day, and was nearly appointed dictator himself. Instead, the Senate appointed Manius Valerius Maximus, brother of Publius, whose laws had granted the right of appeal to the Roman people. Valerius, already a trusted figure, reiterated the promises of liberty and relief from the harsh penalties of debt that the consul Servilius had made the previous year, and was able to raise ten legions, with which he and the two consuls defeated the Aequi, Volsci, and Sabines. On his triumphant return, Valerius proceeded to the Senate to fulfill the promises he had made to the people. But the Senate rejected his entreaty, and Valerius resigned his office, rebuking the senators for their intractability. Soon afterward, the Senate again ordered the army into the field to meet a pretended force of Aequi, and relying on the soldiers' oaths to obey the consuls. But the soldiers mutinied, and withdrew en masse to the Sacred Mount. With the city all but defenseless, and the remaining inhabitants each fearful of the other, Agrippa Menenius Lanatus, who had himself been consul in 503 BC, urged the Senate to attempt a reconciliation with the plebs, and was seconded by Valerius, who described Claudius as "an enemy of the people, and a champion of oligarchy," leading the Roman state to its destruction. Claudius, however, berated Valerius and Menenius for their weakness and criticisms, and argued just as forcefully against negotiating or making any concession to the people, whom he described as animals. After much debate, the Senate agreed to dispatch ten envoys to negotiate with the plebeians. Among these were Menenius and Valerius; Servilius, consul of the previous year; Lartius, and several other former consuls who had earned the people's trust. The conflict was finally resolved when the Senate agreed — once again over the objection of Claudius — to a discharge of debts, and the establishment of the plebeian tribunes, who had the power to veto the actions of the Senate and the consuls, and who were themselves sacrosanct, the entire body of the plebs obliged to defend them from any assault. Once the new officials had been appointed, the soldiers agreed to return to the city, ending the first "Secession of the Plebs." The "Conflict of the Orders" would continue for another two centuries, as the plebeians continually struggled for greater rights and political equality, and the patricians fought to retain control of the state. Throughout