[9,51] Ἀποδειχθέντων δὲ μετ´ ἐκείνους ὑπάτων Λευκίου Οὐαλερίου τὸ δεύτερον καὶ Τιβερίου Αἰμιλίου βραχύν τινα χρόνον ἐπισχόντες οἱ δήμαρχοι τὸν ὑπὲρ κληρουχίας πάλιν εἰσῆγον λόγον· καὶ προσιόντες τοῖς ὑπάτοις ἠξίουν βεβαιῶσαι τῷ δήμῳ τὰς ὑποσχέσεις, ἃς ἐποιήσατο ἡ βουλὴ Σπορίου Κασσίου καὶ Πρόκλου Οὐεργινίου ὑπατευόντων, δεόμενοί τε καὶ λιπαροῦντες. καὶ οἱ ὕπατοι αὐτοῖς συνελάμβανον ἀμφότεροι, Τιβέριος μὲν Αἰμίλιος κότον τινὰ παλαιὸν εἰς τὴν βουλὴν οὐκ ἄλογον ἀναφέρων, ὅτι τῷ πατρὶ αὐτοῦ θρίαμβον αἰτουμένῳ κατάγειν οὐκ ἐπέτρεψεν, ὁ δὲ Οὐαλέριος ἀποθεραπεῦσαι τοῦ δήμου τὴν ὀργὴν βουλόμενος, ἣν εἶχε πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐπὶ τῷ Σπορίου Κασσίου θανάτῳ, ὃν ἀπέκτεινεν ὡς ἐπιχειροῦντα βασιλείᾳ ταμίας τότ´ ὢν Οὐαλέριος, ἄνδρα τῶν κατὰ τὴν αὐτὴν ἡλικίαν γενομένων ἐπιφανέστατον ἐν ἡγεμονίαις τε πολέμων καὶ πολιτικαῖς πράξεσιν, ὃς καὶ τὸ περὶ τῆς κληρουχίας πολίτευμα πρῶτος εἰσήγαγεν εἰς τὴν πόλιν, καὶ δι´ αὐτὸ μάλιστα ὑπὸ τῶν πατρικίων, ὡς δῆμον ἀναιρούμενος πρὸ αὐτῶν, ἐμισήθη. τότε δ´ οὖν ὑποσχομένων τῶν ὑπάτων αὐτοῖς προθήσειν ἐν τῇ βουλῇ τὸν ὑπὲρ τῆς διανομῆς τῶν δημοσίων κλήρων λόγον, καὶ τῆς ἐπικυρώσεως τοῦ νόμου συναρεῖσθαι, πιστεύσαντες αὐτοῖς οἱ δήμαρχοι παρῆσαν ἐπὶ τὴν βουλὴν καὶ λόγους διεξῆλθον ἐπιεικεῖς. οἷς οὐδὲν ἀντιλέξαντες οἱ ὕπατοι, ὡς μὴ φιλονεικίας δόξαν ἀπενέγκαιντο, γνώμην ἀποδείκνυσθαι τοὺς πρεσβυτάτους ἠξίουν. ἦν δ´ ὁ πρῶτος ὑπ´ αὐτῶν κληθεὶς Λεύκιος Αἰμίλιος θατέρου τῶν ὑπάτων πατήρ· ὃς ἔφη δοκεῖν αὐτῷ καὶ δίκαιον καὶ συμφέρον ἔσεσθαι τῇ πόλει, πάντων εἶναι τὰ κοινὰ καὶ μὴ ὀλίγων, τῷ τε δήμῳ πείθοντι ὑπουργεῖν συνεβούλευεν, ἵνα χάρις ἡ παραχώρησις αὐτῶν γένηται. πολλὰ γὰρ καὶ ἄλλα μὴ δόντας αὐτῷ κατὰ προαίρεσιν, ὑπ´ ἀνάγκης συγκεχωρηκέναι· τούς τε κατέχοντας τὰς κτήσεις ὧν ἐκαρπώσαντο χρόνων λαθόντες ἠξίου χάριν εἰδέναι, κωλυομένους δὲ μὴ φιλοχωρεῖν. ἔφη τε σὺν τῷ δικαίῳ, ὃ πάντες ὁμολογήσειαν ἰσχυρὸν εἶναι, τὰ μὲν δημόσια κοινὰ πάντων εἶναι, τὰ δ´ ἴδια ἑκάστου τῶν νόμῳ κτησαμένων· καὶ ἀναγκαῖον ἤδη τὸ πρᾶγμα ὑπὸ τῆς βουλῆς γεγονέναι πρὸ ἐτῶν ἑπτακαίδεκα τὴν γῆν διανέμειν ψηφισαμένης. καὶ τοῦτ´ ἀπέφηνεν ἐπὶ τῷ συμφέροντι τότ´ αὐτὴν βεβουλεῦσθαι, ἵνα μήτε γῆ χέρσος ᾖ, καὶ ὁ τὴν πόλιν οἰκουρῶν πένης ὄχλος μὴ ἀργός, ὥσπερ νῦν τοῖς ἀλλοτρίοις ἀγαθοῖς φθονῶν, ἐπιτρέφηται δὲ τῇ πόλει νεότης ἐν ἐφεστίοις καὶ κλήροις πατρῴοις, ἔχουσά τι καὶ ἐπὶ τῷ καλῶς τεθράφθαι μέγα φρονεῖν· ἐπεὶ τοῖς γ´ ἀκλήροις καὶ ἐκ τῶν ἀλλοτρίων κτημάτων, ἃ μισθοῦ ἐργάζονται, γλίσχρως διατρεφομένοις, ἢ ἀρχῆθεν μὴ ἐμφύεσθαι ἔρωτα γενεᾶς τέκνων, ἢ ἐμφύντα πονηρὸν ἐκφέρειν καρπὸν καὶ οὐδ´ εὐτυχῆ, ἐκ ταπεινῶν τε συμπορισθέντα οἷα εἰκὸς γάμων, καὶ ἐν κατεπτωχευμέναις τραφέντα τύχαις. ἐγὼ μὲν οὖν, ἔφη, γνώμην ἀποδείκνυμαι, τά τε προβουλευθέντα ὑπὸ τοῦ συνεδρίου καὶ διὰ τὰς μεταξὺ ταραχὰς παρειλκυσμένα ἐμπεδοῦν τοὺς ὑπάτους, καὶ τοὺς ποιησομένους τὴν διανομὴν ἄνδρας ἀποδεικνύναι.

[9,51] When Lucius Valerius (for the second time) and Tiberius Aemilius had been appointed as the next consuls, the tribunes after a short delay brought up again the question of the land-allotment; and coming to the consuls, they asked them, with prayers and entreaties, to fulfil for the populace the promises which the senate had made in the consulship of Spurius Cassius and Proculus Verginius. Both consuls favoured their request, Tiberius Aemilius bringing up an old and not unreasonable grudge against the senate because it had refused a triumph to his father when he asked for it, and Valerius from a desire to heal the anger of the populace directed against him because of the death of Spurius Cassius, whom he, being quaestor at the time, had caused to be put to death for aiming at tyranny. Cassius had been the most distinguished of his contemporaries both in military commands and in civil affairs; moreover, he was the first to introduce into the commonwealth the measure concerning the allotment of lands and for that reason in particular was hated by the patricians as one who preferred the populace to them.At the time in question, at any rate, when the consuls promised them to bring up in the senate the question of the division of the public lands and to assist in securing the ratification of the law, the tribunes trusted them, and going to the senate, they spoke with moderation. And the consuls, desiring to avoid any appearance of contention, said nothing in opposition, but asked the oldest (p93) senators to express their opinions.The first person called upon was Lucius Aemilius, the father of one of the consuls, who said it seemed to him that it would be both just and for the interest of the commonwealth that the possessions of the public should belong to all and not to a few, and he advised them to support the plea of the populace, in order that this concession on their part might be regarded as a favour; for many other things which they had not granted them by choice they had yielded through necessity. He felt also that those who were occupying these possessions ought to be grateful for the time they had enjoyed them without being detected, and when peeved from using them longer should not cling to them obstinately. He added that, along with the principle of justice, the force of which all would acknowledge, according to which the public possessions are the common property of all and private possessions the property of the one who has acquired them according to law, the action had also become unavoidable now through the action of the senate, which seventeen years before had ordered that the land be divided. And he declared that it had reached this decision at that time in the public interest, to the end that neither the land should go uncultivated nor the multitude of poor people dwelling in the city should live in idleness, envying the advantages of the others, as was now the case, and that young men might be reared up for the state in the homes and on the lands of their fathers, deriving also some pride of spirit from the very rearing.For such as have no lands of their own and live miserably off the possessions of others which they cultivate for hire either do not feel any desire at all to (p95) beget children, or, if they do, produce a sorry and wretched offspring, such as might be expected of those who are the fruit of humble marriages and are reared in beggared circumstances."As for me, then," he said, "the motion I make is that the consuls should carry out the preliminary decree which was then passed by the senate and has since been delayed by reason of the intervening disturbances, and appoint the men to divide the land."