February 13, 471

Yesterday's Assembly meeting was unimportant compared to today's. Plebeians of Rome had been planning this gathering for months. We were to deliberate on how many children could be sold into slavery. At the time, there was no limit. A few months earlier, a man had sold his only child to pay debt, and his wife died. No one was left to care for his farm while he worked in the shop. Events such as this one called the important matter to our attention.
After many hours of deliberation, the Assembly decided that as long as there were 2 children left in the family, any amount could be sold off. For example, a family with five children could sell three. At home, to commemorate the important occasion, we had fresh fish for dinner with wine. I had saved for an entire year to buy the bottle and it was excellent.

Dear Journal,