Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-12-29

tered statue Of her. bearing the very tito
she most craVed-"CorneIia Mater Grac-
chiorum.
Perhaps in some other age she micht
have been more than mother-ft Inf :"
t!lan that there can be But. on the
other hand. il is quite possible that the
woman who SO shaped the characters oi
her two sons that they weF" willing ID
brave all the power of patrician Rome
i'm support of the rights of plebeisns
was surely herself a power. She stood
manfuliy back OF her sons. who fought
in the senate and In the forum 10 regain
for the people part of the land that had
been alienated from them. And when
the Roman senate inflicted upon the two
popular champions that final and COM
pletc punishment which in those daNs
every man who stood for the people had
to brave-nowadays he braves business
disaster. but not sH e dcatn-She ac-
cepted the tidin2s 90 their assassination
without . murinur.
"Ca4l the mother OF the Gracchi need
consolation she asked. And indeed
from the viewpoint of a Roman matfon
and mother she was right The name
OF the Gracchi has passed into history
Who can name the cheap politicians who
accomplished their assassination?
Ii was while the TWO lads were still
i'm their early boyhood that Cornelia
made to the purse proud Roman matron.
boasting Of her gems, that retort which
has passed into history and serves as
the subject OF one of the worlds great
est paintings. Challenged to show her
Jewels in competition with those OF her
visitor. she deferred the exhibition tact
fully until the two boys with their tu-
tor came in. These are my jewels.
she then said. with a pride justified by
their later glory.
Shortly after the death of her hus-
hand Cornela was sought In marriage by
Ptolemy. King of Egypt. Then at tho
zenith of his power. Flattering as the
al I'm II
by the widow of Tiberius. the plebeian.
and her sons escaped being oriental
princes.
over the early education of her sons
Cornelia herself presided. founding them
in Greek. philosophy and politics. She
had been highly educated by her father.
the great Scipio and her home was the
| resort of the men of light and learning
I in Rome until the double calamity drove
| her into self-chosen exile. She then took
villa at Nisenum to live out the re-
mainder of the days of her bereavement.
| To great extent her intellectual court
| followed her thither. and these faithful
| friends have recorded their amazemeni
at her composure and the quiet spirit of
mingled resignation and pride with which
! she spoke of the nfework of her sons
and of their nnt!rely death. No tears
! bedimmed her eyes as she recoun.e
their noble deeds nor did her voice Civ
| any indication of sorrow or regret y
| way she seemed to have detached he
self from them-to be less the moth q
! than an inspired historian chronicling TIA"
! acts Of great figures too remote and too
/ lofty to awaken weak emotions. Indeed.
i her attitude was so Spartan that som
/ even thought her mind might have heen
, unllinged by age or her sensibiitie: =,
wrecked by misfortune. But the bioE-
rapher of the Gracchi says: In this
! they isuch ohserversD proved their utter
| lack of sensibility. They did not know
| the signs of that nobility of soul which
| is sometimes given by birth md Is al
| ways perfected by culture, or the reason
| able spirit Of endurance which mental
| and moral excellence supply"
! More than twenty-one centuries have
passed since Cornelia gave her Jewels to
the Roman people, but her fame un-
| dimmed by time still endures to be an
! inspiration to the mothers of our age.