Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1870) - Volume 2.djvu/303

Rh GRACCHUS. pay a large sum of money, and give forty of their nobles as hostages. Gracchus thence proceeded to Alee, where the Celtiberians were encamped. Here several skirmishes took place, until at last, by a feigned flight of his own men, he succeeded in drawing the Celtiberians away from their camp, of which he immediately took possession. On this occasion 9000 enemies are said to have been slain. Gracchus now proceeded to ravage the country, which, together with his victory, had such an effect upon the people, that in a short time 103 Celtiberian towns submitted to him. Laden with immense booty, Gracchus then returned to Alee, which he besieged. The place at first made a gal- lant resistance, but was compelled to surrender. He again gained great booty, but treated the conquered people with kindness ; and one Celti- berian chief, Thurrus, even entered the Roman army, and assisted Gracchus as a faithful ally. The large and powerful city of Ergavica opened its gates to the Romans. Some historians, says Livy, stated that these conquests were not so easily made, but that the Celtiberians invai-iablj'^ revolted after their submission, as soon as the enemy was out of sight, until at last a fearful battle was fought, the irreparable loss of which induced the Celtiberians to conclude a permanent peace. This may indeed have been so, for the Spaniards had been treated by nearly all the previous Roman generals with cruelty and treachery ; and they could not know that they had now to do with a bold, gallant, and formidable, but at the same time a kind and honest enemy. In the year following Gracchus remained in Spain ; and by his usual prudence and valour he again achieved the most brilliant exploits ; he relieved the town of Carabis, which was besieged by a large army of Celtiberians, and he afterwards defeated, by a stratagem, another ai-my near Complega, which had endeavoured to ensnare hira. In this manner he gradually subdued all the Celtiberians, and he afterwards showed that he was as great in the peaceful administration of his province, as he had before been at the head of his armies. He adopted various excellent measures, which tended not only to secure his conquests, but to win the affections of the Spaniards to such a degree, that nearly fifty years afterwards they evinced their gratitude towards his son Tiberius. He assigned lands and habitations to the poorer people, and established a series of laws to regulate their relations to Rome. In com- memoration of his achievements in Spain, he changed the name of the town of Illurcis into Gracchuris. In B.C. 178 Gracchus returned to Rome, where he celebrated a splendid triumph over the Celtiberians and their allies, and was elected consul for the year following, with C. Claudius Pulcher. He obtained Sardinia for his province, where he had to carry on a war against the revolted inhabitants. He gained a brilliant victory over the enemy, and then led his army into winter quarters. In the spring of the year following he continued his successful operations against the Sardinians, and reduced them to submission. When this was achieved, and hostages were received, he sent envoys to Rome to solicit permission to return with his army and cele- brate a triumph. But public thanksgivings only were decreed, and Gracchus was ordered to remain in his province as proconsul. At the close of B. c. 1 75, however, he returned to Rome, and was honoured •with a triumph over the Sardinians, He is said to VOL..U. GRACCHUS. 289 have brought with him so large a number of cap- tives, that they were sold for a mere trifle, which gave rise to the proverb Sardi vevales. A tablet was dedicated by him in the temple of the Mater Matuta, on which the reduction of Sardinia was recorded, and on which were represented the island itself and the battles Gracchus had fought there. In B. c. 169 Gracchus was appointed censor with C. Claudius Pulcher. His censorship was charac- terised by a strictness bordering on severity : seve- ral persons were ejected from the senate, and many equites lost their horses. In consequence of this, the tribunes brought an accusation against the censors before the people, but both were acquitted. On that occasion Gracchus acted with great mag- nanimity towards his colleague, who was unpo- pular, while he himself enjoyed the highest es- teem and popularity, for he declared, that if his colleague should be condemned, he would accom- pany him into exile. With the money assigned to him for the public works he purchased the site of the house of P. Scipio Africanus, and of some adjoining buildings, and there erected a basilica, which was afterwards called the Basilica Sem- pronia. A more important act of his censorship was his throwing all the libertini together in the four tribus urbanae, whereas before they had gra- dually spread over all the tribes. This measure is called by Cicero one of the most salutary regula- tions, and one which for a time checked the ruin of the republic. In B. c. 1 64 Gracchus was sent by the senate as ambassador into Asia, to inspect the affairs of the Roman allies ; and it appears that on that occasion he addressed the Rhodians in a Greek speech, which was still extant in the time of Cicero. In B. c. 163 he was raised to the consul- ship a second time. Polybius mentions several other embassies on which he was employed by the senate, and in which he acted as a kind mediator between foreign princes and Rome, and afforded protection where it was needed. The time of his death is unknown : Orelli (Onom. Tull. ii. p. 531) commits the blunder of saying that he fell in battle in Lucania, thu'S confounding him with No. 2. Tib. Sempronius Gracchus had twelve children by Cornelia, nine of whom appear to have died at an early age. The remaining three were Tiberius and Caius, and a daughter, Cornelia, who was married to the younger Scipio Africanus. In his private and family life Gracchus was as amiable a man as he was great in his public career : he was the worthy husband of Cornelia, and the worthy father of the Gracchi, and, like his two sons, he combined with the virtues of a Roman those of a man. Cicero mentions him in several passages in terms of high praise, and also acknowledges that he had some merits as an orator. (Liv. xxxvii. 7, xxxviii. 52, 53, 57, 60, xxxix. 5, 55, xl. 35, 44, 47—50, xli. 3, 11, 12, 21, 26, 33, xliii. 16—18, xliv. 16, xlv. 15; Polyb. xxiii. 6, xxvi. 4, 7, xxxi. 5, 6, 9, 13, 14, 19, 23, xxxii. 3, 4, 5, xxxv. 2 ; Appian, Hispan. 43 ; Plut. 2%. Gracch. 1, &c., Marcell. 5 ; Cic. Brut. 20, de Re Pvhl. vi. 2, de Invent, i. 30, 49, de Nat. Deor. ii, 4, ad Q. Frat. ii. 2, de Divinal. i. 17, 18, ii. 35, de Aviic. 27, de Orat. i. 9, 48, de Fin. iv. 24, de Of. ii. 12, de Prov. Cons. 8 ; comp. Meyer, Fragm. Orat. Bom. p. 151, &c, 2nd edit. ; Niebuhr, Lectures rni R<h rnun Hist. vol. i. p. 2G9,) U