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fear, and fimple enough to believe, continued still to mix with them, and play off their political artifices. They ftill continued to make speeches to them: (a) they still availed themselves of their privilege of changing at will the place and form of the public meetings. When they did not find it poffible to direct the refolutions of the Affemblies, they pretended that the omens were not favourable, and under this pretext, or others of the fame kind, they diffolved them. (b) And the

(a) Valerius Maximus relates, that the Tribunes of the People having offered to propose fome regulations in regard to the price of corn, in a time of great scarcity, Scipio Nafica over-ruled the Affembly merely by faying, "Silence, "Romans; I know better than you what is expedient for

the Republick. Which words were no fooner heard by the People, than they fhewed by a filence full of " veneration, that they were more affected by his authority, than by the neceffity of providing for their own fubfift“ence.”—Tacete, quæfo, Quirites. Plus enim ego quam vos quid reipublicæ expediat intelligo. Quâ voce auditâ, omnes pleno venerationis filentio, majorem ejus autoritatis, quam alimentorum fuorum curam egerunt.

(b) Quid enim majus eft? fi de jure Augurum quærimus, fays Tully, who himself was an Augur, and a Senator into the bargain, quàm posse a fummis imperiis & fummis poteftatibus Comitiatus & Concilia, vel inftituta dimittere, vel habita refcindere? Quid gravius, quam rem fufceptam dirimi, fi unus Augur ALIUM (id eft, alium diem) dixerit ?-See De Legib. Lib. II. §. 12.

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Tribunes, when they had at length been able to effect an union among themselves, were thus obliged to submit to the mortification of feeing those projects which they had pursued with infinite labour, and even through the greatest dangers, irrecoverably defeated by the most despicable artifices.

When, at other times, they faw that a confederacy was carried on with an uncommon warmth against them, and defpaired of fucceeding by employing expedients of this kind, or were afraid of diminishing their efficacy by a too frequent use of them, they betook themselves to other

ftratagems. They then conferred on the Confuls, by the means of a fhort form of words for the occafion, (a) an absolute power over the lives of the Citizens; or, even, appointed a Dictator. The People, at the fight of the State masquerade which was thus difplayed before them, were fure to fink into a ftate of confternation; and the Tribunes, however clearly they might fee through the

(a) Videat Conful ne quid detrimenti Refpublica capiat.

artifice, trembled alfo in their turn, when they thus beheld themfelves left without defenders. (a)

At other times, they brought falfe accufations against the Tribunes before the Affembly itself; or, by privately flandering them to the people, they totally deprived them of their confidence. It was through artifices of this kind that the People were brought to behold, without concern, the murder of Tiberius Gracchus, the only Roman that was a real patriot; the only one who truly loved the People. It was alfo in this fame manner that Caius, who was not deterred, by his brother's fate, from pursuing the fame plan of conduct, was in the end fo intirely forfaken by the people, that nobody could be found among them who would even lend him a horfe to fly from the fury of

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(a)" The Tribunes of the People," fays Livy, who was a great admirer of the Ariftocratical power, " and the "People themfelves, durft neither lift up their eyes, nor even "mutter, in the prefence of the Dictator." Nec adversùs Dictatoriam vim, aut Tribuni plebis, aut ipfa Plebs, attollere oculos, aut hifcere, audebant.-See Tit. Liv. L. vi. §. 16.

the Nobles; and he was at last compelled to lay violent hands upon himself, while he invoked the wrath of the Gods on his unfaithful fellow Citizens.

the People.

At other times, they raised divifions among Moft formidable combinations manifefted themselves, on a fudden, at the eve of important tranfactions; and all moderate Men avoided attending Affemblies, where they faw that all was to be tumult and confufion.

In fine, that nothing might be wanting to the infolence with which they treated the Affemblies of the People, they fometimes falfified the declarations of the number of the votes; they even once went fo far as to carry off the urns into which the Citizens were to throw their fuffrages. (a)

(a) The Reader, with respect to all the above obfervations, may fee Plutarch's Lives, particularly the Lives of the two Gracchi. I muft add, that I have avoided drawing any inftance from thofe Affemblies, in which one half of the people were made to arm themselves against the other. I have only alluded here to those times which immediately either preceded or followed the third Punic war, that is, of those which are commonly called the best period of the Republic.

CHAPTER

VIII.

The Subject concluded.-Effects that have resulted, in the English Government, from the People's Power being compleatly delegated to their Reprefentatives.

BUT

UT when the People have intirely trufted their power to a moderate number of perfons, affairs immediately take a far different turn. Those who govern are from that moment obliged to leave off all thofe ftratagems which had hitherto insured their fuccefs. Inftead of those Affemblies which they affected to defpife, and were perpetually comparing to ftorms, or to to the current of the Euripus, (a) and in regard to

(a) Tully makes no end of his fimiles on this fubject. Quod enim fretum, quem Euripum, tot motus, tantas & tàm varias habere putatis agitationes flu&tuum, quantas perturbationes & quantos æftus habet ratio Comitiorum? See Orat. pro Murænâ.-Concio, fays he in another place, quæ ex imperitiffimis conftat, &c. De Amicitiâ. §. 25.

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