3.14
This trial and the
discussions on the Law kept the State employed;
there was a respite from foreign troubles. The
patricians were cowed by the banishment of Caeso,
and the tribunes, having, as they thought, gained
the victory, regarded the Law as practically
carried. As far as the senior senators were
concerned, they abandoned the control of public
affairs, but the younger members of the order,
mostly those who had been Caeso's intimates, were
more bitter than ever against the plebeians, and
quite as aggressive. They made much more progress by
conducting the attack in a methodical manner. The
first time that the Law was brought forward after
Caeso's flight they were organised in readiness, and
on the tribunes furnishing them with a pretext, by
ordering them to withdraw, they attacked them with a
huge army of clients in such a way that no single
individual could carry home any special share of
either glory or odium. The plebeians complained that
for one Caeso thousands had sprung up. During the
intervals when the tribunes were not agitating the
Law, nothing could be more quiet or peaceable than
these same men; they accosted the plebeians affably,
entered into conversation with them, invited them to
their houses, and when present in the Forum even
allowed the tribunes to bring all other questions
forward without interrupting them. They were never
disagreeable to any one either in public or private,
except when a discussion commenced on the Law; on
all other occasions they were friendly with the
people. Not only did the tribunes get through all
their other business quietly, but they were even
re-elected for the following year, without any
offensive remark being made, still less any violence
being offered. By gentle handling they gradually
made the plebs tractable, and through these methods
the Law was cleverly evaded throughout the year.