extended had been as good and wise as Lucius
Quintius, whose virtue affords a notable example. For terms of accord
having been settled between the senate and commons of Rome, the latter,
thinking their tribunes well able to withstand the ambition of the
nobles, prolonged their authority for a year. Whereupon, the senate, not
to be outdone by the commons, proposed, out of rivalry, to extend the
consulship of Quintius. He, however, refused absolutely to lend himself
to their designs, and insisted on their appointing new consuls, telling
them that they should seek to discredit evil examples, not add to them
by setting worse. Had this prudence and virtue of his been shared by
all the citizens of Rome, the practice of prolonging the terms of civil
offices would not have been suffered to establish itself, nor have led
to the kindred practice of extending the term of military commands,
which in progress of time effected the ruin of their republic.

The first military commander whose term was extended, was Publius Philo;
for when his consulship was about to expire, he being then engaged in
the siege of Palaeopolis, the senate, seeing he had the victory in
his hands, would not displace him by a successor, but appointed him
_Proconsul_, which office he was the first to hold. Now, although in
thus acting the senate did what they thought best for the public good,
nevertheless it was this act of theirs that in time brought Rome to
slavery. For the further the Romans carried their arms, the more
necessary it seemed to them to grant similar extensions of command, and
the oftener they, in fact, did so. This gave rise to two disadvantages:
first that a smaller number of men were trained to command; second,
that by the long continuance of his command a captain gained so much
influence and ascendency over his soldiers that in time they came to
hold the senate of no account, and looked only to him. This it was, that
enabled Sylla and Marius to find adherents ready to follow them even to
the public detriment, and enabled Caesar to overthrow the liberties of
his country; whereas, had the Romans never prolonged the period of
authority, whether civil or military, though they might have taken
longer to build up their empire, they certainly had been later in
incurring servitude.

CHAPTER XXV.--_Of the poverty of Cincinnatus and of many other Roman
Citizens.

Elsewhere I have shown that no ordinance is of such advantage to a
commonwealth,