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39But since the elections had already been announced, and accordingly no law could be enacted till they were held, and the canvassers were doing much mischief in the meanwhile, to such an extent even that assassinations occurred, the senators voted that the law should be introduced before the elections and that a body-guard should be given to the consuls. 2Cornelius, angry at this, proposed that the senators should not be allowed to grant office to any one seeking it in a way not prescribed by law, nor to usurp the people’s right of decision in any other matter. This, indeed, had been the law from very early times, but it was not being observed in practice. 3When a great uproar arose at this, since Piso and a number of the senators opposed him, the crowd broke the consul’s fasces to pieces and threatened to tear him limb from limb. 4Cornelius, accordingly, seeing their violence, dismissed the assembly for the time being before calling for any vote; later he added to the law a provision that the senate should invariably pass a preliminary decree concerning these matters and that it should be necessary for this decree to be ratified by the people.
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