Note 118 — BOOK III

In the original the words are, Medio decreto jus auxilii sui expediunt. The tribunes were afraid lest, if they allowed Cæso to go entirely at large, the commons might become irritated; whilst if they refused to listen to the application of a patrician when he craved their assistance, they feared lest they should lose an excellent opportunity of establishing their influence and increasing their power. By adopting a line of conduct then which conceded something both to the commons and to Cæso, they as it were extricate (expediunt) their power from this double danger.