Page:Plutarch's Lives (Clough, v.4, 1865).djvu/525

 TIBERIUS GRACCHUS. 517 For not alone In revellings and Bacchic play, but also in contentions and political animosities, a noble nature and a temperate education stay and compose the mind. Observing, however, that Octavius himself was an offender against this law, and detained a great quan- tity of ground from the commonalty, Tiberius desired him to forbear opposing him any further, and proffered, for the public good, though he himself had but an indif- ferent estate, to pay a price for Octavius's share at his own cost and charges. But upon the refusal of this prof- fer by Octavius, he then interposed an edict, prohibiting all magistrates to exercise their respective functions, till such time as the law was either ratified or rejected by public votes. He further sealed up the gates of Saturn's temple, so that the treasurers could neither take any money out from thence, or put any in. He threatened to impose a severe fine upon those of the prcetors who presumed to disobey his commands, insomuch that all the officers, for fear of this penalty, intermitted the exer- cise of their several jurisdictions. Upon this, the rich proprietors put themselves into mourning, went up and down melancholy and dejected ; they entered also into a conspiracy against Tiberius, and procured men to mur- der him ; so that he also, with all men's knowledge, when- ever he went abroad, took with him a sword-staff, such as robbers use, called in Latin a dolo. When the day appointed was come, and the people summoned to give their votes, the rich men seized upon the voting urns, and carried them away by force ; thus all things were in confusion. But when Tiberius's party appeared strong enough to oppose the contrary faction, and drew together in a body, with the resolution to do so, Manlius and Fulvius, two of the consular quality, threw themselves before Tiberius, took him by the hand,