Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1870) - Volume 2.djvu/304

Rh 290 GRACCHUS. 7. Tib. Sempronius Gracchus, tlie elder son of No. 6. If Plutarch is right, that Tib. Gracchus was not thirty years old at his death, in B. c. 133, he must have been born in B. c. 164; but we know that he was quaestor in B.C. 137, an office which by law he could not hold till he had completed his thirty-first year, whence it would follow that he was born about five years earlier, and that at his death he was about thirty- five years old. He lost his father at an early age, but this did not prevent his inheriting his father's excellent qualities, and his illustrious mother, Cor- nelia, made it the object of her life to render her sons worthy of their father and of her own ances- tors. It v/as owing to the care she bestowed upon the education of her sons, rather than to their natural talents, that they surpassed all the Roman youths of the time. She was assisted in her ex- ertions by eminent Greeks, who exercised great in- fluence upon the minds of the two brothers, and among whom we have especial mention of Dio- phanes of Mytilene, Menelaus of Marathon, and Blossius of Cumae. As the Gracchi grew up, the relation between them and their teachers gradually became one of intimate friendship, and of the highest mutual esteem and admiration. Tiberius was nine years older than his brother Caius ; and although they grew up under the same influence, yet their natural talents and dispositions were developed in diff'erent ways, so that their characters, though resembling each other in their main outlines, yet presented great differences. Tiberius, who was in- ferior to his brother in point of talent, surpassed him in the amiable traits of his gentle nature : his noble bearing, the softness of his voice, the sim- plicity of his demeanour, and his calm dignity, won for him the hearts of the people. His eloquence, too, formed a strong contrast with the passionate and impetuous harangues of Caius ; for it was tem- perate, graceful, persuasive, and, proceeding as it did from the fulness of his own heart, it found a ready entrance into the hearts of his hearers. If the two brothers had been of an equal age, and could have united their eflbrts, their power would have been irresistible ; but as it was, each had to fight single-handed, and each fell a victim to the selfishness of the oligarchy, and the faithlessness and shortsightedness of the people, whose rights they had undertaken to defend. When Tib. Gracchus had arrived at the age of manhood, he was elected augur, and A pp. Claudius, who otherwise was not free from tiie haughtiness and selfishness so peculiar to his family, showed his esteem for Tiberius by offering him the hand of his daughter Claudia ; and most historians, according to Plutarch, related, that as App. Clau- dius had made the engagement without his wife's consent, she exclaimed, on being informed of it, Gracchus for our daughter's husband ?" When P. Scipio Africanus the younger, who was married to a sister of the Gracchi, undertook the command against Carthage, Tib. Gracchus accompanied him, and was a witness of the fearful fall of that city. Tiberius thus received the first practical lessons in military affairs from the most illustrious general of the time, in whose tent he lived, and whose friendship he enjoyed. The contemporary historian, Fannius, even related, that Tiberius, who surpassed all other soldiers in courage and attention to discipline, was the first GRACCHUS. among the Romans who scaled the walls of Car- thage. About ten years after his return from this expe- dition, B.C. 137, Tiberius was appointed quaestor, and in this capacity he accompanied the consul, C. Hostilius Mancinus, to his province of Hispania Citerior, where in a short time he gained both the affection of the Roman soldiers, and the esteem and confidence of the victorious enemy. When Mancinus, after being defeated by the Numan- tines, sent messengers to treat with them for a truce and terms of peace, the Spaniards, who had so often been deceived by the Romans in their negotiations, declared that they would not treat with any one except Tib. Gracchus ; for the confi- dence they placed in him personally was heightened by the recollection of the just and fair treatment they had received from his victorious father. Ti- berius accordingly was sent to Numantia, and con- cluded a peace with the Numantines on equitable terms. Considering the defeat which Mancinus had suffered, the terms were favourable to the Romans, and Gracchus saved by it an army of upwards of 20,000 men from utter annihilation ; but the concessions made to the Numantines were nevertheless more than the pride of the Roman senate could brook. After the conclusion of the peace, an incident occurred which gave further proof of the confidence which the Numantines placed in Tiberius. The Roman camp, and all that it contained, had fallen into the hands of the enemy ; and ■v^hen the army had already commenced its retreat, Tiberius discovered that the tablets containing the ac- counts of the money he had had to dispose of as quaes- tor were lost; and being anxious to recover them, that he might not be exposed to annoyances after his arrival at Rome, he returned with a few companions to Numantia. On his arrival he sent to the magis- trates, and begged of them to restore him the tablets. They were delighted at the opportunity of doing him a service ; they invited him to enter the city, and received him in a manner with which they would have treated their sincerest friend, — they honoured him with a public banquet, restored to him the tablets, and when he left, they gave him permission to take with him, as a remem- brance, any thing he might please. But Tiberius took only some incense, which he wanted for a sacrifice. When Mancinus and Tiberius returned to Rome, the feelings which there prevailed formed a great contrast to each other ; for while the friends and relatives of the soldiers who had served in Spain were rejoiced at their safe retura, and looked upon Grac- chus as their saviour, the senate and the rest of the people regarded the treaty with Numantia as a dis- grace to the Roman name. The odium of the treat}', however, was thrown on Mancinus alone, who of course was the only responsible person. He was .'tripped naked, and with his hands bound, he was delivered up to the Numantines, that the treaty might thus be annulled (B. c. 13(>). Tiberius, for the first time, enjoyed the admiration of the people, who rewarded his good services in the affair with affection and gratitude. P. Scipio Africanus, the brother-in-law of Gracchus, and then at the head of the aristocracy, took an active part in the proceedings against Mancinus, without attempting either to save him or to get the treaty with Numantia ratified. It would seem that even as early as this time, Scipio and the whole body
 * ' Why in such a hurry, unless you have got Tib.