Roma - Saylor Steven (книги полностью .TXT) 📗

“If only the fable told by Agrippa had sufficed to make those malcontents see the error of their ways! A city must be ruled by the best and wisest of its men, and to those men must be given the respect and privileges they deserve. The other citizens have their purpose, but it is not to rule the city! They exist to fill the ranks of the army, to settle new colonies so as to spread the power of Roma and encircle her with obedient allies, to harvest the crops, and to build the roads. It is not the rabble’s place to rule, yet they persist in their reckless attempts to pull down their betters and take their place! They can only fail, because, like the limbs who rebelled against the belly, what they are attempting goes against the natural order of the universe, against the will of the gods.

“And yet, these malcontents have already done great damage to the state, and they have done so with the craven cooperation of a majority within this very chamber! This appeasement must stop. More than that, it must be rolled back, before the damage becomes irreparable. This is not merely an internal matter, a disagreement among citizens. Never forget that Roma is surrounded by enemies, and those enemies are always watching. How gleeful they must be, to see our predicament! One by one, the best men of Roma will be pulled down by the rabble. Who then will defend the city against her foes? Just as the lesser men will destroy the greater men in Roma, so lesser cities will unite to destroy Roma herself. Your fortunes and your land will be taken from you. Your families shall be sold into slavery. Our beloved Roma shall cease to exist—and men will say that her destruction began with the creation of the tribunes of the plebs!”

There was an uproar in the chamber. Members cried out, “This issue has already been settled!” and “The plebs are not the enemy!” But others were exhilarated by Gnaeus’s words, including Appius Claudius, who sprang to his feet and shouted, “Hail Coriolanus, the man who dares to speak the truth!”

Gnaeus raised his hands. As the din subsided, one senator shouted, “What exactly do you propose, Gnaeus Marcius?”

“What do you think? I propose that the tribunes must be abolished.”

“The proposal is illegal!” shouted a senator. “Withdraw it at once!”

“I will not! I stand by my words, and I ask you, my colleagues, to stand by me. A grave mistake was made and it must be rectified, for the sake of Roma!”

If Gnaeus had hoped to put forward a formal proposal and to call for a vote, he was thwarted. All over the chamber, senators sprang to their feet and loudly demanded to be recognized. Shouting led to name-calling, and then to shoving matches. Amid the chaos, Gnaeus, who was used to the discipline of the army and its clear lines of authority, threw up his hands in disgust and strode out of the chamber.

Titus caught up with him as he descended the steps of the Senate House. “Gnaeus, where are you going?”

“Anywhere to escape that tumult. The Senate is just what I expected—all kings and no crown. How they ever accomplish anything, I can’t imagine. Would you believe it, just this morning, Cominius was telling me that I should consider a run for consul. Can you see me currying favor with that lot and the common rabble? I think not!”

“It’s usually not quite so…disorderly.” Titus laughed. “You certainly riled them up.”

“I did, didn’t I? Because they needed it!” Gnaeus’s smile abruptly faded. In the middle of the Forum, he found himself confronted by a large group of men. One of the men stepped forward.

“Are you Gnaeus Marcius, called Coriolanus?”

“You know I am. Who are you?”

“Spurius Icilius, tribune of the plebs. I’ve been informed of a threat made against myself and the well-being of all plebeians.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Did you not, only moments ago, make a proposal on the floor of the Senate that the tribunate of the plebs should be abolished, therefore threatening the safety and protection of all plebeians?”

“How would you know about that? Do you have spies in the Senate?”

“The eyes and the ears of the tribunes are everywhere. We are the protectors of the people.”

“You’re nothing more than hooligans.”

“Did you or did you not threaten the tribunes?”

“What I said before the Senate, I’ll say to your face: For the survival of Roma, the tribunes must be abolished!”

“Gnaeus Marcius, I place you under arrest for threatening a tribune of the plebs and for interfering with his mission. Your fate will be decided by a vote of the people’s assembly.”

“This is ridiculous!”

“You will come with me.”

“I will not! Take your hands off me!” Gnaeus repulsed the tribune so forcefully that the man stumbled and fell backward.

Some of the men with Icilius produced cudgels and brandished them. Gnaeus struck one of them squarely in the nose and sent him reeling, then adroitly ducked a cudgel swung at his head. He struck another man and knocked him down. Titus, caught up in the excitement, joined the fight just as more men with cudgels arrived.

“We must run, Titus!” shouted Gnaeus.

“Run? Surely Coriolanus never runs!” Titus ducked a cudgel.

“When he’s unarmed and outnumbered, even Coriolanus makes a strategic retreat!”

The tribune’s men blocked the way back to the Senate House. Titus and Gnaeus ran in the opposite direction, toward the Capitoline, with the tribune and his men in pursuit. The last time the two of them had ascended the hill had been on the day of the triumph, when Gnaeus had received his title by the acclamation of the people. It occurred to Titus that some of the men pursuing them had probably been among those who shouted “Coriolanus!” How they had loved Gnaeus on that day; how they hated him now! Gnaeus was right, he thought. The rabble were fickle and foolish and did not deserve to have a warrior like Coriolanus to fight their battles.

They sprinted up the winding pathway and approached the summit. “Has it occurred to you,” asked Titus, breathing hard, “that we shall have nowhere to go when we reach the top?”

“There is no strategic retreat without a strategy!” said Gnaeus. “I shall enter the Temple of Jupiter and demand asylum. If the rabble can find asylum in your Temple of Ceres, then surely Jupiter can shield a senator!”

But as they approached the temple steps, they were blocked by a group of men who had somehow circled ahead of them. There was no choice but to keep running, until they came to the Tarpeian Rock and could run no more.

The swiftest of the pursuers, almost upon them, shouted back to the others, “Can you believe it? The gods have led them straight to the place of execution!”

“Stand back!” cried the tribune Icilius. “No one will be executed today. This man is under arrest.”

But as the mob approached, there were cries of “Swift justice!” and “Push him over!” and “Kill him now!”

Titus, already light-headed from running, glanced over the precipice and staggered back. He was dizzy and his heart was pounding.

“Now we see what sort of men you really are,” said Gnaeus. “Cold-blooded murderers!”

“No one will be murdered!” insisted Icilius. He pushed his way to the front of the crowd. The mob surged behind him. He lowered his voice. “Senator, I am barely able to restrain these men. Do nothing to provoke them further! For your own safety, Senator, you must come with me.”

“I will not! I recognize the authority of no man to arrest a Roman citizen simply for speaking his mind. Call off your curs, tribune, and leave me in peace!”

“You dare to call us dogs?” One of the men behind Icilius threw his cudgel. It missed Gnaeus but struck a glancing blow to Titus’s temple. Titus staggered back and tottered on the precipice. Gnaeus leaped to catch him, and for an instant it appeared that both of them would fall. Gnaeus at last gained his balance and pulled Titus to safety.