Auctoritas - Wikipedia Auctoritas From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigation Jump to search Representation of a sitting of the Roman Senate: Cicero attacks Catiline, from a 19th-century fresco Ancient Rome This article is part of a series on the politics and government of ancient Rome Periods Roman Kingdom 753–509 BC Roman Republic 509–27 BC Roman Empire 27 BC – AD 395 Principate 27 BC – AD 284 Dominate AD 284–641 Western AD 395–476 Eastern AD 395–1453 Timeline Roman Constitution Constitution of the Kingdom Constitution of the Republic Constitution of the Empire Constitution of the Late Empire Senate Legislative assemblies Executive magistrates Precedent and law Roman law Ius Imperium Mos maiorum Collegiality Auctoritas Roman citizenship Cursus honorum Senatus consultum Senatus consultum ultimum Assemblies Centuriate Curiate Plebeian Tribal Ordinary magistrates Consul Praetor Quaestor Promagistrate Aedile Tribune Censor Governor Extraordinary magistrates Corrector Dictator Magister equitum Consular tribune Rex Triumviri Decemviri Titles and honours Emperor Legatus Dux Officium Praeses Praefectus Vicarius Vigintisexviri Lictor Magister militum Imperator Princeps senatus Pontifex maximus Augustus Caesar Tetrarch Other countries v t e Auctoritas is a Latin word which is the origin of English "authority". While historically its use in English was restricted to discussions of the political history of Rome, the beginning of phenomenological philosophy in the 20th century expanded the use of the word.[1] In ancient Rome, auctoritas referred to the general level of prestige a person had in Roman society, and, as a consequence, his clout, influence, and ability to rally support around his will. Auctoritas was not merely political, however; it had a numinous content and symbolized the mysterious "power of command" of heroic Roman figures. Noble women could also achieve a degree of auctoritas. For example, the wives, sisters, and mothers of the Julio-Claudians had immense influence on society, the masses, and the political apparatus. Their auctoritas was exercised less overtly than their male counterparts due to Roman societal norms, but they were powerful nonetheless. Contents 1 Etymology and origin 2 Political meaning in ancient Rome 2.1 Auctoritas principis 3 Middle Ages 4 Hannah Arendt 5 See also 6 References and sources Etymology and origin[edit] According to French linguist Emile Benveniste, auctor (which also gives us English "author") is derived from Latin augeō ("to augment", "to enlarge", "to enrich"). The auctor is "is qui auget", the one who augments the act or the juridical situation of another.[2] Arguably[citation needed], Benveniste defended that Latin "auctoritas" was based on a divine conception of power and not on the individual that happened to the position of authority. Auctor in the sense of "author", comes from auctor as founder or, one might say, "planter-cultivator"[citation needed]. Similarly, auctoritas refers to rightful ownership, based on one's having "produced" or homesteaded the article of property in question - more in the sense of "sponsored" or "acquired" than "manufactured". This auctoritas would, for example, persist through an usucapio of ill-gotten or abandoned property. Political meaning in ancient Rome[edit] Politically, the Roman Senate's authority (auctoritas patrum) was connected to auctoritas, not to be confused with potestas or imperium, which were held by the magistrates or the people[citation needed]. In this context, auctoritas could be defined as the juridical[citation needed] power to authorize some other act. The 19th-century classicist Theodor Mommsen describes the "force" of auctoritas as "more than advice and less than command, an advice which one may not ignore." Cicero says of power and authority, "Cum potestas in populo auctoritas in senatu sit." ("While power resides in the people, authority rests with the Senate.")[3] In the private domain, those under tutelage (guardianship), such as women and minors, were similarly obliged to seek the sanction of their tutors ("protectors") for certain actions. Thus, auctoritas characterizes the auctor: The pater familias authorizes – that is, validates and legitimates – his son's wedding in prostate. In this way, auctoritas might function as a kind of "passive counsel", much as, for example, a scholarly authority. Traditional imperial Roman exception to declare any legalistic concept and rule of law null and overrule prior decision making, in some military and political circumstances overrule fundamental body of law within a constitution, whether it is or isn't codified. Imperial prerogative is to protect the state from harm and its peoples. During the overruling of Roman Constitution body of fundamental laws and rule of law, a dictator may be chosen by the senate in Imperial Rome.[citation needed] Auctoritas principis[edit] After the fall of the Republic, during the days of the Roman Empire, the Emperor had the title of princeps ("first citizen" of Rome) and held the auctoritas principis – the supreme moral authority – in conjunction with the imperium and potestas – the military, judiciary and administrative powers. That is to say, there is a non-committal to a separation of powers, some civil rights, constitutionalism, codified constitutional state and legalist concept of law. Middle Ages[edit] The notion of auctoritas was often invoked by the papacy during the Middle Ages, in order to secure the temporal power of the Pope. Innocent III most famously invoked auctoritas in order to depose kings and emperors and to try to establish a papal theocracy. Hannah Arendt[edit] Hannah Arendt considered auctoritas a reference to founding acts as the source of political authority in ancient Rome. She took foundation to include (as augeō suggests), the continuous conservation and increase of principles handed down from "the beginning" (see also pietas). According to Arendt, this source of authority was rediscovered in the course of the 18th-century American Revolution (see "United States of America" under Founding Fathers), as an alternative to an intervening Western tradition of absolutism, claiming absolute authority, as from God (see Divine Right of Kings), and later from Nature, Reason, History, and even, as in the French Revolution, Revolution itself (see La Terreur). Arendt views a crisis of authority as common to both the American and French Revolutions, and the response to that crisis a key factor in the relative success of the former and failure of the latter.[4] Arendt further considered the sense of auctor and auctoritas in various Latin idioms, and the fact that auctor was used in contradistinction to – and (at least by Pliny) held in higher esteem than – artifices, the artisans to whom it might fall to "merely" build up or implement the author-founder's vision and design.[5] See also[edit] History portal Philosophy portal Authoritarianism – Form of social organization characterized by submission to authority Authority – The power to command Athenian law Constitution of the Roman Republic – The norms, customs, and written laws, which guided the government of the Roman Republic Discipline – Action or inaction that is regulated to be in accordance with a particular system of governance Dignitas – Ancient Roman virtue Gravitas – An Ancient Roman virtue Hierarchy – System of elements that are subordinated to each other Mana – Life force Energy, Power, effectiveness, and prestige in Pacific Island culture Mund (law) – Germanic legal relationship Nobility – Official privileged social class Pietas – An Ancient Roman virtue Piety Potestas – A Latin word meaning power or faculty Roman law – Legal system of Ancient Rome (c. 449 BC – AD 529) References and sources[edit] References ^ "What does auctoritas mean?". Definitions.net. Retrieved 17 September 2019. ^ J. B. Greenough disputes this etymology of auctor - but not the sense of foundation and augmentation - in "Latin Etymologies", Harvard Studies in Classical Philology, Vol. 4, 1893. ^ De leg. 3. 28 ^ Hannah Arendt, On Revolution, Chapter 5, Section 2. (1965) ^ Hannah Arendt, Between Past and Future, Chapter 3, Section IV. (1968) Sources Cicero, De Legibus (1st century BC) Theodor Mommsen, Römisches Staatsrecht, Volume III, Chapter 2. (1887) William Smith, A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities. (1875, 1890 editions) Alvaro d'Ors, Derecho privado romano (10 ed. Eunsa, 2004) Rafael Domingo Osle, Auctoritas (Ariel, 1999) v t e Ancient Rome topics Outline Timeline History Foundation Kingdom overthrow Republic Empire History Pax Romana Principate Dominate Western Empire fall historiography of the fall Byzantine Empire decline fall Constitution History Kingdom Republic Empire Late Empire Senate Legislative assemblies Curiate Centuriate Tribal Plebeian Executive magistrates SPQR Law Twelve Tables Mos maiorum Citizenship Auctoritas Imperium Status Litigation Government Curia Forum Cursus honorum Collegiality Emperor Legatus Dux Officium Prefect Vicarius Vigintisexviri Lictor Magister militum Imperator Princeps senatus Pontifex Maximus Augustus Caesar Tetrarch Optimates Populares Province Magistrates Ordinary Consul Censor Praetor Tribune Tribune of the Plebs Military tribune Quaestor Aedile Promagistrate Governor Extraordinary Rex Interrex Dictator Magister Equitum Decemviri Consular Tribune Triumvir Military History Borders Establishment Structure Campaigns Political control Strategy Engineering Frontiers and fortifications castra Technology Army Legion Infantry tactics Personal equipment Siege engines Navy Auxiliaries Decorations and punishments Hippika gymnasia Economy Agriculture Deforestation Commerce Finance Currency Republican currency Imperial currency Culture Architecture Art Bathing Calendar Clothing Cosmetics Cuisine Hairstyles Education Literature Music Mythology Religion Deities Romanization Roman people Sexuality Theatre Wine Society Patricians Plebs Conflict of the Orders Secessio plebis Equites Gens Tribes Assembly Naming conventions Demography Women Marriage Adoption Slavery Bagaudae Technology Amphitheatres Aqueducts Bridges Circuses Civil engineering Concrete Domes Metallurgy Numerals Roads Temples Theatres Sanitation Thermae Latin History Alphabet Versions Old Classical Vulgar Late Medieval Renaissance New Contemporary Ecclesiastical Romance languages Writers Latin Aelius Donatus Ammianus Marcellinus Appuleius Asconius Pedianus Augustine Aurelius Victor Ausonius Boëthius Caesar Catullus Cassiodorus Censorinus Cicero Claudian Columella Cornelius Nepos Ennius Eutropius Fabius Pictor Sextus Pompeius Festus Rufus Festus Florus Frontinus Fronto Fulgentius Gellius Horace Hydatius Hyginus Jerome Jordanes Julius Paulus Justin Juvenal Lactantius Livy Lucan Lucretius Macrobius Marcellus Empiricus Marcus Aurelius Manilius Martial Nicolaus Damascenus Nonius Marcellus Obsequens Orosius Ovid Petronius Phaedrus Plautus Pliny the Elder Pliny the Younger Pomponius Mela Priscian Propertius Quadrigarius Quintilian Quintus Curtius Rufus Sallust Seneca the Elder Seneca the Younger Servius Sidonius Apollinaris Silius Italicus Statius Suetonius Symmachus Tacitus Terence Tertullian Tibullus Valerius Antias Valerius Maximus Varro Velleius Paterculus Verrius Flaccus Vergil Vitruvius Greek Aelian Aëtius of Amida Appian Arrian Cassius Dio Diodorus Siculus Diogenes Laërtius Dionysius of Halicarnassus Dioscorides Eusebius of Caesaria Galen Herodian Josephus Julian Libanius Lucian Pausanias Philostratus Phlegon of Tralles Photius Plutarch Polyaenus Polybius Porphyrius Priscus Procopius Simplicius of Cilicia Sozomen Stephanus Byzantinus Strabo Themistius Theodoret Zonaras Zosimus Major cities Alexandria Antioch Aquileia Berytus Bononia Carthage Constantinopolis Eboracum Leptis Magna Londinium Lugdunum Lutetia Mediolanum Pompeii Ravenna Roma Smyrna Vindobona Volubilis Lists and other topics Cities and towns Climate Consuls Dictators Distinguished women Dynasties Emperors Generals Gentes Geographers Institutions Laws Legacy Legions Magistri equitum Nomina Pontifices Maximi Praetors Quaestors Tribunes Roman–Iranian relations Wars and battles Civil wars and revolts Fiction Films Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Auctoritas&oldid=993142339" Categories: Latin words and phrases Latin legal terminology Roman law Philosophy of law Ancient Roman virtues Hidden categories: All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from July 2019 Navigation menu Personal tools Not logged in Talk Contributions Create account Log in Namespaces Article Talk Variants Views Read Edit View history More Search Navigation Main page Contents Current events Random article About Wikipedia Contact us Donate Contribute Help Learn to edit Community portal Recent changes Upload file Tools What links here Related changes Upload file Special pages Permanent link Page information Cite this page Wikidata item Print/export Download as PDF Printable version Languages العربية Català Deutsch Español Esperanto Français Bahasa Indonesia Latina Nederlands Polski Português Русский Simple English Svenska Edit links This page was last edited on 9 December 2020, at 00:57 (UTC). 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