ch. 443.44 [Note] This was followed by a
second atrocity, the result of brutal lust, which
occurred in the City and led to consequences no less
tragic than the outrage and death of Lucretia, which
had brought about the expulsion of the royal family.
Not only was the end of the decemvirs the same as that
of the kings, but the cause of their losing their
power was the same in each case. Ap. Claudius had
conceived a guilty passion for a girl of plebeian
birth. The girl's father, L. Verginius, held a high
rank in the army on Algidus; he was a man of exemplary
character both at home and in the field. His wife had
been brought up on equally high principles, and their
children were being brought up in the same way. He had
betrothed his daughter to L. Icilius, who had been
tribune, an active and energetic man whose courage had
been proved in his battles for the plebs. This girl,
now in the bloom of her youth and beauty, excited
Appius' passions, and he tried to prevail on her by
presents and promises. When he found that her virtue
was proof against all temptation, he had recourse to
unscrupulous and brutal violence. He commissioned
a client, M. Claudius, to claim the girl as his
slave, and to bar any claim on the part of her friends
to retain possession of her till the case was tried,
as he thought that the father's absence afforded a
good opportunity for this illegal action. [Note] As the
girl was going to her school in the Forum—the grammar
schools were held in booths there—the decemvir's
pander laid his hand upon her, declaring that she was
the daughter of a slave of his, and a slave herself.
He then ordered her to follow him, and threatened, if
she hesitated, to carry her off by force. While the
girl was stupefied with terror, her maid's shrieks,
invoking the protection of the Quirites, drew a
crowd together. The names of her father Verginius and
her betrothed lover, Icilius, were held in universal
respect. Regard for them brought their friends,
feelings of indignation brought the crowd to the
maiden's support. She was now safe from violence; the
man who claimed her said that he was proceeding
according to law, not by violence, there was no need
for any excited gathering. He cited the girl into
court. Her supporters advised her to
follow him; they came before the tribunal of Appius.
The claimant rehearsed a story already perfectly
familiar to the judge as he was the author of the
plot, how the girl had been born in his house, stolen
from there, transferred to the house of Verginius and
fathered on him; these allegations would be supported
by definite evidence, and he would prove them to the
satisfaction of Verginius himself, who was really most
concerned, as an injury had been done to him.
Meanwhile, he urged, it was only right that a slave
girl should follow her master. The girl's advocates
contended that Verginius was absent on the service of
the State, he would be present in two days' time if
information were sent to him, and it was contrary to
equity that in his absence he should incur risk with
regard to his children. They demanded that he should
adjourn the whole of the proceedings till the father's
arrival, and in accordance with the law which he
himself had enacted, grant the custody of the girl to
those who asserted her freedom, and not suffer a
maiden of ripe age to incur danger to her reputation
before her liberty was imperilled.
