Page:Cicero And The Fall Of The Roman Republic.djvu/20

6 ," but the whole of Italy was after the Social War organised on the same plan. Each community of newly enfranchised Romans had its own institutions, its own magistrates and its own local patriotism, which however did not interfere with the allegiance of every citizen to the city of Rome. "Every burgess of a corporate town," says Cicero, "has, I take it, two father-lands, that of which he is a native, and that of which he is a citizen. I will never deny my allegiance to my native town, only I will never forget that Rome is my greater Fatherland, and that Arpinum is but a portion of Rome." It will be noticed that while Cicero loves to call himself an Arpinate, and exults to call himself a Roman, he has succeeded in quite forgetting that he is a Volscian.

The insolence of the Roman nobles, especially if they happened to be of patrician blood, might sometimes tempt them to sneer at the modern origin of these municipal Romans. Catiline could speak of Cicero as "a naturalised immigrant," and the young Manlius Torquatus, pleading against him at the bar, could describe his consulship as "the reign of an alien," because forsooth Cicero "came from a borough-town." "I will give you a piece of advice, my young friend," says Cicero in reply ; "when you are to sue for office, do not use that expression about any of your competitors; else you may find yourself swamped by the votes of the 'aliens.'"

The statesman who came from a country-town in