On the Agrarian Law (M. Tullius Cicero)

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	On the Agrarian Law Author: M. Tullius Cicero	Translator: C. D. Yonge
85	est in imperio terror ; patientur . est in adventu sumptus ; ferent . imperabitur aliquid muneris ; non recusabunt . illud vero quantum est , Quirites , cum is xvir qui aliquam in urbem aut exspectatus ut hospes aut repente ut dominus venerit illum ipsum locum quo venerit , illam ipsam sedem hospitalem in quam erit deductus publicam populi Romani esse dicet ! at quanta calamitas populi , si dixerit , quantus ipsi quaestus , si negarit ! atque idem qui haec appetunt queri non numquam solent omnis terras Cn . Pompeio atque omnia maria esse permissa . simile vero est multa committi et condonari omnia , labori et negotio praeponi an praedae et quaestui , mitti ad socios liberandos an ad opprimendos ! denique , si qui est honos singularis , nihilne interest , utrum populus Romanus eum cui velit deferat , an is impudenter populo Romano per legis fraudem surripiatur ?	Is there any terror in absolute power? they will endure it;—is there any expense entailed by the arrival of such men? they will bear it;—are any presents exacted from them? they will not refuse them. But what a business is that, O Romans, when a decemvir, who either has come to some city after being expected, as a guest, or unexpectedly, as a master, pronounces that very place to which he has come, that identical hospitable house in which he is received, to be the public property of the Roman people? How great will be the misery of the people if he says that it is so! How great will be his own private gain, if he says that it is not! And the same men who desire all this, are accustomed sometimes to complain that every land and every sea has been put under the power of Cnaeus Pompeius. But are these two cases, the one, of many things being entrusted to a man, the other, of everything being sacrificed to him, at all similar? Is there any resemblance between a man's being appointed as chief manager of a business requiring toil and labour, and a man's having the chief share in booty and gain allotted to him? in a man's being sent to deliver allies, and a man's being sent to oppress them? Lastly, if there be airy extraordinary honour in question, does it make no difference whether the Roman people confers that honour on any one it chooses, or whether he impudently filches it from the Roman people by an underhand trick of law?
86	intellexistis quot res et quantas xviri legis permissu vendituri sint . non est satis . Cum se sociorum , cum exterarum nationum , cum regum sanguine implerint , incidant nervos populi Romani , adhibeant manus vectigalibus vestris , inrumpant in aerarium . sequitur enim caput , quo capite ne permittit quidem , si forte desit pecunia , quae tanta ex superioribus recipi potest ut deesse non debeat , sed plane , quasi ea res vobis saluti futura sit , ita cogit atque imperat ut xviri vestra vectigalia vendant nominatim , Quirites .	You have now seen how many things and what valuable things the decemvirs are likely to sell with the sanction of the law. That is not enough. When they have sated themselves with the blood of the allies, and of foreign nations, and of kings, they will then cut the sinews of the Roman people; they will lay hands on your revenues; they will break into your treasury. For a clause follows, in which he is not content with permitting, if by chance any money should be wanting, (which, however, can be amassed in such quantities from the effect of the previous clauses, that it ought not to be wanting,) but which actually (as if that was likely to be the salvation of you all) orders and compels the decemvirs to sell all your revenues, naming each item separately.
87	eam tu mihi ex ordine recita de legis scripto populi Romani auctionem ; quam me hercule ego praeconi huic ipsi luctuosam et acerbam praedicationem futuram puto .— Avctio — Vt in suis rebus , ita in re publica luxuriosus est nepos , qui prius silvas vendat quam vineas ! Italiam percensuisti ; perge in Siciliam .— nihil est in hac provincia quod aut in oppidis aut in agris maiores nostri proprium nobis reliquerint quin id venire iubeat .	And do you now read to me in regular order, the catalogue of the property of the Roman people which is for sale according to the written provisions of this law. A catalogue which I think, in truth, will be miserable and grievous to the very crier himself. He is as prodigal a spendthrift with regard to the property of the republic, as a private individual is with regard to his own estate, who sells his woods, before he sells his vineyards. You hare gone all through Italy, now go on into Sicily. There is nothing in that province which your ancestors have left to you as your own property, either in the towns, or in the fields, which he does not order to be sold.
88	quod partum recenti victoria maiores vobis in sociorum urbibus ac finibus et vinculum pacis et monumentum belli reliquerunt , id vos ab illis acceptum hoc auctore vendetis ? hic mihi parumper mentis vestras , Quirites , commovere videor , dum patefacio vobis quas isti penitus abstrusas insidias se posuisse arbitrantur contra Cn . Pompei dignitatem . et mihi , quaeso , ignoscite , si appello talem virum saepius . vos mihi praetori biennio ante , Quirites , hoc eodem in loco personam hanc imposuistis ut , quibuscumque rebus possem , illius absentis dignitatem vobiscum una tuerer . feci adhuc quae potui , neque familiaritate illius adductus nec spe honoris atque amplissimae dignitatis , quam ego , etsi libente illo , tamen absente illo per vos consecutus sum .	All that property, which, having been gained by their recent victory, your ancestors left to you in the cities and territories of the allies, as both a bond of peace and a monument of war, will you now, though you received it from them, sell it at this man's instigation? Here for a moment I seem, O Romans, to move your feelings, while I make plain to you the plots when they think have escaped every one's notice, as having been laid by them against the dignity of Cnaeus Pompeius. And, I beseech you, pardon me if I am forced to make frequent mention of that man's name. You, O Romans, imposed this character on me, two years ago, in this very same place, and bound me to share with you in the protection of his dignity during his absence, in whatever manner I could. I have hitherto done all that I could, not because I was persuaded to it by my intimacy with him, nor from any hope of honour; or of any most honourable dignity; which I have gained by your means, in his absence, though no doubt with his perfect goodwill.
89	quam ob rem , cum intellegam totam hanc fere legem ad illius opes evertendas tamquam machinam comparari , et resistam consiliis hominum et perficiam profecto , quod ego video , ut id vos universi non solum videre verum etiam tenere possitis .	Wherefore, when I perceive that nearly the whole of this law is made ready, as if it were an engine, for the object of overthrowing his power, I will both resist the designs of the men who have contrived it, and I will enable you not only to perceive, but to be entire masters of the whole plot which I now see in preparation.
90	iubet venire quae Attalensium , quae Phaselitum , quae Olympenorum fuerint , agrumque Aperensem et Oroandicum et Gedusanum . haec P . Servili imperio et victoria , clarissimi viri , vestra facta sunt . adiungit agros Bithyniae regios quibus nunc publicani fruuntur ; deinde Attalicos agros in Cherroneso , in Macedonia qui regis Philippi sive Persae fuerunt , qui item a censoribus locati sunt et certissimum vectigal adferunt .	He orders everything to be sold which belonged to the people of Attalia, and of Phaselus, and of Olympus, and the land of Agera, of Orindia, and of Gedusa. All this became your property owing to the campaigns and victory of that most illustrious man, Publius Servilius. He adds the royal domain of Bithynia, which is at present farmed by the public contractors; after that, he adds the lands belonging to Attalus in the Chersonesus; and those in Macedonia, which belonged to king Philip or king Perses; which also were let out to contractors by the censors, and which are a most certain revenue.
91	ascribit eidem auctioni Corinthios agros opimos et fertilis , et Cyrenensis qui Apionis fuerunt , et agros in Hispania propter Carthaginem novam et in Africa ipsam veterem Carthaginem vendit , quam videlicet P . Africanus non propter religionem sedum illarum ac vetustatis de consili sententia consecravit , nec ut ipse locus eorum qui cum hac urbe de imperio decertarunt vestigia calamitatis ostenderet , sed non fuit tam diligens quam est Rullus , aut fortasse emptorem ei loco reperire non potuit . verum inter hos agros captos veteribus bellis virtute summorum imperatorum adiungit regios agros Mithridatis , qui in Paphlagonia , qui in Ponto , qui in Cappadocia fuerunt , ut eos xviri vendant . itane vero ?	He also puts up to auction the lands of the Corinthians, rich and fertile lands; and those of the Cyrenaeans, which did belong to Apion; and the lands in Spain near Carthagena; and those in Africa near the old Carthage itself—a place which Publius Africanus consecrated, not on account of any religious feeling for the place itself and for its antiquity, but in accordance with the advice of his counselors, in order that the place itself might bear record of the disasters of that people which had contended with us for the empire of the world. But Scipio was not as diligent as Rullus is; or else, perhaps, he could not find a purchaser for that place. However, among these royal districts, taken in our ancient wars by the consummate valour of our generals, he adds the royal lands of Mithridates, which were in Paphlagonia, and in Pontus, and in Cappadocia, and orders the decemvirs to sell them.
92	non legibus datis , non auditis verbis imperatoris , nondum denique bello confecto , cum rex Mithridates amisso exercitu regno expulsus tamen in ultimis terris aliquid etiam nunc moliatur atque ab invicta Cn . Pompei manu Maeote et illis paludibus et itinerum angustiis atque altitudine montium defendatur , cum imperator in bello versetur , in locis autem illis etiam nunc belli nomen reliquum sit , eos agros quorum adhuc penes Cn . Pompeium omne iudicium et potestas more maiorum debet esse xviri vendent ?	Is it so indeed? when no law has been passed to that effect, when the words of our commander-in-chief have not yet been heard, when the war is not yet over, when king Mithridates, having lost his army, having been driven from his kingdom, is even now planning something against us in the most distant corners of the earth, and while he is still defended by the Maeotis, and by those marshes, and by the narrow defiles through which the only passes lie in those countries, and by the height of the mountains, from the invincible band of Cnaeus Pompeius; when our general is actually engaged in the war against him; and while the name of war still lingers in those districts; shall the decemvirs sell those lands over which the military command and civil authority of Cnaeus Pompeius still extends and ought to extend, according to the principles and usages of our ancestors?
93	et , credo , P . Rullus — is enim sic se gerit ut sibi iam xvir designatus esse videatur — ad eam auctionem potissimum proficiscetur !	And, I make no doubt, Publius Rullus (for he now conducts himself in such a manner as shows that he already fancies himself a decemvir elect) will hasten to attend that auction in preference to every other.
94	is videlicet , ante quam veniat in Pontum , litteras ad Cn . Pompeium mittet , quarum ego iam exemplum ab istis compositum esse arbitror : ' P . Servilivs Rvllvs tribvnvs plebis xvir s . d . Cn . Pompeio Cn . f .' non credo ascripturum esse ' Magno ,' non enim videtur id quod imminuere lege conatur concessurus verbo . ' te volo cvrare vt mihi Sinopae praesto sis avxilivmqve addvcas , dvm eos agros qvos tv tvo labore cepisti ego mea lege vendam .' an Pompeium non adhibebit ? in eius provincia vendet manubias imperatoris ? ponite ante oculos vobis Rullum in Ponto inter nostra atque hostium castra hasta posita cum suis formosis finitoribus auctionantem .	He, forsooth, before he arrives in Pontus, will send letters to Cnaeus Pompeius, of which I suppose a copy has already been composed in these terms:—“Publius Servilius Rullus, tribune of the people, decemvir, to Cnaeus Pompeius, the son of Cnaeus, greeting.” I do not suppose that he will add “Magnus;” for it is not likely that he will grant him by a word that dignity which he is endeavouring to diminish. “I wish you to take care to meet me at Sinope, and to bring me assistance, while I am selling, in accordance with the provisions of my law, those lands which you acquired by your labour.” Or will he not invite Pompeius? Will he sell the spoils of the general in his own province? Just place before your eyes Rullus, in Pontus, holding his auction between your camp and that of the enemy, and knocking down lands surrounded by his beautiful band of surveyors.
95	neque in hoc solum inest contumelia , quae vehementer et insignis est et nova , ut ulla res parta bello nondum legibus datis etiam tum imperatore bellum administrante non modo venierit verum locata sit . plus spectant homines certe quam contumeliam ; sperant , si concessum sit inimicis Cn . Pompei cum imperio , cum iudicio omnium rerum , cum infinita potestate , cum innumerabili pecunia non solum illis in locis vagari verum etiam ad ipsius exercitum pervenire , aliquid illi insidiarum fieri , aliquid de eius exercitu , copiis , gloria detrahi posse . putant , si quam spem in Cn . Pompeio exercitus habeat aut agrorum aut aliorum commodorum , hanc non habiturum , cum viderit earum rerum omnium potestatem ad xviros esse translatam .	Nor does the insult consist solely in this, though this is very preposterous, and very unprecedented, that anything which has been acquired in war, while the general is still carrying on the war, should be sold, or even let. But these men have something more in view than mere insult. They hope, if it is allowed to the enemies of Cnaeus Pompeius, not only to stroll about other countries, but even to come to his very army with absolute authority, with a power of sitting as judges in every case, with boundless power, and with countless sums of money, that some plot may be laid against him himself; and that something may be taken from his army, or power, or renown. They think that, if the army reposes any hope in Cnaeus Pompeius with respect to either lands, or any other advantages, it will do so no longer when it sees that the supreme power in all those matters is transferred to the decemvirs.
96	patior non moleste tam stultos esse qui haec sperent , tam impudentis qui conentur ; illud queror , tam me ab eis esse contemptum ut haec portenta me consule potissimum cogitarent . atque in omnibus his agris aedificiisque vendendis permittitur xviris ut vendant ' qvibvscvmqve in locis .' O perturbatam rationem , o libidinem effrenatam , o consilia dissoluta atque perdita !	I am not concerned at those men being so foolish, as to hope for these things; and so impudent, as to attempt to cause them. What I do complain of is, that I am so much despised by them, that they should select the period of my consulship, of all times in the world, for seeking to bring about such prodigious absurdities. And in the sale of all these lands and houses leave is given to the decemvirs “to hold their sales in whatever places they think fit.” Oh their perverted senses! Oh their licentiousness, so necessary to be checked! Oh their profligate and wicked intentions!
97	vectigalia locare nusquam licet nisi in hac urbe , hoc ex loco , hac vestrum frequentia . venire nostras res proprias et in perpetuum a nobis abalienari in Paphlagoniae tenebris atque in Cappadociae solitudine licebit ?	It is not lawful to let the revenues anywhere except in this city, in this very spot, in the presence of this assembly here present. Shall it be lawful for your own property to be sold and alienated from you for ever in the darkness or Paphlagonia, or in the deserts of Cappadocia?
98	L . Sulla cum bona indemnatorum civium funesta illa auctione sua venderet et se praedam suam diceret vendere , tamen ex hoc loco vendidit nec , quorum oculos offendebat , eorum ipsorum conspectum fugere ausus est ; xviri vestra vectigalia non modo non vobis , Quirites , arbitris sed ne praecone quidem publico teste vendent ? sequitur ' omnis agros extra Italiam ' infinito ex tempore , non , ut antea , ab Sulla et Pompeio consulibus . cognitio xvirum , privatus sit an publicus ; eique agro pergrande vectigal imponitur .	When Lucius Sulla was selling at that fatal auction of his the property of citizens who had not been condemned, and when he said that he was selling his plunder, still he sold it on this spot where I am standing now; nor did he venture to avoid the sight of those men to whose eyes he was so hateful. Shall the decemvirs sell your revenues, not only where you yourselves are not witnesses of the sale, but where there is not even a public crier present as a spectator? Then follows—“All the lands out of Italy,” without any limit as to time, not (as was enacted before) those acquired by Sulla and Pompeius when they were consuls. There is an inquiry to be made by the decemvirs, whether the land be private or public property; and by this means a heavy tax is laid on the laud.
99	hoc quantum iudicium , quam intolerandum , quam regium sit , quem praeterit , posse quibuscumque locis velint nulla disceptatione , nullo consilio privata publicare , publica liberare ? excipitur hoc capite ager in Sicilia Recentoricus ; quem ego excipi et propter hominum necessitudinem et propter rei aequitatem , Quirites , ipse vehementer gaudeo . sed quae est haec impudentia ! qui agrum Recentoricum possident , vetustate possessionis se , non iure , misericordia senatus , non agri condicione defendunt . nam illum agrum publicum esse fatentur ; se moveri possessionibus , antiquissimis sedibus , ac dis penatibus negant oportere . ac , si est privatus ager Recentoricus , quid eum excipis ? sin autem publicus , quae est ista aequitas ceteros , etiam si privati sint , permittere ut publici iudicentur , hunc excipere nominatim qui publicum se esse fateatur ? ergo eorum ager excipitur qui apud Rullum aliqua ratione valuerunt , ceteri agri omnes qui ubique sunt sine ullo dilectu , sine populi Romani notione , sine iudicio senatus xviris addicentur ?	Who is there who does not see how great a judicial power this is, how intolerable, how tyrannical? for them to be able, in whatever places they please, without any discussion or formal decision, without any assessors, to confiscate private property, and to release public property? In this clause the Recentoric district in Sicily is excepted; which I am exceedingly delighted is excepted, O Romans, both on account of my connection with the people of that district, and because of the justice of the exception. But what impudence it is! Those who are the occupiers of the Recentoric district, defend themselves on the ground of length of occupation, not of right; they rely on the pity of the senate, not on the conditions on which they hold their lands. For they confess that it is part of the public domain; but still they say that they ought not to be removed from their possessions, and their much-loved homes, and their household gods. But if the Recentoric district be private property, why do you except it? But if it be public, where then is the justice of allowing other lands, even if they are private lands, to be adjudged to be public, and to except this district by name which confesses that it is public property? Therefore the land of those men is excepted who have had any means of influencing Rullus; all otter lands, wherever they are—without any selection being made, without any examination being instituted by the people, without any decision being come to by the senate, are to be sold by the decemvirs.
100	atque etiam est alia superiore capite quo omnia veneunt quaestuosa exceptio , quae teget eos agros de quibus foedere cautum est . audivit hanc rem non a me , sed ab aliis agitari saepe in senatu , non numquam ex hoc loco , possidere agros in ora maritima regem Hiempsalem quos P . Africanus populo Romano adiudicarit ; ei tamen postea per C . Cottam consulem cautum esse foedere . hoc quia vos foedus non iusseritis , veretur Hiempsal ut satis firmum sit et ratum . cuicuimodi est illud , tollitur vestrum iudicium , foedus totum accipitur , comprobatur . quod minuit auctionem xviralem laudo , quod regi amico cavet non reprehendo , quod non gratis fit indico .	There is also another profitable exception made in the former chapter according to which everything is to be sold. An exception which comprehends those lands which are protected by treaty. He heard that this matter was often agitated in the senate, not by me, but by others, and sometimes also in this place; that king Hiempsal was in possession of lands on the sea coast, which Publius Africanus adjudged to the Roman people; and yet afterwards express provision was made respecting them in a treaty, by Caius Cotta, when consul. But, because you did not order this treaty to be made, Hiempsal is in fear lest it may not be considered firm and properly ratified. What? What sort of proceeding is this? Your decision is not waited for; the whole treaty is excepted. It is approved by Rullus. As it limits the power of sale to be given to the decemvirs, I am glad of it; as it protects the interests of a king who is our friend, I find no fault with it; but my opinion is that the exception was not made for nothing;
101	volitat enim ante oculos istorum Iuba , regis filius , adulescens non minus bene nummatus quam bene capillatus . vix iam videtur locus esse qui tantos acervos pecuniae capiat ; auget , addit , accumulat . ' Avrvm , argentvm ex praeda , ex manvbiis , ex coronario ad qvoscvmqve pervenit neqve relatvm est in pvblicvm neqve in monvmento consvmptvm ,' id profiteri apud xviros et ad eos referri iubet . hoc capite etiam quaestionem de clarissimis viris qui populi Romani bella gesserunt , iudiciumque de pecuniis residuis ad xviros translatum videtis . Horum erit nullum iudicium quantae cuiusque manubiae fuerint , quid relatum , quid residuum sit ; in posterum vero lex haec imperatoribus vestris constituitur ; ut , quicumque de provincia decesserit , apud eosdem xviros quantum habeat praedae , manubiarum , auri coronarii , profiteatur .	for there is constantly fluttering before those men's eyes Juba, the king's son, whose purse is every bit as long as his hair. Even now there scarcely appears to be any place capable of containing such vast heaps of money. He increases the sums, he adds to them, he keeps on accumulating. “To whomsoever gold or silver comes, from spoils, from money given for crowns, if it has neither been paid into the public treasury, nor spent in any monument.” Of that treasure he orders a return to be made to the decemvirs, and the treasure is to be paid over to them. By this case you see that an investigation even into the conduct of the most illustrious men, who have carried on the wars of the Roman people, and that judicial examinations into charges of peculation or extortion, are transferred to the decemvirs. They will have a power of deciding what is the value of the spoils which have been gained by each individual, what return he has made, and what he has left. But this law is laid down for all your generals for the future, that, whoever leaves his province, must make a return to these same decemvirs, of how much booty, and spoils, and gold given for the purpose of crowns he has.
102	hic tamen vir optimus eum quem amat excipit , Cn . Pompeium . Vnde iste amor tam improvisus ac tam repentinus ? qui honore xviratus excluditur prope nominatim , cuius iudicium legumque datio , captorum agrorum ipsius virtute cognitio tollitur , cuius non in provinciam , sed in ipsa castra xviri cum imperio , infinita pecunia , maxima potestate et iudicio rerum omnium mittuntur , cui ius imperatorium , quod semper omnibus imperatoribus est conservatum , soli eripitur , is excipitur unus ne manubias referre iubeatur ? Vtrum tandem hoc capite honos haberi homini , an invidia quaeri videtur ?	But here this admirable man excepts Cnaeus Pompeius, whom he is so fond of. Whence does this affection so sudden and previously unknown originate? for he is excluded from the honour of the decemvirate almost by name; his power of deciding judicially, of giving laws, or of making any formal inquiry respecting the lands which have been taken by his your, is taken from him; decemvirs are sent not only into his province but into his very camp, with military authority, with immense sums of money, with unlimited power, and with a right of deciding on everything. His rights as a general, which have hitherto always been most jealously preserved to every general are for the first time taken from him. But he is excepted as the only one who is not bound to make a return of his booty. Does it seem that the real object of this clause is to do honour to the man, or to excite a feeling of unpopularity against him?
103	remittit hoc Rullo Cn . Pompeius ; beneficio isto legis , benignitate xvirali nihil utitur . nam si est aequum praedam ac manubias suas imperatores non in monumenta deorum immortalium neque in urbis ornamenta conferre , sed ad xviros tamquam ad dominos reportare , nihil sibi appetit praecipui Pompeius , nihil ; volt se in communi atque in eodem quo ceteri iure versari . sin est iniquum , Quirites , si turpe , si intolerandum hos xviros portitores omnibus omnium pecuniis constitui , qui non modo reges atque exterarum nationum homines sed etiam imperatores vestros excutiant , non mihi videntur honoris causa excipere Pompeium , sed metuere ne ille eandem contumeliam quam ceteri ferre non possit .	Cnaeus Pompeius will make a present of this to Rullus. He has no desire to avail himself of that kindness of the law, and of the good-nature of the decemvirs. For if it be just for generals not to devote their spoils and booty either to monuments of the immortal gods, or to the decorations of the city,—but if they are to carry it all to the decemvirs as their masters,—then Pompeius wishes for nothing particular for himself; nothing. He wishes to live under the common law, under the same law as the rest. If it be unjust, O Romans—if it be shameful, if it be intolerable for these decemvirs to be appointed as comptrollers of all the money collected by every body, and as plunderers not only of foreign kings and citizens of foreign nations, but of even our own generals, then they do not seem to me to have excepted Pompeius for the sake of doing him honour, but to be afraid that he may not be able to put up with the same insult as the rest.
104	Pompeius autem cum hoc animo sit ut , quicquid vobis placeat , sibi ferendum putet , quod vos ferre non poteritis , id profecto perficiet ne diutius inviti ferre cogamini . verum tamen cavet ut , si qua pecunia post nos consules ex novis vectigalibus recipiatur , ea xviri utantur . nova porro vectigalia videt ea fore quae Pompeius adiunxerit . ita remissis manubiis vectigalibus eius virtute partis se frui putat oportere . parta sit pecunia , Quirites , xviris tanta quanta sit in terris , nihil praetermissum sit , omnes urbes , agri , regna denique , postremo etiam vectigalia vestra venierint , accesserint in cumulum manubiae vestrorum imperatorum ; quantae et quam immanes divitiae xviris in tantis auctionibus , tot iudiciis , tam infinita potestate rerum omnium quaerantur videtis .	But as Pompeius's feelings will be these, that he will think it becomes him to bear whatever seems fitting to you; on the other hand, if there be anything which you cannot bear, he will take care that you are not long compelled to bear it against your will. But the law makes a provision that, “if any money is received from any new source of revenue after our consulship, the decemvirs are to be allowed to use it.” Moreover, he sees that the new sources of revenue will be those which Pompeius has added to the republic. And so, he lets off his spoils, but thinks that it is right for him to reap the benefit of all the revenues acquired by his valour. Let then, O Romans, all the money which there is in the world conic into the hands of the dictators; let nothing be omitted; let every city, every district, every kingdom, and lastly even your own revenues be sold by them; let the spoils won by your generals be added to the heap. You see now what enormous, what incredible riches are sought to be acquired by your decemvirs by such extensive sales, by so many decisions which they have the power to make, and by such unlimited authority over everything.
105	cognoscite nunc alios immensos atque intolerabilis quaestus , ut intellegatis ad certorum hominum importunam avaritiam hoc populare legis agrariae nomen esse quaesitum . hac pecunia iubet agros emi quo deducamini . non consuevi homines appellare asperius , Quirites , nisi lacessitus . vellem fieri posset ut a me sine contumelia nominarentur ei qui se xviros sperant futuros ; iam videretis quibus hominibus omnium rerum et vendendarum et emendarum potestatem permitteretis .	Now remark their other immense and intolerable gains, in order to understand that this popular name of an agrarian law has only been hunted out as a means of gratifying the unreasonable avarice of particular men. He orders lands to be bought with this money, to which you are to be conducted as colonists. I am not accustomed, O Romans, to speak or men with unnecessary harshness unless I am provoked. I wish it were possible for those men to be named by me without speaking ill of them, who hope to be themselves appointed decemvirs; and you should quickly see what sort of men they are to whom you have committed the power of selling and buying everything.