3.40
Whilst Horatius was
delivering this impassioned speech, and the
decemvirs were in doubt how far they ought to go,
whether in the direction of angry resistance or in
that of concession, and unable to see what the issue
would be, C. Claudius, the uncle of the decemvir
Appius, made a speech more in the nature of entreaty
than of censure. He implored him by the shade of his
father to think rather of the social order under
which he had been born than of the nefarious compact
made with his colleagues. It was much more, he said,
for the sake of Appius than of the State that he
made this appeal, for the State would assert its
rights in spite of them, if it could not do so with
their consent. But great controversies generally
kindle great and bitter passions, and it was what
these might lead to that he dreaded. Though the
decemvirs forbade the discussion of any subject save
the one they had introduced, their respect for
Claudius prevented them from interrupting him, so he
concluded with a resolution that no decree should be
passed by the senate. This was universally taken to
mean that Claudius adjudged them to be private
citizens, and many of the consulars expressed their
concurrence. Another proposal, apparently more
drastic, but in reality less effective, was that the
senate should order the patricians to hold a special
meeting to appoint an "interrex." For by voting for
this, they decided that those who were presiding
over the senate were lawful magistrates, whoever
they were, whereas the proposal that no decree
should be passed made them private citizens.
The cause of the decemvirs was on the point
of collapsing, when L. Cornelius Maluginensis, the
brother of M. Cornelius the decemvir, who had been
purposely selected from among the consulars to wind
up the debate, undertook to defend his brother and
his brother's colleagues by professing great anxiety
about the war. He was wondering, he said, by what
fatality it had come about that the decemvirs should
be attacked by those who had sought the office or by
their allies or in particular by these men, or why,
during all the months that the commonwealth was
undisturbed, no one questioned whether those at the
head of affairs were lawful magistrates or not,
whereas now, when the enemy were almost at their
gates, they were fomenting civic discord -unless
indeed they supposed that the nature of their
proceeding would be less apparent in the general
confusion. No one was justified in importing
prejudice into a matter of such moment whilst they
were preoccupied with much more serious anxieties.
He gave it as his opinion that the point raised by
Valerius and Horatius, namely, that the decemvirs
had ceased to hold office by May 15, should be
submitted to the senate for decision after the
impending wars had been brought to a close and the
tranquillity of the State restored. And further,
that Ap. Claudius must at once understand that he
must be prepared to make a proper return of the
election which he held for the appointment of
decemvirs, stating whether they were elected only
for a year, or until such time as the laws which
were still required should be passed. In his opinion
every matter but the war should for the present be
laid aside. If they thought that the reports of it
which had got abroad were false, and that not only
the messengers which had come in but even the Tuscan
envoys had invented the story, then they ought to
send out reconnoitring parties to bring back
accurate information. If, however, they believed the
messengers and the envoys, a levy ought to be made
at the earliest possible moment, the decemvirs
should lead the armies in whatever direction each
thought best, and nothing else should take
precedence.