Marcus Manlius Capitolinus

The triumph decreed him for these victories brought him no less favour and renown that his first two had done; and those citizens who had been most envious of him, and preferred to ascribe all his successes to an unbounded good fortune rather than to a native valour, were forced by these new exploits to set the man's glory to the credit of his ability and energy.

Now of all those who fought him with hatred and envy, the most conspicuous was Marcus Manlius, the man who first thrust the Gauls down the cliff when they made their night attack upon the Capitol, and for this reason had been surnamed Capitolinus.

This man aspired to be chief in the city; and since he could not in the fairest way outstrip Camillus in the race for glory, he had recourse to the wonted, unusual arts of those that would found a tyranny.

He courted, that is, the favour of the multitude, especially of the debtor class, defending some and pleading their causes against their creditors, snatching others from arrest and preventing their trial by process of law.

Such institutions, however, require fresh life to be infused into them by the worth of some one man who fearlessly devotes himself to give them effect in opposition to the power of those who set them at defiance.

Of the laws being thus reinforced in Rome, before its capture by the Gauls, we have notable examples in the deaths of the sons of Brutus, of the Decemvirs, and of Manlius Frumentarius; and after its capture, in the deaths of Manlius Capitolinus and of the son of Manlius Torquatus, in the prosecution of his Master of the Knights by Papirius Cursor, and in the impeachment of the Scipios.

Such examples as these, being signal and extraordinary, had the effect, whenever they took place, of bringing men back to the true standard of right; but when they came to be of rarer occurrence, they left men much more leisure to grow corrupted, and were attended by greater danger and disturbance.

Wherefore, between one and another of these vindications of the laws, no more than ten years, at most, ought to intervene; because after that time men begin to change their manners and to disregard the laws; and if nothing occur to recall the idea of punishment, and unless fear resume its hold on their minds, so many offenders suddenly spring up together that it is impossible to punish them without danger.

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For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org Recording by Rita Butros Discourses on the First Decade of Titus Livius, Book 3 By Niccolo Machiavelli Translated by Ninian Hill Thompson Chapter 8 That he who would effect changes in a commonwealth must give heed to its character and condition I have said before that a bad citizen cannot work grave mischief in a commonwealth which has not become corrupted.

This opinion is not only supported by the arguments already advanced, but is further confirmed by the examples of Spurious Cassius and Manlius Capitolinus.

For Spurious being ambitious and desiring to obtain extraordinary authority in Rome, and to win over the people by loading them with benefits, as for instance by selling them those lands which the Romans had taken from the Hernici.

The triumph decreed him for these victories brought him no less favour and renown than his first two had done; and those citizens who had been most envious of him, and preferred to ascribe all his successes to an unbounded good fortune rather than to a native valour, were forced by these new exploits to set the man's glory to the credit of his ability and energy.

Now of all those who fought him with hatred and envy, the most conspicuous was Marcus Manlius, the man who first thrust the Gauls down the cliff when they made their night attack upon the Capitol, and for this reason had been surnamed Capitolinus.

This man aspired to be chief in the city, and since he could not in the fairest way outstrip Camillus in the race for glory, he had recourse to the wonted, unusual arts of those that would found a tyranny.

He courted, that is, the favor of the multitude, especially of the debtor class, defending some and pleading their causes against their creditors, snatching others from arrest and preventing their trial by process of law.

And it was your doing, yours, I say.

For as, on account of the wickedness of one Marcus Manlius, by a resolution of the Manlian family it is unlawful that any patrician should be called Manlius, so you, on account of the hatred excited by one dictator, have utterly abolished the name of dictator.

When you had done these mighty exploits for the safety of the republic, did you repent of your fortune, or of the dignity and renown and glory which you had acquired? Whence, then, is this sudden change? I cannot be induced to suspect that you have been caught by the desire of acquiring money.

Every one may say what he pleases, but we are not bound to believe such a thing.

What can be more scandalous than for that man to live who placed the diadem on a man's head, when every one confesses that that man was deservedly slain who rejected it? And moreover he caused it to be recorded in the annals under the head of Lupercalia, that Marcus Antonius the consul, by command of the people, had offered the kingdom to Gaius Caesar perpetual dictator, and that Caesar had refused to accept it.

I now am not much more surprised at your seeking to disturb the general tranquillity, at your hating not only the city but the light of day, and that you are living with a pack of abandoned robbers, disregarding the day, yet regarding nothing beyond the day.

For where can you be safe in peace? What place can there be for you where laws and courts of justice have sway, both of which you, as far as in you lay, destroyed by the substitution of kingly power? Was it for this that Lucius Tarquinius was driven out, that Spurius Cassius and Spurius Maelius and that Marcus Manlius were slain, that many years afterwards a king might be established at Rome by Marcus Antonius, though the bare idea was impiety? However, let us return to the auspices.

With respect to all the things which Caesar was intending to do in the senate on the Ides of March, I ask whether you have done anything.

And it's all going to focus.

on a very elite, very famous patrician that we have come across before, and that is Marcus Manlius Capitalinus.

Oh, huzzah.

I have source material for this.

It is a big call to be like, of all of the arrogant people that we know, this guy in particular is the most arrogant.

But it seems that he has accrued quite a reputation for himself.

And I'm interested in how Livy might navigate this because part of the discussion about Marcus Manlius is that he is able to start paying debtors.

and paying people out of debt.

Such institutions, however, require fresh life to be infused into them by the worth of some one man who fearlessly devotes himself to give them effect in opposition to the power of those who set them at defiance.

of the laws being thus reinforced in rome before its capture by the gauls we have notable examples in the deaths of the sons of brutus of the decemvirs and of manlius frumentarius and after its capture in the deaths of manlius capitolinus and of the son of manlius torcatus in the prosecution of his master of the knights by papirius cursor and in the impeachment of the scipios such examples as these being signal and extraordinary had the effect whenever they took place of bringing men back to the true standard of right but when they came to be of rarer occurrence they left men much more leisure to grow corrupted and were attended by greater danger and disturbance wherefore between one and another of these vindications of the laws no more than ten years at most ought to intervene because after that time men begin to change their manners and to disregard the laws and if nothing occur to recall the idea of punishment and unless fear resume its hold on their minds so many offenders suddenly spring up together that it is impossible to punish them without danger and to this purport it used to be said by those who ruled florence from the year fourteen thirty four to fourteen ninety four that their government could hardly be maintained unless it was renewed every five years by which they meant that it was necessary for them to arouse the same terror and alarm in men's minds as they inspired when they first assumed the government and when all who offended against their authority were signally chastised for when the recollection of such chastisement has died out men are emboldened to engage in new designs and to speak ill of their rulers for which the only remedy is to restore things to what they were at first a republic may likewise be brought back to its original form without recourse to ordinances for enforcing justice by the mere virtues of a single citizen by reason that these virtues are of such influence and authority that good men love to imitate them and bad men are ashamed to depart from them Those to whom Rome owed most for service of this sort were Horatius Cocles, Mucius Govola, the two Decii, Attilius Regulus, and diverse others, whose rare excellence and generous example wrought for their city almost the same results as might have been effected by ordinances and laws.

And if to these instances of individual worth had been added, every ten years, some signal enforcement of justice, it would have been impossible for Rome ever to have grown corrupted.

but when both of these incitements to virtuous behavior began to recur less frequently corruption spread and after the time of attilius regulus no like example was again witnessed for though the two catoes came later so great an interval had elapsed before the elder cato appeared and again so long a period intervened between him and the younger and these two moreover stood so much alone that it was impossible for them by their influence to work any important change more especially for the younger who found rome so much corrupted that he could do nothing to improve his fellow-citizens this is enough to say concerning commonwealths but as regards sects we see from the instance of our own religion that here too a like renewal is needed for had not this religion of ours been brought back to its original condition by st francis and st dominic it must soon have been utterly extinguished they however by their voluntary poverty and by their imitation of the life of christ rekindled in the minds of men the dying flame of faith and by the efficacious rules which they established averted from our church that ruin which the ill lives of its prelates and heads must otherwise have brought upon it for living in poverty and gaining great authority with the people by confessing them and preaching to them they got them to believe that it is evil to speak ill even of what is evil and that it is good to be obedient to rulers who if they do amiss may be left to the judgment of god by which teaching these rulers are encouraged to behave as badly as they can having no fear of punishments which they neither see nor credit nevertheless it is this renewal which has maintained and still maintains our religion kingdoms also stand in need of a like renewal and to have their laws restored to their former force and we see how by attending to this the kingdom of france has profited for that kingdom more than any other lies under the control of its laws and ordinances which are maintained by its parliaments and more especially by the parliament of paris from which last they derive fresh vigor whenever they have to be enforced against any prince of the realm for this assembly pronounces sentence even against the king himself heretofore this parliament has maintained its name as the fearless champion of the laws against the nobles of the land but should it ever at any future time suffer wrongs to pass unpunished and should offences multiply either these will have to be corrected with great disturbance to the state or the kingdom itself must fall to pieces this then is our conclusion that nothing is so necessary in any society be it a religious sect a kingdom or a commonwealth as to restore to it that reputation which it had at first and to see that it is provided either with wholesome laws or with good men whose actions may effect the same ends without need to resort to external force for although this last may sometimes, as in the case of Rome, afford an efficacious remedy, it is too hazardous a remedy to make us ever wish to employ it.

CHAPTER VIII.

DISCOURSES ON THE FIRST DECADE OF TITUS LIVIUS.

translated by ninian hill thompson chapter eight that he who would effect changes in a commonwealth must give heed to its character and condition i have said before that a bad citizen cannot work grave mischief in a commonwealth which has not become corrupted This opinion is not only supported by the arguments already advanced, but is further confirmed by the examples of Spurius Cassius and Manlius Capitolinus.

For Spurius, being ambitious and desiring to obtain extraordinary authority in Rome, and to win over the people by loading them with benefits, as, for instance, by selling them those lands which the Romans had taken from the Hernici, his designs were seen through by the senate and laid him under such suspicion that when in haranguing the people he offered them the money realized by the sale of the grain brought from sicily at the public expense they would have none of it believing that he offered it as the price of their freedom now had the people been corrupted they would not have refused this bribe but would have opened rather than closed the way to the tyranny the example of manlius is still more striking for in his case we see what excellent gifts both of mind and body and what splendid services to his country were afterwards cancelled by that shameful eagerness to reign which we find bred in him by his jealousy of the honours paid camillus for so darkened did his mind become that without reflecting what were the institutions to which rome was accustomed or testing the material he had to work on when he would have seen that it was still unfit to be moulded to evil ends he set himself to stir up tumults against the senate and against the laws of his country and herein we recognize the excellence of this city of rome and of the materials whereof it was composed for although the nobles were wont to stand up stoutly for one another not one of them stirred to succour manlius and not one of his kinfolk made any effort on his behalf so that although it was customary in the case of other accused persons for their friends to put on black and sordid raiment with all the other outward signs of grief in order to excite pity for the accused none was seen to do any of these things for manlius even the tribunes of the people though constantly ready to promote whatever courses seemed to favor the popular cause and the more vehemently the more they seemed to make against the nobles in this instance sided with the nobles to put down the common enemy nay the very people themselves keenly alive to their own interests and well disposed towards any attempt to damage the nobles though they showed manliest many proofs of their regard nevertheless when he was cited by the tribunes to appear before them and submit his cause for their decision assumed the part of judges and not of defenders and without scruple or hesitation sentenced him to die wherefore i think that there is no example in the whole roman history which serves so well as this to demonstrate the virtues of all ranks in that republic for not a man in the whole city bestirred himself to shield a citizen endowed with every great quality and who both publicly and privately had done so much that deserved praise but in all the love of country outweighed every other thought and all looked less to his past deserts than to the dangers which his present conduct threatened from which to relieve themselves they put him to death such says livius was the fate of a man worthy of our admiration had he not been born in a free state and here two points should be noted the first that glory is to be sought by different methods in a corrupt city and in one which still preserves its freedom the second which hardly differs from the first that in their actions and especially in matters of moment men must have regard to times and circumstances and adapt themselves thereto for those persons who from an unwise choice or from natural inclination run counter to the times will for the most part live unhappily and find all they undertake issue in failure whereas those who accommodate themselves to the times are fortunate and successful and from the passage cited we may plainly infer that had Manlius lived in the days of Marius and Scylla, when the body of the state had become corrupted, so that he could have impressed it with the stamp of his ambition, he might have had the same success as they had, and as those others had, who after them aspired to absolute power.