Lives by Plutarch - 12 - Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus
Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus
Quote
"The wild animals of our Italian countryside have their dens. Each of them has a place of rest and refuge, but those who fight and die for Italy have nothing."
Notes
Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus are sons of Tiberius Gracchus (senior) who is pretty famous. He's a censor and has two triumphs. He dies early on, but his wife, Cornelia is a devoted mother to her two sons.
Tiberius and Gaius have two different demeanors and speaking styles. Tiberius is more calm and Gaius is more energetic. Both have talents that suit them to public life. Tiberius is nine years older than Gaius, so he gets started first.
There is a growing problem where the poor are being driven off their land by the rich who are renting it out to themselves, using fake names, or jacking up rent so people can't afford it. And then they bring in foreign labour to work the land instead.
Tiberius works on a law to help give the poor their land back. The law is actually pretty lenient, but the wealthy are too greedy and they resist his efforts. The people support Tiberius and rally around him as their champion.
Tension mounts as the two sides argue and push to get their way. And there are plots to murder Tiberius. The law eventually passes, but the wealthy can still make life difficult for Tiberius. Not to mention that one of his friends suspiciously dies. The people suspect he was poisoned and their suspicions are more or less confirmed when they see as his body is being burned at the funeral "the body burst open on the pyre and so much foul liquid matter gushed out that the flames were extinguished."
Tiberius continues his work passing reforms to help the poor and reduce the power of the rich and of the senate. The tension is getting to him and he's more motivated by anger than justice.
There is a meeting at the Capitol with mobs of supporters from both sides gathering together. Tensions are very high and Tiberius hears of more plots to have him killed. Chaos breaks out and the two mobs start fighting. Tiberius and 300 others are killed. His body is thrown in the river in disgrace, and more of his close friends and allies are also killed. The Roman people are furious and looking to take revenge.
Meanwhile, Gaius is remaining outside these things, but he is working on his rhetoric and other skills to enter public life. The rich are afraid of Gaius that he will continue the work of his brother Tiberius. Tiberius apparently appears to Gaius in a dream and says, "Why are you hesitating, Gaius? There's no escape. Both of us are destined to live the same kind of life, and to die the same kind of death, as champions of the people."
So Gaius enters the fray and becomes a tribune, same as his brother was. He has massive support and frequently invokes the memory of Tiberius. He continues the work Tiberius did to support the common people. Contrary to convention where most politicians would face the senate when speaking, Gaius turns toward the forum and speaks facing the people.
He also enacts building projects and involves himself personally in the work. His reputation spreads as he meets with various people to discuss the project, treating everyone with kindness, dignity, and respect.
The senate tries beating Gaius at his own game, making direct appeals to the people to try and win them over and "gratify their whims" even when they are against the interests of the state. They also steal away his third term as tribune by falsifying the election results. They look for excuses to kill him as well, trying to goad him into doing something stupid and reckless.
They successfully provoke Gaius' people to murder and use this as a pretext to pass a decree to "put down the tyrants", meaning Gaius and anyone who supports him. Gaius prepares himself, knowing he's about to be killed, same as his brother. His wife knows, too, and they say their final goodbyes. Gaius goes off to meet his death by his enemies, who kill many of his friends and allies as well.
They build a temple over the spot and the people are outraged at this insult to Gaius. Some go at night to the temple and write on it, "This temple to Concord is the product of an act of insanity." They commemorate Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus as heroes of the people and build statues in their honour.