§9.46.1eodem anno Cn.
In the same year, Cn.
Flavius scriba, patre libertino humili fortuna ortus, ceterum callidus vir et facundus, aedilis curulis fuit.
Flavius, a scribe, born of a freedman father and of humble fortune, but otherwise a shrewd and eloquent man, was curule aedile.
§9.46.2invenio in quibusdam annalibus, cum appareret aedilibus fierique se pro tribu aedilem videret neque accipi nomen, quia scriptum faceret, tabulam posuisse et iurasse se scriptum non facturum; §9.46.3quem aliquanto ante desisse scriptum facere arguit Macer Licinius tribunatu ante gesto triumviratibusque, nocturno altero, altero coloniae deducendae.
I find in certain annals that, when he was in service to the aediles and saw that he was being elected aedile by his tribe, but that his name was not being accepted because he was practicing the profession of a scribe, he laid down his tablet and swore that he would no longer act as a scribe; Licinius Macer argues that he had ceased to act as a scribe some time before, by reason of his having previously held the tribuneship and two triumvirs, one of the night-watch, the other for leading out a colony.
§9.46.4ceterum, id quod haud discrepat, contumacia adversus contemnentes humilitatem suam nobiles certavit; §9.46.5civile ius, repositum in penetralibus pontificum, evulgavit fastosque circa forum in albo proposuit, ut, quando lege agi posset, sciretur; §9.46.6aedem Concordiae in area Vulcani summa invidia nobilium dedicavit; coactusque consensu populi Cornelius Barbatus pontifex maximus verba praeire, cum more maiorum negaret nisi consulem aut imperatorem posse templum dedicare.
But, what is not disputed, he contended with unyielding spirit against the nobles who despised his humble origin; he published the civil law, which had been hidden away in the sanctuaries of the pontiffs, and posted the calendar on white boards around the forum, so that it might be known when it was lawful to transact legal business; he dedicated the temple of Concord in the area of Vulcan to the great jealousy of the nobles; and Cornelius Barbatus, the pontifex maximus, was forced by the consensus of the people to dictate the solemn words, although he asserted, in accordance with ancestral custom, that no one except a consul or a commander could dedicate a temple.
§9.46.7itaque ex auctoritate senatus latum ad populum est, ne quis templum aramve iniussu senatus aut tribunorum plebei partis maioris dedicaret.
Therefore, on the authority of the senate, a proposal was brought before the people that no one should dedicate a temple or an altar without the order of the senate or of a majority of the plebeian tribunes.
§9.46.8haud memorabilem rem per se, nisi documentum sit adversus superbiam nobilium plebeiae libertatis, referam.
I shall relate an incident not very memorable in itself, except that it may serve as an example of plebeian liberty against the pride of the nobles.
§9.46.9ad collegam aegrum visendi causa Flavius cum venisset consensuque nobilium adulescentium, qui ibi adsidebant, adsurrectum ei non esset, curulem adferri sellam eo iussit ac de sede honoris sui anxios invidia inimicos spectavit.
When Flavius had come to visit a sick colleague, and none of the noble youths who were sitting there rose to him by common consent, he ordered his curule chair to be brought to that place, and from the seat of his honor he looked upon his enemies, who were anxious with envy.
§9.46.10ceterum Flavium dixerat aedilem forensis factio, Ap.
But it was the forensic faction, which had gained strength through the censorship of Ap.
Claudi censura vires nacta, qui senatum primus libertinorum filiis lectis inquinaverat et, §9.46.11posteaquam eam lectionem nemo ratam habuit nec in curia adeptus erat quas petierat opes, urbanis humilibus per omnes tribus divisis forum et campum corrupit.
Claudius, that had declared Flavius aedile; Claudius had been the first to defile the senate by selecting the sons of freedmen, and, after no one held that selection valid and he had not obtained in the senate-house the power he had sought, he corrupted the forum and the Campus Martius by distributing the humble urban population through all the tribes.
§9.46.12tantumque Flavi comitia indignitatis habuerunt, ut plerique nobilium anulos aureos et phaleras deponerent.
And the election of Flavius carried so much indignity that most of the nobles laid aside their gold rings and phalerae.
ex eo tempore in duas partes discessit civitas; §9.46.13aliud integer populous, fautor et cultor bonorum, aliud forensis factio tendebat, donec Q. Fabius et P. Decius censores facti,
From that time the state was divided into two factions; the sound part of the people, supporters and cultivators of good men, strove for one object, the forensic faction for another, until Q.
§9.46.14et Fabius simul concordiae causa, simul ne humillimorum in manu comitia essent, omnem forensem turbam excretam in quattuor tribus coniecit urbanasque eas appellavit.
Fabius and P. Decius were made censors, and Fabius, both for the sake of concord and that the elections might not be in the hands of the lowest class, sifted out the whole forensic crowd, threw them into four tribes, and called them the urban tribes.
§9.46.15adeoque eam rem acceptam gratis animis ferunt, ut Maximi cognomen, quod tot victoriis non pepererat, hac ordinum temperatione pareret.
And they say this measure was received with such grateful hearts that the cognomen of Maximus, which he had not acquired by so many victories, was produced for him by this regulation of the classes.
ab eodem institutum dicitur, ut equites idibus Quinctilibus transveherentur.
By the same man, it is said, the custom was instituted that the knights should ride in procession on the Ides of Quinctilis.