[16]
I do assert to you, O Romans, that by this beautiful
agrarian law, by this law calculated solely for the good of the people, nothing whatever is
given to you, everything is sacrificed to a few particular men; that lands are displayed
before the eyes of the Roman people, liberty is taken away from them; that the fortunes of
some private individuals are increased, the public wealth is exhausted; and lastly, which is
the most scandalous thing of all, that by means of a tribune of the people, whom our
ancestors designed to be the protector and guardian of liberty, kings are being established
in the city. And when I have shown to you all the grounds for this statement, if they appear
to you to be erroneous, I will yield to your authority, I will abandon my own opinion, but if
you become aware that plots are laid against your liberty, under a pretence of liberality,
then do not hesitate, now that you have a consul to assist you, to defend that liberty which
was earned by the sweat and blood of your ancestors, and handed down to you, without any
trouble on your part.
M. Tullius Cicero. The Orations of Marcus Tullius Cicero, literally translated by C. D. Yonge, B. A. London. Henry G. Bohn, York Street, Covent Garden. 1856.
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