vindicius had concealed himself therein, not with design, or with any inkling of what was to happen there. He merely chanced to be there, and when they came in with anxious haste, he was afraid to be seen by them, and hid himself behind a chest that lay there, so that he saw what they did, and heard what they resolved upon. Their decision was to kill the consuls, and when they had written letters to Tarquin to this effect, they gave them to his envoys, who were living there as guests of the Aquile, and were then present at the conspiracy. Their business transacted, the conspirators departed, and then Vindicius stole secretly away from the house. He knew not what use to make of what had been fallen him, but was at a loss, considering it a dreadful thing, as it really was, to arraign the sons of Brutus before their father, or the nephews of Colotinus before their uncle, on the most abominable charges, and yet believing that no Roman in an important station should be entrusted with an important secrets. The last thing he could do, however, was to hold his peace, and was driven on by his knowledge of the affair. He made his way somehow to Valerius, attracted especially by the affable and kindly ways of the man, for he was easily accessible to all the needy, always kept open house, and never refused to hear or help one of the lowly. Accordingly, when Vindicius came to him and told him the whole story, in the presence of his brother Marcus only, and of his wife, Valerius was struck with consternation and fear, and would not let the man go, but shut him up in a room and sent his own wife to guard the door. Then he ordered his brother to surround the royal residence, seize the letters if possible, and to take the servants into custody. He himself, with the numerous clients and friends who were always about him, and with a large company of retainers, went to the house of the Aquile, who were not at home. Therefore, to the surprise of everybody, he forced the door, and came upon the letters lying in the quarters where the envoys were lodged. Meantime the Aquile came up in hot haste, joined battle at the door, and sought to take away the letters. But Valerius and his party resisted the attack, threw their togas about their opponent's necks, and, after much struggling on both sides, at last succeeded in pushing them through the streets and to the forum. The same success was had at the royal residence, where Marcus laid his hands on other letters, which were to be conveyed away in the baggage, seized as many of the king's people as he could, and hailed them to the forum. When the consuls had quieted the tumult, Valerius ordered Vindicius to be brought from his house. The denunciation was made, the letters were read aloud, and the accused had no courage to reply. Most of the people held their peace for very sorrow, but a few spoke of exile as a penalty, wishing to do brutus a kindness. They were also somewhat encouraged to cope by the tears of Colotinus and the silence of Valerius. But brutus, calling each of his sons by name, said, Come Titus, come Tiberius, why do ye not defend yourselves against the denunciation? But when they made no answer, though he put the question to them thrice, he turned to the lictors and said, It is yours now to do the rest. These straight away seized the young men, tore off their togas, found their hands behind their backs, and scourged their bodies with their rods. The rest could not endure to look upon the site, but it is said that the father neither turned his gaze away, nor allowed any pity to soften the stern wrath that sat upon his countenance, but watched the dreadful punishment of his sons until the lictors threw them on the ground and cut off their heads with the axe. Then he rose and went away, after committing the other culprits to the judgment of his colleague. He had done a deed which it is difficult for one either to praise or blame sufficiently. For either the loftiness of his virtue made his spirit incapable of suffering, or else the magnitude of his suffering made it unsensible to pain. In neither case was his act a trivial one, or natural to a man, but either godlike or brutish. However, it is right that our verdict should accord with the reputation of the man, rather than that his virtue should be discredited through weakness in the judge. For the Romans think that the work of Romulus in building the city was not so great as that of Brutus in founding and establishing its form of government. After Brutus had left the Forum, at this time, after a long consternation, horror and silence prevailed among all who remained, as they thought of what had been done. But soon the weakness and hesitation of Colotinus gave the Aquileae fresh courage. They demanded time in which to make their defense, and the surrender of Vindicius to them, since he was their slave and ought not to be in the hands of their accusers. Colotinus was willing to grant this request, and was about to dissolve the assembly with this understanding. But Valerius was neither able to surrender the slave, who had mingled with the throng about him, nor would he suffer the people to release the traitors and withdraw. So at last he seized the persons of the Aquileae, and, summoning Brutus to the scene, crying aloud that Colotinus was acting shamefully and laying upon his colleague the necessity of killing his own sons, and then thinking it necessary for himself to bestow upon their wives the lives of his country's betrayers and foes. The consul was indignant at this, and ordered that Vindicius should be taken away, whereupon the lictors pushed their way through the crowd, seized the man, and beat those who tried to rescue him. Then Valerius and his friends stood forth in the man's defense, while the people shouted for Brutus to come. He turned back, therefore, and came, and when silence had been made for him, said that for his sons he himself sufficed his judge, and he would leave the fate of the other traitors to the votes of the citizens, who were free, and anyone who wished might speak and try to persuade the people. However, by this time there was no need of oratory, but a vote was taken which unanimously condemned the men, and they were beheaded. Colotinus, as it would seem, was already under some suspicion on account of his relationship to the royal family, and the second of his names was also hateful to the people, who loathe the sound of Tarquin. But after these recent events he saw that he was altogether obnoxious, and therefore resigned his office, and withdrew secretly from the city. A new election was consequently held, and Valerius was triumphantly declared consul, thus receiving a worthy reward for his zeal. In this reward he thought that Vindicius ought to share, and therefore had a decree passed which made him, first of all, a freedman, a citizen of Rome, and entitled him to vote with any curia in which he chose to be enrolled. Other freedmen received the right of suffrage in much later times from Apius, who thus courted popularity. And from this Vindicius, as they say, a perfect manumission is to this day called Vindicta. After this the property of the royal family was given to the Romans to plunder, and their house and palace was razed to the ground, but the pleasantest part of the field of Mars, which had belonged to Tarquin, was dedicated to that god. Now it chanced that it had just been reaped, and the grain still lying upon the ground. But since the field had been consecrated, they thought it not right to thresh it, or use it in any way. They therefore, with one accord, carried the sheaves to the river, and cast them in. And like manor they also cast in the trees which had been cut, and left the place wholly untilled and barren for the god of war. The quantities of stuff thus heaped together were not borne along by the current, very far, but the advanced portions stopped and accumulated at the shallows which they encountered. The portions that followed these could not get through them, but impinged upon them and blended inexorably with them, and the aggregation was made increasingly firm and fast by the action of the stream. For this brought great quantities of mud, in the addition of which increased the size and cohesion of the mass. And besides the impacts of the current were not rude, but with a gentle pressure pushed and molded everything together. Owing to its size and position, the mass acquired fresh size, and an extent sufficient to receive most of which was brought down by the river. It is now a sacred island over against the city, containing temples of the gods and covered walks, and is called in the Latin tongue Interduos Pantes. Some, however, say that this did not happen when the field of Tarquin was consecrated, but in later times when Tarquinia devoted another field adjacent to this. Now Tarquinia was a holy virgin, one of the Vestals, and received great honors for this act, among which was this, that of all women her testimony alone should be received. The people also voted her permission to marry, but she did not avail herself of it. This is how the thing appeared as the tale tells. But Tarquin, despairing of attempts to regain his throne by treachery, was eagerly welcomed by the Tuscans, who set out to restore him with a great force. The consuls led the Romans out to meet them, and arrayed their forces in certain sacred precincts, one of which was called the Arcean Grove, the other the Aesuvian Meadow. When the engagement began, Aarons, son of Tarquin, and Brutus, the Roman Council, encountered each other. It was not by chance, but both were driven on by hatred and wrath, the one to attack a tyrant in foe of his country, the other to avenge himself on the author of his exile. They urged their horses to the combat, but since they engaged with fury rather than calculation, they were reckless of themselves, and fell by one another's hands. The battle which had such a dreadful beginning ended no less disastrously. The armies, after inflicting and suffering equal losses, were separated by a tempest. Valerius was therefore in perplexity, not knowing what the issue of the battle was, but seeing his soldiers as much disheartened by their own losses as they were encouraged by those of their enemies. So indistinguishable and equal was the slaughter on both sides. Each army, however, was more convinced of defeat by the near sight of its own dead than it could be a victory by conjecturing those of the enemy. When such a night came on as must needs follow such a battle, and both camps were quiet, they say that the grove was shaken and a loud voice issued from it, declaring the Tuscans had lost one man more in the battle than the Romans. The utterance was manifestly from some God, for at once the Romans were inspired by it to loud shots of courage, while the Tuscans were panic-stricken, and abandoned their camp in confusion, and were for the most part dispersed. As for those that remained, a little less than 5,000 in numbers, the Romans fell upon them, and took them prisoners, and plundered the camp. And when the dead on both sides were numbered, those of the enemy were found to be 11,300, and those of the Romans as many, less one. It is said that this battle was fought on the last day of February. Valerius celebrated a triumph for it, being the first consul to drive into the city on a four horse chariot, and the proceeding afforded a spectacle which was imposing and magnificent, not odious and offensive to the USA. Otherwise it would not have been continued with such ardor and emulation for countless years. The people were also pleased with the honors which Valerius bestowed upon his colleague at the funeral ceremonies. He even delivered a funeral oration in his honor, which was so admired by the Romans, and won such favor that from that time on, when their great and good men died, encomiums were pronounced upon them by the Romans. The funeral oration of his is said to have been earlier than any among the Greeks, unless Anaximenes the orator is right in saying that the custom originated with Solon. But that which the rather displeased and offended the people of Valerius was this. Brutus, whom they regarded as the father of their liberties, would not consent to rule alone, but once again chose a colleague to rule with him. He himself is not a successor to the consulate of Brutus, to which he has no right, but to the tyranny of Tarquan. Yet why should he extol Brutus in words, while in deeds he imitates Tarquan, descending to the forum alone, escorted by all the rods and axes together, from a house no less stately than the royal house which he demolished? For as a matter of fact Valerius was living in a very splendid area. It hung high over the forum, commanded a view of all that passed there, and was surrounded by steeps and hard to get at, so that when he came down from it the spectacle was a lofty one, and the pomp of his procession worthy of a king. Accordingly Valerius showed what a good thing it is for men in power and high station to have ears which are open to frankness and truth instead of flattery. For when he heard that he was thought by the multitude to be transgressing, he was not obstinate or exasperated, but quickly got together a large force of workmen, and while it was still night, tore the house down and raised it all to the ground. In the morning therefore the Romans saw what had happened and came flocking together. They were moved to love and admiration for the man's magnanimity, but were distressed for the house and mourned for its stately beauty now that envy had unjustly compassed its destruction. They were also distressed for their ruler who, like a homeless man, was now sharing the homes of others. For Valerius was received into the house of his friends until the people gave him a sight and built him a house of more modest dimensions than the one he had lived in before, where now stands the temple of Vicopota so called. Wishing now to make not only himself, but also the government instead of formidable, submissive and agreeable to the multitude he removed the axes from the lictor's rods and when he came into the assembly inclined and lowered the rods themselves to the people emphasizing the majesty of the democracy. This custom the consuls observed to this day and before the multitude were aware of it he had succeeded not by humbling himself as they thought but by checking and removing their envious feelings through such a manner in his part and adding to his real influence over them just as much as he seemed to take away from his authority and the people submitted to him with pleasure and bore his yoke willingly. They therefore called him Publicula, a name which signifies people cherisher. This name prevailed over the older names which he had borne and it is the name which I shall use for him in the remainder of this life. For he permitted any who wished to enter the lists and sue for the consulship but before the installation of his colleague not knowing who he would be but fearing an opposition due to some jealousy or ignorance he used his sole authority for the enactment of his best and most important measures. In the first place he filled up the senate which was much reduced in numbers for some had long before been put to death by Tarquin and others had recently fallen in the battle with the Tuscans. Those who were enrolled in this body by him amounted they say to 164. After this he enacted several laws one of which especially strengthened the position of the commons by allowing a defendant to appeal to the people from the judgment of the consuls. A second made it a capital offense to assume a magistry which the people had not bestowed. A third following these came to the relief of the poor. It lifted the taxes from the citizens engaged more zealously in manufacturers and commerce. In the one which was enacted against disobedience to the consuls was thought to be no less popular in its character and to be in the interest of the many rather than of the powerful. For the fine which it opposed on disobedience was only the worth of five oxen and two sheep. Now the value of sheep was ten obels and that of an ox a hundred for the Romans at that time did not use much coined money that consisted in flocks and herds. Therefore to this day they call their substance peculium from pecus cattle and their oldest coins are stamped with the figure of an ox a sheep or a hog and they actually gave their own sons such surnames as suilius bubocus caparius and porcus the last two from capra and porcus their words for goat and pig. And of pubicula Volume 1 Part 19 of Volume 1 of Plutarch's Parallel Lives This is the LibriVox Recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Volume 1 of Plutarch's Parallel Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans translated by Bernadotte Perrin Pubicula Part 2 But although in these particulars he showed himself a popular and moderate law giver in the case of an immoderate offense he made the penalty severe for he enacted a law by which anyone who sought to make himself tyrant might be slain without trial and the slayer should be free from blood guiltiness if he produced proofs of the crime. For although it is impossible for one who attempts so great a task to escape all notice it is not impossible for him to do so long enough to make himself too powerful to be brought to trial which trial his very crime precludes. He therefore gave anyone who was able to do so the privilege of anticipating the culprit's trial. He also received praise for his law concerning the public treasury when it was necessary for the citizens to contribute from their substance means for carrying on the war he was unwilling to assume the administration of it himself or to allow his friends to do so or indeed to have the public monies brought into any private house. He therefore made the temple of Saturn a treasury as it is to this day and gave the people the privilege of appointing two young men as quaestors or treasurers. The first to be thus appointed was Publius Vittorius and Marcus Menuchius and large sums of money were collected. For one hundred and thirty thousand names were on the assessment lists being excused from the contribution. This matter regulated he calls Lucretius the father of Lucretia to be appointed his colleague in the consulship. To him he yielded the precedence as the elder man and committed to him the so-called facies a privilege of seniority which has continued from that day to this. But Lucretius died a few days afterwards and in a new election Marcus Horatius was chosen consul and shared the office with Publius Vittorius for the remainder of the year. While Tarkwin was stirring up in Tuscany another war against the Romans a thing of great portent is said to have happened. When Tarkwin was still king and had all but completed the temple of Jupiter capitalinus either in consequence of an oracle or else of his own good pleasure he commissioned certain Tuscany craftsmen of A.E.E. to place upon its roof a chariot of Terriacata. Soon after this he was driven from his throne. The Tuscans however modeled the chariot and put it in a furnace for firing but the clay did not contract and shrink in the fire as it usually does when its moisture evaporates. Instead of this it expanded and swelled and took on such size, strength and hardness that it could with difficulty be removed even after the roof of the furnace had been taken off and its sides torn away. To the seers accordingly this seemed to be the divine portent of prosperity and power for those who should possess the chariot and encouraged and incited Horatius to claim the privilege of consecrating the temple. At a time then when Pubucola was necessarily absent on military service they got a vote passed that Horatius should perform the consecration and conducted him up to the capital feeling that they could not have gained their point had Pubucola been in the city. Some however said that Pubucola was designated by lot against his inclination for the expedition and Horatius for the consecration. It is possible to infer how the matter stood between them from what happened at the consecration. It was the Ides of September, a day which nearly coincides with the full moon of the Attic month metagaitnion. The people were all assembled on the capital. Silence had been proclaimed and Horatius after performing the other ceremonies and lying hold upon the door of the temple as custom is was pronouncing the usual words of consecration. Just then Marcus the brother of Pubucola who had long been standing by the door and was watching his opportunity said O consul, my son lies dead of sickness in the camp. This distressed all who heard it but Horatius not at all disturbed merely said cast forth the dead then wither you please for I take no mourning upon me and finished his consecration. Now the announcement was not true but Marcus thought by his falsehood to deter Horatius from his duty. Wonderful therefore was the firm poise of the man whether he at once saw through the deceit or believed the story without letting it overcome him. A similar fortune seems to have attended the dedication of the second temple. The first as I have said was built by Tarquin but consecrated by Horatius. This was destroyed by fire during the civil wars. The second temple was built by Sulla but Catilus was commissioned to consecrate it after the death of Sulla. This temple too was destroyed during the troubleous times of Vitellius and Vespasian began and completed the third with the good fortune that attended him in all his undertakings. He lived to see it completed and did not live to see it destroyed as it was soon after and in dying before his work was destroyed he was just so much more fortunate than Sulla who died before his was consecrated. For upon the death of Vespasian the capital was burned. The fourth temple which is now standing on the same site as the others was both completed and consecrated by Domitian. It is said that Tarquin expended upon its foundations 40,000 pounds of silver but the greatest wealth now attributed to any private citizen of Rome would not pay the cost of building a loan of the present temple which was more than 12,000 talents. Its pillars are of pentallic marble and their thickness was once most happily proportioned to their length for we saw them at Athens but when they were recut and scraped at Rome they did not gain as much in polish as they lost in symmetry and beauty and they now look too slender and thin. However if anyone who is amazed at the costlessness is seen but a single colonnade in the palace of Domitian or a basilica or a bath or the apartments for his concubines then as Epikarmus says to the spendthrift to his not beneficent thou art thou art diseased thy mania is to give so he would have been moved to say to Domitian to his not pious nor nobly ambitious thou art thou art diseased thy mania is to build like the famous Midas thou desirous that everything become gold and stone to thy touch so much then on this head but to return to Tarquin after the great battle in which he lost his son in a duel with Brutus he fled for refuge to Clusium and became a suppliant to Lars Porcena the most powerful king in Italy who was thought also to be a man of worth and noble ambitions to his aid and assistance so in the first place he sent to Rome and ordered them to receive Tarquin as their king then when the Romans refused he declared war upon them proclaimed the time in place of his attack and marched thither with a great force Pubicola was chosen consul for the second time in his absence and Titus Lucretius as his colleague returning therefore to Rome and wishing in the first place to surpass Porcena with the effectiveness of his spirit he built the city of Sigliuria although his adversary was already near at hand after he had fortified it at great expense he sent to it a colony of 700 men indicating that he had no concern or fear about the war however a sharper salt was made upon its wall by Porcena and its garrison was driven out they fled to Rome where the pursuing enemy almost followed them into the city but Pubicola promptly salad out to their aid in front of the gate joined battle by the riverside with the enemy who pressed on in great numbers and held out against them until he was desperately wounded and carried bodily out of the battle the same fate overtook Lucretius his colleague also so that dismay fell upon the Romans and they fled for safety towards the city but as the enemy was forcing their way onto the wooden bridge Rome was in danger of being taken by storm Horatius Cochleus however first and with him two of the most illustrious men of the city Herminius and Lartius defended the wooden bridge against them Horatius had been given his surname of Cochleus because he had lost one of his eyes in the wars some however say that his nose was flat and sunken so that there was nothing to separate his eyes and his eyebrows ran together and that for this reason the multitude wished to call him Cyclops but by slip of the tongue the name of Cochleus was generally prevalent instead this Cochleus standing at the head of the bridge kept the enemy back until his companions had cut the bridge in two behind him then all accoutred as he was he plunged into the river and swam across to the other side in spite of a wound in the buttocks from a Tuscan spear Pubicola out of admiration for his valor proposed that every Roman should at once contribute for him as much provisions as it could be consumed in a day and that afterwards he should be given as much land as he could plow round in a day besides this they set up a bronze statue of him in the temple of Vulcan to console him with the honor for the lameness consequent upon his wound while Parceno was closely investing the city a famine afflicted the Romans and another Tuscan army on its own account invaded their territory Pubicola who is now consul for the third time thought that Parceno must be met by a quiet and watchful resistance within the city but he saluted out upon the other Tuscan army engaged it, routed it and slew 5,000 of them the story of Mochius had been often and variously told but I must give it as it seems most credible to me he was a man well endowed with almost every virtue but most excellent in war designing to kill Parceno he stole into his camp wearing a Tuscan habit and using the speech to correspond after walking around the tribunal where the king was sitting with others not knowing him certainly in fearing to inquire about him he drew his sword and slew that one of the group that he thought most likely to be the king upon this he was seized and was being questioned by the king of Parceno who was about to offer sacrifice Mochius held his right hand over the flames and while the flesh was burning stood looking at Parceno with a bold and steadfast countenance until the king was overcome with admiration and released him and handed him back his sword reaching it down to him from the tribunal Mochius stretched out his left hand and took it on account of which they say then he said that although he had conquered the fear which Parceno inspired he was vanquished by the nobility which he displayed and would reveal out of gratitude what he would not have disclosed under compulsion 300 Romans then said he with the same resolution as mine are now prowling about in thy camp and watching their opportunity I was chosen by lot to make the first attempt upon thee and I am not distressed at what has happened so noble is the man who I failed to kill and so worthy to be a friend rather than an enemy of the Romans on hearing this Parceno believed it to be true and felt more inclined to come the terms not so much I suppose through fear of the 300 as of wondering admiration for the lofty spirit and bravery of the Romans all other writers agree in giving this Mochius the surname of Skyvilla Doris the son of Sandan in his book addressed to Octavia the sister of Augustus Caesar says that his surname was Postumus Pubicula himself moreover thinking that Parceno would be more valuable as a friend and ally of the city than he was dangerous as an enemy did not shrink for making the king an arbiter in his dispute with Tarquin but often boldly challenged Tarquin to do so confident improving that he was the basis to men and justly deprived of his kingdom and when Tarquin gave him a rough answer saying that he would make no man his judge least of all Parceno seeing that he was serving from his alliance with him Parceno was displeased and perceived the weakness of his cause his son Aruns also pleaded earnestly with him in behalf of the Romans consequently he put an end to his war against them on condition that they give up the territory of Tuscany which they had taken back their prisoners of war and received back their deserters in confirmation of these conditions the Romans gave as hostages ten young men from their noblest families and as many maidens of whom Valeria the daughter of Pubicula was one after these stipulations had been carried out and when Parceno had already remitted all his war like preparations through his confidence in the treaty these Roman maidens went down to the river to bathe at a place where the curving bank formed a bay and kept the water especially still and free from waves as they saw no gardener nor anyone else passing or crossing the stream they were seized with the desire to swim away notwithstanding the depth and whirl of the strong current and some say that one of them named Chloalia crossed the stream on horseback exhorting them and encouraging the rest as they swam but when they came in safety to Pubicula he bestowed consideration or affection upon them but was distressed because he would be thought less true to his word than Parceno and because the daring exploit of the maidens would be called a base fraud on the part of the Romans he seized them therefore and sent them back to Parceno but Tarquin and his men got timely intelligence of this set an ambush for the convoy of the maidens and attacked them in superior numbers as they passed along the party attacked defended themselves nevertheless and Valeria the daughter of Pubicula darted through the combatants and fled with the help of three attendants who broke through the crowd with her and made good her escape the rest of the maidens were mingled with the combatants and in peril of their lives but Arunes the son of Porcena learning of the affair came with all speed to their assistance put their enemies to flight and rescued the Romans when Porcena saw the maidens thus brought back he asked for the one who had begun the enterprise and encouraged the rest of it and when he heard Chloelia named as the one he looked upon her with a gracious and beaming countenance and ordering one of the royal horses to be brought all fittingly comparison he made her a present of it those who say that Chloelia and Chloelia alone crossed the river on horseback produced this fact as evidence others dispute the inference and say that the Tuscans merely honored in this way the maidens courage but an equestrian statue of her stands by the Via Sacra as you go to the palatine some say that it represents not Chloelia but Valeria Porcena thus reconciled with the Romans gave the city many proofs of his magnanimity in particular he ordered his Tuscan soldiers when they evacuated their camp to take with them their arms only and nothing else leaving it full of abundant provisions and all sorts of valuables which he turned over to the Romans therefore it is that down to this very day when there is a sale of public property Porcena's goods are cried first and thus the man's kindness is honored with perpetual remembrance moreover a bronze statue of him used to stand near the senate house of simple and archaic workmanship after this when the Sabines invaded the Roman territory Marcus Valerius a brother of Pupicola was made consul and with him in so much as the most important steps were taken with the advice and assistance of Pupicola Marcus was victorious in two great battles and in the second of them without losing a single Roman slew 13,000 of the enemy besides his triumphs he also obtained the honor of a house built for him at the public charge on the palatine and whereas the doors of the other houses at the time opened outwards into the vestibule they made the outer door of his house and of his alone to open outwards in order that by this concession he might be constantly partaking of public honor they say that all the Greek doors used to open outwards in this way and the conclusion is drawn from their comedies where those who are about to go out of a house beat noisily on the inside of their own doors in order that persons passing by or standing in front of them may in the doors open out into the street in the following year Pupicola was consul again for the fourth time when there was expectation of a war with the Sabines and Latins combined at the same time also a sort of superstitious terror seized upon the city because all the women who were pregnant were delivered of imperfect offspring and all births were premature wherefore by direction of the Sibeline books Pupicola made propitiary sacrifices to Pluto and renewed certain games that had been recommended by Apollo and after he thus made the city more cheerful in its hopes and expectations from the gods he turned his attention to what it feared for men for their enemies were plainly making great preparations and a powerful league against them now there was among the Sabines one Apius Clausus a man whose wealth made him powerful as his personal prowess made him illustrious but who was most eminent for his lofty character and for his great eloquence he could not however escape the fate of all great men but was an object of jealous hate and when he tried to stop the war those who hated him charged him with trying to increase the power of Rome with a view to making himself tyrant and master of his own country perceiving that the multitude gave a ready ear to these stories and that he himself was obnoxious to the war party and the military he feared the issue but with a large and powerful coterie of friends and kinsmen to defend him continued his opposition this made the Sabines put off and delay the war Pubicula accordingly making it his business not only to know about these matters but also to forment and promote the faction kept some of his followers employed in bringing to Clausus from him such messages as this Pubicula thinks the two worthy and just a man to inflict any evil upon thy fellow citizens in self-defense even though thou art wronged by them but if thou wishest for thine own safety to change thine allegiance and flee from those who hate thee he will receive thee with public and private honors which are worthy of thine own excellence and splendor of Rome on repeated consideration of the matter this course seemed to Clausus the best that was open to him he therefore summoned his friends who in like manner persuaded many more to join him in taking five thousand families from their homes wives and children included the most peaceful folk among the Sabines of gentle and sedate lives he led them to Rome Pubicula knew beforehand of their coming and gave them an eager and kindly welcome emitting them to all rights and privileges for he at once incorporated the families in the Roman state and gave each two acres of land on the river Aniole to Clausus however he gave 25 acres of land and enrolled him among the senators this was the beginning of a political power which he used so wisely that he mounted to the highest dignity and acquired great influence the Claudian family which is descended from him is no less illustrious than any in Rome though the schism among the Sabines was thus removed by the emigration of these men their popular leaders would not suffer them to settle down into quiet but complained bitterly that Clausus becoming an exile and an enemy should bring to pass what he could not affect by his persuasions at home namely that Rome pay no penalty for her outrages setting out therefore with a large army they encamped near Fidani and placed 2,000 men at arms in ambush just outside Rome in wooded hollows their intention was that a few of their horsemen as soon as it was day should boldly ravage the country but these had been ordered whenever they approached the city and were attacked to retire gradually until they had drawn the enemy into the ampuscade that very day Pubicula learned of this plan from deserters and took measures accordingly dividing up his forces Pustumis Baubus his son-in-law while it was not yet evening went out with 3,000 men at arms occupied the hills under which the Sabines were lying in ambush and kept the enemy under observation Lucretius his colleague in the city the lightest armed and most impetuous troops was ordered to attack the enemy's horsemen as they ravaged the country he himself took the rest of the army and encircled the enemy in their camp favored by a heavy fog at the break of day Pustumius with loud shouts fell upon the ampuscade from the heights while Lucretius hurled his troops upon the horsemen as they rode down towards the city and Pubicula attacked the camp of the enemy the Sabines were worsted and undone wherever they were they made no defense but fled and the Romans straight away slew them the very hopes that they placed in one another proved most fatal to them for each party supposing that the other was safe had no thought of holding their ground in fighting but those in the camp ran towards those in the ampuscade while those on their part ran to those in the camp so that fugitives encountered fugitives and found those needing soaker from whom they expected soaker themselves and all the Sabines would have perished had not the neighboring city of Fidani afforded a refuge to some especially to those who fled from the camp when it was captured all who did not gain the city were either slain or brought back to Rome as prisoners this success the Romans although they were want to attribute all such great events to the influence of the gods considered to be the work of their general alone and the first thing his soldiers were heard to say was that Pubicula had delivered their enemies into their hands lame, blind and all but in prison to be dispatched by their swords great wealth also accrued to the people from the spoils and prisoners but Pubicula immediately after celebrating his triumph and handing the city over to the consuls appointed to succeed him died so far as it can possibly be achieved by men and women so that when he started his honorable and good he had brought his life to perfection the people as if they had done nothing to show their esteem for him while he was alive but owed him every homage to creed that his body should be buried at the public charge and that every man should contribute a quadrants toward the honor the women also by private agreement amongst themselves mourned a whole year for him with a mourning which was honorable by express vote of the citizens within the city near the so-called Velia and all his family were to have the privilege of burial there now however none of his family is actually buried there but the body is carried thither and set down and someone takes a burning torch and holds it under the buyer for an instant and then takes it away attesting by this act that the deceased has the right of burial there but relinquishes the honor and the body is borne away and of Pubicula part 2 part 20 of volume 1 of Plutarch's Parallel Lives this is the LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org volume 1 of Plutarch's Parallel Lives of the noble Greeks and Romans translated by Bernadotte Perrin comparison of Solon and Pubicula there is then something peculiar in this comparison and something which has not been true of any other thus far namely that the second imitated the first and the first bore witness for the second for it must be plain that the verdict concerning happiness which Solon presented to Croesus is more applicable to Pubicula than to Tellus Tellus whom Solon pronounced the most blessed man he knew because of his fortunate lot his virtue and his goodly offspring was not celebrated in Solon's poems as a good man nor did his children or any magistracy of his achieve a reputation whereas Pubicula while he lived was foremost among the Romans in influence and repute for virtue and since his death the most illustrious family lines of our own day like the Pubiculae the Mesalae and the Valeri have for 600 years the great glory of their noble birth to him Tellus moreover though he kept his post and fought like a brave man died at the hands of his enemies whereas Pubicula slew his enemies which is a better fortune than to be slain by them saw his country victorious through his efforts as consul and general and enjoyed honors and triumphs before he came to the end which Solon pronounced so enviable and blessed still further what Solon says to in arguing with him on the proper duration of human life may not an unlamented death be mine but unto friends let me be cause when dead for sorrow and for sighing argues Pubicula a happy man for when he died his loss filled not only his friends and kindred but the entire city numbering many tens of thousands with weeping and yearning and sorrow for the women of Rome mourned for him though they had lost a son or a brother or a common father wealth I desire to have says Solon but wrongfully to get it I do not wish believing that punishment would follow and Pubicula's wealth was not only not ill-got but also nobly spent in benefactions to the needy so that if Solon was the wisest Pubicula was the most happy of men since what Solon prayed for is the greatest and fairest of blessings these Pubicula was privileged to win and continued to enjoy until the end thus did Solon enhance the fame of Pubicula and Pubicula too in his political activities enhanced the fame of Solon by making him the fairest of examples for one who is arranging a democracy for he took away the arrogant powers of the consulship and made it gracious and acceptable to all and he adopted many of Solon's laws for instance he put the appointment of their rulers in the power of the people and gave defendants the right of appealing to the people as Solon to the jurors he did not indeed create a new senate as Solon did but he increased the one already existing to almost double its numbers and his appointment of quaisters over the public monies had a like origin its purpose was that the consul if a worthy officer might not be without leisure for his more important opportunities and if unworthy might not have greater opportunities for injustice by having both the administration and the treasury in his hands hatred of tyranny was more intense in Pubicula than in Solon for in case anyone attempted to usurp the power by Solon's law he could be punished only after conviction whereas Pubicula made it lawful to kill him before any trial moreover though Solon rightly and justly plumes himself on rejecting absolute power even when circumstances offered it to him and his fellow citizens were willing that he should take it he redounds no less to the honor of Pubicula that when he had received a tyrannical power he made it more democratic and did not use even the prerogatives which were his by right of possession and of the wisdom of such a course Solon seems to have been conscious even before Pubicula when he says that a people then followed the best obedience to its guides when it is neither humored nor oppressed too much Peculiar to Solon was his remission of debts and by this means especially he confirmed the liberties of the citizens for a quality under the laws is of no avail if the poor are robbed of it by their debts nay in the very places where they are supposed to exercise their liberties the most there they are most in subjection to the rich since in the courts the offices of state and in public debates they are under their orders and do them service and what is of greater moment here though sedition also follows an abolition of debts in this case alone by employing opportunity as it were a dangerous but powerful medicine Solon actually put an end to the sedition which was already rife for his own virtue and high repute prevailed over the overpute and odium of the measure as regards their political careers in general Solon's was the most brilliant in the beginning for he led the way and followed no man and it was alone and without colleagues that he affected the most and greatest of his public measures but in the ending the other was the more fortunate and enviable for Solon lived to see with his own eyes the dissolution of his polity while that of publicola preserved order in the city down to the civil wars Solon as soon as he had made the laws left them inscribed on wooden tablets and destitute of a defender and departed from Athens whereas publicola by remaining in the city serving as consul and busying himself in public affairs firmly and safely established his form of government and further though Solon knew beforehand of the designs of Pisces Stratus he was not able to hinder them but yielded to his tyranny in its incipiency whereas publicola subverted and drove out a kingly power which was strong with the might which many ages bring thus while exhibiting virtues equal to Solon's and a purpose identical with his he enjoyed a good fortune and an efficacious power which supplemented his virtues when we consider their military careers moreover, Diomachus of Plataia does not allow Solon even the conduct of the war against the Megarians as we have described it but publicola fighting and commanding in person the greatest struggles to a successful issue and still further comparing their political activities Solon in play so to speak and counterfeiting madness went forth to plead for the recovery of Salamis but publicola without any subterfuges ran the greatest risks set himself in opposition to the party of the Tarquins and detected their treachery then after being mainly instrumental in the capture and punishment of the traitors he not only drove out the tyrants themselves from the city but extirpated their very hopes of return and if he thus sturdily and resolutely confronted situations which call for active and spirited opposition still better did he deal with those which required peaceable intercourse and gentle persuasion as when he tactfully won over Porcena an invincible and formidable foe and made him a friend of Rome but here perhaps some will say that Solon won back Salamis for the Athenians when they had given it up whereas publicola relinquished territory which the Romans had acquired but we must view men's actions in the light of the times which call them forth the subtle statesmen will handle each issue that arises in the most feasible manner and often saves the whole by relinquishing apart and by yielding small advantages secures greater ones and so publicola in that instance by yielding the territory which belonged to others saved all that was assuredly his own and procured besides for those that were hard put to it to save their city the camp of their besiegers with all their stores he made his adversary judge in the controversy won his case and received besides what his people would gladly have given for the victory for Porcena put a stop to the war and left the Romans all his provisions for carrying it on owing to the confidence in their virtue with which their consul had inspired them end of comparison of Solon with publicola and end of Plutarch's lives of the ancient Greeks and Romans volume one