CAIUS GRACCHUS. 535 and sentenced Caius Veturius to death, for refusing to give way in the forum to a tribune ; " Whereas," said he, " these men did, in the presence of you all, murder Tibe- rius with clubs, and dragged the slaughtered body through the middle of the city, to be cast into the river. Even hia friends, as many as could be taken, were put to death immediately, without any trial, notwithstanding that just and ancient custom, which has always been observed in our city, that whenever any one is accused of a capital crime, and does not make his personal appearance in court, a trumpeter is sent in the morning to his lodging, to sum- mon him by sound of trumpet to appear ; and before this .ceremony is performed, the judges do not proceed to the vote ; so cautious and reserved were our ancestors about business of life and death." Having moved the people's passion with such addresses (and his voice was of the loudest and strongest), he pro- posed two laws. The first was, that whoever was turned out of any public office by the people, should be thereby rendered incapable of bearing any office afterwards ; the second, that if any magistrate condemn a Roman to be banished, without a legal trial, the people be authorized to take cognizance thereof. One of these laws was manifestly levelled at Marcus Octavius, who, at the instigation of Tiberius, had been deprived of his tribuneship. The other touched Popil- ius, who, in his prtetorship, had banished all Tiberius's friends; whereupon Popilius, being unwilling to stand the hazard of a trial, fled out of Italy. As for the former law, it was withdrawn by Caius himself, who said he yielded in the case of Octavius, at the request of his mother Cornelia. This was very acceptable and pleasing to the people, who had a great veneration for Cornelia, not more for the sake of her father than for that of her children ; and they afterwards erected a statue of brass in
