wn up,
and Marius appeared before the Senate; but so far from being
disconcerted, as a young man might naturally be, who without any
advantages had just stepped into public life, he already assumed the
tone which his subsequent exploits authorized, and threatened to carry
off Cotta to prison if he did not rescind the decree. Upon Cotta
turning to Metellus and asking his opinion, Metellus arose and
supported the consul; but Marius, sending for the officer who was
outside of the house, ordered him to carry off Metellus himself to
prison. Metellus appealed to the rest of the tribunes without effect,
and the Senate yielded and abandoned the decree. Marius now
triumphantly came before the popular assembly and got his law
ratified, having proved himself to be a man unassailable by fear, not
to be diverted from his purpose by any motive of personal respect, and
a formidable opponent to the Senate by his measures which were adapted
to win the public favour. But he soon gave people reason to change
their opinion; for he most resolutely opposed a measure for the
distribution of corn among the citizens, and succeeding in his
opposition, he established himself in equal credit with both parties,
as a man who would do nothing to please either, if it were contrary to
the public interest.

V. After the tribuneship he was a candidate for the greater aedileship.
Now there are two classes of aedileships: one, which derives its name
(curule[56]) from the seats with curved feet on which the aediles sit
when they discharge their functions; the other, the inferior, is
called the plebeian aedileship. When they have chosen the higher
aediles, they then take the vote again for the election of the others.
Now as Marius was manifestly losing in the votes for the curule
aedileship, he forthwith changed about and became a candidate for the
other aedileship. But this was viewed as an audacious and arrogant
attempt, and he failed in his election; but though he thus met with
two repulses in one day, which never happened to any man before, he
did not abate one tittle of his pretensions, for no long time after he
was a candidate for a praetorship,[57] in which he narrowly missed a
failure, being the last of all who were declared to be elected, and he
was prosecuted for bribery.[58] What gave rise to most suspicion was
the fact that a slave of Cassius Sabaco[59] was seen within the septa
mingled with the voters; for Sabaco was one of the most intimate
f