Tiberius and Caius Gracchus

But he busied himself most earnestly with the construction of roads, laying stress upon utility, as well as upon that which conduced to grace and beauty. For his roads were carried straight through the country without deviation, and had pavements of quarried stone, and substructures of tight-rammed masses of sand. Depressions were filled up, all intersecting torrents or ravines were bridged over, and both sides of the roads were of equal and corresponding height, so that the work had everywhere an even and beautiful appearance.

In addition to all this, he measured off every road by miles (the Roman mile falls a little short of eight furlongs) and planted stone pillars in the ground to mark the distances. Other stones, too, he placed at smaller intervals from one another on both sides of the road, in order that equestrians might be able to mount their horses from them and have no need of assistance.

Since the people extolled him for all these services and were ready to show him any token whatsoever of their good will, he said to them once in a public harangue that he was going to ask a favour of them, which, if granted, he should value supremely, but if it were refused, he should find no fault with them. This utterance was thought to be a request for a consulship, and led everybody to expect that he would sue for a consulship and a tribuneship at the same time.