From the sentence of this magistrate there was no
appeal to the tribes or centuries, but the patricians kept their own
privilege of being tried before the tribunal of the curiae. 19. The
power of the state was now usurped by a factious oligarchy, whose
oppressions were more grievous than those of the worst tyrant; they at
last became so intolerable, that the commonalty had recourse to arms,
and fortified that part of the city which was exclusively inhabited by
the plebeians, while others formed a camp on the Sacred Mount at some
distance from Rome. A tumult of this kind was called a secession; it
threatened to terminate in a civil war, which would have been both
long and doubtful; for the patricians and their clients were probably
as numerous as the people. A reconciliation was effected, and the
plebeians placed under the protection of magistrates chosen from their
own body, called tribunes of the people.
20. The plebeians, having now authorised leaders, began to struggle
for an equalization of rights, and the patricians resisted them with
the most determined energy.
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