A scion of the noble patrician house of the Quinctii, Caeso was tall and strong, and had earned a reputation as a fine soldier, to whom several feats of courage and daring were attributed.
[1][2] But in the disputes between the patricians and the plebeians, Caeso unreservedly took the side of the aristocratic party, and despite holding no position of authority, he and his followers took it upon themselves to prevent the tribunes of the people from meeting in the forum to conduct their business.
[1][2] However, the trial was decided largely on the testimony of Marcus Volscius Fictor, a former tribune, who claimed that Caeso had struck his elder brother, Lucius, during a melee in the Subura.
[iv][4][5] Believing that he would be convicted based on the tribune Volscius' testimony, as well as his own violent reputation, Quinctius chose exile over a possible sentence of death, and departed for Etruria under cover of darkness.
[6][7] The following year, there was a rumour, apparently unfounded, that Caeso had returned to Rome, at the head of a conspiracy of young noblemen, and aided by the Aequi and Volsci, with the intention of killing the tribunes of the plebs and anyone else who had opposed the aristocracy.