“The Birth of Liberty”
Livy expounds, “By agreement with his colleague Brutus was the first to hold the fasces, and he proved thereafter to be as keen a guardian of liberty as he had been its initial champion. First of all, while the people were in the first flush of enthusiasm for liberty, and to obviate their possibly succumbing to the entreaties or bribes of princes in the future, he had them swear an oath that they would allow no man to be king at Rome. Next, he brought back the senate to its former strength of three hundred members, for its numbers had been much reduced by the murders committed by Tarquin; the new members were drawn from the leaders of the equestrian class.”
Brutus’ stratagem subsidizes regulation of “kings’, consuls’ and senators’ ”powers. The proliferation of liberty moderates the unqualified power which had been formerly exploited. Subjects are shielded from terrorization by leaders. Furthermore, the lessening of the powers’ kings minimizes the disparity between the subjects and the leaders. Annual tenures are contributing in disseminating the liberty for they secure that no consul will monopolize power.
Romans versus Aequi Battle
Livy explains, “when dawn came, the Romans drew up in battle order some time before the enemy did; eventually the Aequi took up their position as well. It was a tough fight for both sides: the Romans were battling in anger and hate, whereas the Aequi, conscious that their present predicament was their own fault, had no hope of being trusted into the future; so they were driven to stake everything on this one battle, yet they did not withstand the Roman line; driven back, they withdrew into their own territory, where the rank and file, uncowed and not at all incline to peace.” Manifestly, the Romans thrive in overwhelming the Aequi who are regretful for activating the war. The Romans’ infuriation inspires them to attack the Aequi viciously. Withdrawing is an indicator that the Aequi are not resilient enough to resist the Romans. Accordingly, the Romans are the out-and-out champions in this contest.
