3.36
This was the end of
Appius' assumption of a part foreign to his nature.
From that time his conduct was in accordance with
his natural disposition, and he began to mould his
new colleagues, even before they entered on office,
into the lines of his own character. They held
private meetings daily; then, armed with plans
hatched in absolute secrecy for exercising unbridled
power, they no longer troubled to dissemble their
tyranny, but made themselves difficult of access,
harsh and stern to those to whom they granted
interviews. So matters went on till the middle of
May. At that period, May 15, was the proper time for
magistrates to take up their office. At the outset,
the first day of their government was marked by a
demonstration which aroused great fears. For,
whereas the previous decemvirs had observed the rule
of only one having the "fasces" at a time and making
this emblem of royalty go to each in turn, now all
the Ten suddenly appeared, each with his twelve
lictors. The Forum was filled with one hundred and
twenty lictors, and they bore the axes tied up in
the "fasces." The decemvirs explained it by saying
that as they were invested with absolute power of
life and death, there was no reason for the axes
being removed. They presented the appearance of ten
kings, and manifold fears were entertained not only
by the lowest classes but even by the foremost of
the senators. They felt that a pretext for
commencing bloodshed was being sought for, so that
if any one uttered, either in the senate or amongst
the people, a single word which reminded them of
liberty, the rods and axes would instantly be made
ready for him, to intimidate the rest. For not only
was there no protection in the people now that the
right of appeal to them was withdrawn, but the
decemvirs had mutually agreed not to interfere with
each other's sentences, whereas the previous
decemvirs had allowed their judicial decisions to be
revised on appeal to a colleague, and certain
matters which they considered to be within the
jurisdiction of the people they had referred to
them. For some time they inspired equal terror in
all, gradually it rested wholly on the plebs. The
patricians were unmolested; it was the men in humble
life for whom they reserved their wanton and cruel
treatment. They were solely swayed by personal
motives, not by the justice of a cause, since
influence had with them the force of equity. They
drew up their judgments at home and pronounced them
in the Forum; if any one appealed to a colleague, he
left the presence of the one to whom he had appealed
bitterly regretting that he had not abided by the
first sentence. A belief, not traceable to any
authoritative source, had got abroad that their
conspiracy against law and justice was not for the
present only, a secret and sworn agreement existed
amongst them not to hold any elections, but to keep
their power, now they had once obtained it, by
making the decemvirate perpetual.