ch. 342.34The new consuls were T. Geganius and P. Minucius.
In this year, whilst all abroad was undisturbed by war and
the civic dissensions at home were healed, the commonwealth
was attacked by another much more serious evil: first,
dearness of food, owing to the fields remaining uncultivated
during the secession, and following on this a famine such as
visits a besieged city. It would have led to the perishing of
the slaves in any case, and probably the plebeians would
have died, had not the consuls provided for the emergency by
sending men in various directions to buy corn. They
penetrated not only along the coast to the right of Ostia
into Etruria, but also along the sea to the left past the
Volscian country as far as Cumae. Their search extended even
as far as Sicily; to such an extent did the hostility of
their neighbours compel them to seek distant help.
When corn had been bought at Cumae, the ships were
detained by the tyrant Aristodemus, in lieu of the property
of Tarquin, to whom he was heir. Amongst the Volscians and
in the Pomptine district it was even impossible to purchase
corn, the corn merchants were in danger of being attacked by
the population. Some corn came from Etruria up the Tiber; this
served for the support of the plebeians. They would have been
harassed by a war, doubly unwelcome when provisions were so
scarce, if the Volscians, who were already on the march, had
not been attacked by a frightful pestilence. This disaster
cowed the enemy so effectually that even when it had abated
its violence they remained to some extent in a state of
terror; the Romans increased the number of colonists at
Velitrae and sent a new colony to Norba, up in the mountains,
to serve as a strong-hold in the Pomptine district.
[Note] During the consulship of M.
Minucius and A. Sempronius, a large quantity of corn was
brought from Sicily, and the question was discussed in the
senate at what price it should be given to the plebs. Many
were of opinion that the moment had come for putting pressure
on the plebeians, and recovering the rights which had been
wrested from the senate through the secession and the
violence which accompanied it. Foremost among these was
Marcius Coriolanus, a determined foe to the tribunitian
power. If, he argued, they want their corn at the old
price, let them restore to the senate its old powers. Why,
then, do I, after being sent under the yoke, ransomed as it
were from brigands, see plebeian magistrates, why do I see a
Sicinius in power? Am I to endure these indignities a moment
longer than I can help? Am I, who could not put up with a
Tarquin as king, to put up with a Sicinius? Let him secede
now! let him call out his plebeians, the way lies open to the
Sacred Hill and to other hills. Let them carry off the corn
from our fields as they did two years ago; let them enjoy the
scarcity which in their madness they have produced! I will
venture to say that after they have been tamed by these
sufferings, they will rather work as labourers themselves in
the fields than prevent their being cultivated by an armed
secession. It is not so easy to say whether they ought to
have done this as it is to express one's belief that it could
have been done, and the senators might have made it a
condition of lowering the price of the corn that they should
abrogate the tribunitian power and all the legal
restrictions imposed upon them against their will.
