3.15
The new consuls, C.
Claudius, the son of Appius, and P. Valerius
Publicola, took over the State in a quieter
condition than usual. The new year brought nothing
new. Political interest centered in the fate of the
Law. The more the younger senators ingratiated
themselves with the plebeians, the fiercer became
the opposition of the tribunes. They tried to arouse
suspicion against them by alleging that a conspiracy
had been formed; Caeso was in Rome, and plans were
laid for the assassination of the tribunes and the
wholesale massacre of the plebeians, and further
that the senior senators had assigned to the younger
members of the order the task of abolishing the
tribunitian authority so that the political
conditions might be the same as they were before the
occupation of the Sacred Hill. War with the
Volscians and Aequi had become now a regular thing
of almost annual recurrence, and was looked forward
to with apprehension. A fresh misfortune happened
nearer home. The political refugees and a number of
slaves, some 2500 in all, under the leadership of
Appius Herdonius the Sabine, seized the Capitol and
Citadel by night. Those who refused to join the
conspirators were instantly massacred, others in the
confusion rushed in wild terror down to the Forum;
various shouts were heard: "To arms!" "The enemy is
in the City." The consuls were afraid either to arm
the plebeians or to leave them without arms.
Uncertain as to the nature of the trouble which had
overtaken the City, whether it was caused by
citizens or by foreigners, whether due to the
embittered feelings of the plebs or to the treachery
of slaves, they tried to allay the tumult, but their
efforts only increased it; in their terrified and
distracted state the population could not be
controlled. Arms were, however, distributed, not
indiscriminately, but only, as it was an unknown
foe, to secure protection sufficient for all
emergencies. The rest of the night they spent in
posting men in all the convenient situations in the
City, while their uncertainty as to the nature and
numbers of the enemy kept them in anxious suspense.
Daylight at length disclosed the enemy and their
leader. Appius Herdonius was calling from the
Capitol to the slaves to win their liberty, saying
that he had espoused the cause of all the wretched
in order to restore the exiles who had been
wrongfully banished and remove the heavy yoke from
the necks of the slaves. He would rather that this
be done at the bidding of the Roman people, but if
that were hopeless, he would run all risks and rouse
the Volscians and Aequi.