MARCUS FULVIUS FLACCUS

marcus fulvius flaccus, grandnephew of the first quintus, lived in the times of the gracchi, of whom he was a strong supporter. after the death of tiberius gracchus (133 b.c.) he was appointed in his place one of the commission of three for the distribution of the land. he was suspected of having had a hand in the sudden death of the younger scipio (129), but there was no direct evidence against him. when consul in 125, he proposed to confer the roman citizenship on all the allies, and to allow even those who had not acquired it the right of appeal to the popular assembly against penal judgments. this proposal, though for the time successfully opposed by the senate, eventually led to the social war. the attack made upon the massilians (who were allies of rome) by the salluvii (salyes) afforded a convenient excuse for sending flaccus out of rome. after his return in triumph, he was again sent away (122), this time with gaius gracchus to carthage to found a colony, but did not remain absent long. in 121 the disputes between the optimates and the party of gracchus culminated in open hostilities, during which flaccus was killed, together with gracchus and a number of his supporters. it is generally agreed that flaccus was perfectly honest in his support of the gracchan reforms, but his hot-headedness did more harm than good to the cause. cicero (_brutus_, 28) speaks of him as an orator of moderate powers, but a diligent student. see livy, _epit._ 59-61; val. max. ix. 5. 1; vell. pat. ii. 6; appian, _bell. civ._ i. 18, 21, 24-26; plutarch, _c. gracchus_, 10. 13; also a.h.j. greenidge, _hist. of rome_ (1904), and authorities quoted under gracchus.