Caeso Quinctius L. f. L. n. Cincinnatus was a son of the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

dictator A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a small clique. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to rule the republic in tim ...

Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus. His trial for obstructing the

tribunes of the plebs Tribune of the plebs, tribune of the people or plebeian tribune ( la, tribunus plebis) was the first office of the Roman state that was open to the plebeians, and was, throughout the history of the Republic, the most important check on the power o ...

in 461 BC was one of the key events in the

Conflict of the Orders The Conflict of the Orders, sometimes referred to as the Struggle of the Orders, was a political struggle between the plebeians (commoners) and patricians (aristocrats) of the ancient Roman Republic lasting from 500 BC to 287 BC in which the plebe ...

in the years leading up to the

decemvirate The decemviri or decemvirs (Latin for "ten men") were some of the several 10-man commissions established by the Roman Republic. The most important were those of the two Decemvirates, formally the " decemvirate with consular power for writing ...

Background

A scion of the noble

patrician Patrician may refer to: * Patrician (ancient Rome), the original aristocratic families of ancient Rome, and a synonym for "aristocratic" in modern English usage * Patrician (post-Roman Europe), the governing elites of cities in parts of medieval ...

house of the

Quinctii The gens Quinctia, sometimes written Quintia, was a patrician family at ancient Rome. Throughout the history of the Republic, its members often held the highest offices of the state, and it produced some men of importance even during the imperia ...

, Caeso was tall and strong, and had earned a reputation as a fine soldier, to whom several feats of courage and daring were attributed. He was also considered an excellent public speaker. His uncle,

Titus Quinctius Capitolinus Barbatus Titus Quinctius Capitolinus Barbatus (513 BCafter 423 BC) was a Roman statesman and general who served as consul six times. Titus Quinctius was a member of the gens Quinctia, one of the oldest patrician families in Rome. He was the son of Luc ...

, had been thrice consul, and there was every reason to believe that Caeso would one day hold the same office.Livy, iii, 11–2.Dionysius, x. 5. But in the disputes between the patricians and the plebeians, Caeso unreservedly took the side of the aristocratic party, and despite holding no position of authority, he and his followers took it upon themselves to prevent the tribunes of the people from meeting in the

forum Forum or The Forum (plural forums or fora) may refer to: Common uses * Forum (legal), designated space for public expression in the United States *Forum (Roman), open public space within a Roman city **Roman Forum, most famous example *Internet ...

to conduct their business. If anyone dared oppose them, Caeso and his friends resorted to violence, driving away the plebeians and their representatives.

Testimony

In response, Aulus Verginius, one of the plebeian tribunes, brought the young Quinctius to trial on a capital charge. This only seems to have encouraged Caeso to pursue his war against the tribunes more vigorously, further increasing the young man's reputation for violence. Several prominent men testified in Caeso's defense: his uncle described his nobility and fine personal qualities, as well as his worth as a soldier; Spurius Furius Medullinus described how the young man had rescued him from danger and helped him win a great victory;

Lucius Lucretius Tricipitinus Lucius Lucretius Tricipitinus was a Roman senator in the fifth century BC, and was consul with Titus Veturius Geminus Cicurinus in 462 BC. Family Tricipitinus was the son of a Titus Lucretius, and grandson of Titus Lucretius Tricipitinus, consul ...

, the consul of the preceding year, described Caeso's military exploits and natural gifts, and urged that he not be judged too harshly in light of his age and lack of wisdom; and Caeso's father, Lucius Quinctius, begged forgiveness for his son's excesses. However, the trial was decided largely on the testimony of Marcus Volscius Fictor, a former tribune, who claimed that Caeso had struck his elder brother, Lucius, during a melee in the

Subura The Suburra, or ''Subura'' (unknown etymology), was a vast and populous neighborhood of Ancient Rome, located below the '' Murus Terreus'' on the ''Carinae'' and stretching on the slopes of the Quirinal and Viminal hills up to the offshoots of th ...

. Lucius Volscius was in a weakened state, not fully recovered from the pestilence of 463, and had died as a result of the young nobleman's attack. After Marcus had told this story, the crowd tried to attack Caeso, and was only restrained with difficulty. Verginius ordered his arrest, but Titus Quinctius objected, since Caeso had not yet been tried. After some debate, the other tribunes granted Caeso his freedom until the trial could be held, granting bail of 3,000 ''

asses Ass most commonly refers to: * Buttocks (in informal American English) * Donkey or ass, ''Equus africanus asinus'' **any other member of the subgenus ''Asinus'' Ass or ASS may also refer to: Art and entertainment * Ass (album), ''Ass'' (album ...

'', to be given by ten sureties.

Exile and death

Believing that he would be convicted based on the tribune Volscius' testimony, as well as his own violent reputation, Quinctius chose exile over a possible sentence of death, and departed for Etruria under cover of darkness. Verginius still wished to try the young man ''in absentia'', but was prevented from doing so when the other tribunes accepted the explanation that Caeso had voluntarily gone into exile, and dismissed the assembly. Nevertheless, the young man's father, Lucius Quinctius, forfeited the sum of 3,000 ''asses'', which required him to sell his house and property. He left Rome and settled in a small house on the other side of the

Tiber The Tiber ( ; it, Tevere ; la, Tiberis) is the third-longest List of rivers of Italy, river in Italy and the longest in Central Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio, where ...

. The following year, there was a rumour, apparently unfounded, that Caeso had returned to Rome, at the head of a conspiracy of young noblemen, and aided by the

Aequi 300px, Location of the Aequi (Equi) in central Italy, 5th century BC. The Aequi ( grc, Αἴκουοι and Αἴκοι) were an Italic tribe on a stretch of the Apennine Mountains to the east of Latium in central Italy who appear in the early hist ...

and

Volsci The Volsci (, , ) were an Italic tribe, well known in the history of the first century of the Roman Republic. At the time they inhabited the partly hilly, partly marshy district of the south of Latium, bounded by the Aurunci and Samnites on the ...

, with the intention of killing the tribunes of the plebs and anyone else who had opposed the aristocracy. In 459, an attempt was made to bring Volscius to trial, on the grounds that his brother had died without ever having recovered enough from the plague to leave his bed, while Caeso had been out of the city at the time. The effort was unsuccessful, but tried again the following year, when Caeso's uncle Titus was quaestor. According to Livy, Volscius was convicted of perjury, and went into exile at

Lanuvium Lanuvium, modern Lanuvio, is an ancient city of Latium vetus, some southeast of Rome, a little southwest of the Via Appia. Situated on an isolated hill projecting south from the main mass of the Alban Hills, Lanuvium commanded an extensive vie ...

, but by this time it appears that Caeso had died, much to his father's grief.

Historicity

In ''A Critical History of Early Rome'', Gary Forsythe suggests that the story of Caeso Quinctius should be regarded as a later addition to the narrative of the conflict of the orders, providing an example of an injustice done to the patricians, and adding colour to the story of his father's stoic attitude and subsequent redemption.Forsythe, p. 204.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* Dionysius of Halicarnassus, ''Romaike Archaiologia'' (Roman Antiquities). * Titus Livius (

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding in ...

), ''

History of Rome The history of Rome includes the history of the city of Rome as well as the civilisation of ancient Rome. Roman history has been influential on the modern world, especially in the history of the Catholic Church, and Roman law has influenced m ...

''. * Gary Forsythe, ''A Critical History of Early Rome: From Prehistory to the First Punic War'', University of California Press, Berkeley (2006). {{DEFAULTSORT:Quinctius, Caeso Cincinnatus, Caeso Quinctius Year of death unknown Year of birth unknown