6.
Macedonia was assigned by lot to Publius Sulpicius as his province, and he submitted to the popular assembly the question whether they wished and ordered that war be declared upon King Philip and the Macedonians over whom he ruled, on account of the injuries he had inflicted and the war he had made on the allies of the Roman people.
[2]
To the other consul, Aurelius, the province of Italy [p. 19]was assigned.
[3]
Next the praetors1 received their2 assignments, Gaius Sergius Plautus the praetorship of the city, Quintus Fulvius Gillo the governorship of Sicily, while Bruttium fell to Quintus Minucius Rufus and Gaul to Lucius Furius Purpurio. The motion regarding the Macedonian war was defeated at the first meeting of the assembly by the votes of almost all the centuries.3
[4]
This action was taken spontaneously by men who were worn out by a war of long duration and great severity, so weary were they of hardships and perils; furthermore, Quintus Baebius, the tribune of the plebs, pursuing the once-usual course4 of attacking the Fathers, had taunted them with sowing the seeds of war upon war, that the common people might never enjoy peace.
[5]
The senate was annoyed at this; the tribune was assailed with abuse in the senate, and each member independently urged the consul to summon the assembly again to consider the motion, to upbraid the people for its supineness, and to make clear what danger and
[6]
disgrace such postponement of the war would cause.
1 The praetorship had been established in 366 B.C.; a second praetor was added in 242 B.C. (Per. XIX), and two more in 227 B.C. (XXII. xxxv. 5). One of them, the praetor urbanus (see note to iv. 1 above), tried cases in which only Roman citizens were involved; a second was frequently assigned to to preside over cases between citizens and aliens (praetor peregrinus); the rest were given the less important territorial provinces.
2 B.C. 200
3 The comitia centuriata consisted of units of (theoretically) one hundred men each, each century having one vote.
4 The tribunate was originally created to provide protection for the plebeians against aristocratic injustice. The tribunes, however, had gradually been converted into agents of the aristocracy, since the senate learned that their power could be used against, as well as for, the commons. Baebius has resumed the original policy of opposition to and obstruction of senatorial measures.
Livy. Books XXXI-XXXIV with an English Translation. Cambridge. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1935: no copyright notice.
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