became evident that he had become as unpopular as Appius himself.  A dispute had arisen between the consuls, as to which of them should dedicate the Temple of Mercury.  The senate referred the matter from themselves to the people, and ordained that, to whichever of them the task of dedication should be intrusted by order of the people, he should preside over the markets, establish a guild of merchants,[28] and perform the ceremonies in presence of the Pontifex Maximus.  The people intrusted the dedication of the temple to Marcus Laetorius, a centurion of the firstrank, which, as would be clear to all, was done not so muchout of respect to a person on whom an office above his rank had been conferred, as to affront the consuls.  Upon this one of the consuls particularly, and the senators were highly incensed:  however, the people had gained fresh courage, and proceeded in quite a different manner to what they had at first intended.  For when they despaired of redress from the consuls and senate, whenever they saw a debtor led into court, they rushed together from all quarters.  Neither could the decree of the consul be heard distinctly for the noise and shouting, nor, when he had pronounced the decree, did any one obey it.  Violence was the order of the day, and apprehension and danger in regard to personal liberty was entirely transferred from the debtors to the creditors, who were individually maltreated by the crowd before the very eyes of the consul.  In addition, the dread of the Sabine war spread, and when a levy was decreed, nobody gave in his name:  Appius was enraged, and bitterly inveighed against the self-seeking conduct of his colleague, in that he, by the inactivity he displayed to win the favour of the people, was betraying the republic, and, besides not having enforced justice in the matter of debt, likewise neglected even to hold a levy, in obedience to the decree of the senate.  Yet he declared that the commonwealth was not entirely deserted, nor the consular authority altogether degraded; that he, alone and unaided, would vindicate both his own dignity and that of the senators.  When day by day the mob, emboldened by license, stood round him, he commanded a noted ringleader of the seditious outbreaks to be arrested.  He, as he was being dragged off by the lictors, appealed to the people; nor would the consul have allowed the appeal, because there was no doubt regarding the decision of the people, had not his obstinacy been with difficulty overcome, rather by the advice and influence of the leading men, than by the clamours of the people; with such a superabundance of courage was he endowed to support the weight of public odium.  The evil gained ground daily, not only by open clamours, but, what was far more dangerous, by secession and by secret conferences.  At length the consuls, so odious to the commons, resigned office, Servilius liked by neither party, Appius highly esteemed by the senators.