We are fast approaching the day when Rome will not be swayed by the temperate middle-class but by the rich, who will preside over whining and bottomless bellies, and slaves. Each serves the other, satisfies the other’s appetite, in an evil symbiosis. For the rabble’s votes the powerful man will betray Rome. Though Marius has lately pushed back the hordes of Germanic invaders, we have not done with turbulence, and turbulence is the climate in which tyrants flourish. Therefore, I fear for my country.
