60 Plutarch’s Lives
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enerally felt it to be shameful that a price should be paid forthe rejection of Cato, who ought rather to be paid himself to a, take upon him the office. So he carried it by the voices of the” first tribe. Hereupon Pompey immediately framed a lie, crying out, it thundered; and straight broke up the assembly, for the — Romans religiously observed this as a bad omen, and never con-cluded any matter after it had thundered. Before the nexttime, they had distributed larger bribes, and driving also thebest men out of the Field, by these foul means they procured Vatinius to be chosen pretor, instead of Cato. It is said, that. those who had thus corruptly and dishonestly given their voiceshurried, as if it were in flight, out of the Field. The othersstaying together, and exclaiming at the event, one of the tribunescontinued the assembly, and Cato standing up, as it were byinspiration, foretold all the miseries that afterwards befell thestate, exhorted them to beware of Pompey and Crassus, whowere guilty of such things, and had laid such designs, that theymight well fear to have Cato pretor. When he had ended this speech, he was followed to his house by a greater number of. people than all the new pretors elect put together. Caius Trebonius now proposed the law for allotting provincesto the consuls, one of whom was to have Spain and Africa, theother Egypt and Syria, with full power of making war, andcarrying it on both by sea and land, as they should think fit.When this was proposed, ail others despaired of putting anystop to it, and neither did nor said anything against it. ButCato, before the voting began, went up into the place ofspeaking, and desiring to be heard, was with much diffi-culty allowed two hours to speak. Having spent that timein informing them and reasoning with them, and in foretellingto them much that was to come, he was not suffered to speakany longer; but as he was going on, a serjeant came and pulledhim down; yet when he was down, he still continued speakingin a loud voice, and finding many to hsten to him, and join inhis indignation. Then the serjeant took him, and forced himout of the forum; but as soon as he got loose, he returned againto the place of speaking, crying out to the people to stand byhim. When he had done thus several times, Trebonius grewvery angry, and commanded him to be carried to prison; butthe multitude followed him, and listened to the speech whichhe made to them as he went along; so that Trebonius began tobe afraid again, and ordered him to be released. Thus that daywas expended, and the business staved off by Cato. But in the
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