Book 1
5.34
While they were thus occupied the so-called Social War, in which many Italian peoples were engaged, broke out. It began unexpectedly, grew to great proportions rapidly, and extinguished the Roman seditions for a long time by a new terror. When it was ended it gave rise to new seditions under more powerful leaders, who did not work by introducing new laws, or by playing the demagogue, but by employing whole armies against each other. I have treated it in this history because it had its origin in a Roman sedition and resulted in another one much worse. Y.R. 629 It began in this way. Fulvius Flaccus in his consulship B.C. 125 first openly excited among the Italians the desire for Roman citizenship, so as to be partners in the hegemony instead of subjects. When he introduced this idea and strenuously persisted in it, the Senate, for that reason, sent him away to take command in a war, in the course of which his consulship expired, but he obtained the tribuneship after that and managed to have the younger Gracchus for a colleague, with whose coöperation he brought forward other measures in favor of the Italians. When they were both killed, as I have previously related, the Italians were still more excited. They could not bear to be considered subjects instead of equals, or to think that Flaccus and Gracchus should suffer such calamities while working for their political advantage. Y.R. 663
