It was an entirely new people that bore the name Roman.
One day Scipio, the conqueror of Carthage and of Numantia, haranguing
the people in the forum, was interrupted by the cries of the mob.
"Silence! false sons of Italy," he cried; "do as you like; those whom
I brought to Rome in chains will never frighten me even if they are no
longer slaves." The populace preserved quiet, but these "false sons of
Italy," the sons of the vanquished, had already taken the place of the
old Romans.
This new plebeian order could not make a livelihood for itself, and so
the state had to provide food for it. A beginning was made in 123 with
furnishing corn at half price to all citizens, and this grain was
imported from Sicily and Africa. Since the year 63[140] corn was
distributed gratuitously and oil was also provided. There were
registers and an administration expressly for these distributions, a
special service for furnishing provisions (the Annona). In 46 Caesar
found 320,000 citizens enrolled for these distributions.
=Electoral Corruption.=--This miserable and lazy populace filled the
forum on election days and made the laws and the magistrates.
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