A tribune reminded him of a clause, attached to the sentence of
exile, that no citizen should in future move for its repeal. The Senate
hesitated, perhaps catching at the excuse; but at length, after repeated
adjournments, they voted that the question should be proposed to the
Assembly. The day fixed was the 25th of January. In anticipation of a riot
the temples on the Forum were occupied with guards. The Forum itself and
the senate-house were in possession of Clodius and his gang. Clodius
maintained that the proposal to be submitted to the people was itself
illegal, and ought to be resisted by force. Fabricius, one of the
tribunes, had been selected to introduce it. When Fabricius presented
himself on the Rostra, there was a general rush to throw him down. The
Forum was in theory still a sacred spot, where the carrying of arms was
forbidden; but the new age had forgotten such obsolete superstitions. The
guards issued out of the temples with drawn swords. The people were
desperate and determined. Hundreds were killed on both sides; Quintus
Cicero, who was present for his brother, narrowly escaping with life. The
Tiber, Cicero says--perhaps with some exaggeration--was covered with
floating bodies; the sewers were choked; the bloody area of the Forum had
to be washed with sponges. Such a day had not been seen in Rome since the
fight between Cinna and Octavius.
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