alth, they, as
Roman citizens, were entitled to the enjoyment of what they had won;
whereas, in fact, the sweets of victory fell to the lot only of a few
aristocrats. For the reform of this evil it should be enacted that all
public property which had been thus acquired, whether land or chattels,
should be sold, and with the proceeds other lands should be bought fit
for the use of Roman citizens, and be given to those who would choose to
have it. It was specially suggested that the rich country called the
Campania--that in which Naples now stands with its adjacent
isles--should be bought up and given over to a great Roman colony. For
the purpose of carrying out this law ten magistrates should be
appointed, with plenipotentiary power both as to buying and selling.
There were many underplots in this. No one need sell unless he chose to
sell; but at this moment much land was held by no other title than that
of Sulla's proscriptions. The present possessors were in daily fear of
dispossession, by some new law made with the object of restoring their
property to those who had been so cruelly robbed. These would be very
glad to get any price in hand for land of which their tenure was so
doubtful; and these were the men whom the "decemviri," or ten
magistrates, would be anxious to assist. We are told that the
father-in-law of Rullus himself had made a large acquisition by his use
of Sulla's proscriptions. And then there would be the instantaneous
selling of the vast districts obtained by conquest and now held by the
Roman State. When so much land would be thrown into the market it would
be sold very cheap and would be sold to those whom the "decemviri" might
choose to favor. We can hardly now hope to unravel all the intended
details, but we may be sure that the basis on which property stood would
have been altogether changed by the measure. The "decemviri" were to
have plenary power for ten years. All the taxes in all the provinces
were to be sold, or put up to market. Everything supposed to belong to
the Roman State was to be sold in every province, for the sake of
collecting together a huge sum of money, which was to be divided in the
shape of land among the poorer Romans. Whatever may have been the
private intentions of Rullus, whether good or bad, it is evident, even
at this distance of time, that a redistribution of property was intended
which can only be described as a general subversion. To this the new
Consul opposed himse