Читать книгу Famous Men of Rome - John H. Haaren - Страница 12

I

One of the great men of Rome not long after the banishment of the Tarquins was Caius Marcius. He was a member of a noble family, and from his youth he had been noted for his bravery.

In his time there was a war between the Romans and the Volscians, a people of a district in Latium. The Romans made an attack on Corioli, the capital city of the Volscians, but were defeated and driven back. Caius Marcius reproached the Roman soldiers for running from the enemy. His words made them ashamed and they turned again to the fight. With Caius at their head they sent the Volscians flying back into the city. Caius followed the enemy to the gates, which were partly open. When he saw this he shouted to the Romans:

“The gates are open for us; let us not be afraid to enter!”

Caius himself sprang in and kept the gates open for the Romans. After a short fight the city was taken.

Then everybody said that it was Caius who had taken Corioli, and that he should be called after the name of the city he had won. So ever afterward he was known as Coriolanus.

II

But though Coriolanus was a brave soldier and always ready to fight for Rome, he had some qualities that were not so good. He had great contempt for the common people, and he took part with those who tried to oppress them.

Only a little while before the taking of Corioli, there was a serious trouble between the people and the patricians. A great many of the people earned their living by farming. But when there was a war the strong men had to become soldiers, and as Rome was almost constantly at war the men were nearly always away from their farms. Very often, therefore, they had to borrow money to support their families while they themselves were away fighting, for at this time Roman soldiers got no regular pay.

Now it was the rich patricians who loaned the money, and if it was not paid back at the time agreed upon they could put the people who owed it in jail, or they could sell their wives and children as slaves.

In this way the plebeians often suffered much hardship. At last a great number of them resolved to leave Rome and make a settlement for themselves somewhere else in Italy. The patricians did not like this very much, for if the common people went away there would be a scarcity of soldiers for the army. So the Senate, after thinking the matter over, proposed that the plebeians should elect officers of their own, to be called tribunes, who should have power to veto laws they did not like, that is, prevent them from being passed. The word veto, which is Latin for I forbid, is used in the same way in our own country. The President of the United States and the governors of some states have, within certain limits, power to prevent the passing of laws they do not approve. This is called the veto power.