On the Agrarian Law (M. Tullius Cicero)

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	On the Agrarian Law Author: M. Tullius Cicero	Translator: C. D. Yonge
148	ego sum is consul qui contionem metuam , qui tribunum plebis perhorrescam , qui saepe et sine causa tumultuer , qui timeam ne mihi in carcere habitandum sit , si tribunus plebis duci iusserit ? ego cum vestris armis armatus sim , imperio , auctoritate insignibusque amplissimis exornatus , non horreo in hunc locum progredi , possum vobis , Quirites , auctoribus improbitati hominis resistere , nec vereor ne res publica tantis munita praesidiis ab istis vinci aut opprimi possit . si antea timuissem , tamen hac contione , hoc populo certe non vererer . quis enim umquam tam secunda contione legem agrariam suasit quam ego dissuasi ? si hoc dissuadere est ac non disturbare atque pervertere .	I am consul; how should I fear an assembly of the people? How should I be afraid of the tribunes of the people? How should I be frequently or causelessly agitated? How should I fear lest I may have to dwell in a prison, if a tribune of the people orders me to be led thither? for I, armed with your arms, adorned with your most honourable ensigns, and with command and authority conferred by you, have not been afraid to advance into this place, and, with you for my backers, to resist the wickedness of man; nor do I fear lest the republic, being fortified with such strong protection, may be conquered or overwhelmed by those men. If I had been afraid before, still now, with this assembly, and this people, I should not fear. For who ever had an assembly so well inclined to hear him while advocating an agrarian law, as I have had while arguing against one? if, indeed, I can be said to be arguing against one, and not rather upsetting and destroying one.
149	ex quo intellegi , Quirites , potest nihil esse tam populare quam id quod ego vobis in hunc annum consul popularis adfero , pacem , tranquillitatem , otium . quae nobis designatis timebatis , ea ne accidere possent consilio meo ac ratione provisa sunt . non modo vos eritis in otio qui semper esse volueratis , verum etiam istos quibus odio est otium quietissimos atque otiosissimos reddam . etenim illis honores , potestates , divitiae ex tumultu atque ex dissensionibus civium comparari solent ; vos , quorum gratia in suffragiis consistit , libertas in legibus , ius in iudiciis et aequitate magistratuum , res familiaris in pace , omni ratione otium retinere debetis .	From which, O Romans, it may be easily understood that there is nothing so popular, as that which I, the consul of the people, am this year bringing to you; namely, peace, tranquillity and ease. All the things which when we were elected you were afraid might happen, have been guarded against by my prudence and caution. You not only will enjoy ease,—you who have always wished for it; but I will even make those men quiet, to whom our quiet has been a source of annoyance. In truth, however, power, riches, are accustomed to be acquired by them out of the tumults and dissensions of the citizens. You, whose interest consists in the votes of the people, whose liberty is based on the laws, whose honours depend on the courts of justice and on the equity of the magistrates, and whose enjoyment of your properties depends on peace, ought to preserve tranquillity by every means.
150	nam si ei qui propter desidiam in otio vivunt , tamen in sua turpi inertia capiunt voluptatem ex ipso otio , quam vos fortunati eritis , si in hoc statu quem habetis vestra non ignavia quaesitum , sed virtute partum , otium tenueritis , Quirites ! ego ex concordia quam mihi constitui cum conlega , invitissimis eis hominibus qui nos in consulatu inimicos esse et fore aiebant , providi omnibus , prospexi annonae , revocavi fidem , tribunis plebis denuntiavi ne quid turbulenti me consule conflarent . summum et firmissimum est illud communibus fortunis praesidium , Quirites , ut , qualis vos hodierno die maxima contione mihi pro salute vestra praebuistis , talis reliquis temporibus rei publicae praebeatis . promitto , recipio , polliceor hoc vobis atque confirmo , me esse perfecturum ut iam tandem illi qui honori inviderunt meo tamen vos universos in consule deligendo plurimum vidisse fateantur .	For if those men who, on account of indolence, are living in tranquillity, still take pleasure in their own base indolence; you, if in the calm quiet with which you govern fortune, you think such a condition as you enjoy better, should maintain it diligently; not as one that has been acquired by laziness, but as one that has been earned by virtue. And I, by the unanimity which I have established between myself and my colleague, have provided against those men whom I knew to be hostile to my consulship both in their dispositions and actions. I have provided against everything; and I have sought to recall those men to their loyalty. I have also given notice to the tribunes of the people, to try no disorderly conduct while I am consul. My greatest and firmest support in our common fortunes, O Romans, will be, if you for the future behave, for the sake of it, to the republic in the same manner as you have this day behaved to me in this most numerous assembly, for the sake of your own safety. I promise you most certainly, and pledge myself to manage matters so that they who have envied the honours which I have gained, shall at last confess, that in selecting a consul you all showed the greatest possible foresight.
151	DE LEGE AGRARIA ORATIO TERTIA CONTRA P . SERVILIVM RVLLVM TR . PLEB. AD POPVLVM	THE THIRD SPEECH OF M. T. CICERO IN OPPOSITION TO PUBLIUS SERVILIUS RULLUS, A TRIBUNE OF THE PEOPLE, CONCERNING THE AGRARIAN LAW. DELIVERED TO THE PEOPLE. THE ARGUMENT. The tribunes had declined debating the subject of the Agrarian law with Cicero before the people, but attacked him with calumnies behind his back; saying that his opposition to the law proceeded from his affection to Sulla's party, and from a desire to secure to the members of it the properties which Sulla had granted to them, and that he was only making this opposition to this law out of a desire to pay court to those whom they called the seven tyrants, the two Luculli, Crassus, Catulus, Hortensius, Metellus, and Philippus, who were known to be the greatest favourers of Sulla's cause, and to have been the chief gainers by it. And as these insinuations were making a great impression on the city, he thought it necessary to make this third speech to defend himself against them. And after this speech the tribunes let the whole matter drop.
152	Commodius fecissent tribuni plebis , Quirites , si , quae apud vos de me deferunt , ea coram potius me praesente dixissent ; nam et aequitatem vestrae disceptationis et consuetudinem superiorum et ius suae potestatis retinuissent . sed quoniam adhuc praesens certamen contentionemque fugerunt , nunc , si videtur eis , in meam contionem prodeant et , quo provocati a me venire noluerunt , revocati saltem revertantur .	The tribunes of the people, O Romans, would have pursued a more convenient course, if they had said to my face, in my presence, the things which they allege to you concerning me. For then, they would have given you an opportunity for a more just decision in the matter, and they would have followed the usages of their predecessors, and have maintained their own privileges and power. But, since they have shunned any open contest and debate with me at present, now, if they please, let them come forth into the assembly which I have convened, and though they would not come forward willingly when challenged by me, let them at least return to it now that I openly invite them back.
153	video quosdam , Quirites , strepitu significare nescio quid et non eosdem voltus quos proxima mea contione praebuerunt in hanc contionem mihi rettulisse . qua re a vobis qui nihil de me credidistis ut eam voluntatem quam semper habuistis erga me retineatis peto ; a vobis autem quos leviter immutatos esse sentio parvam exigui temporis usuram bonae de me opinionis postulo , ut eam , si quae dixero vobis probabo , perpetuo retineatis ; sin aliter , hoc ipso in loco depositam atque abiectam relinquatis .	I see, O Romans, that some men are making a noise to imply something or other, and that they no longer show me the same countenance in this present assembly which they showed me at the last assembly in which I addressed you. Wherefore, I entreat you, who have believed none of my enemies' stories about me, to retain the same favourable disposition towards me that you always had; but from you, whom I perceive to be a little changed towards me, I beg the loan of your good opinion of me for a short time, on condition of your retaining it forever, if I prove to you what I am going to say, but abandoning it and trampling it under foot in this very place if I fail to establish it.
154	completi sunt animi auresque vestrae , Quirites , me gratificantem Septimiis , Turraniis ceterisque Sullanarum adsignationum possessoribus agrariae legi et commodis vestris obsistere . hoc si qui crediderunt , illud prius crediderint necesse est , hac lege agraria quae promulgata est adimi Sullanos agros vobisque dividi , aut denique minui privatorum possessiones ut in eas vos deducamini . si ostendo non modo non adimi cuiquam glebam de Sullanis agris , sed etiam genus id agrorum certo capite legis impudentissime confirmari atque sanciri , si doceo agris eis qui a Sulla sunt dati sic diligenter Rullum sua lege consulere ut facile appareat eam legem non a vestrorum commodorum patrono , sed a Valgi genero esse conscriptam , num quid est causae , Quirites , quin illa criminatione qua in me absentem usus est non solum meam sed etiam vestram diligentiam prudentiamque despexerit ?	Your minds and ears, O Romans, are blocked up with the assertion that I am opposing the agrarian law and your interest, out of a desire to gratify the seven tyrants, and the other possessors of Sulla's allotments. If there be any men who have believed these things, they must inevitably first have believed this, that by this agrarian law which has been proposed, the lands allotted by Sulla are taken away from their present possessors and divided among you, or else, that the possessions of private individuals are diminished, in order that you may be settled on their lands. If I show you, not only that not an atom of laud of Sulla's allotments is taken from any one, but even that that description of property is ensured to its possessors, and confirmed in a most impudent manner; if I prove, that Rullus, by his law, provides so carefully for the case of those lands which have been allotted by Sulla, that it is perfectly plain that that law was drawn up, not by any protector of your interests, but by the twin law of Valgius; is there then any reason at all, why he should disparage not only my diligence and prudence, but yours also, by the accusations which he has employed against me in my absence?
155	caput est legis xl de quo ego consulto , Quirites , neque apud vos ante feci mentionem , ne aut refricare obductam iam rei publicae cicatricem viderer aut aliquid alienissimo tempore novae dissensionis commovere , neque vero nunc ideo disputabo quod hunc statum rei publicae non magno opere defendendum putem , praesertim qui oti et concordiae patronum me in hunc annum populo Romano professus sim , sed ut doceam Rullum posthac in eis saltem tacere rebus in quibus de se et de suis factis taceri velit .	The fortieth clause of the law is one, O Romans, the mention of which I have hitherto purposely avoided, lest I should seem to be reopening a wound of the republic which was now scarred over, or to be renewing, at a most unseasonable time, some of our old dissensions. And now too I will argue that point, not because I do not think that this present condition of the republic deserving of being most zealously maintained, especially after I have professed myself to be for this year at least the patron of all tranquillity and unanimity in the republic; but in order to teach Rullus for the future to be silent at least in those matters with respect to which he wishes silence to be observed as to himself and his actions.
156	omnium legum iniquissimam dissimillimamque legis esse arbitror eam quam L . Flaccus interrex de Sulla tulit , ut omnia quaecumque ille fecisset essent rata . nam cum ceteris in civitatibus tyrannis institutis leges omnes exstinguantur atque tollantur , hic rei publicae tyrannum lege constituit . est invidiosa lex , sicuti dixi , verum tamen habet excusationem ; non enim videtur hominis lex esse , sed temporis .	Of all laws I think that one is the most unjust and the most unlike a law, which Lucius Flaccus, the interrex, passed respecting Sulla—“That everything which he has done should be ratified.” For, as in other states, when tyrants are established, all laws are extinguished and destroyed this man established a tyrant of the republic by law. It is an invidious law, as I said before; but still it has some excuse. For it appears to be a law not urged by the man but by the time. What shall we say if this law is a far more impudent one?
157	quid si est haec multo impudentior ? nam Valeria lege Corneliisque legibus eripitur civi , civi datur , coniungitur impudens gratificatio cum acerba iniuria ; sed tamen imbibit illis legibus spem non nullam cui ademptum est , aliquem scrupulum cui datum est . Rulli cautio est haec : ' Qvi post C . Marivm Cn . Papirivm consvles .' quam procul a suspicione fugit , quod eos consules qui adversarii Sullae maxime fuerunt potissimum nominavit ! si enim Sullam dictatorem nominasset , perspicuum fore et invidiosum arbitratus est . sed quem vestrum tam tardo ingenio fore putavit cui post eos consules Sullam dictatorem fuisse in mentem venire non posset ?	For by the Valerian and Cornelian law this power is taken away at the same time that it is given. An impudent courting of the people is joined with a bitter injury done to them. But still a man from whom any property is taken always has some hope arising from those laws; and he, to whom any is given, has some scruples. The provision in Rullus's law is, “Whatever has been done since the consulship of Caius Marius and Cnaeus Papirius.” How carefully does he avoid suspicion, when he names those consuls most especially who were the greatest adversaries of Sulla. For, if he had named Sulla, he thought that that would have been a palpable and also an invidious measure. And yet, which of you did he expect to be so stupid, as not to be able to recollect that immediately after the consulship of those men Sulla became dictator?
158	quid ergo ait Marianus tribunus plebis , qui nos Sullanos in invidiam rapit ? Qvi post Marivm et Carbonem consvles agri , aedificia , lacvs , stagna , loca , possessiones — caelum et mare praetermisit , cetera complexus est —' pvblice data adsignata , vendita , concessa svnt '— a quo , Rulle ? post Marium et Carbonem consules quis adsignavit , quis dedit , quis concessit praeter Sullam ?—' ea omnia eo ivre sint '— quo iure ? labefactat videlicet nescio quid . nimium acer , nimium vehemens tribunus plebis Sullana rescindit —' vt qvae optimo ivre privata svnt .' etiamne meliore quam paterna et avita ?	What then does this Marian tribune of the people say, when he is trying to make us, who are Sulla's friends, unpopular? “Whatever has been given, or assigned, or sold, or granted by public authority, whether lands, or houses, or lakes, or marshes, or sites, or properties,” (he has omitted to mention the sky and sea, but he has omitted nothing else,) “since the consulship of Marius and Carbo.” By whom, O Rullus? Who has allotted anything whatever since the Consulship of Marius and Carbo? Who has given anything, who has granted anything, except Sulla? “Let all those things remain in the same condition.” In what condition? He is undermining something or other. This over active and too energetic tribune of the people is rescinding the acts of Sulla. “As those things which have become private property according to the most regular possible course of law.” Are they then to be held on a surer tenure than a man's paternal and hereditary property?
159	meliore . at hoc Valeria lex non dicit , Corneliae leges non sanciunt , Sulla ipse non postulat . si isti agri partem aliquam iuris , aliquam similitudinem propriae possessionis , aliquam spem diuturnitatis attingunt , nemo est tam impudens istorum quin agi secum praeclare arbitretur . tu vero , Rulle , quid quaeris ? quod habent ut habeant ? quis vetat ? Vt privatum sit ? ita latum est . Vt meliore iure tui soceri fundus Hirpinus sit sive ager Hirpinus — totum enim possidet — quam meus paternus avitusque fundus Arpinas ?	Just so. But the Valerian law does not say this; the Cornelian laws do not sanction this; Sulla himself does not demand this. If those lands have any connection with legal right, if they have any resemblance to private property, if they have the least hope of becoming permanent property, then there is not one of those men so impudent as not to think that he is excellently well treated. But you, O Rullus, what is your object? That they may retain what they have got? Who hinders them? That they may retain it as private property? But the law is framed in such a way that the farm of your father-in-law in the Hirpine district, or the whole Hirpine district, for he is in possession of all of it, is held by him on a surer tenure than my paternal hereditary estate at Arpinum. For that is the effect of the provision of your law.
160	id enim caves . optimo enim iure ea sunt profecto praedia quae optima condicione sunt . Libera meliore iure sunt quam serva ; capite hoc omnia quae serviebant non servient . soluta meliore in causa sunt quam obligata ; eodem capite subsignata omnia , si modo Sullana sunt , liberantur . immunia commodiore condicione sunt quam illa quae pensitant ; ego Tusculanis pro aqua Crabra vectigal pendam , quia mancipio fundum accepi ; si a Sulla mihi datus esset , Rulli lege non penderem .	For those farms in truth are held by the best right, which are held on the best conditions. Free tenures are held by a better tenure than servile ones. By this clause all tenures which have hitherto been servile tenures will be so no longer. Enfranchised estates are in a better condition than those which are liable to no obligations; by the same clause all lands subject to the payment of any fine, if only they were assigned by Sulla, are released from such payments. Lands which are exempt from payment are in a better condition than those which pay a fine. I, in my Tusculan villa, must pay a tax for the Crabran water, because I received my estate subject to this liability; but, if I had only had the land given me by Sulla, I should not pay it, according to the law of Rullus.
161	video vos , Quirites , sicuti res ipsa cogit , commoveri vel legis vel orationis impudentia , legis quae ius melius Sullanis praediis constituat quam paternis , orationis quae eius modi in causa insimulare quemquam audeat rationes Sullae nimium vehementer defendere . at si illa solum sanciret quae a Sulla essent data , tacerem , modo ipse se Sullanum esse confiteretur . sed non modo illis cavet verum etiam aliud quoddam genus donationis inducit ; et is qui a me Sullanas possessiones defendi criminatur non eas solum sancit verum ipse novas adsignationes instituit et repentinus Sulla nobis exoritur .	I see you, O Romans, moved either by the impudence of the law or of the speech, as indeed you must be from the nature of the case; by the impudence of the law, which gives a better title to estates possessed by virtue of Sulla's donation than to hereditary property; by the impudence of the speech which, in such a cause is that, dares to accuse any one, and yet vehemently, too vehemently, to defend the principles of Sulla. But if the law only ratified all the allotments which had been given by Sulla, I should not say a word, provided he would confess himself to be a partisan of Sulla's. But he does not only protect their existing interests, but he even adds to their present possessions some sort of gift. And he, who accuses me, saying that the possessions resting on Sulla's title are defended by me, not only con firms them him sell, but even institutes fresh allotments, and rises up among us a new Sulla.
162	nam attendite quantas concessiones agrorum hic noster obiurgator uno verbo facere conetur : ' Qvae data , donata , concessa , vendita .' patior , audio . quid deinde ? ' possessa .' hoc tribunus plebis promulgare ausus est ut , quod quisque post Marium et Carbonem consules possideret , id eo iure teneret quo quod optimo privatum est ? etiamne si vi deiecit , etiamne si clam , si precario venit in possessionem ? ergo hac lege ius civile , causae possessionum , praetorum interdicta tollentur .	For just take notice what great grants of lands this reprover of ours endeavours to make by one single word. “Whatever has been given, or presented, or granted, or sold”—I can bear it; I hear it; what comes next?—“shall be held as absolute property.” has a tribune of the people ventured to propose that whatever any one has become possessed of' since the consulship of Marius and Carbo, he shall hold by the firmest right that any one can hold private property? Suppose he drove out the former proprietors by violence? Suppose he became possessed of it in some underhand manner, or only by some one's permission for a time? By this law then all civil rights, all legitimate titles, all interdicts of the praetors will be put an end to.
163	non mediocris res neque parvum sub hoc verbo furtum , Quirites , latet . sunt enim multi agri lege Cornelia publicati nec cuiquam adsignati neque venditi qui a paucis hominibus impudentissime possidentur . his cavet , hos defendit , hos privatos facit ; hos , inquam , agros quos Sulla nemini dedit Rullus non vobis adsignare volt , sed eis condonare qui possident . causam quaero cur ea quae maiores vobis in Italia , Sicilia , Africa , duabus Hispaniis , Macedonia , Asia reliquerunt venire patiamini , cum ea quae vestra sunt condonari possessoribus eadem lege videatis .	It is no unimportant case, it is no insignificant injury that is concealed under this expression, O Romans. For there were many estates confiscated by the Cornelian law, which were never assigned or sold to any one, but which are occupied in the most impudent manner by a few men, These are the men for whom he provides, these are the men whom he defends, whom he makes private proprietors. These lands, I say, which Sulla gave to no one, Rullus does not choose to assign to you, but to sacrifice to the men who are in occupation of them. I ask the reason why you should allow those lands in Italy, in Sicily, in the two Spains, in Macedonia, and Asia, which your ancestors acquired for you, to be sold, when you see those lands which are your own sacrificed by the same law to their existing occupiers?
164	iam totam legem intellegetis , cum ad paucorum dominationem scripta sit , tum ad Sullanae adsignationis rationes esse accommodatissimam . nam socer huius vir multum bonus est ; neque ego nunc de illius bonitate , sed de generi impudentia disputo .	Now you will understand the whole law, and perceive, that it is framed to secure the power of a few individuals, and admirably adapted to the circumstances of Sulla's allotments. For this man's father-in-law is a most excellent man, nor am I saying a word against his character; but I am discussing the impudence of his son-in-law.
165	ille enim quod habet retinere volt neque se Sullanum esse dissimulat ; hic , ut ipse habeat quod non habet , quae dubia sunt per vos sancire volt et , cum plus appetat quam ipse Sulla , quibus rebus resisto , Sullanas res defendere me criminatur .	For he wishes to keep what he has got possession of, and does not conceal that he is one of Sulla's party. He now, by your instrumentality, in order that he may himself have what be has not got wishes to establish those titles which at present are doubtful. And as he is more covetous than Sulla himself, I am accused of defending the actions of Sulla which I am resisting.
166	' habet agros non nullos ,' inquit , ' socer meus desertos atque longinquos ; vendet eos mea lege quanti volet . habet incertos ac nullo iure possessos ; confirmabuntur optimo iure . habet publicos ; reddam privatos . denique eos fundos quos in agro Casinati optimos fructuosissimosque continuavit , cum usque eo vicinos proscriberet quoad angulos conformando ex multis praediis unam fundi regionem normamque perfecerit , quos nunc cum aliquo metu tenet , sine ulla cura possidebit .'	My father-in-law, says he, has some hitherto deserted and distant fields. By my law he will be able to sell them at his own price. He holds them at present by an uncertain title; in fact he has no right at all to them: they will be confirmed to him by the best possible title. He has them as public property; I will make them private property. Lastly, he shall possess, without having the slightest anxiety about them for the future, those farms which be has procured (by the proscription of their former owners) to be joined to the admirable and productive estate which be had in the district of Casinum, being contiguous to it before; so as to make all the different farms into one uninterrupted estate as far as the eye can reach; and respecting which at present he is not without apprehension.
167	et quoniam qua de causa et quorum causa ille hoc promulgarit ostendi , doceat ipse nunc ego quem possessorem defendam , cum agrariae legi resisto . silvam Scantiam vendis ; populus Romanus possidet ; defendo . Campanum agrum dividis ; vos estis in possessione ; non cedo . deinde Italiae , Siciliae ceterarumque provinciarum possessiones venalis ac proscriptas hac lege video ; vestra sunt praedia , vestrae possessiones ; resistam atque repugnabo neque patiar a quoquam populum Romanum de suis possessionibus me consule demoveri , praesertim , Quirites , cum vobis nihil quaeratur .	And since I have shown for what reason and for whose sake be has proposed this, let him show whether I am defending any particular proprietor, while I resist this agrarian law. You are selling the Scantian wood. The Roman people is in possession of it. I am defending the Roman people. You are dividing the district of Campania It is you, O Romans, who are now its proprietors. I will not give it up. In the next place, I see possessions in Italy and in Sicily, and in the other provinces, put up for sale and advertised. The farms are yours, the possessions are yours, O Romans. I will resist and oppose such a measure; and I will not permit the Roman people to be ousted from its possessions by any one, while I am consul. Especially when no advantage is sought for you by the proceeding.
168	hoc enim vos in errore versari diutius non oportet . num quis vestrum ad vim , ad facinus , ad caedem accommodatus est ? nemo . atqui ei generi hominum , mihi credite , Campanus ager et praeclara illa Capua servatur ; exercitus contra vos , contra libertatem vestram , contra Cn . Pompeium constituitur ; contra hanc urbem Capua , contra vos manus hominum audacissimorum , contra Cn . Pompeium x duces comparantur . veniant et coram , quoniam me in vestram contionem vobis flagitantibus evocaverunt , disserant .	For you ought no longer to lie under this mistake. Is any one of you a man inclined to violence, or atrocity, or murder? Not one. And, believe me, it is for such a race of men as that that the district of Campania and that beautiful Capua is reserved. It is against you, against your liberty, against Cnaeus Pompeius that an army is being raised. Capua is being got ready in opposition to this city; bands of audacious men are being equipped against you; ten generals are being appointed to counterbalance Cnaeus Pompeius. Let them meet me face to face, and since they have summoned me to this assembly of yours, at your request let them here argue the case with me.