sury. The patricians fought against Cassius because he was to take
away their lands, and the plebeians were discontented with him because
he had favored the Latins. The result was that at the close of his
office he was sentenced and executed for the mere attempt to do justice
to humanity.

The tribunes of the people finally gained more power, and a resolution
was introduced in the senate providing that a body of ten men should be
selected to reduce the laws of the state to a written code. In 451
B.C. the ten men were chosen {255} from the patricians, who formed ten
tables of laws, had them engraved on copper plates, and placed them
where everybody could read them. The following year ten men were again
appointed, three of whom were plebeians, who added two more tables; the
whole body became known as the Laws of the Twelve Tables. It was a
great step in advance when the laws of a community could be thus
published. Soon after this the laws of Valerius and Horatius made the
acts of the assembly of the tribunes of equal force with those of the
assembly of the centuries, and established that every magistrate,
including the dictator, was obliged in the future to allow appeals from
his decision. They also recognized the inviolability of the tribunes
of the people and of the aediles who represented them. But in order to
circumvent the plebeians, two quaestors were appointed in charge of the
military treasury.

Indeed, at every step forward which the people made for equality and
justice, the senate, representing the aristocracy, passed laws to
circumvent the plebeians. In 445 B.C. the tribune Canuleius introduced
a law legalizing marriage between the patricians and plebeians. The
children were to inherit the rank of their father. This tribune
further attempted to pass a law allowing consuls to be chosen from the
plebeians. To this a fierce opposition sprang up, and a compromise
measure was adopted which allowed military tribunes to be elected from
the plebeians, who had consular power. But again the senate sought to
circumvent the plebeians, and created the new patrician office of
censor, to take the census, make lists of citizens and taxes, appoint
senators, prepare the publication of the budget, manage the state
property, farm out the taxes, and superintend public buildings; also he
might supervise the public morality.

With the year 587 B.C. came the invasion of the Gauls from the north
and the famous battle of