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7Now Metellus Celer and Cato, and through him one Marcus Favonius, who imitated him in everything, for a time did not take the oath of obedience to the law (a custom which began, as I have stated, on an earlier occasion, and was then continued in the case of other preposterous measures) and stoutly refused to approve it, Metellus, for instance, referring to Numidicus as an example. 2When, however, the day [came] on which they were to incur the established penalties, they took the oath, perhaps because it is but human nature for many persons to utter promises and threats more easily than they actually carry them out, or else because they were going to be punished to no purpose, without helping the state at all by their obstinacy. 3So the law was passed, and in addition the land of Campania was given to those having three or more children. For this reason Capua was then for the first time considered a Roman colony.
4By this means Caesar attached the plebs to his cause; and he won over the knights by releasing them from a third part of the taxes for which they had contracted. For all collecting of taxes was done by them, and though they had often asked the senate for some satisfaction, they had not obtained it, because Cato, among others, had opposed it. 5When, then, he had conciliated this class also without any one’s protest, he first ratified all the acts of Pompey, meeting with no opposition either from Lucullus or any one else, and later he put through many other measures without encountering any resistance. 6Even Cato did not object, although during his praetorship a little later, he would never mention the title of the other’s laws, since they were called Julian laws; for although he followed their provisions in allotting the courts, he most absurdly suppressed their name.
As these laws, now, are very numerous and contribute nothing to this history, I will omit them; but one other I will mention.
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