On the Agrarian Law (M. Tullius Cicero)

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	On the Agrarian Law Author: M. Tullius Cicero	Translator: C. D. Yonge
64	maiores de singulis magistratibus bis vos sententiam ferre voluerunt . nam cum centuriata lex censoribus ferebatur , cum curiata ceteris patriciis magistratibus , tum iterum de eisdem iudicabatur , ut esset reprehendendi potestas , si populum benefici sui paeniteret .	Our ancestors chose that you should give your votes twice about every magistrate. For as a centuriata lex was passed for the censors, and a curiata lex for the other patrician magistrates, by this means a decision was come to a second time about the same men, in order that the people might have an opportunity of correcting what they had done, if they repented of the honour they had conferred on any one.
65	nunc , Quirites , prima illa comitia tenetis , centuriata et tributa , curiata tantum auspiciorum causa remanserunt . hic autem tribunus plebis quia videbat potestatem neminem iniussu populi aut plebis posse habere , curiatis eam comitiis quae vos non initis confirmavit , tributa quae vestra erant sustulit . ita cum maiores binis comitiis voluerint vos de singulis magistratibus iudicare , hic homo popularis ne unam quidem populo comitiorum potestatem reliquit .	Now, because you have preserved the comitia centuriata and tributa, the curiata have remained only for the sake of the auspices. But this tribune of the people, because he saw that no man could possibly have any authority conferred on him without the authority of the burghers or of the commonalty, confirmed that authority which he proposed to give by the curiata comitia, with which you have nothing to do, and took away the comitia tributa which belonged to you. So, though your ancestors intended you to decide at two comitia about each magistrate, this man, so attached to the interests of the people, did not leave the people the power of even one comitia.
66	sed videte hominis religionem et diligentiam . vidit et perspexit sine curiata lege xviros potestatem habere non posse , quoniam per viiii tribus essent constituti ; iubet ferre de his legem curiatam ; praetori imperat . quam id ipsum absurde , nihil ad me attinet . iubet enim , qui primus sit praetor factus , eum legem curiatam ferre ; sin is ferre non possit , qui postremus sit , ut aut lusisse in tantis rebus aut profecto nescio quid spectasse videatur . verum hoc quod est aut ita perversum ut ridiculum , aut ita malitiosum ut obscurum sit , relinquamus ; ad religionem hominis revertamur . videt sine lege curiata nihil agi per xviros posse .	But just note the scrupulousness and the diligence of the man. He saw, and was thoroughly aware, that without a lex curiata the decemvirs could not have authority, since they were elected by only nine tribes. So he directs that there should be a lex curiata passed about them, and orders the praetor to propose it. How ridiculous such a contrivance was, it is no business of mine to say. For he orders that “he who has been elected first praetor, shall propose a lex curiata; but if he be able to propose it, then the last praetor shall do it.” So that he seems either to have been playing the fool in this business, or else to have been aiming at something I know not what. But, however, let us pass over this, which is either so perverse, or so ridiculous, or so malicious and cunning, as to be unintelligible, and return to the scrupulousness of the man.He sees that nothing can be done by the decemvirs except by a lex curiata.
67	quid postea , si ea lata non erit ? attendite ingenium . ' Tvm ei xviri ,' inquit , ' eodem ivre sint qvo qvi optima lege .' si hoc fieri potest ut in hac civitate quae longe iure libertatis ceteris civitatibus antecellit quisquam nullis comitiis imperium aut potestatem adsequi possit , quid attinet tertio capite legem curiatam ferre iubere , cum quarto permittas ut sine lege curiata idem iuris habeant quod haberent , si optima lege a populo essent creati ? reges constituuntur , non xviri , Quirites , itaque ab his initiis fundamentisque nascuntur , ut non modo cum magistratum gerere coeperint , sed etiam cum constituentur , omne vestrum ius , potestas libertasque tollatur .	What was to happen afterwards, if a lex curiata were not passed? Remark the ingenuity of the man. “Then,” says he, “the decemvirs shall be in the same condition as those who are appointed in the strictest accordance with the law.” If this can be brought about, that, in this city which is far superior to all other states in its rights of liberty, any one may be able to obtain either military command or civil authority without the sanction of any comitia, then what is the necessity for ordering in the third chapter that some one shall propose a lex curiata, when in the fourth chapter you permit men to have the same rights without a lex curiata, which they would have if they were elected by the burghers according to the strictest form of law? Kings are being appointed, O Romans, not decemvirs; and they are starting with such beginnings and on such foundations, that the whole of your rights, and powers, and liberties are destroyed not only from the moment that they begin to act, but from the moment that they are appointed.
68	at videte quam diligenter retineat ius tribuniciae potestatis . consulibus legem curiatam ferentibus a tribunis plebis saepe est intercessum — neque tamen nos id querimur , esse hanc tribunorum plebis potestatem ; tantum modo , si quis ea potestate temere est usus , furiosum existimamus —; hic tribunus plebis legi curiatae quam praetor ferat adimit intercedendi potestatem . atque hoc cum in eo reprehendendum est quod per tribunum plebis tribunicia potestas minuitur , tum in eo deridendum quod consuli , si legem curiatam non habet , attingere rem militarem non licet , hic , cui vetat intercedi , ei potestatem , etiam si intercessum sit , tamen eandem constituit quam si lata esset lex , ut non intellegam qua re aut hic vetet intercedere aut quemquam intercessurum putet , cum intercessio stultitiam intercessoris significatura sit , non rem impeditura .	But remark how carefully he preserves the rights of the tribunitian power. The consuls are often interrupted in proposing a lex curiata, by the intercession of the tribunes of the people. Not that we complain that the tribunes should have this power; only, if any one uses it in a random and inconsiderate manner, we form our own opinion. But this tribune of the people, by his lex curiata, which the praetor is to bring forward, takes away the power of intercession. And while he is made to be blamed for causing the tribunitian power to be diminished by his instrumentality, he is also to be laughed at, because a consul, if he be not invested with the authority by a lex curiata, has no power to interfere in military affairs; and yet he gives this man whom he prohibits from interceding, the very same power, even if the veto be interposed, as if a lex curiata had been passed. So that I am at a loss to understand either why he prohibits the intercession, or why he thinks that any one will intercede; as the intercession will only prove the folly of the intercessor, and will not hinder the business.
69	sint igitur xviri neque veris comitiis , hoc est , populi suffragiis , neque illis ad speciem atque ad usurpationem vetustatis per xxx lictores auspiciorum causa adumbratis constituti . videte nunc eos qui a vobis nihil potestatis acceperint quanto maioribus ornamentis adficiat quam omnes nos adfecti sumus quibus vos amplissimas potestates dedistis . iubet auspicia coloniarum deducendarum causa xviros habere pullarios que , ' eodem ivre ,' inquit , ' qvo habvervnt iiiviri lege Sempronia .' audes etiam , Rulle , mentionem facere legis Semproniae , nec te ea lex ipsa commonet iiiviros illos xxxv tribuum suffragio creatos esse ? et cum tu a Ti . Gracchi aequitate ac pudore longissime remotus sis , id quod dissimillima ratione factum sit eodem iure putas esse oportere ?	Let there then be decemvirs, appointed neither by the genuine comitia,—that is to say, by the votes of the people,—nor by that comitia convened in appearance, to keep up an ancient custom, by the thirty lictors for the sake of the auspices. See now, also, how much greater honours he confers on these men who have received no authority from you, than we have received, to whom you have given the most ample authority, He orders the decemvirs, who have the care of the auspices, to take auspices for the sake of conducting the colonies. “According,” says he, “to the same right which the triumvirs had by the Sempronian law.” Do you venture, O Rullus, even to make mention of the Sempronian law? and does not that law itself remind you that these triumvirs have been created by the suffrages of the tribes? And while you are very far removed from the justice and modesty of Tiberius Gracchus, do you think that a law made on so different a principle ought to have the same authority?
70	dat praeterea potestatem verbo praetoriam , re vera regiam ; definit in quinquennium , facit sempiternam ; tantis enim confirmat opibus et copiis ut invitis eripi nullo modo possit . deinde ornat apparitoribus , scribis , librariis , praeconibus , architectis , praeterea mulis , tabernaculis , centunculis , supellectili ; sumptum haurit ex aerario , suppeditat a sociis ; finitores ex equestri loco ducentos , vicenos singulorum stipatores corporis constituit , eosdem ministros et satellites potestatis . formam adhuc habetis , Quirites , et speciem ipsam tyrannorum ; insignia videtis potestatis , nondum ipsam potestatem . dixerit enim fortasse quispiam : ' quid me ista laedunt , scriba , lictor , praeco , pullarius ?' omnia sunt haec huius modi , Quirites , ut , ea qui habeat sine vestris suffragiis , aut rex non ferendus aut privatus furiosus esse videatur .	Besides all this, he gives them authority praetorian in name, but kingly in reality. He describes their power, as a power for five years; but he makes it perpetual. For he strengthens it with such bulwarks and defences that it will be quite impossible to deprive them of it against their own consent. Then he adorns them with apparitors, and secretaries, and clerks, and criers, and architects; besides that, with mules, and tents, and centuries, and all sorts of furniture; he draws money for their expenses from the treasury; he supplies them with more money from the allies; he appoints them two hundred surveyors from the equestrian body every year as their personal attendants, and also as ministers and satellites of their power. You have now, O Romans, the form and very appearance of tyrants; you see all the ensigns of power, but not yet the power itself. For, perhaps, some one may say, “Well, what harm do all those men, secretary, lictor, crier, and chicken-feeder do me?” I will tell you. These things are of such a nature that the man who has them without their being conferred by your vote, must seem either a monarch with intolerable power, or if he assumes them as a private individual, a madman.
71	perspicite quanta potestas permittatur ; non privatorum insaniam , sed intolerantiam regum esse dicetis . primum permittitur infinita potestas innumerabilis pecuniae conficiendae vestris vectigalibus non fruendis , sed alienandis ; deinde orbis terrarum gentiumque omnium datur cognitio sine consilio , poena sine provocatione , animadversio sine auxilio .	Just see what great authority they are invested with, and you will say that it is not the insanity of private individuals, but the immoderate arrogance of kings. First of all, they are entrusted with boundless power of acquiring enormous sums of money out of your revenues, not by farming them but by alienating them. In the next place, they are allowed to pursue an inquiry into the conduct of every country and of every nation, without any bench of judges; to punish without any right of appeal being allowed; and to condemn without there being any means of procuring a reversal of their sentence.
72	iudicare per quinquennium vel de consulibus vel de ipsis tribunis plebis poterunt ; de illis interea nemo iudicabit ; magistratus eis petere licebit , causam dicere non licebit ; emere agros a quibus volent et quos volent quam volent magno poterunt ; colonias deducere novas , renovare veteres , totam Italiam suis coloniis ut complere liceat permittitur ; omnis provincias obeundi , liberos populos agris multandi , regnorum vendendorum summa potestas datur ; cum velint , Romae esse , cum commodum sit , quacumque velint summo cum imperio iudicioque rerum omnium vagari ut liceat conceditur ; interea dissolvant iudicia publica , e consiliis abducant quos velint , singuli de maximis rebus iudicent , quaestori permittant , finitorem mittant , ratum sit quod finitor uni illi a quo missus erit renuntiaverit .	They will be able for five years to sit in judgment on the consuls, or even on the tribunes of the people themselves; but all that time no one will be able to sit in judgment on them. They will be allowed to fill magisterial offices; but they will not be allowed to be prosecuted. They will have power to purchase lands, from whomsoever they choose, whatever they choose, and at whatever price they choose. They are allowed to establish new colonies, to recruit old ones, to fill all Italy with their colonists; they have absolute authority for visiting every province, for depriving free people of their lands, for giving or taking away kingdoms, whenever they please. They may be at Rome when it is convenient to them; but they have a right also to wander about wherever they like with supreme command, and with a power of sitting in judgment on everything. They are allowed to put an end to all criminal trials; to remove from the tribunals whoever they think fit; to decide by themselves on the most important matters; to delegate their power to a quaestor; to send about surveyors; and to ratify whatever the surveyor has reported to that single decemvir by whom he has been sent.
73	verbum mihi deest , Quirites , cum ego hanc potestatem regiam appello , sed profecto maior est quaedam . nullum enim regnum fuit umquam quod non se , si minus iure aliquo , at regionibus tamen certis contineret . hoc vero infinitum est , quo et regna omnia et vestrum imperium , quod latissime patet , et ea quae partim libera a vobis , partim etiam ignorata vobis sunt , permissu legis continentur . datur igitur eis primum ut liceat ea vendere omnia de quibus vendendis senatus consulta facta sunt M . Tullio Cn . Cornelio consulibus post ve ea .	It is a defect in my language, O Romans, when I call this power a kingly power. For in truth, it is something much more considerable; for there never was any kingly power that, if it was not defined by some express law, was not at least understood to be subject to certain limitations. But this power is absolutely unbounded; it is one within which all kingly powers, and your own imperial authority, which is of such wide extent, and all other powers, whether freely exercised by your permission, or existing only by your tacit countenance, are, by express permission of the law, comprehended. The first thing which is given to them is, a liberty of selling everything concerning the sale of which resolutions of the senate were passed in the consulship of Marcus Tullius and Cnaeus Cornelius or afterwards.
74	cur hoc tam est obscurum atque caecum ? quid ? ista omnia de quibus senatus censuit nominatim in lege perscribi nonne potuerunt ? duae sunt huius obscuritatis causae , Quirites , una pudoris , si quis pudor esse potest in tam insigni impudentia , altera sceleris . nam neque ea quae senatus vendenda censuit nominatim audet appellare ; sunt enim loca publica urbis , sunt sacella quae post restitutam tribuniciam potestatem nemo attigit , quae maiores in urbe partim ornamenta urbis , partim periculi perfugia esse voluerunt . haec lege tribunicia xviri vendent . accedet eo mons Gaurus , accedent salicta ad Minturnas , adiungetur etiam illa via vendibilis Herculanea multarum deliciarum et magnae pecuniae , permulta alia quae senatus propter angustias aerari vendenda censuit , consules propter invidiam non vendiderunt .	Why is this so obscure and so concealed? What is the meaning of it? Could not those matters concerning which the senate passed resolutions, be mentioned in the law by name? There are two reasons for this obscurity, O Romans; one, a reason of modesty, if there can be any modesty in such inordinate impudence; the other, a reason of wickedness. For it does not dare to name those things which the senate resolved were to he sold, mentioning them by name; for they are public places in the city, they are shrines, which since the restoration of the tribunitian power no one has touched, and which our ancestors partly intended to be refuges in times of danger in the heart of the city. But all these things the decemvirs will sell by this law of this tribune of the people. Besides them, there will be Mount Gaurus; besides that, there will be the osier-beds at Minturnae; besides them, that very salable road to Herculaneum, a road of many delights and of considerable value; and many other things which the senate considered it advisable to sell on account of the straits to which the treasury was reduced, but which the consuls did not sell on account of the unpopularity which would have attended such a measure.
75	verum haec fortasse propter pudorem in lege reticentur . sed illud magis est credendum et pertimescendum quod audaciae xvirali corrumpendarum tabularum publicarum fingendorumque senatus consultorum , quae facta numquam sint , cum ex eo numero qui per eos annos consules fuerunt multi mortui sint , magna potestas permittitur . Nisi forte nihil est aequum nos de eorum audacia suspicari quorum cupiditati nimium angustus orbis terrarum esse videatur .	However, perhaps it is owing to shame that there is no mention of all these things in the law. What is much more to be guarded against, what is a much more real object of fear, is, that great power is permitted to the boldness of these decemvirs of tampering with the public documents, and forging decrees of the Senate, which have never been made; as a great many of those men who have been consuls of late years are dead. Unless, perhaps, I may be told, that it is not reasonable for you to entertain any suspicions of their audacity, for whose cupidity the whole world appears too narrow.
76	habetis unum venditionis genus quod magnum videri vobis intellego ; sed attendite animos ad ea quae consequuntur ; hunc quasi gradum quendam atque aditum ad cetera factum intellegetis . ' Qvi agri , qvae loca , aedificia .' quid est praeterea ? multa in mancipiis , in pecore , auro , argento , ebore , veste , supellectili , ceteris rebus . quid dicam ? invidiosum putasse hoc fore , si omnia nominasset ? non metuit invidiam . quid ergo ? longum putavit et timuit ne quid praeteriret ; ascripsit ' alivdve qvid ,' qua brevitate rem nullam esse exceptam videtis . quicquid igitur sit extra Italiam quod publicum populi Romani factum sit L . Sulla Q . Pompeio consulibus aut postea , id xviros iubet vendere .	You see now one kind of sale, which I am aware appears very important to you; but pray give your attention to what follows, and you will see that this is only a kind of step and road to other measures. “Whatever lands, whatever places, whatever buildings.” What is there besides? There is much property in slaves, in cattle, in bullion, in money, in ivory, in robes, in furniture, in all sorts of other things. What shall that say? Did he think it would cause unpopularity to name all these things? He was not afraid of unpopularity. What then was his motive? He thought the catalogue a long one, and he was afraid of passing over anything; so he wrote in addition, “or anything else;” by which brief formula you see that nothing can be omitted. Whatever, therefore, there is out of Italy, that has been made the property of the Roman people by Lucius Sulla and Quintus Pompeius in their consulships, or afterwards, that he orders the decemvirs to sell.
77	hoc capite , Quirites , omnis gentis , nationes , provincias , regna xvirum dicioni , iudicio potestatique permissa et condonata esse dico . primum hoc quaero , ecqui tandem locus usquam sit quem non possint xviri dicere publicum populi Romani esse factum . nam cum idem possit iudicare qui dixerit , quid est quod non liceat ei dicere cui liceat eidem iudicare ? Commodum erit Pergamum , Smyrnam , Trallis , Ephesum , Miletum , Cyzicum , totam denique Asiam quae post L . Sullam Q . Pompeium consules recuperata sit populi Romani factam esse dicere ;	By this clause, I say, O Romans, that all nations, and people, and provinces, and kingdoms, are given up and handed over to the dominion, and judgment, and power of the decemvirs. This is the first thing; for I ask what place there is anywhere in the world which the decemvirs may not be able to say has been made the property of the Roman people? For, when the same person who has made the assertion is also to judge of the truth of it, what is there which he may not say, when he is also the person to decide in the question? It will be very convenient to say, that Pergamus, and Smyrna, and Tralles, and Ephesus, and Miletus, and Cyzicus, and, in short, all Asia, which has been recovered since the consulship of Lucius Sulla and Quintus Pompeius, has become the property of the Roman people.
78	utrum oratio ad eius rei disputationem deerit , an , cum idem et disseret et iudicabit , impelli non poterit ut falsum iudicet ? an , si condemnare Asiam nolet , terrorem damnationis et minas non quanti volet aestimabit ? quid ? quod disputari contra nullo pacto potest , quod iam statutum a nobis est et iudicatum , quoniam hereditatem iam crevimus , regnum Bithyniae , quod certe publicum est populi Romani factum , num quid causae est quin omnis agros , urbis , stagna , portus , totam denique Bithyniam xviri vendituri sint ?	Will language fail him in which to assert such a doctrine? or, when the same person makes the statement and judges of the truth of it, will it be impossible to induce him to give a false decision? or, if he is unwilling to pass sentence on Asia, will he not estimate at his own price its release from the dread of condemnation? What will he say—(and it is quite impossible for any one to argue against this, since it has been already settled and decided by you, and since we have already voted it to be our inheritance,)—what will he say to the kingdom of Bithynia? which has undoubtedly become the public property of the Roman people. Is there any reason why the decemvirs should not sell all the lands, and cities, and military stations and harbours, and in short all Bithynia?
79	quid ? Mytilenae , quae certe vestrae , Quirites , belli lege ac victoriae iure factae sunt , urbs et natura ac situ et descriptione aedificiorum et pulchritudine in primis nobilis , agri iucundi et fertiles , nempe eodem capite inclusi continentur .	What will they do at Mitylene? which has undoubtedly become yours, O Romans, by the laws of war and by the rights of victory; a city both by nature and situation, and by the description of its houses, and by its general beauty, most eminently remarkable; and its lands are pleasant and productive. That city, forsooth, comes under the same head.
80	quid ? Alexandrea cunctaque Aegyptus ut occulte latet , ut recondita est , ut furtim tota xviris traditur ! quis enim vestrum hoc ignorat , dici illud regnum testamento regis Alexae populi Romani esse factum ? hic ego consul populi Romani non modo nihil iudico sed ne quid sentiam quidem profero . Magna enim mihi res non modo ad statuendum sed etiam ad dicendum videtur esse . video qui testamentum factum esse confirmet ; auctoritatem senatus exstare hereditatis aditae sentio tum cum Alexa mortuo nos tris legatos Tyrum misimus , qui ab illo pecuniam depositam recuperarent .	What will become of Alexandria, and of all Egypt? How much it is out of sight! how completely is it hidden! how stealthily is it abandoned entirely to the decemvirs! For who is there among you who is ignorant that that kingdom has become the property of the Roman people by the will of king Alexander? Here now I, the consul of the Roman people, not only give no decision, but I do not even express my opinion. For it appears to me a most important matter not merely to decide oil, but even to speak of. I see a man who assures me that the will was certainly made; I know that there is a resolution of the senate extant to the effect that it accepted the inheritance; which was passed when, after the death of Alexander, we sent ambassadors to Tyre, to recover for the people money which had been deposited there by him.
81	haec L . Philippum saepe in senatu confirmasse memoria teneo ; eum qui regnum illud teneat hoc tempore neque genere neque animo regio esse inter omnis fere video convenire . dicitur contra nullum esse testamentum , non oportere populum Romanum omnium regnorum appententem videri , demigraturos in illa loca nostros homines propter agrorum bonitatem et omnium rerum copiam .	I recollect that Lucius Philippus has often stated these things positively in the senate. I see that is agreed upon by all men, that he, who is at this present moment in possession of the kingdom, is neither of the royal family nor of any royal disposition. It is said, on the other hand, that there is no will; that the Roman people ought not to seem to covet every kingdom under the sun; that our citizens will emigrate to those regions, on account of the fertility of the soil and the abundance of everything which exists there.
82	hac tanta de re P . Rullus cum ceteris xviris conlegis suis iudicabit , et utrum iudicabit ? nam utrumque ita magnum est ut nullo modo neque concedendum neque ferendum sit . volet esse popularis ; populo Romano adiudicabit . ergo idem ex sua lege vendet Alexandream , vendet Aegyptum , urbis copiosissimae pulcherrimorumque agrorum iudex , arbiter , dominus , rex denique opulentissimi regni reperietur . non sumet sibi tantum , non appetet ; iudicabit Alexandream regis esse , a populo Romano abiudicabit .	Will Publius Rullus, with the rest of the decemvirs, his colleagues, decide upon so important an affair as this? And which way will he decide? For each alternative is so important that it is quite impossible for you to entrust the decision to him, or to put up with his sentence. Will he desire to be popular? He will adjudge the kingdom to the Roman people. In consequence, he will also, in accordance with his own law, sell Alexandria, and sell Egypt. He will be found to be the judge, the arbiter, the master, of a most wealthy city, and of a most beautiful country; yes, he will be found to be the king of a most opulent kingdom. Will he abstain from taking all this? from desiring all this? He will decide that Alexandria belongs to the king; he will by his sentence deprive the Roman people of it.
83	primum cur de populi Romani hereditate xviri iudicent , cum vos volueritis de privatis hereditatibus cviros iudicare ? deinde quis aget causam populi Romani ? ubi res ista agetur ? qui sunt isti xviri , quos prospiciamus regnum Alexandreae Ptolomaeo gratis adiudicaturos ? quod si Alexandrea petebatur , cur non eosdem cursus hoc tempore quos L . Cotta L . Torquato consulibus cucurrerunt ? cur non aperte ut antea , cur non item ut tum , derecto et palam regionem illam petiverunt ? an qui etesiis , qui per cursum rectum regnum tenere non potuerunt , nunc caecis tenebris et caligine se Alexandream perventuros arbitrati sunt ?	Now, in the first place, shall decemvirs give a decision about the inheritance of the Roman people, when you require centumvirs to judge in the case of private inheritances? In the next place, who is to plead the cause of the Roman people? Where is the cause to be tried? Who are those decemvirs whom we think likely to adjudge the kingdom of Alexandria to Ptolemy for nothing? But, if Alexandria was the object, why did not they at this time proceed by the same course which they adopted in the consulship of Lucius Cotta and Lucius Torquatus? Why did they not proceed openly, as they did before? Why did they not act as they did when they before sought that country, in a straightforward and open manner? Did they, who, when they had a fair wind, could not hold their course straight on to the kingdom they coveted, think that they could reach Alexandria amid foul mists and darkness?
84	atque illud circumspicite vestris mentibus una , Quirites . legatos nostros , homines auctoritate tenui , qui rerum privatarum causa legationes liberas obeunt , tamen exterae nationes ferre vix possunt . grave est enim nomen imperi atque id etiam in levi persona pertimescitur , propterea quod vestro , non suo nomine , cum hinc egressi sunt , abutuntur . quid censetis , cum isti xviri cum imperio , cum fascibus , cum illa delecta finitorum iuventute per totum orbem terrarum vagabuntur , quo tandem animo , quo metu , quo periculo miseras nationes futuras ?	Just revolve these things in your minds. . . . . Foreign nations can scarcely endure our lieutenants, though they are men of but slight authority, when they go on free lieutenancies, on account of some private business. For the name of power is a hard one to bear, and is dreaded even in ever so inconsiderable a person; because, when they have once left Rome they conduct their proceedings not in their own name, but in yours. What do you suppose will happen, when those decemvirs wander all over the world with their supreme power, and their faces, and their chosen band of surveyors? What do you suppose will be the feelings, what the alarm, what the actual danger of those unhappy nations?