^ 
 
 A V^. U 
 
 i«sfeiiKsaiate&^i^
 
 UNIVER 
 AT 
 
 OF CAUFORNIA 
 iS ANGELES
 
 ^iid ^ 
 
 •# 
 ^
 
 A HISTORY and DE- 
 SCRIPTION of ROMAN 
 POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS 
 
 BY 
 
 FRANK FROST ABBOTT 
 
 Kennedy Professor of Latin in Princeton Universit\^ 
 
 THiS-]:);. |i)iTjjQ$:^« ,,v, i'.J o''; 
 
 GINN AND COMPANY 
 
 BOSTON • NEW YORK • CHICAGO • LONDON 
 ATLANTA ■ DALLAS ■ COLUMTiUS • SAN FRANCISCO 
 
 28109
 
 Entered at Stationers' Hall 
 
 Copyright, 1901, 1907, 1911 
 By frank frost ABBOTT 
 
 all rights reserved 
 
 6.8.3 
 
 I .INN AMI <j IMP AN^• • l'R(J- 
 
 )'kii-:turs • liusroN • u.s.a.
 
 h/^.\ 
 
 o 
 if ^5) 
 
 Co p , f 
 PREFACE 
 
 This book is intended to serve as an introduction to the 
 study of Roman political institutions for those who may 
 wish to carry on more extended investigations in that iield, 
 and to give a reasonable acquaintance with the subject to 
 the student of Roman Ufe and literature. It may be said 
 with truth that the art and literature of Rome never had a 
 distinctively national character. Both are hybrid products. 
 Her political institutions, however, are essentially her own, 
 and are, one might almost say, the only characteristic prod- 
 uct of the Roman genius. We have tacitly recognized how 
 large a place they fill in Roman history, and how valuable 
 an inheritance they have been to modern civilization, but 
 strangely enough we have almost entirely neglected the 
 study of them in this country. This neglect seems the 
 more surprising since, from the disciplinary point of view, 
 perhaps no subject furnishes a better training in practical 
 logic or gives us a clearer insight into the workings of the 
 average human mind. These facts have been mentioned, 
 not for the purpose of offering a plea for the study of 
 Roman political institutions, but rather in explanation of 
 the reasons which led to the writing of this book. 
 
 My aim has been to give a connected view of the devel- 
 opment of the constitution from the earliest times down 
 through the accession of Diocletian. Each one of the three
 
 iv PREFACE 
 
 periods in its history, — the monarchical, the republican, 
 and the imperial, — is presented as a unit, and its institutions 
 axe treated first on the historical, then on the descriptive, 
 side. The historical treatment seemed to me necessary 
 because without it one cannot get a conception of the con- 
 stitution as an organic whole nor can one understand how 
 the relation of the several ])arts to one another determined 
 in large measure the development of each. On the other 
 hand, few students will get a complete view and a clear 
 idea of any one institution without a separate description 
 of it. The book is so arranged, however, that teachers who 
 wish to do so may use either the historical or the descrip- 
 tive part separately. 
 
 The brevity at which I have aimed has made it necessary 
 at times in discussing controverted ([uestions to content 
 myself with stating what seemed to me the most probable 
 theory. It has possibly at other points led to the omission 
 of certain details whose presentation might modify the 
 reader's conception of the institution in question. If this 
 has given a dogmatic tone to any part of the work, I hope 
 that the defect has been corrected by the fact that refer- 
 ence has been made to the sources for almost every impor- 
 tant statement, and that modern literature has been freely 
 cited, so that the reader may form an independent judg- 
 ment or may acquaint himself with the views hekl by others 
 on the matter in question. 
 
 Of the works which I have found of service in the prepa- 
 ration of this book I would mention my great indebtedness
 
 PREFACE V 
 
 to the treatises on the Roman constitution by Mommsen, 
 Madvig, Herzog, Willems, and Schiller, and to the general 
 histories of Niese, Schiller, and Pelham. A separate treat- 
 ment of the Roman judicial system did not fall within the 
 scope of this book as originally planned, but in response to 
 the request of teachers who were using the work a supple- 
 ment upon the Roman courts was added to it in the new 
 edition which was brought out three years ago. 
 
 For the new impression which is now being made the 
 two indices of the second edition have been combined and 
 materially enlarged, and to the bibliography at the end of 
 each chapter the titles of some of the most important books 
 which have appeared during the last nine years have been 
 added. I wish to express again my gratitude to Professor 
 F. G. Moore of Columbia University, to Professor Edward 
 Capps of this University, and to Professor E. A. Bechtel 
 of Tulane University, for the many valuable suggestions 
 which they made while the work in its original form was 
 passing through the press ; and to Professor Tenny Frank of 
 Bryn Mawr College, to Dr. J. D. Wolcott, and to Dr. W. K. 
 Clement for assistance in verifying the references. I hope 
 that, with the additions and improvements which have been 
 made, the book may deserve still more the friendly reception 
 which it has had in the two previous editions. 
 
 FRANK FROST ABBOTT 
 Princeton, December 7, 1910
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 PART I — MONARCHICAL PERIOD 
 
 Section I— Historical 
 
 _ Page 
 
 Chapter 
 
 I. Rome under the Kings . .• i 
 
 Section II — Descriptive 
 II. Monarchical Institutions ........ 12 
 
 PART II — REPUBLICAN PERIOD 
 
 Section I — Historical 
 
 III. The Patrician City ■• 24 
 
 IV. The Struggle between the Orders .... 41 
 V. The Supremacy of the Nobilitas 63 
 
 VI. The Struggle between the Democracy and 
 
 the Nobilitas 94 
 
 VIL The Period of Transition 129 
 
 Section n — Descriptive 
 
 VIII. The Attributes of Magistracy 150 
 
 IX. The Several Magistracies i75 
 
 X. The Senate 220 
 
 XL The People 245 
 
 vii
 
 Vlll CONTENTS 
 
 FART III— IMPERIAL PERIOD 
 
 Section I — Historical 
 
 Chapter Pace 
 
 XII. Thk PZstaklishment ok the Empire . . . . 266 
 
 XIII. EKOM TI15ER1U.S TO NERO 289 
 
 XIV. The Flavian Emperors 305 
 
 XV. From Nerva to Septimius Severus 317 
 
 XVI. The Empire ok the Third Century and the 
 
 Rekorms ok Diocletian 329 
 
 Section II — Descriptive 
 
 XVII. The Emperor 341 
 
 XVIII. Imperial Officials 359 
 
 XIX. The Magistracies 374 
 
 XX. The Senate 381 
 
 XXI. The People 3S8 
 
 SuppLK.MENT. The Ro.man Judicial System 400 
 
 Appendix I. Sententiae, Senatus Consulta, and other 
 
 Documents 413 
 
 Appendix II. Some Passages, dealing with Political 
 
 Institutions, found in L.viin Writers . . 426 
 
 Index 441
 
 ROMAN 
 POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS 
 
 Part I — Monarchical Period 
 
 SECTION I — HISTORICAL 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 ROME UNDER THE KINGS 
 
 I. The Gens. The basis of political organization among 
 the early Romans was the getis or clan. This unit of organ- 
 ization, which in one form or another is common to the 
 Indo-European peoples, retained many of its characteristics 
 and some measure of its social and political importance to 
 a very late period. Cicero describes the gentiles of his day, 
 or the members of a clan, as those who could trace their 
 lineage back to a common ancestor, who could claim that 
 their ancestors had all been freemen, and who were in pos- 
 session of their full rights. The civil and political rights 
 of the individual came to him as a member of a family 
 belonging to a gens, and, since membership in a particular 
 gens was indicated by the possession of the nomen gen- 
 tilicium, or clan name, the legal and social importance 
 which attached to the name is readily understood. In 
 fact, in the earliest period, even the right to use the land, 
 
 I
 
 2 MONARCHICAL PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 which was the property of the clan as a whole, was enjoyed 
 by the individual only by virtue of his membership in one 
 of those organizations. Attached to the various gentes, or 
 to families belonging to the gentes, were hereditary depend- 
 ents called dientes, who enjoyed some of the privileges 
 of members of a clan, and in return therefor owed to their 
 patronus such services as assisting in the payment of his 
 ransom, if captured in time of war, and contributing to 
 his daughter's dower. The control of clan affairs rested 
 probably with the members of the clan, or with its repre- 
 sentatives. Had the organization been under the head- 
 ship of an individual, some traces of such a system would 
 be discernible in historic times. 
 
 2. Pagi and their Confederation. The simplest purely 
 political community was formed by the settlement of sev- 
 eral clans about an arx or fortified point. These com- 
 munities, called pagi, were, like the gentes, either purely 
 democratic, or controlled by the elders. The union of 
 "hill settlements" adjacent to one another for mutual 
 protection in trade intercourse naturally followed. Per- 
 haps several of these confederacies were formed in Latium, 
 but of course the confederacy of greatest historic impor- 
 tance is the one having Alba Longa for its common point of 
 meeting. The choice of that town as the place at which, 
 even in historic times, the members of the confederacy met 
 to offer a joint sacrifice to Jupiter Latiaris, shows plainly 
 enough that Alba Longa was originally at the head of the 
 league, but before the dawn of history Rome had suc- 
 ceeded her in the headship of at least this group of 
 communities. 
 
 3. The Founding of Rome. According to the pictur- 
 esque account which Roman writers have left us in prose 
 and verse of the founding of their native city, Rome was
 
 ROME UNDER THE KINGS 3 
 
 an offshoot of Alba Longa, since Romulus and Remus were 
 grandsons of Numitor, the last of the line of Alban kings 
 who traced their lineage back to Ascanius, the son of 
 Aeneas. The tradition which traced the beginnings of 
 Rome to a descendant of Aeneas is only one of the many- 
 accounts which sought to bring Rome into connection with 
 Greece. The stories of Evander, of Heracles, and of the 
 Pelasgi, as they are recounted, for instance, by Livy, illus- 
 trate the same tendency. Greek and Roman writers dated 
 the founding of the city all the way from 753 to 747 b.c. 
 The first mentioned date, which Varro adopted, is perhaps 
 the one most commonly accepted by the ancients. From 
 this time to the establishment of the republic, in 509 B.C., 
 seven kings reigned, by name Romulus, Numa Pompilius, 
 TuUus Hostilius, Ancus Marcius, L. Tarquinius Priscus, 
 Servius Tullius, and L. Tarquinius Superbus. 
 
 4. The Regal Period. According to tradition, the first 
 king laid the poHtical foundations for the city, by creating 
 the senate, and by dividing the people into curiae. He 
 also extended Roman power by successful wars. Numa 
 Pompilius is the antithesis, in many ways, of Romulus. 
 He organized priesthoods, established religious rites, and 
 sought to develop the religious life of the people. It was 
 the main purpose of TuUus Hostilius, as it had been that 
 of Romulus, to extend the material power of Rome. Ancus 
 Marcius, the fourth king, represents in a way the two types 
 in combination. The peaceful development of Rome was 
 furthered in his reign by the founding of Ostia and the 
 bridging of the Tiber, while her prestige in war was main- 
 tained with success. To L. Tarquinius, who was a Greek 
 by descent, but came to Rome from Tarquinii in Etruria, 
 many of the great public works of Rome, notably the 
 Circus and the Cloaca Maxima, were attributed. He
 
 4 MONARCHICAL PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 distinguished himself likewise in wars against the Latins and 
 Etruscans. 
 
 After Romulus, Servius Tullius was regarded as the 
 great political organizer of the Romans. To him tradi- 
 tion ascribed the division of the people into classes and 
 centuries, the introduction of the tribus as a local unit of 
 organization, and the completion of the great encircling wall. 
 Tarquinius Superbus is the typical tyrant, and the outrage 
 of Lucretia by his son Sextus marked the climax of the 
 autocratic course pursued by his family, and led to the 
 overthrow of the monarchy. 
 
 5. Sources of the Traditional Account. As has been 
 stated already, the part which the Greeks played in the 
 creation and elaboration of the story of the founding of 
 Rome, and of its history under the kings, is discernible 
 at many points. More or less cleverly dovetailed into 
 these productions of the Greek fancy, or into the tales bor- 
 rowed from Greek history, are folklore stories, explanations 
 invented at a comparatively late date to account for the 
 existence of ancient monuments, of old customs and long- 
 established institutions, and some residuum of authentic 
 tradition. These are the main elements in the traditional 
 accounts set down, for instance, by Livy in the first book 
 of his history, and by Cicero in his de Re Publica. So 
 far as we know, a literary form was first given to the story 
 by Fabius Pictor in his history of the Punic wars in the 
 third century. Out of this account the finished produc- 
 tions of the late republic and early empire developed, 
 thanks to the additions and embellishments of successive 
 generations. 
 
 6. The Making of Rome. It would take us too far from 
 our purpose to analyze the traditional accounts of the early 
 history of Rome, and to separate from one another the
 
 ROME UNDER THE KINGS 5 
 
 constituent elements mentioned above. It is important for 
 us, however, to note certain parts of the story which can be 
 established with certainty, or with a high degree of proba- 
 bility. We can, for instance, rely upon the fact that the 
 original settlement out of which the city of Rome devel- 
 oped was made on the left bank of the Tiber, about fifteen 
 miles from the mouth of the river. Some portions of the 
 wall of the old Palatine settlement are still hi situ, and 
 from them the compass of the early city can be fairly 
 well determined. Independent settlements existed on the 
 Quirinal, the EsquiHne, the Capitoline, and the Caelian 
 also. These hills with the citadels upon them were places 
 of refuge also, in case of necessity, for the settlers upon 
 the adjacent plains, and at a very early date all these hill 
 settlements were fused into a single city. The territory of 
 this unified community was first extended, by conquest, to 
 the south of the city, and along the left bank of the 
 Tiber to its mouth. Tradition is undoubtedly right in 
 dating expansion in this direction from the early part of 
 the regal period. 
 
 '7. Its Population. The various traditions connected 
 with the founding of the city agree in stating that the 
 population of Rome was divided into three parts. Accord- 
 ing to the commonly accepted form of the tradition, these 
 three parts, the Ramnes, Titles, and Luceres, were inde- 
 pendent elements of different origin, the Ramnes being 
 the original settlers of Roma qicadrata, the Titles a Sabine 
 community, while the identity of the Luceres was a matter 
 of as great uncertainty to the ancients as it is to us to-day. 
 Some modern writers are inclined to accept this view of 
 the case. Others find in the division of the community 
 into three "tribes" only an instance of the adoption of a 
 system of political organization which was not unknown to
 
 6 MONARCHICAL PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 Other Italian communities. The term tribus can of course 
 be urged in support of the latter view. The exact truth 
 in the matter will probably never be known. It may be 
 regarded as highly probable, however, that the original 
 Latin community was reinforced by a colony of Sabine 
 invaders, which in course of time was completely fused 
 with the Palatine settlements into a harmonious political 
 organization. 
 
 8. Early Form of Government. We have already seen 
 reason to believe that the affairs of the clan were managed 
 by the members or by the elders, who represented it. 
 With the founding of the city a new and predominant 
 element was introduced into the political organization. The 
 clans which were fused into a single community agreed in 
 accepting a single political head, called a rex, who was to 
 hold his position for life, while the elders or patres of the 
 various gentes formed the king's council. To this body 
 the control of the state fell on the death of the king. 
 
 9. Treatment of Conquered Peoples. The history of 
 Rome under the kings falls naturally into two epochs. 
 The second of these two periods covers the reigns of the 
 last three kings, and is characterized by the extension of 
 Rome's territory, by the development of the plebs and 
 their partial incorporation in the body politic, . by the 
 appearance on the throne of kings of foreign birth, and 
 by the fact that the monarchy became hereditary. The 
 ambitious policy of conquest which the Tarquins adopted 
 was attended with success, but it brought the Romans face 
 to face with difficult political questions of great importance. 
 What disposition should be made of conquered territory ? 
 What standing should conquered peoples have in the state ? 
 The first problem was solved in most cases by the perma- 
 nent occupation of a ])art of the newly accjuired territory
 
 ROME UNDER THE KINGS 7 
 
 by the Roman state as ager piibliciis, and the assignment 
 of the rest to the conquered people with the right of use, 
 under certain conditions, but not of full ownership. A 
 majority of those who lived in these subjugated districts 
 probably accepted these conditions and remained upon the 
 land, but some of them came to Rome and settled there. 
 In a few cases the most prominent families among the new- 
 comers were admitted to the full rights of citizenship. This 
 was perhaps the plan adopted in the case of Alba Longa. 
 According to Livy's narrative, after the destruction of that 
 city, its leading clans were admitted among the gentes, 
 and their representatives were made patres. Such gener- 
 ous treatment of conquered peoples was, however, excep- 
 tional. Ordinarily, if we except those who were brought 
 to Rome as slaves, newcomers, whether they came to the 
 city after the conquest of their native land, or were attracted 
 to it by the possibilities of gain which its growth held out, 
 assumed one of two positions in the community. They 
 either attached themselves as clientes (cf. p. 2) to the 
 representatives of prominent Roman families and gained 
 certain rights and privileges through their patroni, or, while 
 maintaining their personal freedom, they were thought of 
 as bearing to the king a relation similar to that which the 
 client bore to his patron. This second class of inhabitants 
 was probably augmented by the gradual release of many 
 clients from the performance of the duties which they 
 owed to their patrons. In these two ways a new element 
 developed in the community, which had no part in the 
 management of affairs, an element whose very name of 
 plebes indicated its lack of organization. 
 
 10. Plebeians enrolled in the Army. But this narrow 
 policy, which not only denied to a large part of the commu- 
 nity all political privileges, and civil rights in some measure,
 
 8 MONARCHICAL PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 but also exempted the same element from the necessity of 
 performing military service, was entirely out of harmony 
 with the career of conquest on which the Roman state 
 had entered. The farther the limits of the Roman terri- 
 tory were extended, the more pressing became the need 
 of more fighting men to hold in check the newly subdued 
 peoples within its confines, and to ward off the attacks of 
 enemies from without. The king, as chief executive of the 
 state and commander-in-chief of the army, felt the necessity 
 first and most keenly, and tradition is undoubtedly right in 
 stating that on one or two occasions he took the initiative, 
 with more or less success, in admitting some plebeians to 
 the rights of citizenship. The citizens were naturally loath 
 to lose part of their privileges by sharing them with others, 
 but the military necessities of the case forced them to make 
 certain concessions, and under the constitution which is 
 connected with the name of Servius Tullius the plebeians 
 as well as the patricians, the members of the old gentes, 
 were enrolled in the army. We cannot say with certainty 
 what concessions on the part of the patricians made the 
 plebeians willing to undergo the hardships and expense of 
 military service, and insured their loyalty to the state. It 
 would seem, however, to have been the concession of the 
 right to the full ownership of land, which had probably 
 been denied to them before. From this time on, the ple- 
 beians had a stake in the community, and it was to their 
 interest to maintain order within its limits and to protect it 
 from its enemies. This change in their position was of no 
 immediate political significance. They were still excluded 
 from any share in the management of the state, but the estab- 
 lishment of an organization, of which plebeians as well as 
 patricians were members, even though it was a body of a 
 military character, had i)olitical possibilities for the future.
 
 ROME UNDER THE KINGS 9 
 
 11. The Results of Rome's Narrow Policy. It may have 
 been well for the ultimate development of Rome that the 
 members of the old gentes adopted the narrow poUcy of 
 retaining all political power in their own hands. Had they 
 followed the precedent which Tullus Hostilius seems to 
 have set in the case of Alba Longa, and admitted new 
 gentes on a par with the old ones, the narrow tribal basis 
 of the state might have lasted for an indefinite time. Under 
 the ungenerous policy which was adopted, the right to 
 control the internal and the foreign affairs of the state was 
 the hereditary privilege of a comparatively small body of 
 men. Over against them was a large and rapidly growing 
 element in the community whose intolerable position would 
 force it to break down the opposing barriers, and thus to 
 overthrow the tribal system on which the state was based. 
 In this connection it is significant that the new Servian 
 organization recognized the individual as an individual and 
 not solely as a member of a certain clan, and that the 
 members of the new body were classified on the basis of 
 their property and not of their family connections. 
 
 12. Etruscan Supremacy. It is very difficult to under- 
 stand the foreign relations of Rome during the reigns of 
 the last three kings, which we are now considering. Accord- 
 ing to tradition, the first of the three, Tarquinius Priscus, 
 during the reign of his predecessor, Ancus Marcius, came 
 to Rome from Tarquinii in Etruria, and on the death of 
 the king succeeded to the throne. It has been suspected 
 that under the guise of the Etruscan ancestry of Tarquin 
 the conquest of Rome by the Etruscans has been con- 
 cealed, and it is true that many changes attributed to the 
 Tarquins may be urged in support of this hypothesis, but 
 this conclusion is at least open to serious doubt. The 
 favorable location of the city and its rapid growth would
 
 lO MONARCHICAL PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 undoubtedly attract many strangers to the city. These 
 newcomers, as we have already observed, were in some 
 cases admitted to the full rights of citizenship, and it would 
 not have been an extremely difficult thing for one of these 
 naturalized citizens, if he were a leader of skill and ability, 
 to gain the throne. Such a leader the first of the Tarquins 
 seems to have been, and there is no sufficient reason for 
 refusing to accept the tradition of Tarquinius Priscus at 
 its face value. 
 
 13. Political Changes. The form of government under- 
 went a noteworthy change under the Tarquins in the sub- 
 stitution of an hereditary for an elective monarchy, and 
 in the subordination of the senate to the king. The first 
 of these two changes is indicated plainly enough by the 
 kinship existing between the last three kings, and by the v 
 passage of the scepter to Servius Tullius and to Tarquinius 
 Superbus without the observance of the interregnum. The 
 fact just mentioned illustrates also the autocratic attitude 
 which the reigning family assumed toward the senate. On 
 the death of the king under the old regime the auspicia 
 reverted to the senate, and that body, through representa- 
 tives chosen from its own number, exercised the supreme 
 executive power. The assumption of power by Servius 
 Tullius and Tarquinius Superbus, neque popidi iussu neque 
 aiictoribus patribus (Liv. I. 49, 3), made a serious breach in 
 the theory that the senate was the ultimate depositary of 
 supreme power, gave a dangerous continuity to the king's 
 office and prevented the choice by the senate of a monarch 
 satisfactory to it. 
 
 The jealousy which the patricians felt at this usurpation 
 of power by the king led to the overthrow of the monarchy. 
 There are some indications of a rapprochement between the
 
 ROME UNDER THE KINGS II 
 
 king and the plebeians, but the plebeians were exhausted 
 and embittered by long-continued service in the army and 
 by forced labor in the construction of public works, so that 
 they either did not come to the defense of Tarquinius 
 Superbus, or helped the patricians to overthrow him.
 
 SECTION II — DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 MONARCHICAL INSTITUTIONS 
 
 14. Sources of Information. The same difficulties which 
 beset one's ])ath in seeking to trace the course of poUtical 
 events during the regal period bring to naught in some 
 respects every effort to gain a clear conception of the 
 political institutions of the epoch in question. Our knowl- 
 edge of these institutions is derived in the main from tra- 
 dition, from the explanatory statements of Latin writers, 
 and from an investigation of the poUtical institutions of the 
 republican period. Some further light is thrown on early 
 institutions by an investigation of early laws, treaties, legal 
 and religious formulae, and by a study of the fundamental 
 meaning of the titles of the several offices, as in the case of 
 the quaestores parricidii. 
 
 Let us confine our attention for the present to the three 
 principal sources, noting at the outset some of the points 
 at which these sources must be used with caution. Many 
 of the descriptions which we find in Livy of the Roman 
 constitution under the kings owe their existence to a delib- 
 erate attempt at a later date to account for a political term 
 or usage or institution, which in course of time had lost its 
 original meaning. This same inventive tendency vitiates in 
 some measure the explanations made by the later antiqua- 
 rians, whose views are also more or less colored by their 
 
 12
 
 MONARCHICAL INSTITUTIONS I 3 
 
 knowledge of the form which an ancient institution had 
 taken in their own day. So, for instance, historians and 
 antiquarians of the first century B.C. may have been led by 
 their knowledge of the constitutional character of the con- 
 sulship to assume erroneously that certain corresponding 
 constitutional restrictions were put on the power of the 
 king. It is evident that in using the third source of infor- 
 mation, that is, in reconstructing the political institutions of 
 the regal period from our knowledge of the forms which 
 they had taken in republican times, we must make due 
 allowance for development or decay, and must not be 
 guilty of the same mistake which the Roman antiquarians 
 made. The way in which the nature of the interregnum is 
 determined illustrates the use which may be made of these 
 different sources of information. First of all, the tech- 
 nical term itself indicates the period elapsing between th^ 
 death, resignation, or dethronement of one king and the 
 accession of his successor. This general notion is ampli- 
 fied by the traditional account given in more or less detail 
 by Livy, Dionysius, and Cicero of the way in which the 
 affairs of state were conducted after the death of each one 
 of the first four kings ; explanatory remarks on the insti- 
 tution have been made by the commentators Asconius and 
 Servius, and these three sources of information have been 
 supplemented by the contemporaneous accounts which 
 Cicero and other writers have left us of the method of 
 procedure during the interregnums of 53 b.c. 
 
 15. The Senate as the Ultimate Source of Authority. 
 As we have already had occasion to notice (p. 2), in the 
 prehistoric tribal community the control of affairs was 
 largely, if not entirely, vested in the clan elders. On the 
 establishment of the monarchy, the supreme power was 
 transferred to a single individual, to be exercised by him
 
 14 MONARCHICAL PERIOD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 during his lifetime. At his death the sovereignty naturally 
 reverted to the elders. This view of the situation Livy 
 has expressed, when, after mentioning the death of TuUus 
 Hostilius, he remarks (I. 32. i), res, ut institutum iam inde 
 ab initio erat, ad patres rediit. This view that the senate 
 was the ultimate source of authority was the aristocratic 
 theory of the constitution down to the end of the repub- 
 lican period, and was the cause of violent and protracted 
 struggles, first between patricians and plebeians, and later 
 between the nobilitas and the democracy. 
 
 16. Method of Selecting a King. The supreme execu- 
 tive power, which thus reverted to the senate, and in the 
 later republican period to the patrician senators, was exer- 
 cised by that body in a peculiar fashion. A member of 
 the senate, bearing the title of interrex, and chosen in a 
 way not entirely clear to us, assumed charge of affairs for 
 a period of five days. He nominated a second interrex, 
 and this system was continued until a king was selected. 
 The choice was made by the interrex in harmony with 
 the wishes of the senate, and was submitted by him for 
 approval to the people assembled by curiae. The senate 
 then ratified the selection by passing the audoritas patruin, 
 and the candidate was formally declared king by the inter- 
 rex. The ceremony ended when the newly elected king had 
 taken the auspices and had been vested with the imperiiim 
 by the lex curiata de imperio. The selection of a king 
 rested essentially with the senate. His election or con- 
 firmation by the people was a matter of form, although, 
 since the king was primarily the leader of the army, the 
 hearty support of the fighting men of the community was 
 a matter of great importance. Since the real selection of 
 the king was made by the senate through one of its own 
 number, the auctoritas patrum had a formal significance
 
 MONARCHICAL INSTITUTIONS I 5 
 
 only, although it was a safeguard which might take on a 
 real meaning in the case of a usurper or a headstrong 
 interrex. The passage of the lex de iniperio, which is not 
 properly a part of the ceremony attending the choice, and 
 the inauguration of the king, were also matters of form in 
 so far as the choice of the king was concerned, since the 
 refusal of the curiae to pass the measure is inconceivable. 
 17. Powers of the King. Sallust characterizes the power 
 of the king as an hnperium legitimu7n. This can mean little 
 more than that the king was to observe the mos maiorum. 
 So, for instance, he was expected, although not required, 
 to consult the senate on important matters. This general 
 limitation on the power of the king found definite expres- 
 sion, perhaps, in the lex de imperio, which was probably in 
 the nature of a contract, on the part of the people to 
 render obedience, on the part of the king to observe the 
 practices of the forefathers. Except for the limitations 
 just mentioned, the king was a supreme ruler, — the chief 
 executive, the chief priest, the lawgiver, and the judge of 
 the state. After war had been declared he had sole power 
 to levy and organize troops, to choose leaders, and to con- 
 duct the campaign. The property of the state was under 
 his control, and he was authorized to dispose of conquered 
 territory and to take charge of public works. He was the 
 official representative of the community in its relations with 
 the gods, as well as in its dealings with other communities. 
 Changes of a permanent or far-reaching character, how- 
 ever, such as the introduction of new deities, could only 
 be made with the consent of the priests. It would be 
 unwarrantable to import modern notions into our conception 
 of the king's position and to speak of him as legislating for 
 the people, but undoubtedly he formulated and executed 
 such measures as he thought essential to the community.
 
 l6 MONARCHICAL PERIOD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 except that matters affecting primarily the gcntcs, and 
 a declaration of war, must be referred to the people. 
 The adjudication of all civil and criminal cases was natu- 
 rally within the scope of his power. It is quite possible 
 that in civil cases, in some instances, the king may have 
 adopted the practice, which the praetor uniformly observed 
 under the republic, of conducting the case in its prelim- 
 inary stages {in iure), and then of referring it to a iudex 
 for settlement. Probably criminal cases involving the ques- 
 tion of life and death could, with the consent of the king, 
 be appealed to the people for trial. 
 
 i8. Assistants and Insignia of the King. In the absence 
 of the king from the city, the duties of the office were per- 
 formed by a substitute, called the praefectus icrbi. The 
 other political officials of the regal commonwealth were 
 two qiiaestores ,parricidi, or detective officers, the duum- 
 viri perduellionis, who assisted the king in cases of treason, 
 and the tribunus celerum, who commanded the cavalry. 
 These officials were all chosen by the king, and the power 
 which they exercised was delegated to them by him. In 
 time of war the king wore the trabea, a purple cloak, in 
 time of peace a purple toga. His seat on formal occasions 
 was the solium. He was attended by twelve lictors. 
 
 19. The Senate. In organizing the primitive Roman 
 senate a representative was chosen from each clan. As 
 the number of clans in the community increased, the num- 
 ber of members in the senate increased correspondingly, 
 until three hundred was fixed as a maximum.* This num- 
 ber, on which th'e various traditions agree, gives a repre- 
 sentation of one hundred for each tribus and ten ibr each 
 one of the curiae. The choice of 'senators was made by 
 the king, but ipuaccordance with principles handed down 
 by tradition. JThe title patres may be a mere term of
 
 MONARCHICAL INSTITUTIONS 1/ 
 
 honor, but probably a minimum age limit was fixed for 
 membership in the body. The functions of the senate may 
 be considered from three points of view, viz., as an organ- 
 ization vested under certain circumstances with supreme 
 power, as a legislative body coordinate with the people 
 assembled in the curiae, and as the council of the king. 
 We have already noticed the fact (p. 14) that on the 
 death of the king the control of the state reverted to the 
 senate. The fact has also been noted (p. 14) that matters 
 on which the popular assembly acted came before the 
 senate for approval or rejection. Custom made it incum- 
 bent on the king to seek the advice of the senate in impor- 
 tant matters, but it was left for him to decide whether to 
 bring a subject before the senate or not, and he was free 
 to adopt or reject its advice, as he saw fit. This theory 
 of the relations existing between the senate and the chief 
 executive was maintained down through the republican 
 period even, although in practice the consul rarely failed to 
 follow the instructions of the senate. The senate could meet 
 only when called together by the king, and its meetings were 
 held in a temphim, or place consecrated by an augur. 
 
 20. Patricii, Clientes, Plebeii. There were three princi- 
 pal classes in the community, — patricians, clients, and ple- 
 beians. 'The patricians were legitimate sons in families 
 belonging to the gentes recognized by the state. Patri- 
 cians alone had civitas Optimo iure, i.e., the full rights of 
 citizenship. This included, besides personal freedom, ins 
 commercii, the right to hold and exchange property and be 
 protected in its possession \ ius conubii, the right to inter- 
 marry with other members of the gentes, and ius gentilitatis, 
 the right to a share in the worship of the clan. The main 
 political privileges enjoyed by the patricians were itis suf- 
 fragii, the right to vote, and ius Jiouoi-uni, the right to -hold
 
 l8 MONARCHICAL PERIOD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 office. The cUentes were strangers who had come to Rome 
 to better their condition, or the former inhabitants of con- 
 quered territory, or freedmen. Not being members of any 
 one of the recognized gentes, they gained certain privileges 
 by attaching themselves to the head of a family belonging 
 to a gens. 'I'heir protector was known as a patronus, who 
 represented them before the law. They did not have the 
 full right to own land, but were allowed to hold it on 
 condition of giving a part of the return from it to their 
 patronus. Clients, who were artisans, simikrly gave to him 
 a part of the profits of their labor. The relation existing 
 between a dieus and his patronus was an hereditary one. 
 The origin of the jilebeians and the relation which they 
 bore to the clicntes is somewhat obscure, but they were 
 probably strangers who settled in Rome with the king as 
 their patronus, or clicntes whose relation of dependence 
 was brought to an end with the consent of their patronus, 
 or through the disappearance of the family to which they 
 were attached. In return for the service which they ren- 
 dered in the army the Servian reform granted them ius 
 commercii. They had the right to marry within their own 
 class, but they were not allowed to marry patricians. 
 
 21. The Curiae. The fundamental unit in the division 
 of the people for political j^urposes in the jirimitive state 
 was the curia, whose organization resembled that of the 
 family in that it had common religious rites, common festi- 
 vals, and a common hearth. The thirty curiae included not 
 only the patricians but also the clientes, — and i)robably the 
 plebeians, — although the plebeians and clients had no 
 vote. The curiae constituted the poptilus Romanus Quiri- 
 tiiim, and the comitia curiata, the organization based on 
 them, was the only popular assembly of a political or 
 semi-political character during the regal period.
 
 MONARCHICAL INSTITUTIONS 1 9 
 
 22. The Comitia Curiata. Only the king or inter rex had 
 the right to call together the people and lay matters before 
 them for consideration {agere aim populd). The usual place 
 of meeting was the comitium. In all probability the will of 
 the people could ordinarily be indicated well enough by 
 informal signs of approval or disapproval on the part of the 
 multitude, but the systematic division of the people indi- 
 cates that from the outset, on certain matters at least, a 
 definite system of voting was adopted, perhaps by acclama- 
 tion, within the separate curiae. A majority of the curiae 
 determined the vote of the whole assembly. Stated meet- 
 ings of the comitia curiata were held on the Kalends and 
 Nones of the month to hear announcements with refer- 
 ence to the calendar, and on two fixed dates in the spring, 
 primarily to witness wills. Other meetings were held as 
 occasion might require. The matters which came before 
 this assembly may be roughly classified under four heads. 
 The people might be called together to elect a king, to 
 hear an appeal, to Hsten to announcements, or to vote on 
 rogatiofies or propositions. The first two points have been 
 discussed elsewhere (pp. 14, 16). The announcements 
 which the people were called together to hear were those 
 made at the stated meetings mentioned above. It would be 
 an anachronism to speak of the legislation of the period, 
 but in matters of great importance the king asked for the 
 approval of the people assembled in the comitia, and on 
 occasion of assuming the imperium (see pp. 14 f.) or declar- 
 ing an offensive war the consent of the people was neces- 
 sary. Questions concerning the geiites were those most 
 frequently brought before the comitia curiata. These were 
 mainly : adiectio, the admission of a new gois into a curia ; 
 restitutio, the restoration of citizenship ; adrogatio, the reduc- 
 tion of a pater familias to a dependent position in another
 
 20 MONARCHICAL PERIOD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 family, and deles tat io sacrorum, release from the clan sacra. 
 Under the republic matters affecting the clans became the 
 main business of this body. 
 
 23. The Servian Reorganization of the Army. Under the 
 early monarchy the i)rehistoric division of the people into 
 three tribes served as a basis for the levy of troops ; but, 
 since the plebeians were not included in these three tribes, 
 the state lost the use of a large number of able-bodied men, 
 and there was no way in which they could very well be 
 included in a system based, as the old one seems to have 
 been, on kinship and vicinage. This state of things led to 
 the giving up of the old basis of organization, and to the 
 substitution in its stead of the property system of classifi- 
 cation. Under the Servian reform all freemen who had a 
 certain amount of landed property were enrolled in the 
 army without regard to their membership in a clan. The 
 enrollment was apparently based on the possession of landed 
 property, and comprised all those who had two acres or 
 more of land. The possession of twenty acres admitted 
 one to the first class, fifteen acres to the second, ten acres 
 to the third, five acres to the fourth, and two acres to the 
 fifth. The classes were divided into centuries, that is, into 
 subdivisions, which at the outset perhaps actually contained 
 one hundred men, but in course of time the term can have 
 scarcely indicated a fixed number. The iuniores, those 
 between seventeen and forty-six years of age, were drafted 
 for service in the field ; the seniores, men from forty-six to 
 sixty years of age, were expected to perform garrison duty 
 only. Each class contained an equal number of centuries 
 of seniores and iuniores. Those enrolled in the five classes 
 served as infantry. Cavalry service was rendered by 
 eighteen centuries made up of the richest men in the 
 community. There were also two centuries of sappers
 
 MONARCHICAL INSTITUTIONS 
 
 21 
 
 and two of buglers, and at the outset, or somewhat later, 
 one century oi proletarii. 
 
 The probable details of the organization may be seen 
 from the following table : 
 
 
 La7tded property 
 171 acres. 
 
 
 Cent7iries 
 
 Equites . . . 
 
 1 
 
 ( (100,000 asses^^ 
 
 
 
 . 18 
 
 1st class . . . 
 
 1 
 
 ( (100,000 asses 
 
 
 seniores 
 iuniores 
 
 • 40 
 . 40 
 
 2d " . . . 
 
 I (75,000 asses) 
 
 
 seniores 
 iuniores 
 
 . 10 
 
 . ID 
 
 3d " . . . 
 
 5 
 
 
 seniores 
 
 . 10 
 
 ( (50,000 asses) 
 
 
 iuniores 
 
 . 10 
 
 4th "... 
 
 . 5 5 
 
 ( (25,000 asses) 
 
 
 seniores 
 iuniores 
 
 . 10 
 
 . ID 
 
 5th " . . . 
 
 ■ 1 
 
 
 seniores 
 
 • IS 
 
 1 (10,000 asses) 
 
 
 iuniores 
 
 • 15 
 
 Fabri . . . 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 Cornicines . . 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 Proletarii (?) . 
 
 
 
 
 . . I 
 
 Total . . 
 
 
 
 
 . . iq:^ 
 
 The citizens were reclassified at regular intervals, and, for 
 convenience in classification, the city was divided terri- 
 torially into four tribus, called respectively Palatina, Subu- 
 rana, CoUina, and Esquilina. Membership in a tribus was 
 hereditary. 
 
 This entire organization of the people by tribes, classes, 
 and centuries was for military purposes only, and the 
 comitia cettturiata based upon it had no political functions 
 during the regal period.
 
 22 MONARCHICAL PERIOD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 Special Bibliography 
 
 Traditional accounts of the regal period : Livy, Bk. I ; Dionysius, 
 Bks. I-IV; Cic. de Re Publ. II. 4-46; Plutarch, Lives of Romulus 
 and Numa; 11. Peter, Veterum historicorum Romanorum relliquiae, 
 Vol. I, Leipzig, 1870. — Discussion of the sources : C. Peter, Zur Kritik 
 d. Quellen d. alteren rom. Geschichte, Halle, 1879 > Schafer-Nissen, 
 Abriss d. Quellenkunde d. griech. u. rom. Geschichte, 2te Abt., 2'e 
 Aufl., Leipzig, 1885 ; Wachsmuth, Einleitung in das Stadium d. alten 
 Geschichte, Leipzig, 1895 ; Soltau, Livius' Geschichtswerk, Leipzig, 
 1897. — Credibility: Schwegler-Baur, Rom. Geschichte, Tubingen, 
 1853-8 (Fortsetzung, Clason, 1873-6) ; Seeley, Livy, Bk. I^, Oxford, 
 188 1 ; Ihne, Early Rome, 8th ed., New York, 1895. — The king : Cuno, 
 Vorgeschichte Roms, Vol. I, Leipzig, 1878 ; Vol. II, Graudenz, 1888 ; 
 L. Lange, Das rcim. Konigtum, Leipzig, 1881 ; H. Jordan, Die Konige 
 im alten Italien, Berlin, 1887. — The senate: Mommsen, Rom. For- 
 schungen, I, 250-268, 2** Aufl., Berlin, 1864; Fr. Hofmann, Der 
 rom. Senat zur Zeit der Repul^lik, 1847 ; Bloch, Les origines du s^nat 
 romain, Paris, 1883. — The people, curiae, centuriae, etc. : Em. Hoff- 
 mann, Die patriz. u. pleb. Kurien, Vienna, 1879 ; Pelham, The Roman 
 Curiae (in Journ. of Philol., IX. 266-279) ; Mommsen, Die rom. 
 Tribus, Altona, 1844; Kubitschek, de Rom. trib. origine ac propa- 
 gatione, Vienna, 1882 ; Soltau, Ueber Entstehung u. Zusammen- 
 setzung d. altrom. Volksversammlungen, Berlin, 1880 ; Genz, Das 
 patrizische Rom, Berlin, 1878 ; M. Zoeller, Latium u. Rom, Leipzig, 
 1878. 
 
 General Bibliography ^ 
 
 {T/ie Monarchy and the Republic) 
 
 Th. Mommsen, History of Rome, 5 vols. (Eng. trans.). New York, 
 
 1894. 
 W. Ihne, History of Rome, 4 vols. (Eng. trans.). London, 1871-82. 
 
 * Collections of inscriptions, like the Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum, of docu- 
 ments, like that of Bruns, and treatises on coins, such as Eckhel's Doctrina Numo- 
 runt Veterum, may be consulted to advantage, but do not fall within the scope of 
 this list. Valuable lists of articles on various periods of Roman history, which have 
 appeared during the last fifteen years, may be found in the Jahresbericht iiber die 
 Fortschritte der classischen Alterthutnswissenschaft, Ikl. xlviii (1886), pp. 211-314; 
 Bd. Ivi (1888), pp. 1-30; Bd. k (1889), pp. 262-408; Bd. bdv (1890), pp. 114-185, 
 and Bd. xciv (1897), pp. 1-277.
 
 MONARCHICAL INSTITUTIONS 2$ 
 
 E. Pais, Storia di Roma, Vol. I. Turin, 1899. 
 
 B. G. Niebuhr, History of Rome (Eng. trans.). London, 1855. 
 Schwegler-Clason, Rbmische Geschichte, 4 Bde. Tiibingen, 1853-8 ; 
 
 Berlin, 1873-6. 
 
 C. Peter, Geschichte Roms, 3 Bde. 4*6 Aufl. Halle, 1881. 
 E. W. Fischer, Romische Zeittafeln. Altona, 1846. 
 
 H. F. Clinton, Fasti Hellenici, Vol. III. Oxford, 1841. 
 H. F. Clinton, Fasti Romani, 2 vols. Oxford, 1845-50. 
 H. Matzat, Rbmische Zeittafeln fiir die Jahre 219 bis I v. Chr. 
 
 Berlin, 1889. 
 H. Matzat, Romische Chronologie, 2 Bde. Berlin, 1883-4. 
 
 Supplementary Literature, 1901-1910^ 
 
 Heitland, The Roman Republic, 3 vols. Cambridge (England), 1909. 
 
 Klio {= Beitrage zur alten Geschichte), 1902 — - (passim). 
 
 De Ruggiero, Dizionario epigrafico di antichita romane (A-Dend, 
 
 F-Gr). Rome, 1895-1909. 
 Wachsmuth, Einleitung in das Studium der alten Geschichte. 
 
 Leipzig, 1895. 
 Meyer, E., Geschichte des Altertums, II, V. Stuttgart and Berlin, 
 
 1893, 1902. 
 Wissowa, Religion u. Kultus d. Romer. Munich, 1902. 
 Pais, Ancient Italy. Chicago, 1908. 
 
 Modestov, Introduction a I'histoire romaine. St. Petersburg, 1902. 
 Comparetti, Iscrizione arcaica del Foro romano edita ed illustrata. 
 
 Rome, 1900. 
 Peter, Historicorum Romanorum reliquiae, 2 vols. Leipzig, 1870, 
 
 1906. 
 
 ' See also Ja/tres6eric/it iiber die Fortschritte der classischen A Iterihumstvissen- 
 scha/t, Bd. cxiv (1903), pp. 1-25, 188-217; Bd. cxxvii (1905), pp. 257-368; Musee 
 Beige, vii, pp. 420-465 ; viii, pp. 194-270.
 
 Part II — Republican Period 
 
 SECTION I — HISTORICAL 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 THE PATRICIAN CITY 
 
 24. Credibility of Early Republican History. The tra- 
 ditional story of the kings is in large measure a transparent 
 fiction. After the establishment of the republic the narra- 
 tive descends into the realm of the possible and credible, 
 but we should be mistaken in accepting the early part of it 
 as trustworthy. Both the external and the internal evidence 
 show it to be otherwdse. For the first century or more of 
 the republic contemporary records are completely lacking. 
 Everything of the sort must have been lost when the city 
 was taken by the Gauls in 390. Then, too, an examination 
 of the history of the early period, which ancient writers 
 have left us, reveals the fact that truth and fiction are con- 
 stantly interwoven, and that the greater part of the account 
 is the production of a later date. The meager records 
 which religious and political officials made in the fourth 
 century B.C., relying on tradition, were supplemented, as 
 time went on, by traditional tales of popular military heroes 
 and political leaders, and successive generations of \vriters 
 sought to remove inconsistencies, to suggest explanations, 
 and to embellish the narrative by the use of rhetorical 
 
 24
 
 THE PATRICIAN CITY 2$ 
 
 devices, as they did in the case of the regal history. How- 
 ever, the constitutional struggle which is under way when 
 more trustworthy history begins is only a continuation of 
 that of the first century of the republic, and from our knowl- 
 edge of its nature, and of the forces at work, we can make 
 fairly safe inferences concerning similar movements of the 
 early period, and in this way test the truth of the traditional 
 account. In a like manner the character of certain politi- 
 cal institutions in the historical period, and the line which 
 they take in their development, enable us to determine 
 their early form with considerable probability. In this way 
 the main features of the constitutional history of the early 
 republic can be made out. 
 
 25. The Chief Magistracy. Tradition is probably right 
 in making the transition from the monarchy to the repub- 
 lic a sudden one, — the outcome of a revolution. The 
 most important result of this revolution consisted in the 
 changes which the chief magistracy underwent. In place 
 of the rex, who under the old regal constitution was the 
 choice of the patres, and held office for life, two chief 
 executives, called praetores, or leaders, were chosen annually 
 by the whole body of citizens. Two of the three changes 
 just mentioned in the position of the chief magistracy are 
 of immediate importance, while 'the third is of future sig- 
 nificance. A chief executive who holds office for a limited 
 period only can be held accountable for his conduct at the 
 close of his term of office. Furthermore, the participation 
 of a colleague in the exercise of supreme power will tend 
 to prevent a magistrate from becoming autocratic. These 
 are the two principal points in which the position of the 
 praetor, or, to give him his later title, the consul, differed 
 from that of the king. The change in the method of 
 choice was of less importance at first, since, as we shall
 
 26 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 shortly find, the popular assembly, in which the consul 
 was chosen, was controlled by the patricians, just as was 
 the senate, which had practically chosen the king. The 
 consul was invested with the imperium, as the king had 
 been, and the strictly political power of the new magis- 
 trate was identical with that of the old one. If the expe- 
 rience of the Roman people were not a matter of history, 
 the practicability of a system of government, in which the 
 supreme power was placed in the hands of two magistrates, 
 elected for the same term of office, and could be exercised 
 by each of them at any moment, might well be questioned 
 by any one. However, the system did prove a workable 
 one, although the Romans found it wise a few years after 
 the founding of the republic to modify it slightly by estab- 
 lishing the dictatorship. The incumbent of this office, who 
 was to be appointed at moments of great danger, had no 
 colleague. We have said that the full political power of 
 the king descended to the consul. The new chief magis- 
 trate lost some of the religious functions of the old one. 
 Such religious duties as were not necessary preliminaries to 
 political action were assigned to the pontiffs and to a new 
 priest, the rex sacrorum. 
 
 26. The Senate. The position of the senate was essen- 
 tially unchanged, but its composition underwent a change. 
 A certain number of plebeians were admitted to member- 
 ship in it. The plebeian senators, called conscripti, could, 
 however, take no part in passing the auctoritas patrum, or 
 in choosing an iiiterrex. These duties were always the 
 prerogative of the patrician senators. 
 
 27. The People. The centuriate comitia was at the 
 outset a military organization solely, and it was slow in 
 acquiring political functions, but the growth was a natural 
 one. In fact, it was inevitable that in matters touching the
 
 THE PATRICIAN CITY 27 
 
 safety and general welfare of the community, or the life of 
 individual citizens, an exclusive body like the curiate comitia 
 should give way before an organization made up of all the 
 fighting men of the state. It would be absurd, in fact, to 
 expect the plebeians to serve faithfully under a leader 
 whom they had had no part in choosing, or to fight in 
 a war which had been declared without consulting them. 
 Under these influences the centuriate assembly gradually 
 acquired a large share of the political fimctions which 
 under the monarchy had been exercised by the curiate 
 comitia. In it magistrates were elected, appeals were heard, 
 and measures affecting the whole community, excepting the 
 lex de impcrio, were considered and acted on. Another 
 factor contributed to its political importance. Under the 
 monarchy, as we have already noticed (p. i6), an appeal 
 to the people in a case of life and death could be had only 
 with the consent of the king. By the lex Valeria (Cic. 
 de Re Publ. II. 53), which tradition assigns to the year 
 509, the right to an appeal to the comitia centuriata was 
 granted to all citizens, plebeians as well as patricians. This 
 action undoubtedly made frequent meetings of that body 
 necessary. The eighteen centuries of knights acting with 
 the eighty centuries of the first class constituted a majority, 
 and, since most of the rich landholders were probably patri- 
 cians, the body had a pronounced aristocratic character. 
 For this reason the action of the centuriate comitia in elect- 
 ing magistrates, in passing laws, and in deciding appeals 
 was of no great immediate value to the plebs, but the 
 time was Hkely to come when the plebeians could exert a 
 controlling influence through an increase in the number 
 of rich plebeian landholders. The organization, but not 
 the character, of the cotnitia centtiriata was affected by 
 the formation of seventeen tribus rusticae, which tradition
 
 28 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 assigns to the period immediately after the expulsion of 
 the kings. 
 
 The king had held his position for life. Class preju- 
 dice, therefore, would not count for much in his case. 
 His interests also lay in conciliating the plebeians. The 
 consul, who was chosen from the ranks of the patricians, 
 held office for a year only, and then returned to their 
 number. Consequently his action must have been largely 
 influenced by prejudice in favor of the patricians. We 
 are not surprised, therefore, that the plebeians found their 
 position intolerable under the new chief magistrates. The 
 condition of foreign affairs, however, helped them to wrest 
 from the aristocracy some protection against the patrician 
 consuls. In 494, when Rome was engaged in a fierce 
 struggle with the Aequi and Volsci, the plebeian soldiers 
 refused to march against the enemy, and took up their 
 position on a hill a few miles from the city. The patri- 
 cians proposed a compromise at once, and the plebeians 
 returned to their duties on condition that they should be 
 allowed to elect annual officials, perhaps five in number, 
 with sufficient power to protect them against the auto- 
 cratic action of the consuls. The new officials took their 
 title of tribuni pkbis from the plebeian tribuni militum 
 whom the people had chosen as their leaders in the seces- 
 sion. We do not know how the tribunes were chosen at 
 the outset, but probably the plebeians were divided into 
 curiae, and the new officials were elected in a loosely 
 organized plebeian curiate assembly. They were to be 
 assisted in the performance of their duties by tvvo aediles 
 pkbei. From this time forth the plebeians had political 
 leaders of their own, and the great struggle between the 
 orders begins with their aj^pearance, although important 
 political results cannot be seen for a generation or two.
 
 THE PATRICIAN CITY 29 
 
 28. Improvement in the Organization of the Plebeians. 
 
 For a period of fifty years this struggle centers succes- 
 sively about three points. These three points were : the 
 improvement of the plebeian organization, the more equi- 
 table division of the ager publicus, and the codification 
 and publication of the customary law. At the outset, z.z 
 has been stated above, the tribunes were apparently elected 
 in a plebeian curiate assembly roughly modeled after the 
 patrician comitia curiata. To this body all those outside of 
 the old gentes who were not slaves were probably admitted. 
 In this organization the patricians may well have exerted 
 a strong influence through their clientes. To eliminate 
 this influence, in 471, in accordance with a law incor- 
 rectly attributed by tradition to Volero Publilius, the ple- 
 beians were organized on the tribal basis, and the election 
 of tribunes was turned over to the newly constituted ple- 
 beian tribal assembly, and to this organization probably 
 plebeian landowners only were admitted. 
 
 29. Agrarian Agitation. Under the monarchy the dis- 
 posal of land gained in war was left to |he king (p. 15). 
 His fairly impartial attitude towards all classes would lead 
 him to make arrangements at least tolerable for the ple- 
 beians. But the patrician senate and consul inherited the 
 king's power in this matter, and the plebeians gained little 
 from the new territory which their own valor had helped 
 to secure. They suffered not only financially, but also 
 politically, from this state of things. Membership in the 
 classes, on which the centuriate organization was based, 
 depended on the ownership of land. Now, if no new 
 land was thrown open to the plebeians, as they increased 
 in number from generation to generation, the average hold- 
 ings of each one of them would decrease, and plebeians 
 would drop into lower classes, or become landless. This
 
 30 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 was the state of things which led Spurius Cassius, himself 
 a patrician, to advocate the assignment of certain con- 
 quered territory to the plebeians. His proposition, which 
 tradition assigns to the year 486, brought no immediate 
 results, but, as Livy notices (II. 41.3), it marks the begin- 
 ning of an agrarian agitation which went on to the close 
 of the republican period, the first milestone of which was 
 the lex Icilia, so called (Liv. III. 31. i), of 456, which 
 provided for the division among the plebeians of the ager 
 publicHS on the Aventine. 
 
 30. The Decemvirate. The third great achievement of 
 the plebs during the i)eriod under consideration, the pub- 
 lication of the laws of the twelve tables, was the result of 
 a long and bitter struggle. The first proposition looking 
 to this end is said (Liv. III. 9. 5) to have been made by 
 the tribune C. Terentilius Harsa in 462, and in 451 a com- 
 promise between the two parties was arranged, to the elTect 
 that the consuls and tribunes should alike give place to a 
 commission of ten men {ilecemviri legibics scribundis), who 
 should not only exercise the functions of chief magistrates, 
 but should be empowered to publish a code of laws bind- 
 ing on the whole community. The commission of the first 
 year drew up ten tables, but left their task unfinished at 
 the end of their term of office. The commission of the 
 second year, so the story goes, took up the work where 
 its predecessor had left off, but its conduct was so over- 
 bearing that the plebeians wthdrew to the Aventine, and 
 the decemvirs were forced out of office. The real course 
 of events cannot be determined with certainty, but the 
 appearance of plebeian names in the list of decemvirs for 
 the second year makes it probable that a part of the second 
 commission was ])lel)eian, that certain changes were pro- 
 posed which the patricians would not accept, and that
 
 THE PATRICIAN CITY 3 1 
 
 they drove the commission out of office. The withdrawal 
 of the plebeians may be accounted for by their anger at 
 the course which the patricians took, or by the fact that 
 after the overthrow of the decemvirs they were left with- 
 out any adequate protection, since the tribunate had been 
 suspended or abolished. It is worth noticing incidentally 
 that if this explanation of the matter is correct, the decem- 
 virate was the first important magistracy to which pie- 
 beians were admitted. Whatever the truth of the whole 
 matter may have been, we know that the plebs demanded 
 and secured, as the price of their return, the restoration 
 of the tribunate, and the concession of certain rights which 
 the conservative leaders Valerius and Horatius secured for 
 them. Livy characterizes the body of laws which the 
 decemvirs prepared as fons omnis publici privatique iuris. 
 In point of fact, however, the primary importance of the 
 whole incident lay in the publication of the method of 
 procedure to be adopted, especially in civil cases. The 
 only laws of constitutional importance which the code 
 seems to have contained were those forbidding privilegia, 
 granting the right of appeal in case of a heavy fine (prob- 
 ably a reaffirmation of the lex Aternia Tarpeia and the lex 
 Menenia Sestia of 454 and 452 respectively), giving to the 
 comitia cetituriata the sole right of passing sentence in 
 capital cases, and providing that a measure adopted by the 
 populus nullified all earlier constitutional or legal provisions 
 in conflict with it. 
 
 31. The Leges Valeriae Horatiae. The patricians carried 
 out faithfully the promises which had been made in their 
 behalf. In 449 the consuls Valerius and Horatius secured 
 the passage of a law guaranteeing to citizens the right of 
 appeal in cases of hfe and death. This enactment was in 
 a way a repetition of the lex Valeria and of one of the
 
 32 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 provisions of the twelve tables, but the suspension of the 
 right of appeal during the existence of the decemvirate 
 justified the repetition. The dictatorship must have been 
 exempted from the action of this law. Another law of the 
 same year established the tribunate on a surer basis than 
 ever. A still more important piece of legislation, whose 
 passage Valerius and Horatius secured, was an enactment 
 with reference to the validity of plebiscita. Livy summa- 
 rizes (III. 55. 3) its contents in this wise : quod tributim 
 plebes iiississet populwn teneret. It is impossible, however, 
 that the unsupported action of the plebeian tribal assembly 
 should have been binding on the whole people. The fact 
 that it was necessary to secure the approval of the senate 
 in the case of the Licinian laws in 367 (Liv. VI. 42. 9) 
 points to the probability that, after the passage of the leges 
 Valeriae Horatiae, the action of the plebeian tribal assembly 
 acquired the force of law, in case the auctoritas patrum 
 was secured. The constitutional importance of this \'alerio- 
 Horatian measure lies in the fact that it gave to the tribune, 
 the plebeian leader, the right to initiate legislation, and to 
 plebeian political aspirations the strength which came to 
 them through their formulation by a legally recognized legis- 
 lative assembly. It will be seen that this action involves a 
 complete change in the nature of the tribunate. It gives 
 a positive character to it for the first time. The impor- 
 tance of the negative functions of that office also was aug- 
 mented shortly before the estabUshment of the decemvirate 
 by the increase of the number of tribunes to ten. This 
 increase made it possible for them to extend their protec- 
 tive power over a greater number of plebeians. The great 
 constitutional gains which the plebeians made during the 
 period under consideration, from the first to the second 
 secession, bear a close relation to the fact that Rome was
 
 THE PATRICIAN CITY 33 
 
 harassed during this whole time by fierce raids on the part 
 of the Sabines, the Aequi, and the Volsci. The patrician 
 state needed the support of the plebeians, and that could 
 be had only in return for certain political concessions. The 
 stress of these wars also led Rome and the neighboring 
 peoples of the Latins and Hernici to form a league at the 
 beginning of the fifth century which continued in force 
 to 340. 
 
 32. The Comitia Tributa. It will be remembered that 
 in the regal period the king was assisted in the collection 
 of evidence by the quaestores parricidii. The power of 
 appointing these officials, which the king had enjoyed, de- 
 scended to the consul and was exercised by him up to the 
 year 447, when, as Tacitus tells us {Ann. XI. 22), they 
 were for the first time elected by the people. This change 
 was in itself a direct gain for the plebeians, but the method 
 by which the quaestors were elected suggests a far more 
 important indirect advantage to the plebeians. The juris- 
 diction of the quaestors extended over patricians as well as 
 plebeians, and the only definite reference which we have to 
 the method of electing them (Cic. ad Fani. VII. 30. i) in- 
 dicates that they were chosen in a tribal assembly presided 
 over by a magistrate. We must consequently infer that 
 patricians as well as plebeians took part in the election. 
 From 447 on, then, there are two tribal assemblies, — one 
 an assembly of the populus under the chairmanship of a 
 magistrate, and therefore properly called the comitia tri- 
 buta, the other an assembly of the plebs presided over by 
 a tribune, to which Latin writers now and then refer as the 
 concilium plebis. 
 
 33. The Lex Canuleia. A great social change which led 
 to important poHtical results was effected at about the 
 same time, to be exact in 445, by the passage of the lex
 
 34 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 Canuleia de conubio, which recognized co7iubiutn between 
 patricians and plebeians. Mixed marriages between patri- 
 cians and plebeians had never been considered strictly illegal, 
 but the sons of a patrician who took a plebeian woman in 
 marriage lost the patriciate by virtue of that fact. The 
 passage of this law or plebiscite was therefore, in a way, to 
 the advantage of the patricians. Indirectly it furthered the 
 cause of the plebeians and benefited the whole community. 
 It was to the advantage of the entire state, because it served 
 to unify the interests of its citizens. It helped the ple- 
 beians, since through it inlluential patricians were some- 
 times led by kinship to supj)ort plebeian leaders at critical 
 moments. This was notably true in the case of Licinius in 
 the year 367. 
 
 34. Agitation for the Consulship. The great majority of 
 the measures whose passage the plebeians had secured since 
 509 had for their avowed object the restriction of the con- 
 sul's power. The plebeians now felt themselves in a posi- 
 tion to make a direct assault on the patrician stronghold by 
 demanding a representative in the consulship. A propo- 
 sition embodying this demand was made by the tribune 
 Canuleius in 445. The patricians could not be forced to 
 yield the point in question, l)ut they granted a compromise 
 by providing that each year it should be decided whether 
 the chief magistrates should be consuls or tribuni militarcs 
 consulari -potestate. The tribuni viilitiim alternated in com- 
 mand of the legion, and since the office was open to ple- 
 beians as well as to patricians, the demands of the plebeians 
 were nominally recognized. In point of fact the concession 
 was intended to be, and was in large measure, a nominal 
 one. The patricians hoped to save the consulshij) by sub- 
 stituting the consular tribunate tcmj)orarilv in its stead, with 
 the intention of restoring the consulship when they found
 
 THE PATRICIAN CITY 35 
 
 themselves strong enough to do so. In the interval they 
 felt that they had secured themselves by a number of safe- 
 guards. It was, for instance, within the power of the senate 
 to decide each year whether the chief magistrates should 
 be consuls or consular tribunes ; the election of consular 
 tribunes by the comitia ceiituriata required the ratification 
 of the patrician senators, and finally, since the number of 
 these officials was not fixed, it was probably possible in 
 some cases to reject successful plebeian candidates on the 
 ground of unfavorable auspices, or for similar technical 
 reasons. These legal restrictions, combined with the supe- 
 rior political ability of the patricians and the prestige 
 which their social position gave them, enabled them to 
 exclude the plebeians entirely from the office up to 400, 
 and after that date the number of plebeian successes was 
 small. 
 
 35. Economic Difficulties. The political situation, which 
 was already serious, in consequence of the repeated disap- 
 pointments of the plebeians, was still further complicated 
 by the development of an agrarian difficulty. We have 
 already had occasion to notice (p. 29) the unfair treatment 
 in the division of land to which the plebeians were subject, 
 and the economical and political hardships which resulted 
 from it. The difficulty steadily grew in seriousness. In 
 the first third of the fourth century b.c. there was an almost 
 unbroken series of wars with the Aequi, the Volsci, the 
 Latins, and the people of Veil. During these long cam- 
 paigns patrician estates could be cultivated by dependents, 
 but the returns from the little holdings of the poor ple- 
 beian grew smaller and smaller, and the land itself steadily 
 deteriorated in value. Undoubtedly, also, the peasant pro- 
 prietor was finding it more and more difficult to compete 
 with the owner of large estates.
 
 36 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 36. The Leges Liciniae Sextiae. This was the political 
 and economic condition of the plebs which the two trib- 
 unes of the year 377, C. Licinius Stolo and L, Sextius, 
 endeavored to relieve. They accomplished their object in 
 367, after ten years of agitation, by securing the passage 
 of a lex satura, or law covering the various matters in dis- 
 pute. The contents of the law are somewhat in doubt, 
 but, if we may follow Livy and Appian, it included the fol- 
 lowing points : (i) restoration of the consulship, with the 
 provision that one of the two consuls should always be a 
 plebeian ; (2) a provision forbidding an individual to occupy 
 more than five hundred acres of arable land belonging to 
 the state, and to pasture more than one hundred head of 
 cattle and five hundred sheep on the common pasture land ; 
 (3) an article fixing the proportional number of free laborers 
 and slaves to be employed on any estate ; (4) a clause 
 providing that interest already paid on debts should be 
 deducted from the principal, and that three years should 
 be allowed for the payment of the rest; (5) a provision 
 that the number of priests in charge of the Sibylline 
 books should be increased to ten, and that five of these 
 should be plebeians. 
 
 37. Results of the Struggle. The first point in these 
 laws marks the beginning of the end of the patricio-ple- 
 beian struggle. The other important magistracies to which 
 plebeians had been eligible, viz., the decemvirate and the 
 consular tribunate, were of a temporary character, and, 
 as we have seen, the patricians had easily thwarted their 
 efforts to attain them. From this time on, one of the 
 incumbents of a regular magistracy must be a plebeian, 
 and admission to the consulship foreshadowed admission 
 to the other offices also. The law was observed in the fol- 
 lowing year by the election of L. Sextius to the consulship.
 
 THE PATRICIAN CITY 37 
 
 The second law differs from the lex Icilia (p. 30), and 
 from many agrarian laws of a later date, in being an 
 automatic principle of a general character, rather than a 
 measure for a specific case. The third provision was evi- 
 dently the result of an effort to check the growth of an 
 evil which ultimately drove peasant proprietors and free 
 laborers out of the country districts, and transformed Italy 
 into a land of large estates worked by slaves. The fourth 
 measure is a forerunner of the socialistic legislation of the 
 next century, and foreshadows a re-division of the people 
 into rich and poor, as soon as political equality has been 
 secured. The political significance of the last provision 
 lies in the fact that it made a breach in the integrity of 
 the aristocratic religious system. The plebeians might 
 hope soon to gain admission to the offices of augur and 
 pontiff, and thus wrest from the patricians one of their most 
 effective defensive weapons, the taking of the auspices, 
 
 38. The Establishment of the Offices of Censor, Praetor, 
 and Aedile. The civil duties of the chief magistracy were 
 increasing so rapidly in consequence of the growth of the 
 city that they could no longer be satisfactorily performed 
 by the two consuls. The difficulty of the situation was 
 increased by the frequent absence of the consuls from the 
 city in the performance of their miUtary duties. This 
 state of things led to the establishment of the censorship 
 in 443 (or possibly in 435), and of the praetorship in 366. 
 A secondary motive for the establishment of the praetor- 
 ship may be found in the desire of the patricians to keep 
 in their own hands some of the powers of the chief magis- 
 tracy, for at the outset patricians only were eligible to the 
 office of praetor. The establishment in 366 of the curule 
 aedileship, to which plebeians were not eligible, was also 
 perhaps a part of the bargain on the basis of which the
 
 38 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 patricians allowed the passage of the Licinian laws of the 
 year before. 
 
 39. The Senate and the Tribune. The relations which 
 the senate bore to the tribune and to the magistrates 
 underwent an interesting change in the period under con- 
 sideration, from 445 to 367. The original function of the 
 tribune was to protect citizens against the magistrate by 
 personal interference in specific cases. The increase of 
 the number of tribunes to ten, in the middle of the fifth 
 century, and the bitterness of the long struggle which the 
 plebeians made for the consulship, led to a continual clash- 
 ing between the tribunes and the magistrates executing 
 the decrees of the senate, and in many cases the working 
 of the governmental machinery was completely suspended. 
 It was felt, therefore, that it would be far better to get the 
 opinion of the tribunes with reference to a bill under con- 
 sideration in the senate, before action was taken on it. 
 With this purpose in mind they were given seats in the 
 senate, and were allowed to interpose their objections 
 formally at any point in the proceedings. At least no 
 better explanation can be suggested for the new role 
 which the tribunes play in the deliberations of the senate 
 in this period. 
 
 40. The Senate and the Magistracy. On the other hand, 
 the senate gained in power at the expense of the chief 
 magistrate, and perhaps at this time it took the first step 
 toward gaining that controlling influence in the state which 
 it exercised a century or more later. The explanation of 
 the change lies partly in the fact that it rested with the 
 senate each year to decide whether the chief magistrates 
 should be consuls or tribunes with consular power. This 
 fact in a way made the chief magistracy dependent on 
 that body.
 
 THE PATRICIAN CITY 39 
 
 41. Foreign Affairs. In foreign affairs the period of the 
 consular tribunate is one of conquest. Rome's territory 
 was extended, and her influence over her neighbors was 
 greatly strengthened. These successes were due partly 
 to the rapid growth of Rome and to the improvement in 
 her domestic policy, partly to the weakening of her enemies 
 and rivals. The brilliant victories of M. Camillus over the 
 Volsci and Aequi in 389, followed by successes in subse- 
 quent years, broke the power of both peoples, who were 
 already hard pressed by the inroads of the SabeUians. 
 Paradoxical as it may seem, even the invasion of the 
 Kelts, which led to the capture of Rome in 390 (or 
 387?), was of permanent advantage to the city. The 
 losses which Etruria suffered from the Kelts, following 
 closely, as they did, on the fall of Veil in 396, made it 
 easy for Rome to extend her control over southern Etruria. 
 Rome's old allies, the Latins and Hernici, became jealous 
 of her growing power, and, availing themselves of the con- 
 fusion which followed the Keltic invasion, Praeneste, Tibur, 
 and other neighboring communities took up arms against 
 her. They were quickly conquered, and in the new treaty, 
 which was made in 358 between the Latin communities 
 and Rome, the former probably lost their position as co- 
 equal members of the confederacy. These successful wars 
 had a direct and an indirect effect on internal politics in 
 many ways. Among the direct effects were the establish- 
 ment of four new tribes, — the Stellatina, Tromentina, Saba- 
 tina, and Arnensis in 387 in southern Etruria, — and, to 
 pass for a moment beyond the period we are considering, 
 the addition of two new tribes, the Publilia and Pomptina, 
 in Volscian territory.
 
 40 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 Selections from the Sources 
 
 The consulship: Liv. I. 60. 4; II. i ; III. 55. 12; Cic. de Re 
 Fubl. II. 56; de Legg. III. 8. — Lex Valeria de provocatione : Cic. 
 de Re Publ. II. 53. — The dictatorship: Liv. II. 18; Cic. de Re 
 Fubl. II. 56. — The first secession: Liv. II. 32-3. — The tribune: 
 Liv. II. 33. 1-3; -11. 34-5; II. 58. 1 ; III. 20. 7; III. 30. 7; Cic. de 
 Re Publ. II. 57-9 ; de Legg. III. 9; III. 16-26; Dionysius, VI. 89; 
 IX. 41. — The concilia plebis : Liv. II. 56-7 ; II. 60. 4-5 ; Dionysius, 
 
 IX. 41-9. — The decemvirate : Liv. III. 33-59; Cic. de Re Publ. 
 II. 61-3; Dionysius, X. 55-61; XL 1-46. — Leges ValeriaeHoratiae: 
 Liv. III. 55 ; Dionysius, XL 45. — (Patricio-plebeian) comitia tributa : 
 Liv. IV. 44. 2; Cic. ad Fam. VII. 30. i; Tac. Ann. XL 22. — 
 The consular tribunate: Liv. IV. i. 2; IV. 6. 8 ; V. 12. 8-12. — 
 Lex Canuleia: Liv. IV. i. i; IV. 6. 3. — The censorship: Liv. IV. 
 8. 2-7. — Fall of Veil: Liv. V. 19-22. — The Keltic invasion: Liv. 
 
 V. 34-49. — The Volsci and Aequi: Liv. VI. 2; VI. 32. — The leges 
 Liciniae Sextiae : Liv. VI. 35. 4-5 ; Appian, B. C. I. 8; Liv. X. 13. 14 ; 
 
 X. 23. 13. — The praetorship: Liv. VI. 42. ii; VII. i. 1-2. — The 
 curule aedileship: Liv. VI. 42. 12-14. — The Sibylline books: Liv. 
 
 VI. 42. 2. 
 
 Criticism of the Sources ' 
 
 Brocker, Untersuchungen iiber die Glaubwiirdigkeit der altro- 
 
 mischen Geschichte. Basel, 1S62. 
 E. Herzog, Ueber die Glaubwiirdigkeit d. aus d. rom. Republik bis 
 
 zum Jahre 3S7 d. St. iiberlieferten Gesetze. Tubingen, 1S81. 
 Niese, Gnindriss d. rom. Geschichte (pp. 7-11). Munich, 1897. 
 Pais, Storia di Roma, Vol. I, Pt. II. Turin, 1899. 
 C. Peter, Zur Kritik d. Quellen d. alteren rom. Geschichte. Halle, 
 
 1879. 
 Soltau, Livius' Geschichtswerk (pp. 156-184, and bibliography, 
 
 pp. 9-14)- Deipzig, 1897. 
 Thouret, Ueber d. gallischen Brand in l-leckeisens Jahrb. Suppl. 
 
 (N.F.), XL 95-188. 
 Virck, Die Quellen d. Livius u. Dionysius fiir d. iilteste Geschichte 
 
 d. rom. Republik. Strassburg, 1S77. 
 
 * See also general bibliography on p. 22.
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 THE STRUGGLE BETWEEN THE ORDERS 
 
 42. The Period from 367 to 287. In the last chapter 
 we traced the course of events from the founding of the 
 repubUc down to the passage of the Licinio-Sextian laws 
 in 367. The history of the period in question is primarily 
 a history of the early efforts which the plebeians made to 
 gain political equality with the patricians. The passage of 
 the Licinian laws marks their first great success. Their 
 victory was made complete, and the struggle came to an 
 end when the Hortensian law was passed in the year 287, 
 making the assemblies independent legislative bodies. The 
 last-mentioned year, therefore, marks a new dividing line 
 in the development of Roman political institutions, so 
 that it is convenient to treat the history of internal affairs 
 during the years from 367 to 287 as a unit. It is in part 
 a matter of chance only that this period also constitutes a 
 natural epoch in the history of external politics. In 295, 
 at the battle of Sentinum, the Romans were called on to 
 face the combined forces of the Kelts and Samnites, the 
 two peoples who had most fiercely and persistently dis- 
 puted the supremacy of Rome in Italy. The victory of 
 Rome in that battle, followed by the submission of the 
 Samnites in 290, crushed the Kelts, broke the power of 
 the Samnites forever, and made the Romans the chief 
 people in Italy. 
 
 43. The Magistracies. The history of the period under 
 consideration may be conveniently considered from the 
 
 41
 
 42 REPUBLICAN TERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 point of view of the magistracies, the senate, the people, 
 and foreign affairs. The magistracies provided for under 
 the constitution in 366 were those of consul, interrex, dic- 
 tator, censor, praetor, quaestor, and curule aedile. With 
 the magistracies the plebeian tribuneship and aedileship 
 should be mentioned. Notwithstanding the fact that the 
 law of 367 stipulated that one of the two consuls should 
 be a plebeian, on seven occasions in the twenty-five years 
 which followed both consuls were patricians. This state of 
 things may not have been due, however, to the bad faith 
 of the aristocracy. Probably the cleverest statesmen and 
 generals were still those of patrician descent, and the ple- 
 beians may well have put patriotism above class prejudice 
 in foregoing their claim to one of the two positions. The 
 right to hold the consulship naturally carried along with it 
 eligibility to the offices of dictator and censor, and it is 
 not surprising that a plebeian filled the former office in 
 356 and the latter in 351, without waiting for the formality 
 of a law throwing those positions open to his class. How- 
 ever, the plebeians thought it wise to secure the passage 
 of a law in 339, formulating their claim to one of the two 
 censors. They won still another success two years later, 
 when the great plebeian leader, Q. Publilius Philo, was 
 elected to the praetorship, in violation of the bargain in 
 accordance with which the patricians had conceded the 
 consulship. The quaestorship had been thrown open to 
 the plebeians in 421, when the number of quaestors was 
 increased from two to four. By establishing the curule 
 aedileship, which was not open to plebeians, and by grant- 
 ing the incumbents of that office special honors, the patri- 
 cians hoped to secure an offset to the oftice of plebeian 
 aedile, but they soon gave up their exclusive claim to the 
 office, and a peculiar arrangement was adopted for it. In
 
 STRUGGLE BETWEEN THE ORDERS 43 
 
 one year it was thrown open to plebeians, in the next 
 patricians only were eligible. We have already noticed 
 the fact (p. 37) that the importance of opening one of 
 the priestly offices to the plebeians lay in the fact that 
 a precedent was estabhshed for the adoption of a similar 
 provision in the case of the augurate and pontificate. 
 The hopes of the plebeians in this respect were realized 
 by the passage of the plebisciium Ogulfiiu?n in 300, which 
 reserved to the plebeians a certain number of places in 
 each of the colleges mentioned. These changes all bene- 
 fited the commonwealth and the plebs, in that they unified 
 the community and gave the plebeians such a representa- 
 tion in the several magistracies as their number and ser- 
 vices to the state entitled them to have, but they were 
 of special importance to those plebeians who were promi- 
 nent through wealth or ability, for they alone could hope 
 to secure election to a magistracy. 
 
 44. Reelection and Plurality of Offices. The special 
 interests concerned in the matter are in fact indicated 
 clearly by two plebiscites attributed to the year 342, one 
 of which provided that a citizen should not be reelected 
 to an office until an interval of ten years had elapsed, while 
 the other made it unlawful to hold more than one office 
 at a time. These provisions were not inspired by a fear 
 of autocracy, but by a desire on the part of rising poli- 
 ticians to keep as many offices open as possible. The- 
 first-mentioned law was not well observed, however, since 
 T. Manlius Torquatus was consul in 344 and 340, and 
 M. Valerius Corvus in 343 and 335. 
 
 45. Promagisterial Government and the Prorogatio Im- 
 perii. The law which forbade immediate reelection to 
 an office made the military situation intolerable. In the 
 period which we are considering Rome was carrying on
 
 44 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 a number of campaigns simultaneously at points remote 
 from the city. Several commanders, and a term of service 
 extending beyond twelve months, were absolutely necessary 
 to success. To meet the need of more than two command- 
 ing officers, as early as 465, according to tradition, an army 
 was placed in charge of a certain T. Quinctius, acting pro 
 consule, and in 326 Q. Publilius Philo, the consul of the 
 previous year, was authorized to remain in charge of his 
 army pi'o consule, until the campaign was finished. The 
 changes in the constitution which developed in after years 
 out of these two precedents were of tremendous impor- 
 tance. The first incident led in time to the development 
 of the whole system of promagisterial government which 
 was adopted for the provinces. The extension of an offi- 
 cial's term of office (^prorogatio imperii') beyond one year, 
 which was first allowed in the case of Publilius, was out of 
 harmony with a fundamental principle of Roman govern- 
 ment, and the frequent adoption of the device accustomed 
 the Romans to the protracted exercise of supreme power 
 by an individual, and thus prepared the way for the empire. 
 
 46. The Tribunes and the Senate. In our examination 
 of an earlier period (p. 38) we noticed a rapprochement 
 between the senate and the tribunes. The case of Pub- 
 lilius in 326 offers another striking instance of the same 
 tendency, if we may accept the traditional narrative. The 
 .measure extending Publilius's term of office would seem to 
 have been laid before the concilium plebis by a tribune, at 
 the request of the senate. This fact seems to indicate, 
 not only greater harmony between the two elements in the 
 community, but also a recognition on the part of the aris- 
 tocracy of the possibility of using plebeian officials to 
 accomplish desired objects. 
 
 The willingness of the tribune on this occasion, and in
 
 STRUGGLE BETWEEN THE ORDERS 45 
 
 other instances, to carry out the wishes of the senate in the 
 matter of legislation, is a natural return on his part for the 
 permission, which, as we have already seen, the senate had 
 given him to occupy a seat in the senate-house, and to 
 state formally his objection to any action under considera- 
 tion in that body. In this period, too, probably the tri- 
 bune acquired the right, which he exercised freely in later 
 times, of calling meetings of the senate and laying matters 
 before it for consideration. The friendly relations which 
 were thus developing between the senate and the tribune 
 were fostered by the large measure of success with which 
 the plebeian senators met in securing the tribunate for 
 members of their families, and in making it the stepping- 
 stone to a magistracy. The result of these changes in the 
 powers and functions of the tribune's office was the gradual 
 assimilation of his duties to those of a magistrate, and, 
 especially after the legislation of 339 and 287, which made 
 the action of the conciliian plebis, over which the tribune 
 presided, unconditionally binding on all citizens, the tribune 
 may with practical, though not with technical, correct- 
 ness be called a niagistratus plebeiiis. The plebeian char- 
 acter of the office of course consisted in the fact that its 
 incumbents must be of plebeian descent, and must be 
 elected by an assembly made up solely of plebeians. The 
 role which the tribune played during this period is a 
 characteristic and an important one. The life-and-death 
 struggle which the Romans were carrying on with the Sam- 
 nites during these years must have developed the military 
 spirit at home. The tribune sought to maintain the civil 
 liberty of the citizen against the encroachments of this 
 tendency. The services which he rendered to the commu- 
 nity were valuable, and his attitude was in harmony with 
 the traditions attaching to his office, which made him the
 
 46 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 protector of the helpless individual against the tyranny ot 
 autocratic power. 
 
 47. The Senate and the Ovinian Law. An examination 
 of the plebiscitum Ovinium takes us naturally from the 
 magistracies to the senate, since its provisions affected both 
 the censor and the senate. Strangely enough, although 
 this measure was one of great importance, its contents are 
 not given by any of the historians. Festus, however, tells 
 us that senators were chosen by the consuls and consular 
 tribunes, donee Ovinia tribtmicia intervenit qua sanctum est 
 ut censores ex Ofnni ordine optimum qucmque curiati {lurati T) 
 in senatujn lege rent, quo factum est ut qui praeteriti essent et 
 loco moti habei-entur ignomitiiosi. There are two important 
 points in the law as stated by Festus : the transfer of the 
 lectio senatus from the consul to the censor, and the estab- 
 lishment of the basis on which the choice of senators was to 
 be made. The first provision placed the composition of 
 the senate and the fortunes of individual politicians, to some 
 extent, in the hands of the censor, and the great promi- 
 nence of that official during the next century is due in large 
 measure to the passage of this law. The term ordo, \vhich 
 Festus uses, is often appHed to any " class " of citizens, but 
 that can hardly be its meaning in the passage before us. 
 The Romans can scarcely have admitted members of the 
 ordo libertinus, for instance, to the senate at this time. 
 Furthermore, the census rolls of the period show about 
 200,000 citizens, and it would have been absurd to stigma- 
 tize as ignotniniosi the 199,700 whose names were not 
 placed on the senate's list. The term must be applied to 
 officials, as it is elsewhere at times, and the censor was 
 instructed to put in the senate all such magistrates or ex- 
 magistrates as were of approved character. Probably the 
 Ovinian law did not introduce an essentially new method
 
 STRUGGLE BETWEEN THE ORDERS 47 
 
 of procedure, but it put into a more definite legal form a 
 principle which the consuls had followed in a general way 
 for many years. From this time forth the senate is a body 
 of ex-magistrates, and very important results followed in 
 the next century in consequence of this change in its com- 
 position. The following considerations enable us to fix 
 approximately the date of the Ovinian law. It was a plebi- 
 scite, and since by its provisions the right to make out the 
 list of senators was transferred from the consul to the censor, 
 we may be sure that it was not passed until after plebeians 
 were eligible to the censorship, that is, until after 339. 
 The earliest lectio senatus by a censor, of which we have 
 any record, dates from 312, so that the law must have 
 been passed between 339 and 312. At the time of its 
 passage plebeians were eligible to all the ordinary political 
 offices, so that under its operation the number of plebeian 
 senators must have increased greatly. In fact, it would 
 be only a question of time when the majority would be 
 plebeian. 
 
 48. The Appearance of the Nobilitas. Under the new 
 regime the choice of senators was made indirectly by the 
 people in their centuriate and tribal assemblies. A candi- 
 date of obscure position, however, had little chance of 
 election. Only unusual abiUty or a great danger enabled 
 an igtiobilis, like Marius or Cicero, to secure a political 
 office ; for, since wealth became a more and more influential 
 factor in politics and society, and since the imagines of 
 distinguished famihes appealed in a forcible, concrete way 
 to the Roman's deeply rooted respect for the past, political 
 office, and consequently a seat in the senate, became prac- 
 tically the hereditary privilege of a few rich families, and 
 constituted the basis of a new patricio-plebeian aristocracy, 
 the nobilitas, which from this time on took the place in the
 
 48 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 State and in society which the i)atricians had formerly held. 
 I'he exclusive rights of the old aristocracy had rested on 
 the law. By a revision of the law they could be and had 
 been removed. The privileges of the new aristocracy 
 depended, not on the law, but on the organization of 
 society. Nothing but a revolution could, therefore, take 
 them away. In this way the appearance of the nobilitas 
 marks a turning point in Roman history, and the whole 
 history of the republic falls into two great epochs. In one 
 the patricians are in the ascendant, in the other the nobilitas. 
 
 A contest of two hundred years had at last brought the 
 rich plebeians to the goal of their ambition, — poUtical 
 equality with the patricians, — but the position of the poor 
 plebeian had not improved in like measure. In fact, the 
 establishment of the patricio-plebeian fiobilitas not only 
 brought into more marked contrast the conditions of the 
 rich and the poor, but the fusion of prominent plebeian 
 families with the patricians into a new aristocracy with 
 exclusive privileges, and \vith common interests hostile to 
 those of the poor plebeians, robbed the latter of the help 
 of their most pow-erful leaders. 
 
 49. The Distress of the Poor. Their difficulties were 
 partly economical, partly political. It will be remembered 
 that some attempt had been made in the Licinian laws to 
 relieve the distress of the proletariat, but the measure 
 brought little help. Perhaps a resumption of the ager piib- 
 licics by the state, and its assignment to the needy with the 
 full right of ownership, might have relieved the difficulty 
 for a time, but probably nothing short of revolution or 
 another secession could have forced the rich to make this 
 concession. Resort was, therefore, had to other measures, 
 some of them excellent, some of them absurd.- The old 
 laws against usury were enforced with more vigor, and new
 
 STRUGGLE BETWEEN THE ORDERS 49 
 
 laws against the same offense were enacted. If tradition 
 can be relied on, even the taking of interest was forbidden. 
 A far more rational measure of relief was the lex Foetelia of 
 326, which alleviated the condition of such debtors as were 
 turned over to their creditors for failure to pay their debts. 
 In 352 an entirely new method of improving the credit 
 system was tried. A state bank was opened, if we may 
 apply so pretentious a term to the institution established 
 in that year under the control of a commission of five. 
 This commission was probably appointed to make state 
 loans, and to secure loans from individuals, on securities 
 not readily negotiable at reasonable rates of interest, but 
 the plan apparently met with very little success. The 
 greatest relief to the proletariat came indirectly as a result 
 of the long series of wars in which Rome was engaged 
 during the period under consideration. It is a significant 
 fact that one of the provisions of the so-called lex sacrata 
 militaris, whose passage was forced by a mutiny in the army, 
 directed that no soldier's name should be dropped from 
 the army rolls without his consent. Payment for mihtary 
 service, the prospect of booty, and a share in conquered 
 land had evidently made service in the army a profitable 
 form of employment. The relief which the proletariat de- 
 rived from the acquisition of new territory can be readily 
 appreciated when we remember that between 367 and 287 
 twenty-one Latin colonies and six Roman colonies were 
 founded. In some of these cases a large number of colo- 
 nists was sent out. Thus, for instance, 2500 were sent to 
 Cales in the year 334. 
 
 50. The Lex Publilia and the Lex Hortensia. The great 
 political movements of this period, in which the mass of 
 the people were concerned, are connected with the passage 
 of the lex Publilia in 339, of the lex Hortensia in 287, and
 
 50 RErURLICAN PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 with the career of Appius Claudius. It seems hopeless to 
 try to make out the circumstances under which the Publilian 
 law was passed. The patrician coloring given to the narra- 
 tive has wholly obscured the real truth of the case. The 
 legislation of 287 grew out of economic difficulties, and yet 
 here, too, the ground is very uncertain, since the eleventh 
 book of Livy, in which an account of the matter was pre- 
 served, is not extant, so that we must rely on the epitome 
 of that book, and on incidental references in other writers. 
 This much seems to be clear, however, with reference to 
 the movement in 2 8>, that the debtors demanded a radical 
 measure of relief. To this the patricians in the senate, who 
 belonged in most cases to the creditor class, refused their 
 consent. Thereupon the needy withdrew to the Janiculum, 
 but returned to the city on condition of the enactment of 
 certain favorable legislation. Let us pass now to the laws 
 themselves, taking up first the lex Publilia. If we examine 
 its contents, we find that besides the clause to which ref- 
 erence has already been made (p. 42), providing that one 
 of the two censors should be a plebeian, the Publilian law 
 contained two provisions. One of these directed that a bill 
 should be approved by the patricians in the senate before 
 it was acted on by the centuriate comitia. Previously 
 the auctoritas patrum had followed the action of the comitia 
 centuriata. It would seem easier to defeat an undesirable 
 bill in its inchoate state than after the interest of the people 
 had been aroused and favorable action taken by a popular 
 assembly. One would, therefore, expect this change to 
 increase the importance of the auctoritas patrum, but such 
 was not the case. In point of fact, from this time on it 
 became a meaningless form. The mere fact, however, that 
 the approval of the patrician senators lost its significance 
 during this ])eriod is not difficult to understand, when we
 
 STRUGGLE BETWEEN THE ORDERS 5 1 
 
 remember that the whole tendency of constitutional devel- 
 opment at this time was to rob the patricians of exclusive 
 political powers, but it is hard to see how the change made 
 in 339 can have helped to accomplish this end. The prin- 
 ciple which the Publilian law applied to legislation was 
 extended by the lex Maenia, passed probably in the year 
 287, to elections also. By the decadence of the influence 
 of the auctoritas patrum, which followed this legisla- 
 tion, the last serious obstacle was removed from the path 
 of the comitia centuriata as an elective and a legislative 
 body. Two clauses of the lex Publilia have been discussed. 
 The third clause, according to Livy's narrative, enacted ut 
 plehiscita omnes Quirites tenerent. This part of the Pub- 
 lilian law, at least in the form in which it has come down 
 to us, seems to be identical in force, not only with one of 
 the Valerio-Horatian laws of 449 (p. 32), but also with the 
 lex Hortensia of 287, which, according to the elder Pliny, 
 provided ut plehiscita universum popidum tenerent. What 
 relation do these three laws bear to one another? It is 
 almost impossible to say. We can assume that the law of 
 449 made enactments of the plebeian assembly uncondition- 
 ally binding on the whole people, and that the measures 
 of 339 and 287 reaffirmed the principle already established, 
 and sought to strengthen it at weak points ; but on the one 
 hand it is incredible that the plebeian assembly was made 
 a supreme legislative body as early as 449, and on the other 
 hand it would be highly improbable to suppose that the 
 plebeians would have needed almost one hundred and 
 seventy-five years to secure the recognition of a principle 
 already formulated into law. Of one fact we are sure, viz., 
 that after 287 plehiscita were unconditionally binding on 
 the whole community. We seem forced to assume, there- 
 fore, that under the Valerio-Horatian law enactments of the
 
 52 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 plebeian assembly were valid under certain conditions, and 
 that the Publilian and Hortensian laws removed these 
 restrictions. In discussing the Valerio-Horatian law (p. 32) 
 an attempt was made to show that a measure adopted by 
 the concilium plebis acquired the force of law, if it was sub- 
 sequently ratified by the patrician senators. Between 449 
 and 339, then, in the case of both the comitia centuriata 
 and the concilium plebis, a bill, in order to become a law, 
 required, first, favorable action by the popular assembly, 
 then the sanction of the patrician senators. In other words, 
 the method of procedure was the same in both cases. Now 
 one clause of the Publilian law, as we have already seen, 
 provided that in the case of the centuriate comitia the 
 auctoritas patrum should precede the action of the comitia. 
 If we assume that the same change was made in the case 
 of the plebeian assembly, and the assumption is not improb- 
 able, the relation which the three laws bear to one another 
 is clear. It may be stated as follows : from 449 to 339 a 
 bill becime a law if it was favorably acted on by the centu- 
 riate co?nitia or by the plebeian tribal assembly, and subse- 
 quently approved by the patrician senators ; from 339 to 
 287 the auctoritas patrum preceded in both cases; after 
 287 the preliminary approval of the patrician element in 
 the senate was necessary in the case of the centuriate 
 assembly, but unnecessary for the action of the plebeian 
 tribal assembly. One difficulty in the situation has not yet 
 been spoken of. The fact has already been mentioned 
 (p. 2,Z) that in 447 a patricio-plebeian tribal assembly comes 
 into existence. After that date, then, there are two tribal 
 assemblies, one made up of plebeians, the other of both 
 patricians and plebeians. Ancient writers do not carefully 
 distinguish between these two bodies, so that it is often 
 difficult to say to which one reference is made. However,
 
 STRUGGLE BETWEEN THE ORDERS 53 
 
 since in the case of all three of the laws under consideration 
 distinct mention is made of the assembly of the plebs, we 
 seem to be safe in applying the principle to the plebeian 
 tribal assembly. In fact, the patricio-plebeian tribal assem- 
 bly seems to have been largely an electoral and judicial 
 and not a legislative body until the close of the fourth 
 century, since the first legislative enactment of the comitia 
 tributa, of which we have any record, belongs to the year 
 357. If the action of this body required the preliminary 
 approval of the patrician senators, that restriction must 
 have been removed in 287. In other words, the Horten- 
 sian law applied the same principle to both tribal assem- 
 blies, as, on general grounds, we should have expected 
 it to do. 
 
 One must not assume that the passage of these three 
 laws gave the popular assemblies practical control of legis- 
 lation and robbed the senate of all its powers in this field of 
 activity, or, to put it in another way, one must not infer that 
 the passage of the lex Hortensia marked the final triumph 
 of democracy over aristocracy. In point of fact, no one but 
 a magistrate could bring a bill before one of the popular 
 assemblies for action, and since, as we shall see later, the 
 senate found means of maintaining its control over the 
 magistrates, very few bills came before the popular assem- 
 bUes of which the senate did not approve, and a way was 
 generally found to secure the passage of bills which the 
 senate favored. It was the patrician element in the senate, 
 not the senate itself, which lost power and prestige at this 
 time. In other words, the Hortensian law robbed the patri- 
 cians of the last exclusive political power of any importance 
 which they possessed, but the mantle of the old patriciate 
 fell, not on the shoulders of the democracy, but on those of 
 the new nobilitas.
 
 54 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 51. The Policy of Appius Claudius Caecus. Attention 
 has already hccn called to the fact (p. 48) that the causes 
 of the distress among the lower classes were partly econom- 
 ical, partly political, and we have considered some of the 
 efforts which were made in this period to remove their 
 financial difficulties. These reforms were intended to help 
 poor debtors, and especially, we may suppose, farmers with 
 small holdings. The political movement toward the close 
 of the fourth century B.C., of which Appius Claudius 
 Caecus is the central figure, removed in part the political 
 disabilities of another element in the conmiunity, that is, 
 of the freedmen and of freemen with less than two acres 
 of land. Probably neither of these classes was enrolled in 
 the tribes at this time, while the prohtarii, that is, the 
 citizens who owned no land or had less than two acres, 
 were massed in the centuriate assembly in a single century, 
 which exercised practically no influence in a body contain- 
 ing one hundred and ninety-three centuries. 
 
 Appius Claudius, as censor in 312, made a great change, 
 therefore, in the composition of the popular assembhes, 
 when he admitted landless freemen and freedmen to the 
 tribes, and in fact to any tribe which an individual might 
 choose, and when he also enrolled men belonging to these 
 two categories in such " classes " as their property, in what- 
 ever form it might be, entitled them to enter. By this 
 procedure wealth in any form was substituted for landed 
 property as the basis of admission to a tribe and of classifi- 
 cation in the centuriate assembly. By this change artisans 
 and tradesmen were to be enrolled in the popular assem- 
 blies, and those bodies were likely to lose the stability 
 which an organization composed solely of farmers or land- 
 owners is likely to have. The admission of freedmen 
 further increased the danger. Appius violated tradition in
 
 STRUGGLE BETWEEN THE ORDERS 55 
 
 a still more striking way by putting the names of freedmen's 
 sons in the list of senators, which, under the Ovinian law, 
 it was his duty as censor to draw up. An equally revolu- 
 tionary proceeding was his conduct in securing the election 
 of Cn. Flavius, the son of a freedman, as curule aedile in 
 304. We have not space to consider at length the motives 
 of Appius in making these changes. The question is one 
 of high dispute. He was certainly far-sighted, and saw that 
 Rome was soon to be mistress of Italy. He may well have 
 felt that by strengthening the hands of the magistrate he 
 would secure for her that firmness and promptness of action, 
 and that consistency in policy, which would be essential 
 to her in her new role. By lowering the prestige of the 
 nobilitas in the senate, and of the petty landed aristocracy 
 in the assemblies, as his changes certainly did, he increased 
 the importance of the magistracies, and indirectly accom- 
 plished his purpose by essentially the same method as that 
 which Caesar adopted two centuries and a half later. The 
 independent course which he took during his censorship 
 was in harmony with the view which he held with reference 
 to the magistracies. In fact, his policy was reactionary. It 
 involved a return to the magistrate of many of the powers 
 of which two hundred years had robbed him. This is not 
 to say that his motives were purely patriotic, or that he had 
 a single purpose in mind. A fine patrician contempt for 
 the plebeian nobility in the senate and for the bourgeois 
 landholders of the assemblies, who had first pushed their 
 way into a position of equality with their betters, and were 
 now themselves following the policy of exclusion toward 
 their less fortunate fellow-townsmen, seems to have played 
 some part in his mind. But the Romans were not yet 
 ready for such revolutionary changes. 
 
 A conservative reaction came in 304. Some regard.
 
 56 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 however, was paid to the changes made by Appius. Q. 
 Fabius Rullianus, one of the censors of that year, allowed 
 landless freemen and freedmen to remain in the tribal 
 organization, but assigned them to the four city tribes, 
 which were so large that individual votes were of compara- 
 tively little avail. The sons of freedmen were again treated 
 as ineligible to the senate or to a magistracy, but in other 
 respects they enjoyed the political rights of citizens. As 
 a result of the whole incident the position of the senate 
 and of the nohilitas was strengthened. It had proved itself 
 more powerful than its enemies. Two achievements of 
 Appius of a permanent character should be mentioned, 
 before we leave the discussion of his career, viz., the part 
 which he played in securing the publication of the calendar 
 and of the legis actiones in 304, and the construction of the 
 "via Appia in 312. Exactly what happened in 304 is not 
 clear from the words of Livy, — civile ius repositum in pene- 
 tralibus pontifician {Cn. Flavins) evulgavit fastosque circa 
 forum in albo proposuit (IX. 46. 5). The general method 
 of procedure in civil cases and the calendar had both been 
 given in the laws of the twelve tables. The service which 
 Flavius rendered to the people consisted perhaps, as some 
 writers maintain, in the publication of the pertinent con- 
 tents of the laws of the twelve tables in book form, or he 
 may have set down for general use a list of court days and 
 a complete set of the forms which were to be employed 
 in civil cases. Whatever the exact truth of the case may 
 have been, information essential to everyday life, which 
 had formerly been confined to a few, became the common 
 property of all. To Appius, Rome was also indebted for 
 the first of those great military roads which proved such a 
 powerful factor in extending Roman commerce and Roman 
 ideas, and in facilitating the transfer of troops to all parts
 
 STRUGGLE BETWEEN THE ORDERS $7 
 
 of the world. None of his achievements shows more 
 clearly the correctness with which he foresaw the future 
 of Rome and her needs as a world-power. 
 
 52. The Conquest of Central Italy. The period which 
 is under discussion in this chapter is one of rapid external 
 development. Rome waged war with all the peoples of 
 central Italy. Of them all the Samnites resisted her claim 
 to supremacy with the greatest valor and stubbornness. 
 When the Romans and Samnites were first brought into 
 close relations in the middle of the fourth century, they 
 apparently agreed to a peaceful division among themselves 
 of certain territory belonging to their weaker neighbors. 
 This seems to be the correct explanation of the course of 
 events of the years 343—1, which one tradition exalts into 
 a war. The ambitious spirit of expansion which Rome 
 showed in dealing with smaller states, supported as she 
 was now by Samnium, suggests also a sufficient explana- 
 tion of the desperate struggle which the Latin communities 
 at once made to break her power. The result of the war, 
 which followed, and lasted from 340 to 338, was most dis- 
 astrous to the Latins. Although they were assisted by the 
 Campanians and Volscians, they were defeated and lost 
 many of the rights which they had enjoyed since the 
 adoption of the foedus Cassianum in 493. Rome made a 
 separate treaty with each one of the Latin communities, 
 with the express purpose of preventing future confedera- 
 tions between them. The terms adopted varied from state 
 to state, but all the members of the old league were appar- 
 ently deprived of the right to trade with one another and 
 the right to intermarry. Both Rome and Samnium were 
 eagerly seeking to extend their iniiuence in Campanian and 
 Volscian territory. A contest between the two powers was 
 inevitable. The immediate cause of the war between them
 
 58 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 was the establishment of a colony at Fregellae in a Volscian 
 district claimed by the Samnites, and an attack which the 
 Romans made in 327 on Palaepolis, a little town on the 
 bay of Naples, to punish it for the incursions which its citi- 
 zens had made into Roman territory in Campania. War 
 was formally declared by Rome in the following year, and 
 was carried on by the two peoples with varying results until 
 304. The peace which Samnium concluded with Rome in 
 that year was of short duration. A few years later tidings 
 came to the city that the Samnites were bringing Lucania 
 under their control. The Romans protested without effect, 
 and war followed in 299 or 298. This time, although the 
 Samnites were assisted by the Kelts and Etruscans, their spirit 
 was finally broken, and they formed a permanent alliance 
 with Rome in 290. The overthrow of Samnium established 
 the supremacy of Rome in central Italy. Her success in 
 all these wars was due, not simply to the valor and skill with 
 which she carried them on, but also to a variety of external 
 circumstances. Her enemies rarely showed that harmony 
 among themselves and that singleness of purpose which 
 characterized the Romans, and Rome did her best to 
 develop the spirit of discord among them by arraying com- 
 munity against community and the aristocracy against the 
 democracy. An overpowering dread of the Kelts and the 
 Etruscans held many of the smaller states to the side of 
 Rome, while doubtless the comparatively mild treatment 
 which they received at the hands of Rome made her sway 
 seem less objectionable than that of Samnium. Further- 
 more, her central position, and the construction of a mili- 
 tary road into Campania, which was so frequently the seat 
 of war, gave her a great advantage. The terms made with 
 Samnium were alike honorable to her and to the Romans. 
 She was allowed to keej) her territory and her independence,
 
 STRUGGLE BETWEEN THE ORDERS 59 
 
 53. The Treatment of Conquered Territory. During these 
 wars and at their close Rome devoted herself earnestly to 
 the assimilation of her newly allied and conquered peoples. 
 Her two great agents in this work were the construction of 
 roads and the estabUshment of colonies. The first of the 
 great roads was built in 312, and their importance has 
 already been noted. The twenty-seven colonies which 
 Rome sent out between 367 and 287 were a still more 
 important factor in Romanizing Italy. They not only 
 served as garrisons in controlling the surrounding country, 
 but they introduced the Latin language, and a knowledge 
 of Roman law and Roman political institutions wherever 
 they were established. The policy which Rome adopted 
 toward the Latin communities after their defeat in 338 was 
 typical of her method of dealing with all the peoples in 
 Italy. In general she isolated each town or tribe from its 
 neighbors and attached it to herself. These communities, 
 according to their political status, were either municipia or 
 civitates foederatae. The municipia were civitates sine siif- 
 fragio, that is, they had only the civil rights of coimnercium 
 and conubium. In some cases they were given a local self- 
 government ; in other cases they were governed by praefecti 
 sent out from Rome. Ultimately they received the full 
 rights of citizenship. The privileges of the civitates foede- 
 ratae depended in each instance on the special treaty made 
 with Rome. They were not allowed to declare war against 
 other communities, nor to make treaties with them, and 
 they were expected to furnish Rome with a certain number 
 of troops in case of need, but within their own borders 
 they were supreme. 
 
 54. The Status of Colonies. The founding of colonies 
 was one of the functions of the senate, which appointed 
 a commission to carry out its instructions. One third of
 
 6o REPUBLICAN PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 the land assigned for the jjurpose was usually given outright 
 to the colonists, another third was made ager publiciis, and 
 the remainder was used for the construction of temples 
 and for other public purposes. The coloniae Romanae were 
 few in number and were located on the seacoast. The 
 colonists in these settlements, who rarely numbered more 
 than three hundred, had full political and civil rights. The 
 coloniae Latiiiac held the same relations with Rome as the 
 Latin cities did after 338. They were independent within 
 their own limits, and adopted Roman political institutions 
 or not, as they saw fit. To these colonies several thousand 
 settlers were often sent out. In time of war they served 
 as allies of Rome. In 268 they were deprived of some of 
 their jjolitical and civil rights which were restored to them 
 in 90 B.C. only as the result of the Social war. 
 
 55. Preparations for Conquest beyond the Sea. The or- 
 ganization and equipment of the Roman army were greatly 
 improved in the period under consideration. The troops 
 were now ])aid, and became accustomed to long periods 
 of service, and Roman commanding officers acquired the 
 ability to conduct serious campaigns, and control large 
 bodies of men. Rome was in a position to gratify, not 
 only in southern Italy, but beyond the sea also, that 
 appetite for conquest which her successes in central Italy 
 had developed. Even at this early date there are some 
 indications of her aspirations to be a sea power. The 
 founding of coloniae maritimae at Antium, Tarracina, Min- 
 turnae, Sinuessa, Sena (tallica, Castrum Novum, and on 
 the island of Pontia, all of which were established between 
 367 and 2S7, either shows the existence of a sea-going trade 
 or foreshadows its early develo])ment. In 311 for the first 
 time naval officers were chosen with the title of duoviri 
 navales. The treatv which was made with Carthage in
 
 STRUGGLE BETWEEN THE ORDERS 6l 
 
 348, and renewed in 306, is also an indication that for- 
 eign trade was developing, and that Roman interests were 
 extending beyond the limits of Italy. 
 
 Selections from the Sources 
 
 First plebeian dictator: Liv. VII. 17. 6. — Laws concerning debt: 
 Liv. VII. 21. 5; VII. 27. 3; VII. 42. i; VIII. 28. — First plebeian 
 censor: Liv. VII. 22. 6-10. — Treaties with Carthage: Polybius, 
 III. 22-7; Diodor. XVI. 69. i; Liv. VII. 27. 2; IX. 43. 26.— 
 First Samnite war (so-called): Liv. VII. 29-VIII. 2. — Laws con- 
 cerning reelection and plurality of offices: Liv. VII. 42. 2. — Lex 
 sacrata militaris : Liv. VII. 41. — War with Latins: Liv. VIII. 
 3-12. — Peace of 338: Liv. VIII. 13-14. — The leges Publiliae Phi- 
 lonis : Liv. VIII. 12. 14-16. — First plebeian praetor: Liv. VIII. 
 15. 9. — Second Samnite war: Liv. VIII. 22-IX. 45; Diodor. 
 XIX, XX (passim); Dionysius, XV. 7-10. — Colony of Fregellae : 
 Liv. VIII. 22. 1-2; VIII. 23. 6; Dionysius, XV. 8. 7. — Attack on 
 Palaepolis : Liv. VIII. 22-3; Dionysius, XV. 5-6. — Caudine Pass: 
 Liv. IX. 1-12; Appian, Samn. IV. 2-7; Cic. de Off. III. 109. — 
 Peace with Samnium : Liv. IX. 45. 1-4. — Prorogatio imperii: Liv. 
 VIII. 23. 12; IX. 42. 1-2; X. 22. 9 (cf. III. 4. 10). — Plebiscitum 
 Ovinium : Festus, p. 246, ed. Miiller. — Censorship of Appius Clau- 
 dius : Liv. IX. 29. 6-11 ; IX. 33-34; IX. 46. ID, II; Diodor. XX. 
 36. — Via Appia : Liv. IX. 29. 6; Diodor. XX. 36. 2; Frontinus, 
 de Aquaedtict. 5. — Duoviri navales : Liv. IX. 30. 4. — Cn. Flavius : 
 Liv. IX. 46; Cic. de Or. I. 1S6; Diodor. XX. 36. 6; Cell. VII. 
 (VI.) 9. — Reaction of 304: Liv. IX. 46. 14-15; XLV. 15; Val. 
 Max. II. 2. 9. — Lex Ogulnia : Liv. X. 6-9. — Third Samnite war: 
 Liv. X. 11-46; Ep. XI; Florus, I. 17 ; Eutropius, II. 9f. ; Dionysius, 
 XVII (XVIII); Dio Cass. fr. y^. 29 f. —Outbreak of war : Liv. X. 
 11-12; Dionysius, XVII (XVIII) 1-3. — Sentinum : Liv. X. 27-30; 
 Polybius, II. 19. — Peace with Samnium : Liv. Ep. XI ; Eutr. II. 9. 
 — Sabine war: Liv. Ep. XI. — Secession of 287: Liv. Ep. XI; Dio, 
 /''• yi-—'^^'^ Hortensia: Plin. H. N. XVL 10.37; Gell XV. 27. 
 4. — Lex Maenia: Cic. Brut. 55; Liv. I. 17. 9.
 
 62 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 Criticism of the Sources ^ 
 
 Binneboessel, Untersuchungen iiber Quellen u. Geschichte d. 
 zweiten Samniterkrieges. Halle, 1893. 
 
 A. Kiessling, De Dionysii Ilalicarnassensis antiq. auctt. lat. Bonn, 
 
 1858. 
 
 B. Niese, Das sogenannte licinisch-sextische Ackergesetz, Hermes 
 
 XXIII, pp. 410-423. 
 Schubert, Die Quellen Plutarchs, N. Jahrb. fiir Philol. (N.F.), Suppl. 
 
 IX, pp. 647 ff. 
 Soltau, Livius' Geschichtswerk, pp. 117-140. Leipzig, 1897. 
 
 Supplementary Literature, 1901-1910 
 
 Binder, Die Plebs. Leipzig, 1909. 
 
 Bloch, Die standischen u. sozialen Kanipfe in d. romischen Republik. 
 
 Leipzig, 1900. 
 Dreyfus, Essai sur les lois agraires sous la republique romaine. 
 
 Paris, 1898. 
 De Sanctis, Storia dei Romani: La conquista del primato in Italia, 
 
 2 vols. Milan, 1907. 
 Oliver, Roman Economic Conditions to the Close of the Republic 
 
 Toronto, 1907. 
 
 1 See also general bibliography on p. 22.
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 THE SUPREMACY OF THE NOBILITAS 
 
 56. The Period from 287 to 133. With the passage of 
 the Hortensian law the great struggle which had gone on 
 for more than two centuries was brought to an end. The 
 efforts of the plebeians to secure their political rights had 
 been crowned with complete success. In fact, in some 
 respects, the plebeians enjoyed a political advantage over 
 the patricians. So, for instance, under the new constitu- 
 tion one of the two consuls must be a plebeian, and both 
 of them might be plebeians. The discrimination which 
 the law made in their favor in this matter, and in certain 
 other matters, was only fair from the democratic point of 
 view, since at this time they must have far outnumbered 
 the patricians. Of course the social prestige which an old 
 nobility enjoys, and the solidarity of interests which binds 
 together the members of a close corporr.tion, must have 
 given the patricians a political power which the plebeians 
 did not possess, but the law was powerless to secure equality 
 in this respect. As one might naturally expect, the settle- 
 ment of the great questions which had divided the Roman 
 people into two parties made the period after 287 one of 
 comparative political inactivity. Not only were the ques- 
 tions at issue settled, but the Romans were occupied in 
 adapting the new institutions to the needs of the com- 
 munity, and their energy was expended in the manage- 
 ment of foreign affairs. The wars of the period, in 
 fact, and the results which flowed from them, exerted a 
 
 63
 
 64 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 controlling influence on the social and political development 
 of the community. The wars with Pyrrhus, with Carthage, 
 with Philip, Antiochus, and Perseus occupied the Romans 
 sixty-seven years, and three of these contests — that with 
 Pyrrhus, and the first and second wars with Carthage — 
 strained the resources of Rome to the utmost. In their 
 presence all the elements at Rome united in the common 
 defense, and, for the time, internal differences disappeared 
 and a remarkable political harmony prevailed. .The intense 
 interest which the Romans felt in military affairs naturally 
 gave a political prominence to men who had won distinc- 
 tion in the field. Furthermore, the soldiers who came 
 back to the city did not look on their commander, as 
 their fathers had done, as a simple fellow-citizen, who had 
 like themselves been serving the state, and now resumed 
 his place by their side. Long periods of service abroad, 
 where the soldier was only one of a great army carrying 
 out an elaborate plan of campaign under the direction of 
 one man, had accustomed many of the Romans to follow 
 implicitly the guidance of an individual. Had Scipio 
 Africanus been an able and ambitious politician, it would 
 not have been difficult for him to exercise a paramount 
 influence in Roman politics. Had that been the case, the 
 senate would have lost its control, and the tide, which 
 was setting strongly toward oligarchical government, would 
 have been checked. But neither he nor any other success- 
 ful Roman general had the ability to devise a compre- 
 hensive political programme, or the amliition to make 
 himself a popular leader. This is not to say that all the 
 political leaders of the period were actuated by unselfish 
 motives. The strenuous efforts which certain noble families 
 made to use the campaign against Antiochus to further 
 their own selfish ends is a proof of the opposite state of
 
 SUPREMACY OF THE NOBILITAS 65 
 
 « 
 
 affairs. As for the great mass of the people, the imme- 
 diate effect of the long wars was to bring into relief the 
 same sturdy qualities which they had shown in their strug- 
 gle with the Samnites. Their indirect result was a com- 
 plete change in the social and economic condition of the 
 whole ItaHan people. The political connection of the 
 period from 287 to 133 with that which precedes it lies 
 in the fact that in it the institutions created during the 
 preceding period were gradually developed and adapted 
 to the needs of the people. It is linked to the subsequent 
 period by the fact that in the latter the forces which devel- 
 oped out of the new social and political conditions result- 
 ing from the great wars took definite shape, and furnished 
 the basis of a new political reorganization. During these 
 years the state was ruled by the nobilitas, a fact which gives 
 the period its pohtical unity. Its end is fixed by the deter- 
 mined stand which the Gracchi took against the oligarchy 
 in the name of the democracy. 
 
 57. The Senate and the Popular Assemblies. After the 
 passage of the Hortensian law the Roman government was 
 in theory essentially a democracy, in so far as landowners 
 were concerned. Its magistrates were elected by the 
 popular assemblies, and the measures enacted by those 
 bodies were valid without further condition in the case of 
 the tribal assemblies, or required only the formal prelimi- 
 nary approval of the patrician senators in the case of the 
 centuriate coinitia. In reality, however, the government 
 was in the hands of an oligarchy, and almost all the legis- 
 lation of the period emanated from the senate. One might 
 almost say that the democracy was satisfied with the posses- 
 sion of power but did not care to exercise it. There is 
 indeed some truth in this way of stating the case. The 
 people recognized the fact that the senate was better able
 
 66 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 to direct the policy of the state than they were themselves. 
 Now and then they asserted their constitutional rights. 
 This was the case in 232, when the concilium plebis, under 
 the leadership of the tribune C. Flaminius, passed a bill, 
 contrary to the wishes of the senate, dividing certain land 
 in Picenum and Gaul. Even in the second Punic war, in 
 the case of Scipio, the senate was forced to yield to the 
 people or to popular sentiment. In general, however, the 
 senate had a free hand in the administration of affairs. 
 
 The reasons are not far to seek. The number of voters 
 during this period ranged from 250,000 to 300,000. Many 
 of them lived at a great distance from the place of voting. 
 It was obviously inexpedient to call together such an 
 assembly for the passage of ordinary administrative legis- 
 lation. Many matters, especially in time of war, require 
 prompt action. This could not be secured through one of 
 the popular assemblies. Furthermore, the questions which 
 came up for consideration were far more difficult to settle 
 than those of earlier years had been. The scene of active 
 operations at present was far from Rome. The average 
 Roman knew little about the conditions abroad, and was 
 not, therefore, in a position to express an intelligent 
 opinion on the majority of the questions at issue. What 
 made matters worse was the fact that adequate discussion 
 in the contio, which preceded the casting of the ballots, was 
 impossible. The senate, however, was eminendy qualified 
 to meet all the conditions mentioned. It was a body of 
 only three hundred members, so that it could be called 
 together quickly, and could discuss fully any important 
 question laid before it. Its members were men of means 
 who could afford to meet frequently for the transaction of 
 public business. This fact alone would have given the 
 senate precedence over any one of the popular assemblies,
 
 SUPREMACY OF THE NOBILITAS 6^ 
 
 for administrative legislation at least. A still greater advan- 
 tage which the senate had lay in the character of its com- 
 position after the passage of the Ovinian law. Under that 
 law it became a body of ex-magistrates, whose experience 
 in administration and knowledge of affairs at home and 
 abroad fitted them in a peculiar way to settle wisely the 
 complicated questions of foreign policy which engaged the 
 attention of the Roman people during this period. One 
 should also bear the fact in mind that the senate had 
 always played a leading part in directing the foreign policy 
 of the state. In managing foreign affairs during the period 
 of the great wars it was, therefore, in large measure follow- 
 ing well-established tradition, and as foreign questions 
 completely overshadowed domestic affairs in number and 
 importance, another reason for the ascendency of the senate 
 as a legislative body is apparent. Not only did the quali- 
 fications of the senate help it to acquire a supremacy in 
 legislative affairs, but it found means to prevent the popular 
 assemblies from taking the initiative in such matters. A 
 popular assembly could meet only when it was called 
 together by a magistrate or a tribune, and only to discuss 
 such matters as were laid before it by a magistrate or 
 tribune. Now both these classes of officials were under 
 the control of the senate, so that it was practically impos- 
 sible to get a bill of which the senate did not approve 
 before any one of the assembhes. 
 
 58. The Senate and the Magistrates. What has been 
 said will explain in part the influence which the senate 
 exercised over the magistracies. The Ovinian law had made 
 the senate a body of ex-magistrates. All of the senators 
 were men of experience in government. Some of them 
 were ex-consuls who had filled with distinction the same 
 ofifice which their presiding officer was now filling. Some
 
 68 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 of them had a greater technical knowledge of the questions 
 at issue than he had himself. Furthermore, strong motives 
 of self-interest bound the members of the senate together 
 in maintaining and extending its ])restige. The consul 
 himself came from their number ; he was imbued with their 
 ideas of government and at the end of the year he would 
 return to their ranks. It was impossible for him to make 
 a stand against such influences as these. His submission 
 to the senate was inevitable. In the earlier period the list 
 of senators was drawn up by the consul and he probably 
 exercised some discretion in the matter of choice. This 
 duty was now performed by the censor, so that membership 
 in the senate was in no wise dependent on the favor or 
 approval of the consul. In fact, the senate was practically 
 independent of any magistrate in this respect. The Ovin- 
 ian law had instructed the censor to give preference to 
 ex-magistrates in the selection of senators, and the rather 
 extreme interpretation which was put on this law made its 
 action automatic and practically gave ex-magistrates the 
 right to a seat in the senate. The tribune was not much 
 more inclined than the consul to take the initiative in 
 matters of legislation. The influences which controlled the 
 consul affected him also. Furthermore, as we have already 
 noticed (p. 44), the senate had taken pains to cultivate 
 friendly relations with him. His office, too, was a stepping- 
 stone to the magistracies, in candidacy for which the support 
 of the fwbilitas would be of great importance. The result 
 of all this was that the senate met, not to give the consul 
 advice which he was free to accept or reject, but to take 
 action which he was expected to carry out as its minister. 
 
 59. Benefits and Evils of Senatorial Government. The 
 system of senatorial government had both its light and its 
 dark side. Technical administrative questions were decided
 
 SUPREMACY OF THE NOBILITAS 69 
 
 by a body of experienced administrators. A consistency 
 and continuity was given to Roman policy which would 
 hardly have been possible with the free initiative of magis- 
 trates holding office for a year only. The element of selfish 
 personal ambition was in large measure eliminated. In 
 fact, the senate checked in its own interest any attempt at 
 self-aggrandizement. However, this necessity of preventing 
 an individual from attaining eminence had its evil side. 
 Great success and the resultant popularity gave rise to 
 distrust in the minds of the oligarchy, so that at a critical 
 moment the state might be robbed of the services of a 
 valuable leader. (^The senate was undoubtedly actuated by 
 patriotic motives in almost all of its actions, but it was 
 impossible for it, in domestic affairs, to throw off entirely 
 its conservative bias. ; In foreign affairs the results of a 
 divided, and, therefore, a diminished, responsibility were 
 painfully apparent. The senate often adopted a policy in 
 deaUng with another state which individual senators, had 
 they been magistrates vested with supreme power, would 
 have scorned to follow. The harmony which existed 
 between the senate and its commanders in the field during 
 this period is remarkable, and it is surprising that a series 
 of great wars could have been brought to a successful com- 
 pletion under the joint management of a commanding officer 
 in the field and a jealous legislative body of three hundred 
 members at home. It devolved upon the senate not only 
 to maintain a supervision over the military operations carried 
 on simultaneously at different points and to provide money 
 and troops for the various campaigns, but also to assume a 
 general care of newly acquired territory in Italy or abroad. 
 The last-mentioned duty imposed on the senate the respon- 
 sibility of dravving up a constitution for the community in 
 question, or of ratifying a treaty with it, of taking necessary
 
 yo REPUBLICAN PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 measures to protect it and hold it in subjection, of dividing 
 the provinces among the various classes of officials, and of 
 receiving foreign ambassadors and deputations. 
 
 60. Magistracies. The subordination of the magistrate 
 to the position of minister of the senate involved a certain 
 loss of prestige on his part, but it brought partial compen- 
 sation with it. The development of the powers of the 
 senate gave an added value to the magistracies, since elec- 
 tion to one of them carried with it admission to the senate. 
 Indeed, from this time on the importance of a magistracy 
 consisted largely in this fact. Furthermore, the immense 
 gain which the senate made, after the development of an 
 imperial policy, in the variety and importance of its func- 
 tions, increased correspondingly the scope of the powers 
 which the magistrate enjoyed who followed its mandatory 
 advice. The determination of the senate to protect itself 
 against ambitious individuals found expression in various 
 laws affecting the magistrates which were passed in this 
 period. In 180 the tribune L. Villius secured the passage 
 of a law which fixed, directly or indirectly, the age at which 
 citizens might become candidates for the more important 
 offices {giiot annos nati quemque ttiagistratum peierent cape- 
 rentque). By this measure the cmsus honorum was estab- 
 lished. Its observance would prevent an ambitious politician 
 from riding into power on a wave of popular enthusiasm. 
 As early as the fourth century any one who had held a 
 given magistracy was ineligible for reelection to the same 
 office until an interval of ten years had elapsed. Even this 
 stringent provision did not satisfy the oligarchy, and toward 
 the close of the period we are considering, — that is, about 
 the middle of the second century, — reelection to the con- 
 sulship was absolutely forljiddcn. In the next century, how- 
 ever, Sulla reverted to the legislation uf the earlier period.
 
 SUPREMACY OF THE NOBILITAS /I 
 
 61. Bribery and Ballot Laws. The laws against bribery 
 and providing for a secret ballot are also to be attributed 
 largely to the desire of the oligarchy to protect itself against 
 ambitious and unscrupulous politicians. A careful study of 
 the legislation against bribery would throw a flood of light 
 on the history of Roman morals during the last century of 
 the republic, and undoubtedly men like Cato, in supporting 
 legislation to check the evil, were actuated mainly by a 
 desire to stem the tide of degeneracy, but the real pur- 
 pose of the early laws on that subject was political. A new 
 lex de a7nbitu was passed in i8i. A second followed in 
 159. The lex Gabinia of 139, which provided for a secret 
 ballot at elections, the lex Cassia of 137, and the lex 
 Papiria of 131, which made the same provision for meet- 
 ings of the comitia, respectively as a court and as a legisla- 
 tive body, were intended to accomplish essentially the same 
 purpose as the laws against bribery, in a different but per- 
 haps in a more effective way. 
 
 62. Change in the Number and Functions of the Praetors. 
 The only change of any moment in the magisterial system 
 was the addition of another praetor toward the end of the 
 first Punic war, the increase in the number of these officials 
 from two to four in 227, and to six in 197. The second prae- 
 tor was chosen to take charge of cases in which foreigners 
 were concerned, and so received the title oi praetor per egri- 
 niis, while his colleague, who presided in matters where only 
 citizens were parties to the suit, was known as the praetor 
 iirbanus (cf. p. 187). The increase in the number of prae- 
 tors in 227 and 197 went along with a complete change in the 
 functions of certain members of the college, since the four 
 new praetors were not assigned to essentially judicial duties, 
 but were made governors of the newly acquired provinces 
 of Sicily, Sardinia, Nearer Spain, and Farther Spain.
 
 ^2 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 63. The Quaestorship and Dictatorship. The addition of 
 four new quaestors in 267, which raised the number in the 
 college to eight, brought with it no radical change in the 
 duties of those officials. It was a natural consequence 
 of the extension of Roman territory. The new quaestors 
 were the financial representatives of the central govern- 
 ment in the various sections of Italy. It is significant of 
 the thoroughness which the senate showed in carrying out 
 its oligarchical policy that dictators for other than such 
 temporary and special purposes as the holding of an elec- 
 tion during the absence of both consuls, or the annual 
 driving of a nail in the wall of the temple of Jujjiter, were 
 rarely appointed during this period, and, when they were 
 chosen, they deferred, not less than the consuls, to the 
 senate. The choice of a plebeian for the first time as 
 pontifex maximus in 253 is little more than an echo from 
 the din of battle of an earlier period. 
 
 64. The Censorship. The censor's office became one of 
 immense political and moral importance during the period 
 which we are considering. His main constitutional func- 
 tions consisted in assessing the property of citizens, in 
 preparing a register of them according to tribes, classes, 
 and centuries, in drawing up the list of senators, and in 
 managing the finances of the state. The increased impor- 
 tance of this magistracy was due to a variety of causes. 
 Foremost among these should be mentioned the precedent 
 set by Appius Claudius in his performance of the duties of 
 that office in 312. We have already noticed (j). 54) the 
 autocratic manner in which he changed the composition of 
 the tribes and the centuries. The reaction of 304 was not 
 a protest against the exercise of such powers by the censor, 
 but rather a reversal of the action of one censor by another. 
 The right of the censor to make such radical changes as
 
 SUPREMACY OF THE NOBILITAS 73 
 
 Appius had made was, therefore, strengthened and not 
 weakened by the events of 304. In fact, the reform of 
 the centuriate assembly in 241 was probably due in large 
 measure to the efforts of the censor. The immense increase 
 in the income and the expenditure of the government which 
 resulted from the prosecution of a long series of wars and 
 the acquisition of provinces, was a still more potent factor 
 in giving importance to his office. The taxes levied in the 
 new provinces were farmed out to the highest bidders, and 
 the contracts were made by the censor in the name of the 
 state. Besides the income from this source, immense sums 
 of money came into the treasury in the form of booty. 
 Aemilius Paulus, for instance, brought home 300,000,000 
 sesterces after the war with Perseus. 
 
 It is difficult, with the scanty infoniiation we have, to 
 account for the development of the right to supervise the 
 morals of the people which the censor exercised in the 
 third century. - This is the probable course of events, how- 
 ever : In drawing up a register of a tribe or -a class it was 
 necessary for him to inquire closely into such matters as 
 the name, age, residence, family, and property of each 
 citizen (cf. p. 192). It is probable that he gradually 
 extended the range of his inquiry to cover also the man- 
 ner of life of citizens, without waiting for legislation to 
 authorize him in taking such a course. Such action on his 
 part would find abundant justification in the determined 
 stand which the community was making against the degen- 
 erate tendencies of the time. In fact, the functions of the 
 censor made his office the natural agency to employ in the 
 effort to preserve the integrity of the Roman character. 
 
 65. Improvement in the Judicial System. A develop- 
 ment of some importance, which for convenience may be 
 mentioned in this connection, consisted in the improvement
 
 74 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 of the judicial system, by sending praefecti iuri dictmdo to 
 various i)oints in Italy to represent the praetor, and by the 
 occasional establishment of judicial commissions to take 
 the place of the popular assemblies in the trial of certain 
 criminal cases. The advantage which a small, select body 
 had over a popular assembly in such cases was so apparent, 
 that by the lex Calpurnia of 149 a permanent court was 
 established for the trial of magistrates guilty of peculation 
 in office, the so-called qiiaestio (^perpetua) de {peamiis) 
 repetiindis. The historical importance of this innovation 
 lies largely in the fact that it was the first step toward the 
 organization which Sulla made in the next century of a 
 fairly complete judicial system. It is interesting to note 
 that the offense, of which the first standing court was to 
 take cognizance, was extortion. Evidently the magistrates 
 had already found it necessary to seek reimbursement in 
 the provinces for the great expenses attendant on an elec- 
 tion to office at Rome. The establishment of a court to 
 try those guilty of peculation goes hand in hand with the 
 legislation against bribery. Little immediate gain could be 
 expected from the court, however, because its juries were 
 made up exclusively of senators, and could hardly be trusted 
 to convict senatorial governors. 
 
 66. Reform of the Centuriate Comitia. The most com- 
 prehensive political change of this period which affected 
 the whole people was the reform of the centuriate assembly 
 about 241. That body was completely reorganized on the 
 tribal basis. Each of the tribes was divided into sefiiores 
 and iuniores ; then the members of each of these two sec- 
 tions were assigned to classes according to their wealth, the 
 members of each class of seniores and iutiiores forming a 
 century. The division of each of the thirty-five tribes into 
 centuries is indicated in the following diagram.
 
 SUPREMACY OF THE NOBILITAS 
 
 75 
 
 
 Seniores 
 
 Century of ist class 
 
 
 « " 2d " 
 
 
 " " 3d " 
 
 
 
 
 " " 4th « 
 
 Tribus 
 
 " « 5th « 
 
 
 
 
 
 Century of ist class 
 
 
 « « 2d " 
 
 
 u u 3(1 .. 
 
 
 luniores 
 
 
 " " 4th " 
 
 
 « «' 5th " 
 
 To the three hundred and fifty centuries thus formed there 
 should be added eighteen centuries of knights, four supple- 
 mentary centuries, not definitely enrolled in the classes, and 
 one century of proletarii, making a grand total of three 
 hundred and seventy-three. The property quaUfication for 
 admission to the several classes was henceforth calculated 
 on a money basis, and was probably raised for each class, 
 but of this we cannot be sure. It is clear, at all events, 
 that the new organization was of a far more democratic 
 character than the old one. In the old body the number 
 of centuries in the first class, supplemented by the knights, 
 was greater than that in all the rest put together. The 
 eighteen centuries of knights combined with the eighty 
 centuries of that class constituted a majority. In the 
 reformed organization the number of centuries in each 
 class was the same, so that the only advantage which 
 wealth gave lay in the fact that the centuries of the upper 
 classes were probably smaller than those of the lower 
 classes, and yet had equal weight with them in voting.
 
 ^6 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 In one other respect the organization fell short of being 
 strictly democratic. The seniores in a given tribe, that is, 
 the men between forty-six and sixty years of age, made up 
 five centuries, so that they had as great a voting power as 
 the iuniorcs, or men between seventeen and forty-six years 
 of age, although by the natural laws of mortality there can- 
 not have been more than half as many of the former as 
 of the latter in a tribe. Therefore, although the reformed 
 centuriate assembly was essentially democratic, wealth and 
 age enjoyed indirectly some advantages. 
 
 67. The Tribal Assemblies. Legislation of the fifth cen- 
 tury, possibly the kx Atcrnia Tarpeia of the year 454, had 
 allowed magistrates, tribunes, and plebeian aediles to impose 
 fines up to a certain limit. All cases involving a larger 
 amount than the minimum fixed could be appealed to the 
 tribal assembly. The effect of this arrangement was to 
 make the tribal assemblies criminal courts of appeal in all 
 but capital cases. This change had its political side. It 
 enabled the tribune to hold a magistrate responsible for his 
 conduct, but its value in this respect was in large measure 
 offset by the use of the court for ])artisan purposes. An 
 important step toward robbing the tribal assemblies of their 
 judicial functions altogether was taken toward the close of 
 this period by the establishment, in 149, of the first quaestio 
 perpetua (p. 74). 
 
 The most important laws of this period were passed in 
 the tribal assembly. For instance, the leges Villia (p. 70), 
 Galnnia (p. 71), Cassia (p. 71), Calpuniia (p. 74), and 
 various sumptuary laws, e.g., the lex Oppia and the lex 
 Orehia, were a\\ plehiseiia. The tribal assembly met within 
 the city and had a simpler organization than the centuriate 
 assembly. Furthermore, the tribune who presided over the 
 concilium pledis Tepresentcd belter than the magistrate the
 
 SUPREMACY OF THE NOBILITAS TJ 
 
 ^^<!)gressive sentiment of the community. The leges Aelia 
 et Fufia of about 155 applied the auspices to the tribal 
 assemblies for the first time. The senate secured the 
 passage of this law for the purpose of preventing undesir- 
 able action in the tribal assembly, when all other forms of 
 opposition had failed. As a defensive weapon, however, 
 the measure was of little avail. 
 
 68. Growth of the Proletariat. The economic changes 
 in the condition of the people were far more serious than 
 the political. The immediate result of them was the 
 widening of the gap between the rich and the poor. A 
 number of reasons may be given for the growth of the 
 proletariat on the one hand, and, on the other, for the 
 acquisition of great wealth by the favored few. The long 
 wars had taken the peasant proprietors from home, and 
 their land, left without cultivation, rapidly deteriorated in 
 value. Hannibal's occupation of Italy increased the dam- 
 age which had resulted from neglect, and at the close of 
 the second Punic war a large part of the land in Italy had 
 passed out of cultivation. This change bore heavily on the 
 free laborer also. The demand for his services was greatly 
 diminished by the transformation of arable into pasture 
 land, and the introduction of a vast number of slaves 
 brought his wages down to a very low point and put a 
 stigma on manual labor. The massing of landed property 
 in the hands of a few and the employment of slave labor 
 made the business of the peasant proprietor unprofitable. 
 Competition with the newly acquired provinces was still 
 more disastrous to him. The ranks of the proletariat, 
 which were reinforced in this way by free laborers out of 
 work and by bankrupt peasant proprietors, were still further 
 swelled by the manumission of slaves. Many of the slaves 
 who had been brought to Rome as captives during the wars
 
 78 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 outside of Italy were clever artisans or good farmers, and 
 their owners found it more profitable to manumit them, give 
 them a small capital, and share in the profits of the enter- 
 prise, than to retain them as slaves. This condition of 
 things was somewhat relieved in the early part of the period 
 by drawing off large numbers of the proletarii to the newly 
 estabUshed colonies. Ten or twelve colonies were founded 
 in the interval between 287 and the close of the second 
 Punic war, and twice as many in the early part of 
 the second century, but after 180 we hear of only one 
 new colony, so that the proletariat lost even this form of 
 relief. 
 
 69. Amassing of Great Fortunes. The aggrandizement 
 of the rich kept pace with the impoverishment of the mid- 
 dle classes. Several states in southern Italy, which had sided 
 with Hannibal, were punished after the close of the second 
 Punic war by being deprived of a large portion of their ter- 
 ritory. The rich men at Rome found little difficulty in get- 
 ting possession of the greater part of this confiscated land. 
 The acquisition of territory beyond the sea was of immense 
 value to the capitalist and successful politician. On the 
 one hand, it gave the Roman officials who were sent out to 
 the* provinces a good opportunity to amass fortunes at the 
 expense of the provincials. On the other hand, the con- 
 quests in Spain and the East opened new outlets for trade, 
 which the special privileges granted to Roman citizens, and 
 the destruction of Rome's commercial rival, Carthage, 
 threw almost entirely into the hands of the Roman mer- 
 chant and banker, and Roman capitalists began to reap rich 
 returns for the investment of their money. Another profit- 
 able field for investment was the collection in the new 
 provinces of the taxes which the state let out by contract 
 to private citizens. Since the provincials were without
 
 SUPREMACY OF THE NOBILITAS -79 
 
 defense, and the ruling class at Rome winked at the extor- 
 tionate demands of its representatives abroad, enormous 
 fortunes were made in a short time. The evils which 
 naturally follow a sudden increase in wealth were aggravated 
 by the fact that the conquest of Magna Graecia and the 
 East brought the Romans into contact with a highly devel- 
 oped civiHzation to which their previous simple life was in 
 marked contrast. The development of luxurious tastes and 
 the means of gratifying them came simultaneously, and the 
 rich Roman rushed into reckless expenditure on his house- 
 hold and his retinue with the intemperance which charac- 
 terizes the parvenu. The long series of sumptuary laws, 
 which began with the lex Oppia of 215, is in itself a striking 
 proof of the tendency of the time. The attempt to check 
 the growing evil by legislation was of as little effect as such 
 efforts usually are. In fact, the lex Oppia itself was repealed 
 after it had been in force only twenty years. The severe 
 measures which the censors took to check extravagance 
 were of as little permanent value. 
 
 70. Political Results. The immense increase, on the 
 one hand, in the number of freedmen, and of freemen out 
 of work, and, on the other, the acquisition of large fortunes 
 by a few, had a most disastrous effect on Roman politics. 
 A large number of freedmen and of those who had lost their 
 holdings or their occupation in the country districts drifted 
 to Rome and were admitted to the popular assemblies, in 
 so far as their property allowed it. Their votes were in 
 many cases to be had by the candidate who gave the most 
 for them, or whose games were the most magnificent. The 
 laws to punish bribery and to provide for a secret ballot, to 
 which reference has already been made (p. 71), furnish an 
 indication of the growing demoralization of the popular 
 assemblies. The great inequality in wealth had another
 
 8o REPUBLICAN PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 unfortunate political result. It gave rise to a spirit of 
 dependence among the great mass of the people, in some 
 cases of hostility toward the rich on the part of the poor, 
 which found expression in class legislation of various kinds. 
 Thus, in 217, the democratic leader Flaminius secured the 
 passage of a bill lowering the money standard; in 216 a 
 commission was established to facilitate the negotiation of 
 loans ; and in the same decade a law was passed prohibiting 
 senators from owning ships of more than a certain tonnage. 
 
 71. The Conquest of Southern Italy. The conclusion of 
 the third Samnite war had already made Rome mistress 
 of central Italy. A petty quarrel with Tarentum, in 282, 
 opened the way for her conquest of southern Italy. In 
 the war which followed, the Tarentines and their allies in 
 southern Italy were unable to cope with Rome and sent to 
 Pyrrhus, the king of Epirus, for help. He inflicted a severe 
 defeat on the Romans near Heraclea in 280, and advanced 
 through Samnium and Campania to the borders of Latium ; 
 but at that point he turned back. Again, in 279, Pyrrhus 
 was successful at Asculum, and negotiations looking to 
 peace were entered into ; but the appearance of a Cartha- 
 ginian fleet at Ostia offering help induced the Romans to 
 refuse all terms. The urgent requests which the Greeks in 
 Sicily made for help, and his discouragement over the state 
 of affairs in Italy, led Pyrrhus to cross to Sicily in 278. 
 After an unsatisfactory campaign in that island, he returned 
 to Italy in 275, was defeated by the consul M'. Curius at 
 Beneventum, and retired permanently from Italy, leaving 
 Rome free to bring the cities in the lower part of the 
 peninsula completely under her control. 
 
 72. The First Punic War. The harmonious relations 
 which existed between Carthage and Rome during the war 
 with Pyrrhus were brought to an untoward end by the
 
 SUPREMACY OF THE NOBILITAS 8 1 
 
 course of events in Sicily, Besides her possessions in 
 Africa, Carthage controlled Sicily, with the exception of 
 Syracuse and Messana, and also Sardinia, Corsica, the 
 Balearic islands, and the south coast of Spain. An oppor- 
 tunity presented itself in 264 to make herself mistress of 
 Messana also, and she eagerly embraced it. One party in 
 this city, however, appealed to Rome for help, and the 
 senate was forced by popular clamor to send the consul 
 Appius Claudius to its assistance. The Romans were suc- 
 cessful on land, but they found that such success would 
 count for little as long as Carthage controlled the sea. 
 Accordingly they fitted out a fleet in the year 260 which 
 won a great victory off Mylae, and from this time on the 
 contest was in large measure a struggle for naval supremacy. 
 In fact, the defeat of the Carthaginian fleet by Catulus in 
 241 brought the war to an end. Had it not been for their 
 new allies, the Romans would have been helpless in such 
 a struggle, but the .seamanship of the Greeks of southern 
 Italy, and the knowledge which they had of the Sicilian 
 coast, helped to offset the naval experience of Carthage. 
 By the terms of peace Carthage gave up Sicily to Rome, 
 surrendered her prisoners, and agreed to pay a war indem- 
 nity of 3200 talents. Three years after the close of the 
 war, in 238, when she was weakened by a long-continued 
 mutiny in the army, she was forced to give up Sardinia and 
 Corsica also. 
 
 73. War with the Kelts and lUyrian Pirates. In the 
 years which followed the first Punic war, Rome strengthened 
 her position in Italy and on the Adriatic. She was startled 
 in 225, however, by the news of a fresh Keltic invasion on 
 the part of the Boii and Insubres and Transalpine merce- 
 naries. Notwithstanding the enrollment of 150,000 men 
 for the protection of Italy, the invaders advanced as far as
 
 82 KEPUHLICAN PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 Clusium in Etniria, and defeated a detachment of the 
 Roman army ; but the approach of another strong force 
 obliged them to retire, and they were crushed between the 
 two Roman armies at Telamon in Etniria. The su])mission 
 of the Boii followed in 224; that of the Insubres, who 
 resisted more stubbornly, in 222. The northern frontier 
 of Italy was secured by planting colonies at Mutina, Pla- 
 centia, and Cremona, and by building a military road, the 
 via Flaminia, to Ariminum. The war which broke out 
 against Illyria in 229 had the two practical results of freeing 
 Italian trade in the Adriatic from the depredations of the 
 Illyrian pirates, and of throwing Rome into the cauldron of 
 Greek politics. 
 
 74. The Second Punic War. The rapid progress which 
 Carthage was making in Spain disturbed the Romans to 
 such an extent that a treaty was made with her, by the 
 terms of which she agreed to limit her acquisitions to 
 the region south of the Ebro. The city of Saguntum lay 
 south of that river, but it was not considered necessary to 
 provide for her independence in the treaty mentioned, 
 because she was in alliance with the Romans. The attack 
 which Hannibal made on that city in 219 was, therefore, 
 a direct affront to Rome. The Carthaginians refused to 
 grant redress, and preparations were at once made in 
 Rome to fit out expeditions against Spain and Africa. But 
 Hannibal, by a rapid march into northern Italy, which he 
 reached \vith an army reduced to 26,000 men, put the 
 Romans on the defensive, and by brilliant victories on the 
 Ticinus and the Trebia in 218, at the Trasimene lake 
 in 217, and in the following year at Cannae, put the 
 supremacy of Rome in Italy in extreme peril. In fact, 
 the battle of Cannae was a signal for the withdrawal of 
 almost all the cities of southern Italy from their alliance
 
 SUPREMACY OF THE NOBILITAS 83 
 
 with Rome. Only a few seacoast towns remained loyal, 
 or were held in subjection by garrisons. In spite of these 
 great disasters the spirit of the Romans was not broken. 
 They adopted, however, the policy of avoiding a direct 
 trial of strength with Hannibal, and devoted their energy 
 to cutting off all his sources of supply. With this object in 
 view they sought to regain the Italian cities which had 
 allied themselves with Hannibal, or had been conquered 
 by him. With the same purpose in mind they carried 
 on a vigorous campaign against the Carthaginians and 
 their allies in Spain and Sicily. The result of this policy 
 was that Spain, the great center of Carthaginian strength, 
 was overrun by the Romans, and Hasdrubal, Hannibal's 
 brother, after coming into Italy in response to Hannibal's 
 urgent request for reinforcements, was defeated and slain 
 at the Metaurus in 207, and Hannibal himself stood alone 
 with his little army in a corner of Italy. The Romans 
 were now ready for a bold stroke, and in 204 the senate, 
 yielding with some hesitation to popular demand, sent over 
 to Africa young Scipio, who had distinguished himself in 
 Spain. The audacity of this step was justified by the 
 complete victory which the Roman army won at Zama in 
 202 over Hannibal, whom the Carthaginians had hastily 
 recalled. By the terms of the peace, which was concluded 
 in the following year, Carthage was stripped of all her 
 foreign territory, and even in Africa Numidia was declared 
 independent. She was, furthermore, forbidden to wage war 
 abroad, and in Africa except with the consent of Rome. 
 She gave up her fleet also, and agreed to pay an indemnity 
 of 10,000 talents. 
 
 75. First Macedonian War. The most important result 
 of the war against the Illyrian pirates, as we have already 
 noticed, was the fact that Rome's new acquisitions placed
 
 84 KErUHLICAN PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 her in a jiosition where she would be easily involved in the 
 meshes of Greek politics. The inevitable entanglement 
 came in 214. King Philip of Macedon, with an envious eye 
 on the Roman possessions on the Illyrian coast, took advan- 
 tage of Rome's weakness, after the battle of the Trasimene 
 lake, to form an alliance with Hannibal, promising him help 
 in Italy in return for the above-mentioned Illyrian towns. 
 Rome was forced to accept Philip's challenge, but her main 
 purjwse in the war which followed was to prevent him from 
 giving help to Hannibal, so that she was content, in the 
 main, with putting herself at the head of the Greek states 
 opposed to Philip, and not unwillingly made peace with him 
 in 205 on terms which extended the limits of Macedonian 
 territory. 
 
 76. Second Macedonian War. But the successful comple- 
 tion of the second Punic war left Rome free to deal with 
 the Eastern question, and the development of Philip's 
 ambitious ])lans seemed to make interference necessary. 
 He had formed a plan with Antiochus HI of Syria for 
 the division of Egypt, and while Antiochus occupied him- 
 self with the conquest of Coele-Syria, Philip seized Egypt's 
 possessions on the Aegean. Rhodes came to their relief, 
 and later joined Athens and Egypt in asking help from 
 Rome. Philip refused to grant the demands which a 
 Roman embassy made on him at Abydos in 200 that he 
 should make peace with the Greeks, give up the territory 
 which he had taken from Egypt, and submit his quarrel 
 with Rhodes to arbitration — and war was declared at once. 
 Rome was assisted by Rhodes and by Attains, king of Per- 
 ganium, and with their help forced Philip to yield after the 
 battle of Cynoscephalae in 197. Philip gave up his con- 
 quests, withdrew from Greece proper, surrendered his fleet, 
 and paid a vvar indemnity. The Greeks were declared free.
 
 SUPREMACY OF THE NOBILITAS 85 
 
 and Rome's friends and allies in Greece were treated with 
 unparalleled generosity. By adopting this plan, instead of 
 following her usual policy of territorial aggrandizement, 
 Rome furnished a proof of her admiration for the Greek 
 civilization, and avoided rousing the passionate opposition 
 of the whole Greek world. What motive determined her 
 course it is hard to say. 
 
 77. War with Antiochus. In the meantime Antiochus 
 had completed the conquest of Coele-Syria, and in 197 
 proceeded to seize the Egyptian possessions on the south 
 coast of Asia Minor. Notwithstanding the urgent appeals 
 of Eumenes of Pergamum and the free Greek cities, Rome 
 could not be induced to interfere with the movements of 
 Antiochus in Asia, but when he crossed the Aegean sea in 
 192, on the invitation of the Aetolians, an army was sent 
 against him. His utter defeat at Thermopylae in the year 
 191 drove him out of Europe, and vindicated the main 
 principle for which Rome was contending, that of the non- 
 interference of foreign potentates in European politics ; but 
 the opportunity to break the power of Antiochus was so 
 promising that the Romans followed him into Asia, and 
 inflicted a crushing defeat on him at Magnesia in Lydia 
 in the year 190. Peace was made on condition that he 
 should retire beyond the Taurus, pay 15,000 talents, and 
 limit his fleet to ten ships of war. Rome's allies were flat- 
 tered by being allowed to take part in the peace negotia- 
 tions, and were rewarded for their services by valuable gifts 
 of territory. 
 
 78. The Third Macedonian War. Among others, Philip 
 of Macedon had supported the Romans loyally, and in 
 return he received Demetrias and a certain amount of 
 territory in Thessaly and Aetolia. But, suspicious of his 
 growing influence in Greece, the Romans a few years later
 
 86 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 took his new j)Ossessions from him. Their susi)icions were 
 not without justification. Jealousy of Rome's interfer- 
 ence in Greek politics was growing rapidly ; the national 
 spirit of the Greeks was developing, and Philip cleverly 
 appealed to both these sentiments. His successor, Perseus, 
 strengthened the position of Macedonia by alliances with 
 his neighbors. The attempted assassination of Rome's 
 friend, Eumenes of Pergamum, at Delphi, at the supposed 
 instigation of Perseus, and the support which Rome gave 
 to a petty Thracian prince banished by Perseus, fanned 
 the smouldering embers into flame, and war broke out in 
 171. Success attended the Macedonians at the outset, 
 and the Romans pretended to consider favorably the pro- 
 posals of peace. Their real purpose, however, was to 
 crush Macedonia completely, and this object they accom- 
 plished by their success at Pydna in 168. The former 
 kingdom of Macedonia was divided into four parts, each 
 independent of the other, and one-half of the tribute for- 
 merly paid to the king was turned into the Roman treasury. 
 79. Subsequent Changes in Macedonia, Greece, and Spain. 
 The partition of the country led to endless confusion, and 
 a pretender, named Andriscus, took advantage of this state 
 of things to put himself at the head of reunited Macedonia. 
 He was defeated without much difficulty in 148, and Rome 
 at once made Macedonia a province, adding to it southern 
 Illyria, Epirus, and Thessaly. The settlement of affairs in 
 Greece proved to be equally unsatisfactory. The Greek 
 states were constantly quarreling. The hostility toward 
 Rome was persistent, and the Achaean league was devel- 
 oping strength and confidence in a way which threatened 
 to make it the central point of an uprising. The trouble 
 reached a climax in 147, when the Achaeans declared war 
 against Sparta, in spite of warnings from Rome against the
 
 SUPREMACY OF THE NOBILITAS 8/ 
 
 adoption of such a course. The Romans put an army in the 
 field at once. The Achaeans on their side were joined by 
 the Boeotians, Euboeans, Phocians, and Locrians. The war 
 was of short duration, and after its conclusion the Achaean 
 league was disbanded, Corinth destroyed, and the greater 
 part of Greece was placed under the supervision of the 
 governor of Macedonia. The policy of Rome in Greece 
 and the Orient was, not to extend her sovereignty, but to 
 weaken the strong powers already existing in those quar- 
 ters and to prevent the growth of new ones. In the unciv- 
 ilized West her purpose was very different. In Spain she 
 acquired from Carthage, as a result of the second Punic 
 war, only the southern portion of the peninsula. This terri- 
 tory was divided into two provinces and assigned to prae- 
 tors. The unwise and cruel rule of the Roman governors 
 and their subordinates brought on an uprising in 154, which, 
 beginning first with the Lusitanians, spread far and wide, 
 and cost the Romans twenty years of determined effort to 
 crush. After the fall of Numantia in 133, the last point 
 of resistance, peace reigned in Spain for many years. 
 
 80. The Third Punic War. The Romans looked across 
 the Mediterranean at the regeneration of Carthage after 
 the second Punic war with unmixed anxiety. Masinissa of 
 Numidia took advantage of their jealous attitude to claim 
 on one pretext or another certain possessions of Carthage, 
 until at last the Carthaginians were driven to the point of 
 making war on him. This step was in contravention of the 
 treaty of 201, and Rome, therefore, sent a strong army 
 across to Carthage in 149; but three years of hard fight- 
 ing intervened before the city could be taken. Carthage 
 and the cities faithful to her were destroyed ; a part of the 
 surrounding territory was given to her neighbors, and part 
 was taken by Rome herself.
 
 88 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 8i. Development of Imperialism. The long series of wars 
 which came to an end with the capture of Carthage in 146, 
 left Rome in possession of large tracts of new territory 
 outside of Italy. Sicily, with the islands of Sardinia and 
 Corsica, she felt compelled to hold for the protection of 
 Italy. Spain had shown itself in the second Punic war 
 such a point of vantage for Carthage that it seemed neces- 
 sary to take it under Roman control. A large party at 
 Rome had come to feel that the safety and growth of their 
 native city required the destniction of Carthage, and, after 
 she had been destroyed, it could be regarded as a matter 
 of duty to give the conquered peoples some form of stable 
 government. In the case of Macedonia, at the end of the 
 first war the fonn of government was left unchanged, and 
 even after the second war autonomy was granted to the 
 four sections into which the country was divided. A 
 Roman government was imposed on the people only after 
 other plans had failed. In other words, it seems clear that 
 Rome did not deliberately adopt a policy of conquest and 
 territorial aggrandizement outside of Italy, but the protec- 
 tion of her own interests seemed to make an extension of 
 territory necessary in each case. The successful prosecu- 
 tion of these wars, however, developed the thirst for con- 
 quest ; the legitimate and illegitimate profits from the new 
 territory appealed to the commercial spirit and the greed 
 of the Romans, and the control of Spain, Italy, Sicily, 
 Sardinia, Macedonia, and Africa, which made Rome the 
 strongest power in the Mediterranean, suggested inevitably 
 the rounding out of her possessions by the concjuest of Asia 
 and Egypt. 
 
 82. The Model adopted for Provincial Government. The 
 Romans organized a definite government in Sicily and in 
 Sardinia and Corsica in 227, in the two Spains in 197, and
 
 SUPREMACY OF THE NOBILITAS 89 
 
 in Macedonia and in Africa in 146. The earliest form of 
 provincial government was an adaptation of the system 
 which had been introduced throughout Italy, with two 
 important modifications, however. The relations which 
 the Italian communities bore to one another were under 
 the direct supervision of the senate. Such supervision 
 would be impossible in most cases for territory outside of 
 Italy. Imperial interests were, therefore, placed in the 
 hands of a Roman governor. The second important differ- 
 ence consisted in the fact that the provincials were subject 
 to taxes which were not imposed on the Italians. This is 
 not to say that in other respects the provincials were as 
 well off as the Italians. In practice their condition was 
 much worse, partly because they were largely at the mercy 
 of a governor who was allowed a large liberty in his man- 
 agement of the province, whose transgression of the prin- 
 ciples laid down to check his exercise of autocratic power 
 it was almost impossible to punish. 
 
 83. The Lex Provinciae and the Governor. The govern- 
 ment of territory outside of Italy was a new problem for 
 the Romans, so that various experiments were tried with the 
 earhest provinces before an essentially permanent system 
 was adopted. But from 146 down to the later years of the 
 republic, the senate drew up a set of regulations for each 
 new province, and sent a commission of ten to the province 
 to cooperate with the commanding general in putting them 
 into execution, and in arranging such details as seemed 
 necessary. This body of regulations formed the lex pro- 
 vinciae, or constitution of the province. The first period in 
 the history of the provinces extends to the time of Sulla. 
 Up to that time provision was made for their government 
 by an increase in the number of praetors as provinces were 
 from time to time acquired. The provincial governor had
 
 90 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 the right to collect money and supplies for war, commanded 
 the troops in the province, and exercised jurisdiction in 
 criminal and civil cases. In criminal cases he could even 
 impose a sentence of death, although Roman citizens, after 
 a certain date, had the right of appeal. In his administra- 
 tion of provincial affairs he was bound, at least theoretically, 
 by the lex provinciae. Money, troops, and subordinate 
 officials were provided by vote of the senate. 
 
 84. The Status of Communities in a Province. A uni- 
 form system of government was by no means adopted for 
 all the people within the limits of a single province. In 
 fact, the way in which the degree of civil liberty enjoyed by 
 the peoples in different cities under one governor varied is 
 one of the unique features of Roman provincial government. 
 The Romans accepted in most cases the political units 
 which they found already in existence, and treated the 
 different communities generously or harshly, according to 
 their previous attitude toward Rome. Cities which had 
 proved themselves faithful friends were made civitates 
 liberae. Those which surrendered became civitates stipen- 
 diariae, while those which resisted to the end, like Carthage 
 or Numantia, were ordinarily destroyed. Civitates liberae 
 were classified as civitates foederatae or civitates sine foedere 
 immunes ct liberae, according to the basis on which their 
 independence rested. The independence of communities 
 of the first class was formally recorded in duplicate on 
 bronze tablets. One of these tablets was preserved on the 
 capitol at Rome, the other in the city concerned. Commu- 
 nities of the second class received their independence by a 
 lex or sefiatus consult urn. Its permanence was, therefore, 
 conditioned on the favor of the Roman people or senate. 
 The civitates liberae were not allowed to deal directly with 
 other states, but they were permitted to coin money and
 
 SUPREMACY OF THE NOBILITAS 9I 
 
 receive exiles, and in domestic affairs they were independ- 
 ent of Rome. The citizens of such a community were 
 tried before their own courts, were left untaxed by Rome, 
 and were subject to no other obligation than that of fur- 
 nishing such a number of ships or of troops as might be 
 stipulated in the treaty. The constitution of a civitas sti- 
 pendiaria was drawn up by a senatorial commission, or 
 embodied by the provincial governor in an edict. It 
 usually permitted the community to retain its senate, pop- 
 ular assemblies, magistrates, and courts, and to conduct in 
 general the administration of local affairs ; but all this was 
 done under the supervision of Roman officials. Thus the 
 governor supervised the choice of senators, allowed or 
 forbade the holding of the local comitia, and examined the 
 city's finances. Upon the land of such a community a 
 fixed tax, or stipendiiwi, was laid, or a certain proportion 
 of the annual returns, i.e., a vectigal, was paid to the Roman 
 government. As time went on, the Romans more and more 
 rarely granted to a community the rights of a civitas libera. 
 In some provinces municipia and colonies were estabHshed, 
 but their position was the same as that of corresponding 
 communities in Italy, with the important exception that 
 such communities in the provinces were subject to all the 
 regular provincial taxes. The condition of things in one of 
 the earlier provinces may be illustrated by the case of Sicily, 
 in which there were three civitates foederatae, five civitates 
 liberae et immunes, thirty-four civitates decumanae, paying a 
 tenth of the produce from the land, and twenty-six civitates 
 censoriae, whose territory was made state land.
 
 92 REPUELICAN PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 Selections from the Sources 
 
 Outbreak of Tarentine war: Liv. Ep. XII. — Heraclea : Liv. Ep. 
 XIII; riut. Pyrrh. 16-17. — Pyrrhus crosses to Sicily: Eutrop. 
 II. 14. — Beneventum: Liv. Ep. XIV; Eutrop. II. 14. —Outbreak 
 of first Punic war: Polyb. I. 10-12; Gell. XVII. 21. 40. — Blockade 
 of Agrigentum : Polyb. I. 17. — Naval victory of Duilius : Wilm. Ex. 
 Inscr. 609; Polyb. I. 22-3; Eutrop. II. 20; Tac. Ann. II. 49. — 
 Capture of Regulus : Polyb. I. 33-5; Liv. Ep. X VIII. — Naval 
 defeat at Drepana : Liv. Ep. XIX; Eutrop. II. 26; Polyb. I. 49-52. 
 
 — Naval victory of Catulus : Eutrop. II. 27 ; Polyb. I. 60-61 ; Liv. Ep. 
 XIX. —Peace with Carthage: Polyb. I. 62-3; Liv. XXX. 44. i. 
 
 — Acquisition of Sardinia: Polyb. I. 79 and 88. — Lex Flaminia 
 agraria: Polyb. II. 21; Cic. de Inv. II. 52; de Sen. 11. — Illyrian 
 war : Polyb. II. 8 ff. — Increase in number of praetors : Liv. Ep. XX. 
 
 — War with Insubres and Boii : Polyb. II. 23-34; Liv. Ep. XX.— 
 Fall of Saguntum (second Punic war): Polyb. III. 17; Liv. XXI. 
 14-15. — Ticinus: Polyb. III. 65 ; Liv. XXI. 39. 10; 45-6. — Trebia : 
 Polyb. III. 71-4; Liv. XXI. 52-7. — Lex Claudia: Liv. XXI. 63. 3. 
 
 — Trasimene lake: Polyb. III. 83-4; Liv. XXII. 4-7. — Cannae : 
 Polyb. III. 107-1 17; Liv. XXII. 43-50. — Lex Minucia: Liv. XXIII. 
 21. 6. — Treaty between Hannibal and Philip: Polyb. VII. 9; Liv. 
 XXIII. 33-4; Eutrop. III. 12. — First Macedonian war : Liv. XXIV. 
 40. — Capua recaptured: Polyb. IX. 3-9; Liv. XXVI. 4-16.— 
 Treaty with the Aetolians : Liv. XXVI. 24. — Events in Spain: Liv. 
 XXVI. 41-51. — Colonies: liv. XXVII. 9-10. — Hasdrubal defeated : 
 Polyb. XI. 1-3; Liv. XXVII. 46-9. — Carthaginians expelled from 
 Spain: Liv. XXVIII. 12-37.— Peace with Philip: Liv. XXIX. 12. 
 
 — Thirty-five tribes: Liv. XXIX. 37. 13-14. — Scipio crosses to 
 Africa: Liv. XXIX. 24-7. — Zama: Polyb. XV. 5-16; Liv. XXX. 
 25-35. — Peace with Carthage: Polyb. XV. iS; Liv. XXX. 43. 
 
 — Second Macedonian war: Liv. XXXI. 5 ff. — Cynoscephalae : 
 Polyb. XVIII. i-io; Liv. XXXIII. 7-10. — Treaty of peace 
 made: Liv. XXXIII. 30. — Number of praetors increased: Liv. 
 XXXII. 27.6. — Lex Porcia de provocatione : Cic. de Re Pttbl. II. 
 54; pro Rab. perd. reo, 12; Gell. X. 3. 13; Liv. X. 9. 4. — Greece 
 proclaimed free: Polyb. XVIII. 27-9"; Liv. XXXIII. 32; Plut. 
 Flamin. 10. — Lex Sempronia de pecunia credita : Liv. XXXV. 7. — 
 War with Antiochus : Liv. XXXVI. i ff. — Magnesia : Liv. XXXVII.
 
 SUPREMACY OF THE NOBILITAS 93 
 
 37-44. — Leges sumptuariae : Liv. XXXIV. 1-8; Gell. II. 24; 
 Macrob. Saturn. III. 17. — Leges de ambitu and Leges tabellariae: 
 Liv. XL. 19. II; Cic. de Legg. III. 35; Brut. 106; Liv. Ep. 
 XLVII. — Lex Villia annalis: Liv. XL. 44. i ; Cic. Phil. V. 47. — 
 Third Macedonian war : Liv. XLII. 52 ff. — Pydna: Liv. XLIV. 
 40-42; Plut. Aem. 18-22. — Third Punic war: Appian, Punic. VIII. 
 74 ff. ; Liv. Ep. XLIX. — Lex Calpumia de pecuniis repetundis . 
 Cic. Brut. 106; de Off. II. 75. — Andriscus : Liv. Ep. XLIX. — 
 Carthage destroyed: Appian, Punic. VIII. 127 ff . ; Liv. Ep. LI. — 
 Achaean war : Liv. Ep. LI I. — Numantia taken : Appian, Hisp. VI. 
 84-98; Liv. ^/. LVII. 
 
 Criticism of the Sources ^ 
 
 C. Bottcher, Kritische Untersuchungen iiber d. Quellen d. Livius 
 
 im 21 u. 22 Buch, Fleckeisen, Jahrb. (N.F.) Suppl. V. 351-442. 
 Nissen, Kritische Untersuchungen iiber d. Quellen d. IV. u. V 
 
 Dekade d. Livius. Berlin, 1863. 
 Soltau, Livius' Geschichtswerk (pp. 21-84, and bibliography, pp. 
 
 9-14). Leipzig, 1897. 
 Soltau, De fontibus Plutarchi in secundo bello Punico enarrando, 
 
 Bonn, 1870. 
 R. B. Smith, Rome and Carthage. London, 1880. 
 
 Supplementary Literature, igoi-1910 
 
 Ferrero, The Greatness and Decline of Rome (to close of the reign 
 
 of Augustus), 5 vols. New York, 1907-1909. 
 Audollent, Carthage romaine. Paris, 1901. 
 
 1 See also general bibliography on p. 22.
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 THE STRUGGLE BETWEEN THE DEMOCRACY AND 
 THE NOBILITAS 
 
 85. Tiberius Gracchus. An investigation of the i)reced- 
 ing period has revealed (pp. 77-80) the serious economic 
 and political changes which followed as a result of the 
 great wars. The republic had been at the outset, and for 
 several centuries afterward, a commonwealth of free land- 
 owners. This great middle class was now swept out of 
 existence, and with it went the foundation on which the 
 state rested. The object of the movement connected with 
 the name of Tiberius Gracchus was to build this class up 
 again. His attention is said to have been called to the 
 wretched condition of affairs in Italy when he was on a 
 visit to Etruria, where the evil had reached its greatest 
 height. He thought relief could be had by assigning state 
 land to citizens, and, with this purpose in mind, he secured 
 an election to the tribunate for the year 133 and at once 
 proposed a reenactment of that clause of the Licinian law 
 which limited the amount of land to be held by an indi- 
 vidual to five hundred acres, with the modification that for 
 each of two grown sons two hundred and fifty acres in 
 addition should be allowed. That- portion of the ager publi- 
 cus, the control of which 4he state would resume under the 
 operation of this law, was to be divided among poor citizens 
 on condition of the payment of a yearly tax. Payment for 
 improvements was to be made to those already in posses- 
 sion, but this claim on the Roman treasury was met by 
 
 94
 
 DEMOCRACY AND NOBILITAS 95 
 
 the inheritance which Attains III of Pergamum had lately 
 bequeathed to the Romans. A standing commission of 
 three, whose members were to be chosen annually, /// 
 viri agris iudicandis adsignandis, was to carry out the pro- 
 visions of the law. This proposal was essentially different 
 from earlier colonizing projects. It was distinctly social- 
 istic. Earlier colonies had been sent out to points of danger 
 to hold, and to Romanize, newly acquired territory. The 
 protection which they gave the state was a sufficient return 
 for the land which the state gave them. The new colo- 
 nists were to be settled in peaceful sections of Italy and 
 received land from the government solely by virtue of their 
 poverty. The proposal of Tiberius naturally aroused the 
 violent opposition of the rich, whose profits from the ager 
 publicus would be materially diminished by its adoption. 
 It was opposed on the ground that it revived an obsolete 
 provision of a law passed two hundred years before, and 
 probably because it was a piece of class legislation, and 
 because it also diminished the public revenue. Believing 
 that he could not secure the support of the senate, Tiberius 
 submitted his proposal to the people at once. This he had 
 a constitutional right to do under the Hortensian law, but 
 even here he was thwarted by the veto of his colleague 
 Octavius. Up to this point the question at issue had 
 been a social one. It took on a political character when 
 Tiberius secured the removal of Octavius from office by a 
 vote of the people. In fact, his agrarian proposal becomes 
 unimportant in comparison with the constitutional question 
 involved in the removal of Octavius. While the long agi- 
 tation which culminated in 287 had established the general 
 principle that the will of the people expressed in their 
 assemblies constituted the law of the land, their will had to 
 be ascertained in a certain way, and the expression of it
 
 96 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 was subject to certain hindrances. One of the limitations, 
 for instance, on the freedom of the action of the people 
 in the coj7iitia, consisted in the right of a tribune to inter- 
 pose his veto. Now, in securing the removal of Octavius 
 from office, Tiberius was acting on the theory that a rep- 
 resentative of the people ceases to be such when in a par- 
 ticular matter he acts out of conformity with the wishes of 
 a popular majority. The logical application of this theory 
 in all cases would remove all constitutional limitations upon 
 the expression and execution of the people's will, and would 
 put the state absolutely under the control of a temporary 
 popular majority. The principle was not only out of har- 
 mony with the genius of Roman political institutions, but 
 it is subversive of stable government. It found logical 
 expression in the democratic empire of Julius Caesar. 
 The agrarian law of Tiberius was adopted, but he himself 
 was killed while seeking reelection to the tribunate. 
 
 86. The Years following the Death of Tiberius. The 
 ten years which followed the tribunate of Gracchus were 
 years of comparative political inactivity. The development 
 of a democratic opposition to the nobilitas, however, went 
 on steadily. The passage of the agrarian law, and of other 
 less important measures, in a popular assembly against the 
 wishes of the senate had stimulated the activity of the tribal 
 assembly, and its importance, both as a legislative body and 
 as a center of political agitation, increased rapidly, and an 
 attempt was made to preserve its purity by the lex tabellaria 
 of the tribune C. Papirius Carbo, which supplemented the 
 lex Gabmia and the lex Cassia (p. 7 1) by providing for a 
 secret ballot, when the comitia met as a legislative body. 
 That the agrarian law of Gracchus was actively carried 
 out for some time is indicated by the census, which shows 
 an increase in the number of citizens from 318,000 in 135
 
 DEMOCRACY AND NOBILITAS 97 
 
 to 395,000 in 124. A large majority of these 77,000 new- 
 citizens must have gained their citizenship by becoming 
 landowners under the operation of the new law. The 
 death of Tiberius Gracchus, therefore, by no means put 
 an end to the agrarian movement. Another question, of 
 a political character, was brought into the foreground by 
 the agrarian legislation. The position of the Latins and 
 other Italians was already bad enough. The passage of the 
 new law made it worse, since it took from them some of 
 their privileges in the ager publicus, and therefore empha- 
 sized the disadvantage of their position when compared 
 with that of Roman citizens. 
 
 87. The Legislation of Gaius Gracchus. Accordingly, the 
 necessity of settHng satisfactorily the land question and of 
 admitting the Italians to the rights of Roman citizenship 
 were the two questions which confronted Gaius, the brother 
 of Tiberius Gracchus, on his election to the tribunate in 123. 
 Two motives probably actuated him in the course which 
 he took, — a desire to avenge the death of his brother, 
 as well as to bring to an end the supremacy of the senate. 
 To accomplish the latter purpose he sought to bring to his 
 support the proletariat and the knights, the two non-sena- 
 torial elements in the community. He aimed at securing 
 the favor of the former by the passage of a lex friimentaria, 
 which put grain at the disposal of the poor at a price lower 
 than the market rate. He favored the knights at the 
 expense of the senate by substituting knights for senators 
 on the juries in the quaestio de repetundis. Since the equites 
 had very important financial interests in the provinces, while 
 the provincial governors, whose cases were heard in this 
 court, were senators, the change involved a great gain for the 
 former and at the same time put the latter in serious peril. 
 Although a number of laws had confirmed the citizen's
 
 98 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 right to appeal to the people in cases of life or death, 
 the senate found means of suspending this right, when it 
 wished to get rid of an enemy, by establishing a special 
 judicial commission or by i)assing a senatus consultum ulti- 
 miim. Both these devices had been used successfully against 
 Tiberius and his followers. A lex SemJ>ro7iia of Gains for- 
 bade the appointment of such commissions, and denied 
 the validity of the interpretation put on the senatus con- 
 sultum ulti?fium. The agrarian law of Tiberius, which had 
 not been carried out for several years, was reenacted or 
 reaffirmed. The tribal assembly under the leadership of 
 Gaius encroached aggressively on the traditional preroga- 
 tive of the senate by taking part in the control of foreign 
 affairs, as it did in regulating the tax system in Asia and in 
 founding colonies. Of far-reaching importance was a law 
 which made it incumbent on the senate to decide which 
 provinces should be consular before the new magistrates 
 were chosen (cf, p. 237), Toward the end of his second 
 tribunate Gaius took up the second great political problem, 
 which, as we have seen, confronted him at the beginning 
 of his political career, and proposed to give Roman citizen- 
 ship to the Latins, and Latin rights to the other Italian 
 allies ; but at this point the selfish democracy of Rome 
 deserted him. He became a candidate for the tribunate a 
 third time, was defeated, and, like his brother, met a vio- 
 lent death. The agrarian movement which had been insti- 
 tuted by Tiberius and Gaius was summarily checked by the 
 legislation of 1 1 8 and 1 1 1 , which gave the full rights of 
 ownership to those already occupying state land ; but the 
 other legislation of Gaius remained in force. A still more 
 important result of the Gracchan movement was the con- 
 sciousness which the democracy gained of its own strength 
 and of the weak points in the position of the senate.
 
 DEMOCRACY AND NOBILITAS 99 
 
 88. Marius and the Wars with Jugurtha and the 
 Cimbri. In fact, the weakness of the nobilitas soon gave 
 the chance of success. In 1 1 2 the government was com- 
 pelled by public sentiment to declare war against Jugurtha, 
 the king of Numidia, who had not only dispossessed of 
 their rights his- cousins, Adherbal and Hiempsal, and put 
 them to death, but had treated the protests of the Romans 
 with scorn. In the war which followed, the open purse of 
 Jugurtha on the one hand, and the venality and incapacity 
 of the senatorial leaders on the other, brought disgrace to 
 the Roman name and defeat to the Roman arms. The 
 popular party insisted on a change, and in 107 succeeded 
 in electing to the consulship C. Marius, a man of humble 
 birth who had shown his ability at the siege of Numantia, 
 and to him the control of the forces acting against Jugurtha 
 was committed. Jugurtha was defeated and the war was 
 speedily brought to an end. Marius was still in Africa, 
 arranging the affairs of the province, when he was elected 
 to the consulship for the year 104 and intrusted with a 
 still more serious undertaking. A horde of barbarians, of 
 Germanic origin, from the shores of the North Sea, in 
 search of laixis and booty, had swept southward toward 
 Italy, and in 113 defeated a Roman army under the con- 
 sul Cn. Papirius Carbo at Noreia (the modern Neumarkt). 
 After this victory the Cimbrian invaders were joined by 
 two Helvetian peoples, the Teutones and Tigurini, and in 
 Gaul in 109 inflicted a second defeat on the Romans under 
 M. Junius Silanus. Two years later the Roman consul 
 L. Cassius suffered a still more serious reverse at the hands 
 of the Tigurini, and in 105 at Arausio the combined forces 
 of the barbarians destroyed the two armies which the pro- 
 consul Q. Servilius Caepio and the consul Cn. Mallius 
 Maximus commanded, and left 60,000 Romans dead on
 
 lOO REPUBLICAN PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 the field of battle. This was the condition of affairs when 
 Marius entered on his second consulship in 104. Great 
 anxiety prevailed in Italy, and complete distrust of the 
 senatorial re'gime. The withdrawal of the Cimbri toward 
 Spain and the inactivity of the other barbarians gave 
 Marius an opportunity to reorganize and train his forces, 
 so that later, when the enemy sought to enter Italy at two 
 different points, they were completely annihilated, the Teu- 
 tones at Aquae Sextiae in 102, and the Cimbri the following 
 year on the Raudine plain. 
 
 89. Saturninus and the Conservative Reaction. The bril- 
 liant successes which the Jiomis homo Marius thus won in 
 the Jugurthine and Cimbrian wars, following, as they did, on 
 the disasters which the state had suffered under senatorial 
 leadership, inflicted a severe blow on the prestige of the 
 senate, and the democracy was quick to take advantage of 
 the situation by allying itself directly with Marius. For 
 the year 100 he was elected consul for the sixth time, 
 and liberal assignments of land in Africa were made to 
 his veterans in a measure introduced by the tribune 
 Saturninus ; but the radical character of the agrarian bills 
 which Saturninus brought forward in his second tribunate 
 in 100, and the forcible means which he and the praetor 
 Glaucia used to secure their passage, alienated a large part 
 of the people, and drove even Marius over to the opposi- 
 tion. In the reaction which followed, the laws of Satur- 
 ninus were repealed, and an attempt was made to check 
 hasty legislation in the comitia in the future by the lex 
 Caecilia Didia of the year 98, which provided that a bill 
 should be published seventeen days before it could be sub- 
 mitted to the people for action (cf. p. 254). This measure 
 also forbade the inclusion of different matters in the same 
 bill.
 
 DEMOCRACY AND NOBILITAS lOI 
 
 90. Drusus and the Italians. It is a strange illustration 
 of the irony of fate that M. Livius Drusus, the son of the 
 conservative whose clever manoeuvres had brought political 
 disaster and death to the younger Gracchus when he tried 
 to ameliorate the political condition of the Italians, should 
 have been the man who revived the movement to relieve 
 the Italians, thereby losing his life. The ultimate political 
 aim of the younger Drusus, however, differed essentially 
 from that of his predecessor. C. Gracchus had tried to 
 overthrow the senate by combining all the other forces in 
 the state against it. Drusus, on the other hand, sought to 
 strengthen the conservative position by removing the prin- 
 cipal causes of discontent, not only in Rome but in all 
 Italy. He sought to conciliate the poor by an agrarian law 
 and a corn law. He tried to reconcile the senate and the 
 knights by a measure which made both senators and equites 
 eligible for jury duty, apd finally he promised citizenship 
 to the discontented Italian allies. But the selfishness of 
 all the parties concerned brought his efforts to naught. 
 Despairing of the support of the senate, he submitted 
 directly to the popular assembly a bill with clauses embody- 
 ing his plans with reference to the distribution of grain, the 
 assignment of land, and the composition of the juries. The 
 measure was passed in spite of violent opposition, but his 
 subsequent proposal to give citizenship to the allies aUen- 
 ated the people, who were unwilling to share their privileges 
 with others, and Drusus became a victim of popular passion, 
 as C. Gracchus had been. The senate had by this time 
 mustered courage enough to declare that the laws already 
 passed were in contravention of the lex Caecilia Didia, and 
 therefore invalid. 
 
 91. The Social War. The bill which Drusus submitted 
 in the year 9 1 was the last of many attempts to better the
 
 102 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 condition of the Italians by conservative methods. When, 
 like its predecessors, it resulted in failure and was followed 
 by severe repressive measures directed against them, the 
 discontent of the Italians broke out into an open revolt, in 
 which all except the Latins and the aristocratic states of 
 Umbria and Etruria joined. The loosely organized con- 
 federacy which they formed had its capital at Corfinium, 
 and imitated the Roman system in having a senate with 
 five hundred members, two consuls, to represent respec- 
 tively the Oscan and Latin speaking peoples, and twelve 
 praetors. The Italians were as good soldiers as the 
 Romans ; they found able leaders, and they were better 
 prepared for war than the Romans. Consequently, the 
 advantage in the early part of the war, which began in 90, 
 rested with them, and when the Umbrians and Etruscans 
 showed signs of joining the confederacy Rome thought it 
 wise to make concessions. Within a year after the out- 
 break of the war the consul L. Julius Caesar secured the 
 passage of a law granting citizenship to the allies who had 
 remained loyal, and in the early part of the next year, 89, 
 on the i)roposal of the tribunes M. Plautius Silvanus and 
 C. Papirius Carbo, the lex riautia Fapiria was passed, pro- 
 viding that Roman citizenshij) should be given to the citi- 
 zens of allied states who should register their names with 
 a Roman praetor inside of sixty days. The lex Pompcia of 
 the same year gave Latin rights to the Transpadanes. The 
 newly made citizens were, however, assigned to eight tribes, 
 and this fact Hmited their influence. These concessions 
 placated a majority of the Italians, and the smouldering 
 embers of revolt among the Bruttii, in Samnium, and in 
 Lucania were stamped out in the following year. 
 
 92. Sulla and the Mithridatic War. The state of affairs 
 in the East was the immediate cause of the next trial of
 
 DEMOCRACY AND NOBILITAS IO3 
 
 strength between the two parties at Rome. The Romans 
 had been so engrossed with affairs in Italy that they had 
 not heeded the rapid development of a new power in the 
 Orient. For twenty years or more Mithridates Eupator, 
 the king of Pontus, had extended his power without serious 
 hindrance in Asia Minor and along the north shore of the 
 Euxine. At last he came into conflict with the Romans in 
 Bithynia, and war broke out in 88. The Roman forces 
 in the East proved to be no match for Mithridates, and the 
 conduct of the campaign was intrusted to one of the con- 
 suls, L. Cornelius Sulla, who had distinguished himself in 
 the Social war and had some knowledge of the Eastern 
 question. 
 
 93. Sulla, Marius, and Cinna. Marius, however, coveted 
 the position and formed a compact with the tribune P. 
 Sulpicius Rufus, as he had earUer with Saturninus. Under 
 the leadership of Sulpicius laws were passed giving the 
 Italians access to all the tribes and assigning the command 
 of the forces acting against Mithridates to Marius. Sulla, 
 who had not yet left Italy, returned with his army ; Marius 
 fled, and the laws of Sulpicius were repealed. The power 
 of the tribune to do mischief was curtailed by a law which 
 made the preliminary approval of the senate necessary 
 before the concilium plebis could act upon a measure, and 
 probably the Servian organization of the comitia centuriata 
 was restored. Then Sufla set out for the East, leaving as 
 consuls for 87 the aristocrat Cn. Octavius and the demo- 
 cratic leader L. Cornelius Cinna. Dissensions sprang up 
 between them at once. Cinna was driven out of Rome by 
 Octavius, but, with the assistance of Marius and his vet- 
 erans, he returned and made himself master of the city. 
 The democratic party was at last instaUed in power, but 
 the record which it made was not one to be proud of. Its
 
 I04 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 leaders not only violated well-established traditions, as, 
 for instance, in admitting young Marius to the consul- 
 ship before he had reached his twentieth year, but they 
 also transgressed the essential principles of democracy in 
 advancing men to the magistracies without waiting for a 
 formal election and in substituting magisterial edicts for 
 popular legislation. Furthermore, they had no comprehen- 
 sive political programme. Sulla concluded a peace with 
 Mithridates in 85. In the spring of 83 he landed in Italy 
 with his troops, and in the autumn of 82 overcoming all 
 resistance cay)tured the city. 
 
 94. The Legislation of Sulla with reference to the Senate. 
 Sulla had himself made dictator for an indefinite period 
 with the express purpose of reforming the constitution. His 
 tendencies were naturally conservative, and these had been 
 strengthened by his observation of the results which had 
 followed the democratic government of Marius and Cinna. 
 It is not strange, therefore, that his legislation bore a 
 marked reactionary character. His primary purpose, in 
 so far as the home government was concerned, was to 
 strengthen the oligarchy, and especially the senate as the 
 official representative of that element in the community. 
 To increase its power as a law-making body, he reaffirmed 
 the principle that the preUminary approval of the senate 
 was necessary before a measure could be submitted to the 
 plebeian tribal assembly. This change robbed the tribune of 
 his power of initiating legislation and diminished the impor- 
 tance of the senate's greatest legislative rival.* He lessened 
 the influence of individual magistrates by increasing mate- 
 rially the number of praetors and quaestors and by encour- 
 aging a system of dependence on the senate. Thereby the 
 importance of the senate as an administrative body was 
 correspondingly increased. The same change released it
 
 DEMOCRACY AND NOBILITAS IO5 
 
 also from the control of the censor. The number of magis- 
 trates was henceforth large enough to fill the senate, apd 
 the censor no longer drew up the list of senators. Senators 
 were substituted for knights on the juries, and, since the 
 number and competence of the courts were greatly increased 
 (cf p. 106), the judicial duties of the senators became very 
 important. 
 
 95. The Magistracies. To protect the oligarchy against 
 the preeminence of any one man, Sulla secured a reaffirma- 
 tion of the principle that no one could be reelected to an 
 office until an interval of ten years had elapsed, and estab- 
 lished definitely the cursus honorum. The number of prae- 
 tors was increased to eight, and the number of quaestors 
 to twenty. This made the administration of the duties of 
 these offices more efficient, but at the same time decreased 
 their dignity. In the early period it had been customary 
 for magistrates to command the armies of the state during 
 their year of office. From this time on they were rarely 
 sent to a foreign post until their term of office had expired ; 
 that is, they became purely civil magistrates during their 
 first year of office, and provincial governors the second 
 year. In this way the promagisterial system was defi- 
 nitely instituted, although perhaps Sulla did not originate 
 it. It is possible that a practice already followed in many 
 cases was made the regular method of procedure after this 
 time. The importance of the tribunate he lessened by 
 taking from its incumbent the right to initiate legislation 
 (cf. p. 104), and still more effectively by providing that 
 an ex-tribune should be ineligible to any other office in the 
 state ; that is, a citizen by accepting the tribunate lost all 
 chance of further political advancement. 
 
 96. The Courts. In originaHty, permanence, and prac- 
 tical value Sulla's reform of the judicial system was perhaps
 
 I06 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 of more importance than any other change made by him. 
 He reorganized the juries, increased the number of perma- 
 nent courts, and extended the judicial system so as to include 
 many new classes of cases. Since the time of C. Gracchus 
 the juries had been composed exclusively of knights, and, 
 while the quaestio de rcpciundis, in view of its constitution, 
 had exercised a restraining influence on the rapacity of 
 senatorial governors, it had frequently been used by the 
 eqiiites to punish upright governors who had checked the 
 extortionate practices of the financial representatives of 
 the knights in the provinces. The Gracchan change in 
 the composition of the juries had been made on purely 
 political grounds. It substituted one bad method for 
 another. When Sulla restored the old practice by putting 
 senators on the juries in place of the knights, he also was 
 actuated by political motives, and the judicial system 
 in this respect was in as bad a plight as it had been 
 before. Justice could hardly be hoped for when one 
 member of a closely knit political and social organization 
 was tried before a jury made up of other members of the 
 same body. In 149, as we have already noticed, a perma- 
 nent court, the quaestio {perpettia) de repetiindis, had been 
 established for the trial of magistrates who were charged 
 with accepting bribes or otherwise unlawfully using offi- 
 cial positions for their own advantage. Somewhat later 
 another standing court had been established, the quaestio 
 de sicariis et venejicis, to take cognizance of attempts on 
 the life of citizens. Following these precedents, Sulla pro- 
 vided for criminal courts to inquire into serious attacks on 
 popular freedom, or into conduct prejudicial to the interests 
 of the state {de maiestate), forgery {de /also), the use of 
 unlawful means by candidates for office {de amhittc), and 
 embezzlement of public funds {de peculatti). By the increase
 
 DEMOCRACY AND NOBILITAS tO/ 
 
 of the number of praetors to eight, presiding judges were 
 provided for these courts, and their establishment practi- 
 cally brought to an end the criminal jurisdiction of the 
 comitia. Henceforth justice was dispensed in a speedier, 
 simpler, and surer way than had been possible before a 
 popular assembly. This change also involved differentia- 
 tion and classification of criminal offenses, and fiirnished a 
 scientific basis for the development of a complete criminal 
 code. 
 
 97. The Priesthoods. In early times new members of 
 the colleges of priests were chosen by codptation, and this 
 plan was followed up to the year 104. After that time, 
 under the operation of the lex Dojiiitia, new members 
 of the more important colleges were elected in a partial 
 assembly of the tribes. Sulla restored the earlier method 
 of selection, but in 63 the lex Domitia was put in force 
 again. 
 
 98. Pompey and the War with Sertorius. In 79 Sulla 
 resigned the dictatorship and retired into private life. He 
 thought that he had established the oligarchy firmly and 
 that he had guarded it at every point, but his own career 
 indicated a fatal weakness in the conservative position. 
 The army was henceforth arbiter of the fortunes of the 
 state. In fact, within ten years after Sulla's death, two 
 of his own lieutenants, Pompey and Crassus, used the 
 prestige which successful campaigns brought them to undo 
 a great part of his work. Pompey's success was achieved 
 in Spain ; that of Crassus in Italy itself. During the 
 ascendency of the democratic party in Rome the Marian 
 leader, Q. Sertorius, had been sent out as governor of 
 Nearer Spain, and by his personal qualities, and his abiHty 
 as a political and military leader, he had succeeded in 
 defeating the various leaders of the senatorial party, and
 
 I08 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 in making himself master of the greater part of the penin- 
 sula. He even formed an alliance with Mithridates, and 
 there seemed to be a possibility of his crossing to Italy 
 and putting the Marian party in power again. This was 
 the situation which forced the senate in 77 to give the 
 title of proconsul to Pompey, and send him out to Spain 
 with 40,000 troops, although he had not yet held even 
 the quaestorship. The war went on with varying success 
 for several years, but the reinforcements which Pompey 
 received from Italy and the treachery of the followers of 
 Sertorius at last turned the tide of battle in Pompey's 
 favor, and in 71 he was able to return victorious to Italy. 
 
 99. Crassus and the Slave War. Just as Pompey was 
 bringing the war in Spain to an end, Crassus was commis- 
 sioned to take charge of the campaign against the slaves in 
 southern Italy. The escape of a few gladiators from Capua 
 in 73 seemed an insignificant event ; but when in a few 
 months their number had increased to 70,000, and they had 
 defeated the praetors Clodius and Varinius, the Romans 
 were thoroughly frightened. In 72 both consuls took the 
 field, but were also defeated. The destruction of this dan- 
 gerous force in the following year by the praetor Crassus, in 
 a brilliant campaign of only six months, was, therefore, an 
 achievement which might well win for him the gratitude 
 and admiration of the Roman people. 
 
 100. Pompey, Crassus, and the Democracy. Both Pompey 
 and Crassus now returned to Rome to secure an election to 
 the consulship for 70 as a reward for their services in the 
 field. They found the democratic party fiercely attacking 
 the reactionary constitution of Sulla. In fact, as early as 
 78 the democratic leader Lepidus had tried as consul to 
 annul some of its provisions. That party now agreed to 
 elect Pompey and Crassus to the consulship in return for
 
 DEMOCRACY AND NOBILITAS IO9 
 
 the repeal of the most obnoxious Sullan laws ; and, thanks to 
 its support and to the presence of troops outside the gates, 
 their candidacy was successful. The new consuls loyally 
 carried out their part of the compact by removing the 
 restrictions placed on the tribunate, by providing that the 
 juries should be composed of senators, knights, and tribimi 
 aerarii, and by restoring the censorship with the right to 
 pass on the qualifications of senators. 
 
 loi. The Gabinian and Manilian Laws. For several 
 years the Cilician pirates had threatened the safety of the 
 coast towns, and had seriously interfered with commerce 
 in the Mediterranean and with the transportation of grain 
 to Rome. To meet the popular demand for a vigorous 
 policy, and to gratify Pompey's ambition for an important 
 command, A. Gabinius, a tribune, proposed in 67 that the 
 forces acting against the pirates should be put in charge 
 of one man, with absolute power extending to a distance of 
 fifty miles from the coast. The bill was carried in spite of 
 the opposition of the conservatives to the extra-constitu- 
 tional provisions which it contained, and in a second meas- 
 ure Pompey was named as commander. The war with the 
 pirates had scarcely been brought to a successful conclusion, 
 when the recall of Lucullus from the. East, and the incom- 
 petency of his successor, M'. Acilius Glabrio, gave Pompey's 
 adherents an opportunity to pass the Manilian law, which 
 conferred on him the conduct of the war against Mithridates. 
 The command which he assumed under this law removed 
 Pompey from all direct participation in politics up to the 
 close of the year 62. 
 
 102. The Conspiracy of Catiline. It is within this period 
 that the Catilinarian conspiracy falls. Looking at the polit- 
 ical side of the movement, at the outset it seems to have had 
 for its object the improvement of the condition of certain
 
 no REPUBLICAN PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 classes in Rome and throughout Italy by constitutional, 
 or at least by peaceful, methods. The repeated disappoint- 
 ments which its leaders met in the years 66-64 led to the 
 formation of a secret conspiracy, ready to use any means 
 whatsoever for the accomplishment of its purpose. At this 
 point the timid, the judicious, and in large measure the 
 respectable, supporters of the movement fell away, and its 
 further development was left in the hands of moral and 
 financial bankrupts or of honest fanatics and adventurers. 
 So, for instance, Caesar and Crassus supported Catiline and 
 his sympathizers at the outset, just as they supported every 
 promising attack on the oligarchy ; but as the incompetency 
 of the Catilinarian leaders became apparent, and their plans 
 assumed a violent character, they withdrew from a venture 
 which was sure to fail and to wreck the fortunes of those 
 concerned. The Catilinarian movement is similar in its 
 inception, in its development, in the character of its sup- 
 porters, and in its methods, to the other uprisings of the 
 party of discontent during the first century, for instance, 
 to those under Sulpicius in 88 and under Lepidus in 78. 
 It may be worth while to illustrate this fact from the case 
 of Lepidus, who, like Catiline, was an aristocrat, and had 
 personal qualities remarkably similar to those of Catiline. 
 Like Catiline he had been a follower of Sulla and had taken 
 part in the SuUan proscriptions. Like Catiline he proposed 
 radical and socialistic measures for the benefit of the honest 
 and the dishonest poor. Both men found adherents in Rome 
 among the bankrupt aristocrats, the poor freemen and 
 freedmen, and the democrats, and among the discontented 
 peasant proprietors in the country districts. In both cases 
 the rallying point of the movement outside of Rome was 
 Faesulae, a natural hotbed of agrarian agitation. The 
 leaders in each case were ready, if necessary, to resort to
 
 DEMOCRACY AND NOBILITAS III 
 
 riot and bloodshed. The plan of operations was the same 
 in the case of both movements. The rural malcontents 
 were to advance on Rome, and to be seconded by an upris- 
 ing in the city. The only essential difference between the 
 two movements lies in the fact that Lepidus at the head of 
 his Italian force succeeded in reaching the gates of Rome, 
 whereas Catiline's armed band was checked and destroyed 
 before it came to the city. On the side of the senatorial 
 party there was the same general alann, hesitation, and 
 incompetency shown in both cases. 
 
 103. Political Effect of the Catilinarian Conspiracy. The 
 revolutionary tendencies of the Catilinarian movement and 
 its suppression inflicted a severe blow on the democratic 
 party, because that party had evidently fallen into the hands 
 of desperadoes. All the forces which stood for law and order 
 were united against it, and Cicero might well pride himself 
 on the fact that the union took place under his leadership. 
 C. Gracchus had practically detached the knights from the 
 conservative party by putting the juries in their hands, and 
 the partisan way in which they conducted the trials of sen- 
 atorial governors alienated the two factions still further. 
 By depriving the knights of the privilege which they had 
 enjoyed for almost fifty years, Sulla widened the breach 
 between them and the senate. The bitterness existing 
 between the two factions can hardly have been lessened by 
 the hostility which the senate showed to the restoration of 
 the knights to a place on the juries in 70. Furthermore, 
 senatorial governors and the financial representatives of the 
 knights were continually at odds in the provinces, and the 
 equites were undoubtedly provoked at the opposition of 
 the senate to the Gabinian law. Accordingly the harmo- 
 nious action in 63 of these hitherto discordant elements 
 was a political event of great importance.
 
 112 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 104. The First Triumvirate. 'I'he senate was, in fact, so 
 elated by its success that, when Pompey returned from Asia 
 toward the close of 62, it failed to confirm his arrangements 
 or to grant suitable rewards to his veterans, and he was 
 powerless to force it to yield. The result was that when 
 Caesar returned from the propraetorship of Spain at the close 
 of the year 6 1 , he found it easy to make a private arrange- 
 ment with Pompey to their mutual advantage. Crassus, 
 too, with whom Caesar was already on good terms, was 
 induced to cast in his lot with them, and a jmvate compact, 
 commonly known as the first triumvirate, was formed be- 
 tween the three men. In the bargain it was stipulated 
 that Pompey's arrangements in Asia should be ratified, 
 that land should be assigned to his veterans, that Caesar 
 should have the consulship in 59 and a term of five years 
 as governor in Gaul, while to Crassus a future consulship 
 was promised and probably a place on the Pompeian land 
 commission, or else certain tax concessions. 
 
 105. Caesar's First Consulship. The triumvirs carried 
 out the first item in their programme by electing Caesar to 
 the consulship for 59, but Bibulus, an extreme aristocrat, was 
 his colleague. The senate rejected the agrarian measure 
 which he proposed for Pompey's benefit, but he secured its 
 passage in a more radical form in the comitia, overcoming 
 by violent means the obstacles which his colleague threw in 
 his way. Pompey's course in the East was approved, and 
 on the proposal of the tribune P. Vatinius a bill was passed 
 assigning to Caesar, for five years, from March i, 59, the 
 provinces of Cisalpine Gaul and Illyricum, \vith an army of 
 three legions, to which the senate, apparently of its own 
 motion, added Transalpine Gaul and a fourth legion, but 
 probably not for a fixed period. It is worth while to notice 
 that Caesar's governorship in Gaul began during his term of
 
 DIIMOCRACY AND NOBILITAS II3 
 
 office as consul. Perhaps this enabled him to make certain 
 arrangements for his province which could not otherwise 
 have been made. 
 
 106. Humiliation of the Senate. Caesar did not care to 
 go to his province at the end of his consulship and leave 
 affairs in Rome in the hands of two such unskilful political 
 leaders as Pompey and Crassus, until he had crushed the 
 spirit of the senate and deprived it of its most dangerous 
 leaders, Cato and Cicero. Cato was accordingly sent to 
 Cyprus on a mission which would take him from Rome, 
 and which seemed pretty sure to ruin his reputation, while 
 Clodius, an ex-patrician, who was very bitter against Cicero, 
 was allowed to become tribune for 58. Clodius prepared 
 the way for his attack on Cicero by securing the passage 
 of popular measures, which provided that grain should be 
 given gratis to the poor, that an announcement of unfa- 
 vorable auspices should not interfere with the meetings 
 of the conciliiwi plebis, and that certain clubs of a semi- 
 political character should no longer be unlawful. Then he 
 carried through two bills banishing Cicero on the ground 
 that he had put the Catilinarian conspirators to death 
 without granting them an appeal to the people. 
 
 107. Renewal of the Triumvirate. But Pompey and 
 Crassus showed themselves incapable of managing affairs at 
 Rome. Clodius terrorized the city \vith his armed bands, 
 and gratuitously affronted Pompey to such an extent that 
 he forced him to make common cause with the sena- 
 torial party to the extent of securing Cicero's recall in the 
 autumn of 57. Cicero's recall was a triumph for the opti- 
 mates. The pohtical incapacity of Pompey and rumors of 
 disagreement between the triumvirs encouraged them still 
 more, so that in April of the year 5 6 the senate took under 
 consideration a proposition to repeal the Campanian land-law
 
 114 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 of 59. This action, which was directed against both Caesar 
 and Pomj)ey, brought about an immediate renewal of the 
 compact between them and Crassus, and in accordance 
 with its terms Pompey and Crassus were elected to the 
 consulship for the following year, and, during their term of 
 office, secured the passage of laws assigning Spain to Pompey, 
 and Syria to Crassus, for five years, and prolonging Caesar's 
 proconsulship for the same period. Crassus set out for the 
 East toward the close of the year, but Pompey remained in 
 Rome. 
 
 108. Estrangement of Pompey and Caesar. The violence 
 and disorder, with their accompaniment of bribery and 
 political intrigue, which prevailed almost uninterruptedly 
 from midsummer of the year 54, reached its climax in 
 January, 52, in a riotous contest between the followers of 
 Clodius and Milo which resulted in the death of the demo- 
 cratic leader Clodius, and, as a last resort, Pompey was 
 elected sole consul in the intercalary month of this year. 
 This sudden elevation to extraordinary power completed 
 the separation of Pompey and Caesar. Pompey thought 
 himself at last in a position to crush the rival, who alone, 
 since the death of Crassus in the East, stood between him 
 and the realization of his hopes for supreme power. 
 
 109. The Question at Issue between Caesar and the Senate. 
 After assuming office Pompey secured the passage of laws 
 imposing heavier penalties for bribery and violence, and 
 prolonging his proconsulship of Spain for five years, also of 
 a lex de hire magistratuum, providing that candidates for 
 office must appear in person a certain number of days 
 before the election, and that those who had held office in 
 Rome must wait five years before taking the government 
 of a province. Caesar, however, was exempted from the 
 operation of the first clause of the lex de iure magistratuum
 
 DEMOCRACY AND NOBILITAS II5 
 
 by a special measure, and also by a provision unconstitu- 
 tionally appended to the law itself, as an afterthought, by 
 Pompey. By a lex Ponipeia Licinia of 55, as we have 
 already noticed, Caesar's term of office was extended for a 
 period of five years — probably, therefore, to March i, 49 — 
 and special legislation of the year 5 2 in his favor had allowed 
 him to sue for the consulship in 49, without personally 
 attending the canvass. His successor in the provinces 
 would not naturally begin his term of office until January i, 
 48, and, in accordance with the regular practice in such 
 cases, Caesar might count on holding his provinces until 
 that time, when he would pass directly from the provincial 
 government to the consulship at Rome, thus avoiding the 
 snares which his enemies would otherwise have set for him. 
 As early as April of the year 5 1 , however, the senate began 
 to discuss his immediate recall ; but the clever and per- 
 sistent opposition of his representatives in that body, 
 and the hesitation of Pompey, prevented matters from 
 reaching a climax until, in December, 50, the consul 
 M. Marcellus, a bitter opponent of Caesar, went to Naples, 
 and on his own motion requested Pompey to take charge 
 of the legions near Luceria and defend the state. This 
 overt act hastened the course of events. When the senate 
 met, January i, 49, Curio, Caesar's agent, presented a formal 
 ultimatum. Caesar's proposals were not accepted, and a 
 resolution was passed declaring that he would be acting 
 adversus rem pjiblkam if he did not give up his army 
 by July I, 49, while on January 7 the senatus consultum 
 jiltitnum was passed. Thereupon the tribunes Antonius 
 and Cassius, as well as Caesar's representatives, Curio and 
 Caelius, set out for his camp at Ravenna. As soon as he 
 had learned of the action of the senate, Caesar crossed 
 the Rubicon into Italy and marched toward Rome. On
 
 Il6 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 January 14 the senate passed the decretiwi tumultus, but 
 the news of Caesar's rapid advance forced Pompey, the 
 consuls, and senators to leave the city, and even the forms 
 of civil gON'ernment were given up. 
 
 110. The Conquest of the East. Some of the wars which 
 fall within the years under consideration in this chapter have 
 already been mentioned. Two great miUtary achievements 
 of this period, however, the conquest of the East and the 
 extension of Roman power to the west, call for separate 
 consideration. For sixty years after the defeat of Antiochus 
 at Magnesia (p. 85) the Romans took little active interest 
 in Asiatic politics, but when in 133 Attalus III, king of 
 Pergamum, bequeathed to them his territory, including 
 Ionia, Caria, Lydia, and Mysia, and the new province of 
 Asia was thus established, the possibilities in the East 
 appealed strongly to their political and commercial ambi- 
 tion. The weakness of the various Asiatic powers, and the 
 internal dissensions which prevailed in many states seemed 
 to hold out to the Romans the promise of an easy exten- 
 sion of territory, but the rapid development of a new power 
 on the southeastern shore of the Euxine seriously imperiled 
 their prospects. 
 
 111. The First Mithridatic War. In 121 Mithridates 
 Eupator succeeded his father on the throne of Pontus. 
 Seven years later he threw off the tutelage of his mother 
 Laodice and entered on a career of conquest, for which 
 his personal qualities and his skill as a soldier and a diplo- 
 mat eminently fitted him. In rapid succession he brought 
 under his control almost all the territory along the north 
 shore of the Euxine, Colchis and Armenia Minor, and 
 made alliances with the Scythians, Thracians, and Bastamae. 
 Then he turned his attention to Paphlagonia, Cappadocia, 
 Galatia, and Bithynia. The Romans opposed his designs in
 
 DEMOCRACY AND NOBILITAS II7 
 
 Cappadocia and Bithynia, and even induced Nicomedes III 
 of Bithynia to invade the territory of Mithridates, where- 
 upon Mithridates declared war against Rome. He rapidly 
 overran Cappadocia, Bithynia, and Asia, instigated an in- 
 discriminate slaughter of Italians in the Greek cities of 
 Asia, and then sent his general, Archelaus, through Thrace 
 into Macedonia. A fleet was also dispatched across the 
 Aegean sea. All Greece, except Aetolia and Thessaly, was 
 quickly subdued, but Sulla's arrival in Greece at the head 
 of five legions quickly changed the aspect of affairs. His 
 victories in 86 at Chaeronea and Orchomenus brought the 
 war in Greece to an end, and his quaestor, L. Licinius 
 Lucullus, collected a fleet and freed the islands in the Aegean 
 the following year. These disasters, followed by disaffection 
 in Asia Minor, induced Mithridates to sue for a peace which 
 Sulla's eagerness to return to Italy to instal his party in 
 power again made him ready to accept. By the terms of 
 the treaty which was finally arranged at Dardanus in 85, 
 Mithridates agreed to give up the acquisitions which he had 
 made since the beginning of the war, viz., Cappadocia, Paph- 
 lagonia, Galatia, Bithynia, and Asia, to pay a war indemnity 
 of 2000 talents, and to surrender seventy ships. 
 
 112. The Second and Third Mithridatic Wars. The peace 
 at Dardanus proved to be little more than a truce. Two 
 years after its conclusion hostilities were resumed between 
 Mithridates and L. Licinius Murena, Sulla's successor in 
 Asia, and, when Nicomedes III of Bithynia died in 75, 
 bequeathing his kingdom to the Roman people, Mithridates, 
 who claimed Bithynia, invaded the territory of that state 
 without hesitation, and war broke out again. On the 
 Roman side, the provinces of Cilicia and Asia and the 
 conduct of the campaign were intrusted to L. Licinius 
 Lucullus, the consul for 74, while Bithynia with command
 
 Il8 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 of the fleet was given to his colleague, M. Aurelius Cotta. 
 Mithridates easily defeated Cotta near Chalcedon, destroyed 
 the Roman fleet, and then laid siege to Cyzicus. But 
 before the city could be taken Lucullus came to its relief, 
 and Mithridates, after losing many of his troops from famine 
 and disease, was forced to raise the siege and withdraw into 
 Pontus. The rapid advance of Lucullus compelled him to 
 retire from Pontus also, and to take refuge with his son-in- 
 law, Tigranes, king of Armenia. Lucullus followed up the 
 campaign with vigor, and, when Tigranes refused to give 
 up his father-in-law, he entered Armenia, defeated him 
 near Tigranocerta in 69, and in the following year gained a 
 signal victory over the combined forces of Mithridates and 
 Tigranes. But the enemies of Lucullus in Rome, notably 
 the money-lenders and tax-gatherers, who had been embit- 
 tered by the strictness with which he had checked their 
 exorbitant demands in Asia, had for several years been 
 urging his recall, and on the eve of his final triumph 
 accomplished their purpose. He was recalled, and, by the 
 Manilian law of 66, Pompey was sent out to succeed him 
 as governor of the provinces of Bithynia and Cilicia, with 
 exceptional powers as commander-in-chief of the forces 
 in the East. The resources of Mithridates were already 
 well-nigh exhausted, and the vigorous campaign of Pompey 
 soon brought the war to an end. A crushing defeat was 
 inflicted on Mithridates on the banks of the Eujjhrates in 
 Lesser Armenia in 66, and, although the king himself 
 escaped, he was never again able to offer any effective 
 resistance to Roman arms. Three years later he com- 
 mitted suicide. Tigranes, harassed by troubles at home, 
 made his peace with Pompey. 
 
 113. The Pirates in the Mediterranean. Before taking 
 charge of the forces acting against Mithridates, Pompey had
 
 DEMOCRACY AND NOBILITAS tlQ 
 
 rendered a valuable service to Rome by ridding the Medi- 
 terranean of the pirates who had infested it for many years. 
 The number of these freebooters had been largely aug- 
 mented by those who fled from Asia to escape the severe 
 measures which Sulla adopted during his campaigns in the 
 East, so that in a short time they were strong enough to 
 terrorize the islands in the Aegean, plunder almost all the 
 sanctuaries in Greece, and estabUsh themselves securely in 
 western Cilicia. P. Servilius Isauricus, who carried on a 
 campaign against them from 78 to 74, and his successors, 
 M. Antonius and Q. Caecilius Metellus, failed to accomplish 
 permanent results, and the boldness of the pirates increased 
 to such an extent that the grain supply of Rome and the 
 safety of Italian coast towns were seriously threatened. The 
 passage of the Gabinian law in 67 was, therefore, in response 
 to the urgent popular demand for the complete suppression 
 of piracy in the Mediterranean. This measure gave Pom- 
 pey charge of the forces acting against the pirates for a 
 period of three years, and supreme control of territory on 
 the shores of the Mediterranean to a distance of fifty miles 
 from the coast. In forty days he drove the pirates out of 
 the western Mediterranean, and then captured their strong- 
 holds in Cilicia. The mild policy which he adopted after 
 their conquest, as well as the vigorous campaign which he 
 had carried on against them, effectually removed this menace 
 to Roman commerce. 
 
 1 14. The Empire in the East. In fact, the wisdom which 
 Pompey showed in his dealings with the conquered peoples 
 of the East and the thoroughness of his work of reorgani- 
 zation are as remarkable as his successes in the field. Not 
 only did his conquests extend Roman power to the Euphra- 
 tes, but the administrative arrangements which he made 
 secured permanent quiet throughout the newly acquired
 
 120 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 territory. Roman authority was henceforth recognized 
 in all parts of Asia Minor and Syria. The provincial status 
 of Asia had been finally fixed in 129. To Bithynia, which 
 Nicomedes III bequeathed to the Roman people in 74, 
 Pompey added western Pontus in 65. Cilicia, which was 
 made a province in 102, included after 64 Cilicia Campes- 
 tris, Cilicia Aspera, Pamphylia, Pisidia, Isauria, Lycaonia, 
 and a part of Phrygia. In Syria, which he made a province 
 in 64, Pompey established various free cities and principal- 
 ities under the Roman protectorate, wisely leaving time to 
 bring about that unity in administration which tradition 
 and existing political subdivisions made well-nigh impos- 
 sible at the moment. Cappadocia and Galatia were allowed 
 to retain a nominal independence under the suzerainty of 
 Rome. The ill-starred expedition of Crassus in 53 made 
 no change in the arrangements of Pompey, since the Par- 
 thians did not take advantage of their success to invade 
 the territory of Rome. 
 
 115. The Conquest of Gaul. Caesar's achievements in 
 the West between 58 and the outbreak of the Civil war in 
 49 were as noteworthy as those of Pompey in the East. 
 When he went north in the spring of 58 to take charge of 
 his three provinces, Cisalpine Gaul, Illyricum, and Trans- 
 alpine Gaul, he found two very serious questions facing 
 him. For nearly three years the Helvetii had been prepar- 
 ing to leave their old home and migrate westward into 
 Gaul. In the early part of 58 their arrangements were 
 complete, and the migration began. They had intended 
 to go through the Roman province, but by a rapid march 
 northward Caesar closed this route, forced them to pass 
 through the territory of the Sequani, ultimately inflicted a 
 crushing defeat on them near Bibracte, and forced the 
 remainder of the great host to return to its own country.
 
 DEMOCRACY AND NOBILITAS 121 
 
 The other immediate danger threatening Rome and her 
 alUes resulted from the ambitious projects of the Germans. 
 In 72 they had been invited by the Sequani to cross the 
 Rhine and assist them against their old enemies, the Aedui. 
 The invitation was accepted. But the coming of the 
 Germans proved to be more of a disaster to the Sequani 
 than to the Aedui, since a large number of them settled in 
 the territory of the Sequani and more were planning to 
 follow. The entreaties of the Aedui and the proximity of 
 the Germans to Farther Gaul induced Caesar to advance 
 against the German king Ariovistus. In a sharp, decisive 
 campaign Ariovistus was defeated and driven back across 
 the Rhine. The campaign of 57 was directed against the 
 Belgae, who were so irritated and alarmed by the presence 
 of Roman troops near their frontier that they declared war 
 and began to mass their forces to oppose the Romans. 
 The Nervii were the only Belgic tribe which made a serious 
 resistance to his progress, however, and they were subdued 
 before autumn, and the entire territory of Belgic Gaul recog- 
 nized the authority of Rome. In the year 56 Caesar built 
 a fleet, reduced the Veneti at the mouth of the Loire, 
 and subdued the Morini and the Menapii on the North 
 sea, while his lieutenant, P. Crassus, received the submission 
 of the Aquitani. The next two years were signalized by 
 two enterprises more suggestive and dramatic in their 
 character than of immediate practical value. In 55, after 
 driving out two German tribes, the Usipetes and Tencteri, 
 who had come over to the left bank of the river, the Roman 
 army crossed the Rhine for the first time, to deepen the 
 impression already made on the Germans, while in the 
 same year an armed reconnaissance was made into Britain. 
 Neither this expedition into Britain, nor the more carefully 
 planned one of the following year, produced results of value.
 
 122 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 Toward the close of the year the revolt of the Treveri, 
 Eburones, and Nervii inflicted serious loss on the Romans, 
 and for a time put Q. Cicero, the brother of the orator, in 
 great peril ; but before the close of the year the insurrection 
 was quelled for the moment. In 53, however, trouble broke 
 out afresh in the same quarter, and the entire summer was 
 needed to restore order again. Report of a general uprising 
 in the central and southern sections of Gaul obliged Caesar 
 to hurry back from Italy across the Alps in the winter of 
 53-2. He found that the leaders in the movement were 
 the Arverni and Carnutes, who had united under the 
 Arvernian chief Vercingetorix. The attempt of the Gallic 
 forces to prevent Caesar from reaching his army foiled, and 
 Vercingetorix was obliged to retire to Alesia and ultimately 
 to surrender, notwithstanding the vigorous efforts made by 
 the Gallic troops, which came to his relief, to force Caesar 
 to withdraw. After the foil of Alesia, Caesar encountered 
 no more serious resistance during his term of office as gov- 
 ernor. Roman authority was now recognized in Belgica, 
 Gallia Narbonensis, and in the districts known later as 
 Aquitania and Crallia Lugdunensis, The outbreak of the 
 Civil war, and the shortness of the interval between its 
 conclusion and his death, prevented Caesar from properly 
 organizing the newly acquired territory ; but the character 
 and the wisdom of his plans are evident from the fact that 
 he granted Roman citizenship to the Transpadane Gauls in 
 49, gave Latin rights to many other communities, and that 
 between 46 and the date of his death he sent out five new 
 colonies to points in Gaul. Everywhere, too, he sought by 
 his policy of moderation to avoid a clash between the old 
 national spirit and traditions and the new civilization. 
 
 116. The Condition of the Provinces. The form of gov- 
 ernment which Rome gave to her ])rovinces has already
 
 DEMOCRACY AND NOBILITAS 1 23 
 
 been discussed (pp. 88 ff.), but the condition in which they 
 really were was far different from that which an examination 
 of leges provinciarum would lead us to expect. The Roman 
 government and the Roman people looked at a province 
 solely as a possible source of profit to the state and the 
 individual. Care was taken, therefore, to develop the 
 material resources by improving methods of cultivation 
 and by promoting trade and building roads ; but the wel- 
 fare of the provincial was not a matter of concern, except 
 in so far as his prosperity helped to fill the pockets of gov- 
 ernment officials, of the publicani, and of the negotiatores. 
 The former were, indeed, forbidden by the lex provinciae to 
 receive presents, engage in trade, or accept favors, but the 
 possibilities were so great, and the needs of the average 
 Roman official so pressing, that few of them resisted the 
 temptation. A special court had been established in Rome 
 for the trial of such offenders, it is true, but the provincials 
 found it almost impossible to secure a conviction. As for 
 the publica?ii, the Roman system of tax farming practically 
 put a premium on extortion, and the moneyed interests 
 at Rome behind the tax-gatherers effectually checked any 
 attempts which a merciful governor might make to protect 
 the provincials, as Lucullus found to his cost. The same 
 may be said of the negotiatores, who had come into posses- 
 sion of almost all the landed property and the commercial 
 interests in the provinces, and exacted from needy individ- 
 uals and communities interest amounting in some cases, as 
 we learn from Cicero's correspondence, to 48 per cent. 
 
 117. General Political Results. The conquests of Pompey 
 and Caesar, which had brought within the sphere of Roman 
 influence the entire Mediterranean coast with the exception 
 of Egypt and Mauretania, and had extended the Roman 
 frontier to the Euphrates on the east and the Rhine on the
 
 124 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 north, could not fail to exert a reflex influence on Italy 
 itself. The economic and political changes among the 
 masses, to which earlier extensions of Roman territory had 
 given rise (pp. 77-80), were accelerated by the conquests 
 made between 66 and 49. Furthermore, the general 
 machinery of government had broken down under the 
 strain put upon it by the policy of imperialism. All the 
 great achievements of Caesar and Pompey required a viola- 
 tion of the oligarchic, or republican, tradition. This is 
 notably the case in the matter of the term of office, the 
 special powers, and the great extent of territory granted to 
 both men. The danger to the republican form of govern- 
 ment which lay in the disappearance of the middle class, 
 and in the preeminence of individuals, was aggravated by 
 the change in the composition of the army and in its rela- 
 tions to its chief. We have already had occasion to notice 
 the transformation which had taken place in the attitude 
 of the Roman soldier toward his leader (p. 64) as a result 
 of long campaigns abroad. The new spirit of implicit 
 obedience and personal allegiance which he had begun to 
 show, became still stronger in the case of soldiers drawn 
 from the provinces, as were many of Caesar's soldiers, for 
 whom the civil traditions of Rome had no existence. An 
 extended term of office in the provinces had ])ut at the 
 service of Caesar and Pompey resources greater than those 
 which the state could command, and armies which recog- 
 nized allegiance to their generals rather than to the Roman 
 government. The issue, therefore, lay not between the 
 state and one or the other of these great commanders, but 
 between these leaders themselves.
 
 DEMOCRACY AND NOBILITAS I25 
 
 Selections from the Sources 
 
 Livy, Epp. LVIII-CIX ; Plutarch, Lives of Ti. Gracchus, C 
 Gracchus, Marius, Sulla, Sertorius, Lucullus, Crassus, Pompey, 
 Cicero, Caesar ; Appian, Iberian, Numidian, Illyriatt, Miihridatic, 
 Civil Wars; Dio Cassius, XXXV-XL; Zonaras, X. 1-8; Diodorus, 
 XXXI V-XL; Velleius Paterculus, II. 2-49; ^zSSxLi.t, Histories (^x'i.^- 
 raents), Jiigurthine War, Conspiracy of Catiline; Cicero, Letters, 
 Oratio7ts ; Asconius, Commentaries ; Caesar, Gallic War. 
 
 Lex agraria Ti. Gracchi: Liv. Ep. LVIII ; Appian, B. C. I. 9; 
 Veil. II. 2.3. — Rogatio Fulvia de civitate sociis Italicis danda: Val. 
 Max. IX. 5. I. — Lex Sempronia frumentaria : Liv. Ep. LX; Schol. 
 Bob. ad Cic.pro Sest. pp. 300, 303, ed. Or. ; Cic. pro Sest. 103 ; de 
 Off. II. 72. — Leges Semproniae de provocatione : Cic. pro Rab. perd. 
 12 ; in Cat. IV. 10; in Verr. ii. 5. 163 ; pro Chietit. 151 ; Cell. X. 3; 
 Plut. C. Gracch. 4. — Lex Sempronia iudiciaria : Liv. Ep. LX ; 
 Appian, B. C. I. 22 ; Veil. II. 32. 3 ; Tac. Ann. XII. 60 ; Cic. in Verr. 
 Act. I. 38. — Lex Sempronia de provinciis consularibus : Cic. de Domo, 
 24 ; Sail. lug. 27. — Death of C. Gracchus : Liv. Ep. LXI. — Outbreak 
 of Jugurthine war: Sail. lug. 27 ff.; Liv. Ep. LXIV. — Defeat of 
 Postumius: Liv. Ep. LXIV; '$,z\\. lug. 38 f. — Close of the Jugur- 
 thine war : Liv. Ep. LXVI. — Invasion of the Cimbri : Liv. Ep. 
 LXIII; Tac. Germ. 37; Flor. III. 3. — Defeat of Silanus : IX^.Ep. 
 LXV. — Defeat of Cassius: Liv. Ep. LXV; Caes. B. G. I. 7.— 
 Battle of Arausio: Liv. Ep. LXVII ; Orosius, V. 16; Sail. lug. 
 114. — Aquae Sextiae and Campi Raudii : Liv. Ep. LXVIII ; Veil. 
 IL 12. — Lex Domitia de Sacerdotiis : Cic. De Leg. Agr. II. 16-18; 
 Veil. II. 12. 3. — Marius, consul for sixth time : Veil. II. 12. 6 ; Liv. Ep. 
 LXIX. — Lex Apuleia agraria: Appian, B. C. I. 29. — Lex Apuleia 
 frumentaria: Atict. ad Her. I. 21. — Lex Caecilia Didia: Schol. Bob. 
 ad Cic. pro Sest. p. 310, ed. Or.; Cic. de Domo, 41. — Condernnation 
 of P. Rutilius Rufus: Liv. Ep. LXX; Veil. II. 13. 2. — Leges Livlae 
 Drusi: Appian, B. C I. 35 ; Veil. II. 13; Liv. Epp. LXX-LXXI. — 
 Social war : Liv. Epp. LXXII-LXXVI, LXXX ; Appian, B. C. I. 
 39-53 ; Veil. II. 15 ff. — Lex Julia : Cic. pro Balbo, 21 ; Cell. IV. 4; 
 Appian, B. C. I. 49. — Lex Plautia Papiria : Cic. pro Arch. 7 ; Schol. 
 Bob. p. 353, ed. Or. — Lex Pompeia : Ascon. in Cic. Pis. p. 3, ed. 
 Or. — Outbreak of first Mithridatic war : Liv. Epp. LXXVII- 
 LXXVIII; Appian, Mith. 17 ff. ; Veil. II. 18. — Chaeronea:
 
 126 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 Appian, Mith. 41 ff.; Plut. Sulla, 15 ff-; Eutr. V. 6. — Orchomenus : 
 Appian, Mith. 49-50; Plut. Sulla, 20-21 ; Eutr. V. 6. — Peace of 
 Daidanus : Plut. Sulla, 22 ; Appian, Mith. 54-8 ; Liv. Ep. LXXXIII; 
 Veil. II. 23. — Marius and Sulpicius : Liv. Ep. LXXVII; Eutr. V. 
 4; Plut. Sulla, 7-10; Mar. J4-5 ; Appian, B. C. I. 55-60; Veil. 
 II. 18-19. — Cinna and Marius : Liv. Epp. LXXIX-LXXX ; Veil. II. 
 20 ff.; Plut. Mar. 41 ff.; Appian, B. C. I. 67 ff. — Sulla's return: 
 Liv. Epp. LXXXV-LXXXVIII; VWt. Sulla, 27 ff . ; Appian, B. C. 
 
 I. 79 ff. ; Veil. II. 24 ff. — Sulla, dictator: Appian, B. C. I. 98; 
 Plut. Sulla, 33; Liv. Ep. LXXXIX. — Leges Comeliae de magistra- 
 tibus : Appian,^. C. I. loo; Cic. r/iil. XI. 11; Tac. Ann. XL 22; 
 Caes. B. C. I. 32. 2. — Lex Cornelia tribunicia : Appian, B. C. I. 100; 
 Liv. Ep. LXXXIX; Cic. de Legg. III. 22; Caes. B. C. I. 5, 7. — 
 Leges Comeliae iudiciariae : Veil. II. 32 ; Tac. Ann. XI. 22 ; Cic. 
 in Pis. 50 ; pro Cluent. 148 ; in Verr. ii. i. 108; Tac. Ann. XII. 60; 
 
 — Rogatio Quinctia de abrpgandis legibus Comeliis: Plut. Luc. 5. — 
 Lex Terentia Cassia frumentaria : Cic. in Verr. ii. 3. 163 ; ii. 5. 52. — 
 
 — Sertorius murdered: Liv. Ep. XCVI ; Ores. V. 23. 13; Plut. Sert. 
 25 ff. — Spartacus defeated: Appian, B. C. I. 118 ff. ; Liv. Ep. 
 XCVII; Eutr. VI. 7. — Lex Pompeia tribunicia: Veil. II. 30; Cic. 
 in Verr. Act. I. 43-5; de Legg. III. 22, 26. — Lex Aurelia iudiciaria: 
 Ascon. in Pis. p. 16; Schol. Bob. p. 229. 17. — Outbreak of third 
 Mithridatic war: Plut. Luc. 7; Appian, B. C. I. iii. — Relief of 
 Cyzicus : Appian, Mith. 72 ff . ; Plut. Luc. 11. — Invasion of Pontus : 
 Appian, Mith. 82 ff. ; Plut. Lttc. 19 ff. — Tigranocerta : Plut. Luc. 
 25 ff. ; Appian, Mith. 84-5. — Lex Gabinia : Cic. de Imp. Cn. Pomp. 
 52 f. ; Die, XXXVI. 6-19; Plut. Pomp. 25; Veil. II. 31. — Lex 
 Manilla: Cic. de Imp. Cn. Pomp. ; Die, XXX VI. 25-6; Plut. Pomp. 
 30; Veil. II. 33. — Defeat of Mithridates : Die, XXXVI. 29-33; 
 Appian, Mith. 97-101. — Catilinarian conspiracy: Sail. Coni. Cat.; 
 Cic. Orationes in Cat.; Die, XXXVII. 29-42 ; Plut. Cic. 10-22.— 
 First triumvirate : Dio, XXXVIL 54-8; Appian, B. C. II. 9; Plut. 
 Crass. 14; Pomp. 47; Caes. 13. — Lex Julia agraria : Cic. ad Att. 
 
 II. 18. 2; Suet. lul. 20; Veil. II. 44. — Lex Vatinia de imperio 
 Caesaris: Suet. lul. 22; Schol. Bob. in Vat. p. 317; Dio, XXXVIII. 
 8. — The Helvetii : Caes. B. G. I. 1-30. — Ariovistus : Caes. B. G. 
 I- 31-54— Belgae: Caes. B. G. II. — Veneti: Caes. B. G. III. 
 7-16. — Aquitani : Caes. B. G. III. 20-27. — Usipetes and Tencteri : 
 Caes. B. G. IV. 1-15. — Second British expedition: Caes. />'. G. 
 V. 2, 5-23. — Nervii, etc.: Caes. B. G. VI. 1-8. — Verciagetorix :
 
 DEMOCRACY AND NOBILITAS 12/ 
 
 Caes. B. G. VII. — Cicero's banishment : Veil. II. 45 ; Cic. de Domo, 
 43-64 ; pro Plane. 86-90, 95-103. — His recall : Die, XXXIX. 6-1 1 ; 
 Pint. Cic. 33; Cic. ad Att. IV. i. — Renewal of triumvirate: Plut. 
 Caes. 21 ; Pomp. 51 ; Appian, B. C. II. 17 ; Suet. Jul. 24. — Crassus 
 killed: Die. XL. 25-7; Plut. Crass. 28-31. — Pompey, sole consul: 
 Veil. II. 47 ; Die, XL. 50. — Lex de iure magistratuum : Suet. Iitl. 
 28; Cic. ad Att. VIII. 3. 3; Cic. Phil. II. 24. — First overt act in 
 civil war: Die, XL. 64-6; Plut. Pomp. 58-9. — Negotiations in 
 senate : Caes. B. C. I. 1-6 ; Cic. ad Fam. XVI. 11. — Caesar marches 
 southward: Caes. B. C. I. 8 ff. ; Suet. Jul. 32 ff. ; Appian, B. C. 
 II. 35 ff. 
 
 Selected Bibliography * 
 
 W. Dnimann, Geschichte Roms, 6 Bde., Koenigsberg, 1834-44 
 
 (Bd. 1.2 Berlin, 1899). 
 G. Long, The Decline of the Roman Republic, 5 vols. London, 
 
 1864-74. 
 C. Neumann, Geschichte Roms wahrend des Verfalles der Repub- 
 
 lik, 2 Bde. Breslau, 188 1-4. 
 K. W. Nitzsch, Die Gracchen, etc. Berlin, 1847. 
 Ed. Meyer, Untersuchungen zur Geschichte der Gracchen. Halle, 
 
 1894. 
 A. H. Beesly, The Gracchi, Marius and Sulla. New York, 1893. 
 W. Strehl, M. Livius Drusus, Volkstribun 91 v. Chr. Marburg, 
 
 1887. 
 W. Forsyth, Life of M. Tullius Cicero, 2 vols. New York, 1863. 
 W. W. Fowler, Julius Caesar and the Foundation" of the Roman 
 
 Imperial System. New York, 1891. 
 J. A. Froude, Caesar. London, 1886. 
 Strachan-Davidson, Cicero and the Fall of the Roman Republic. 
 
 New York, 1894. 
 Erich Marcks, Die Ueberlieferung des Bundesgenossenkrieges 
 
 91-89 V. Chr. Marburg, 1884. 
 Th. Reinach, Mithridate Eupator, roi du Pont. Paris, 1890. 
 Th. Lau, L. Cornelius Sulla. Hamburg, 1855. 
 E. v. Stem, Catilina u. d. Parteikampfe in Rom d. Jahre 66-63 v. 
 
 Chr. Dorpat, 1883. 
 E. Beesly, Catiline, Clodius, and Tiberius. London, 1878. 
 
 * See also general bibliography on p. 22.
 
 1 28 Ki:i'UHlJCAX I'KRIOI): HISTORICAL 
 
 Ch. Merivale, The Roman Triumvirates. New York, 1S93. 
 
 Th. Mommsen, Die Rechtsfrage zwischen Casar u. dem Senat. 
 
 Breslau, 1857. 
 O. E. Schmidt, Der Briefwechsel d. M. Tullius Cicero. Leipzig, 
 
 1893. 
 H. Nissen, Der Ausbruch d. Biirgerkriegs 49 v. Chr., in von Sybel's 
 
 Hist. Zeitschr. (N.F.) VIII, 409-445, and X, 4S-105. 
 
 SUI'I'I.F.MKXTARV LlTKR.ATURK, I9OI-I9IO 
 
 Drumann-Groebe, Geschichte Roms, etc., 4 vols. Berlin, 1899 . 
 
 Greenidge and Clay, Sources for Roman History, 133-70 B.C. 
 Oxford, 1903. 
 
 Greenidge, A History of Rome during the Later Republic and Early 
 Principate, Vol. I (133-104 B.C.). New York, 1905. 
 
 Callegari, La legislazione sociale di Caio Gracco. Padua, 1896. 
 
 Fowler, Social Life at Rome in the Age of Cicero. New York, 1909. 
 
 Boissier, La conjuration de Catilina. 
 
 Salvioli, Le capitalisme dans le monde antique. Paris, 1906. 
 
 Holmes, Caesar's Conquest of Gaul. New York, 1899. 
 
 C. Jullian, Gallia : Tableau sommaire de la Gaule sous la domination 
 romaine. Paris, 1892. 
 
 Barbagallo, Le relazione politiche di Roma con I'Egitto dalle ori- 
 gin! al 50 A.c. Rome, 1901.
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 THE PERIOD OF TRANSITION 
 
 Ii8. The Period from 49 to 29 B.C. The external his- 
 tory of the Roman Empire from the outbreak of the Civil 
 war in January, 49, to the summer of 29, when Octavius 
 returned to Rome from the battle of Actium, falls into two 
 sharply marked periods. The dividing line is the assassina- 
 tion of Caesar. From the point of view of constitutional 
 development or change there is no such clear division. 
 The same elements in society and in the state which sup- 
 ported the Pompeian cause in the early part of the first 
 period were in the main arrayed against Antony and the 
 triumvirs in 43 and 42. Furthermore, the means which 
 Julius Caesar adopted to hold the power in his hands served 
 the purpose of the triumvirs so well that they did not find 
 it necessary to make many changes in the governmental 
 machinery. So far as the essential character of the gov- 
 ernment is concerned, it makes little difference whether 
 an autocrat holds the title of dictator, as Caesar did, or of 
 triumvir, as in the case of Octavius. Coijsequently, from 
 the standpoint of internal history the twenty years in 
 question form a unit. Our interest in them consists largely 
 in the fact that in this period the development of the 
 Roman constitution along certain lines, which it had been 
 following almost imperceptibly for several generations, is 
 now evident and rapid, and that Rome begins to develop 
 out of a city-state with widespread dependencies into the 
 capital of a great empire. 
 
 129
 
 13© REPUBLICAN PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 119. Campaigns in Italy, Spain, and Africa. Even if 
 Pompey was intending to make a stand in Italy after the 
 precipitate departure of the senate from Rome in January, 
 49, as many of his party supposed, the rapidity of Caesar's 
 march southward and Caesar's continued success forced 
 him to change his plan at once, and on March 17, scarcely 
 more than two months after Caesar entered Italy, the 
 Pompeian troops hastily embarked for Epirus from the 
 city of Brundisium, to which siege was already being laid. 
 Pompey's departure from Italy was unfortunate from the 
 political point of view, since it left the recognized seat of 
 government and the machinery of the state in the hands 
 of his opponent ; but on military grounds it was wise, 
 for his name was a power in the East, while Caesar 
 was unknown, and the postponement of the inevitable 
 conflict gave him the time which he needed to collect 
 and train his newly recruited forces to meet the veteran 
 legions of his enemy. Caesar felt himself unprepared to 
 follow Pompey at once, and, after a few weeks' stay in 
 Italy, crossed over to Spain, which was held for Pompey 
 by his three lieutenants, Petreius, Afranius, and Varro. 
 Petreius and Afranius occupied a well-chosen position at 
 Ilerda, and their forces were equal in number to those of 
 Caesar ; but by a clever move on his part they were cut 
 off from their supplies and forced to surrender. Varro's 
 submission soon followed, so that the Spanish campaign 
 was brought to an end within a month and a half after 
 Caesar's arrival in the peninsula. The expedition which 
 his representative, C. Curio, conducted into Africa at 
 the same time did not meet with a like success. The 
 complete destruction of Curio's two legions of raw troops 
 by King Juba, and his subsecjuent suicide, offset in some 
 measure the Pompeian losses in Spain.
 
 THE PERIOD OF TRANSITION 131 
 
 120. The Campaign in Epirus. The breathing space 
 which Caesar's camiDaign gave him Pompey used to great 
 advantage in collecting troops and supplies. In the spring 
 of 48 the army of 30,000 which he had brought over to 
 Epirus had grown to nine legions, supported by a large 
 body of auxiliaries and a strong fleet. To them Caesar 
 could oppose the six legions with which he made a success- 
 ful landing at Oricum in Epirus in November, 49, and the 
 four legions which M. Antonius brought him in April of the 
 following year by the way of Lissus. Caesar's legions were 
 depleted by sickness and long campaigns, however, so that, 
 although his troops were more experienced than those of 
 Pompey, they were numerically far inferior to the opposing 
 force. Caesar placed his army between Dyrrachium and 
 Pompey's camp, and at once began offensive operations in 
 the hope of shutting Pompey in ; but the Pompeian forces 
 broke through his lines and inflicted upon him so severe 
 a loss that later, when Caesar advanced into Thessaly, 
 Pompey followed him and was induced by his over-confi- 
 dent advisers to risk a battle at Pharsalus on August 9, 48. 
 The battle resulted in a complete defeat for the Pompeians, 
 and Pompey himself, who fled for safety to Egypt, was put 
 to death by the orders of King Ptolemy as he was landing 
 at Pelusium. 
 
 121. Campaigns in Egypt, Asia Minor, and Africa. In 
 the autumn of 48 Caesar followed Pompey to Egypt, 
 but, on hearing of his death, occupied himself with the 
 settlement of Egyptian affairs. Ptolemy Auletes, the late 
 sovereign, had left the kingdom to his two oldest children, 
 Ptolemy and Cleopatra, but Cleopatra had been dispossessed 
 by her brother. Caesar's rather arrogant attempt to enforce 
 an understanding aroused the anger of the Egyptians, and 
 put him in such a perilous position that only the timely
 
 132 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 arrival of reinforcements under Mithridates of Pergamum 
 saved his army from destruction. The settlement of politi- 
 cal affairs and the charms of Cleopatra held him in Egypt 
 until the late spring of 47, when the defeat in Armenia 
 Minor of his lieutenant, Calvinus, and the rapid develop- 
 ment of the ambitious projects of Pharnaces, the son of 
 Mithridates Eupator, made his presence in the East neces- 
 sary. Pharnaces sought delay, but Caesar forced an engage- 
 ment at Zela, August 2, and completely defeated him. The 
 disaffection among the troops in Italy who were being levied 
 for a campaign in Africa led Caesar to return to Rome in 
 September. The mutinous soldiers were soon brought 
 under control by his personal influence, and in December 
 he landed with them near Hadrumetum, defeated the 
 Pom])eians at Thapsus, April 6, 46, and captured Utica 
 soon after, notwithstanding Cato's vigorous efforts to 
 defend it. Juba was conquered by the old Catilinarian 
 leader, P. Sittius ; his kingdom of Numidia was made a 
 Roman province, and the Pompeian power in Africa was 
 completely broken. 
 
 122. Second Spanish Campaign. On his return to Rome 
 in July he found time at last to put the government of 
 Italy on a more secure basis, and to introduce some much- 
 needed political and economic reforms. In the three 
 years which had elapsed since the battle of Ilerda the 
 Pompeian cause had made great headway in Spain. Their 
 forces had lately been largely increased by the arrival 
 of fugitives from Africa, and Caesar's representative, 
 C. Trebonius, was no match for them. Caesar's plans for 
 making comprehensive changes in the government of Italy 
 were, therefore, cut short by the necessity of recovering 
 the ground which had been lost in Spain. He left Rome 
 in the early part of November for this purpose, and,
 
 THE PERIOD OF TRANSITION 1 33 
 
 although he found thirteen Pompeian legions opposed to 
 the eight legions which he had brought with him, he boldly 
 attacked the enemy at Munda, March 17, 45, and inflicted 
 a crushing defeat upon them. 
 
 123. Caesar's Assassination. After his return to the city 
 Caesar occupied himself partly with various administrative 
 reforms, but mainly in making preparations for a great 
 expedition against the Parthians. His plans, however, 
 were brought to a tragic end by his assassination on the 
 Ides of March, 44. The conspirators were actuated by 
 personal and by political motives. Many of them were 
 jealous of Caesar, or dissatisfied with the recognition they 
 had received from him. Many members of the senate 
 (for about sixty senators took part in the conspiracy) were 
 aggrieved at the loss of power and prestige which that 
 body had suffered at his hands. Their smouldering dis- 
 content was kindled into flame by the new powers and 
 honors conferred on Caesar in the early part of 44, and by 
 the rumors, which were current, that he would be made 
 king and would transfer the seat of government to Alex- 
 andria. That the feeling of discontent, out of which the 
 conspiracy sprung, was vague, and that the conspirators 
 lacked a definite plan or purpose is plain from the sub- 
 sequent course of events. 
 
 124. Caesar's Policy. The work which Caesar had set 
 himself to do after the battle of Pharsalus, and which was 
 left unfinished at his death, was threefold. He wished to 
 suppress within the Roman territory all armed resistance 
 to a central authority, to establish in Rome a permanent 
 government strong enough to carry out a positive policy in 
 spite of all opposition, and finally to knit together all parts 
 of the Roman Empire. We have already seen the steps 
 which he took to accomplish the first-mentioned object.
 
 134 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 To cany out the rest of his plan it was essential that his 
 control of all the functions of government should be undis- 
 puted. In 44, after Caesar's death, the dictatorship which 
 he had held for several years was characterized by Cicero 
 as one quae iam vim regiae potestatis obsederat, and it is 
 highly probable that during the last years of his Hfe Caesar 
 did take into his hands all those powers which in their 
 natural development gave Augustus and his successors their 
 exalted position. He secured his supremacy in the state 
 partly by increasing his own power, partly by diminishing 
 the influence of other factors in the government. He 
 increased his own power directly by securing for himself 
 important magistracies, often with special prerogatives. 
 He accomplished the same object indirectly by controlling 
 the nomination of candidates, by placing a large number of 
 his own supporters in the senate, and by preventing hostile 
 measures from being brought before the popular assemblies. 
 125. His Offices and Titles. The sources of our informa- 
 tion are not precise and detailed enough to enable us to 
 determine the exact position which Caesar held in the 
 state. His constitutional power seems to have depended 
 largely, however, on the fact that he held the dictatorship, 
 tribunate, and, perhaps alternately, the consulship and pro- 
 consulship. Shortly after his first victory in Spain he was 
 nominated dictator by the praetor, M. Lepidus, under a 
 special law authorizing the establishment of that magistracy. 
 This position he held for a few days only, but in the 
 autumn of 48 he was again chosen to the same office, 
 apparently for an undefined period. In 46, after the 
 battle of Thapsus, he received the dictatorship for ten 
 years, and in 44 for life. Caesar's position as dictator was 
 ])robably like that of Sulla, and, therefore, differed in two 
 important jxirticulars from the traditional magistracy. His
 
 THE PERIOD OF TRANSITION 1 35 
 
 functions covered a wider field than those of the histori- 
 cal dictator did, and his term of office was much longer 
 (cf. pp. 183, 218). In 48 the tribunician power was given 
 to him for life. From the positive point of view this 
 enabled him to interpose a veto and to convoke the 
 plebeian assembly, and made his person inviolable. On 
 the negative side he hoped that his assumption of this 
 office, and the control which he exercised over the nomi- 
 nation of other members of the college, would protect him 
 against serious interference with his plans. This hope was 
 not always realized. On more than one occasion some 
 member of the college asserted his independence, and 
 once Caesar was obliged to resort to the theory of popular 
 sovereignty which Tiberius Gracchus had applied in the 
 case of Octavius (cf. pp. 95 f.). The offending tribunes in 
 this case, C. Epidius MaruUus and L. Caesetius Flavus, 
 were brought before the senate, and on Caesar's complaint 
 were divested of office. This drastic proceeding probably 
 checked for the future any hostile action on the part of 
 members of the college. Caesar did not use the title of 
 tribune, however, in official documents, as his imperial 
 successors did. On several occasions he was regularly 
 elected to the consulship and performed the duties of 
 that office, and it is quite probable that he was invested 
 with the pro-consular power, so that, when he was not in 
 office as consul, he acted pro cofisule. This conclusion has 
 been drawn, at least, with great plausibility, from the fact 
 that on an important document he bears the titles dictator 
 consul prove consule. The praefectura morum, which he 
 created and held in 46, was new only in name. Its 
 functions were similar to those of the earlier censorship. 
 From the battle of Munda up to the close of his life 
 honors were heaped on him in profusion. He was given
 
 136 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 the titles parais patriae and imperator for life. The latter 
 ordinarily appears in official documents immediately after 
 his cognomen, and was made an hereditary title. Coins 
 bore his likeness, and the right was i)robably granted him 
 to express his opinion first in the senate. 
 
 126. Changes in Magisterial Functions. Some changes 
 were intentionally made in the functions of certain magis- 
 trates, or were the result of circumstances. Attention has 
 already been called to the fact that Caesar's dictatorshij) 
 was not that of the early republic, but was similar to 
 Sulla's ; that in 44 he was chosen permanently to this office 
 and given the tribunician power for life, whereas under the 
 old constitution the dictator and tribune had held office 
 for six months and a year respectively. Furthermore, the 
 judicial functions which Caesar exercised in criminal cases, 
 like that of Ligarius, did not belong to the republican dic- 
 tatorship. The magister cquitwn and praefcdus itrbi play a 
 more important part from 49 to 44 than they do in any 
 other period of Roman history, but their significance comes 
 solely from the fact that the dictator was frequently absent 
 from Italy and his ]K)vver was exercised by these officials as 
 his representatives, in this connection the law of 46 may 
 be mentioned, which limited the term of office for gov- 
 ernors in praetorian ]:>rovinces to one year, in consular 
 provinces to two years. Caesar's purpose in making this 
 regulation was evidently to guard against a possible rival. 
 
 127. Increase in the Size of Magisterial Colleges. "J'he 
 increase which he made in the size of certain colleges of 
 magistrates was justified by the need of additional adminis- 
 trative officers. It also gave Caesar an opportunity to 
 reward some of his political followers, and incidentally 
 exalted his own position by decreasing the importance of 
 the individual members of the colleges affected. Thus the
 
 THE PERIOD OF TRANSITION 1 37 
 
 number of praetors was first raised from eight to ten, then 
 to fourteen, and finally to sixteen, while the number of 
 quaestors was increased to forty. The establishment of the 
 office of aedilis cerialis with its two incumbents, and the 
 addition of a member to the college of the /// viri capi- 
 tales and the /// viri monetales were probably dictated by 
 administrative considerations only. 
 
 128. Method of choosing Magistrates and Terms of Office. 
 To protect his interests at Rome during his absence on the 
 projected Parthian campaign, Caesar secured the passage 
 of a law which allowed him to name all the magistrates 
 for 43, as well as the consuls and tribunes for 42. This 
 measure would make the magistrates for the immediate 
 future official representatives of the dictator, and would at 
 the same time lessen the importance of the popular elec- 
 toral bodies. In the case of the consulship he introduced 
 an innovation of great importance. In October, 45, he 
 resigned that office, which he had held without a colleague, 
 and had two successors elected for the rest of the year. In 
 taking this step Caesar was restoring the traditional con- 
 sulship, since the constitution did not recognize a single 
 consul without a colleague. In a way, however, he was 
 establishing a precedent for the imperial system of consules 
 suffecti, and six years later, following this precedent, as it 
 were, the triumvirs, when holding the consular elections for 
 34-1, had terms of less than a year indicated for the vari- 
 ous candidates at the time of the election, and the Fasti of 
 the year 33 give the names of eight consuls. 
 
 129. The Senate and People. The senate was reduced 
 in number to such an extent by the Civil war, that imme- 
 diately after his return to Rome in 47 Caesar made numer- 
 ous additions to it, and two years later raised the number 
 of its members to 900. This change robbed the nobilitas
 
 138 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 in large measure of its prestige and made the senate sub- 
 servient to his wishes. As for the people, they met as 
 before in the comitia, but the selection of candidates for 
 office by Caesar, and the fact that he alone was directly or 
 indirectly the author of all bills laid before them, made the 
 meeting of the comitia largely a matter of form. He sought 
 to relieve the congested condition of Rome, and to prevent 
 the idle from flocking thither, by founding colonies, and 
 by carefully regulating the list of those who received free 
 supplies of grain. As a result of the census of 46, the 
 number of these beneficiaries was reduced from 320,000 to 
 150,000. 
 
 130. Italy and the Provinces. But the plans of Caesar 
 were not limited to the city of Rome. They embraced all 
 Italy and the provinces. A year before his death he drew 
 up the lex lulia municipalis, a charter for all the Italian 
 municipalities, which gave them their own popular assem- 
 blies, senates, magistrates, and courts. To many cities in 
 Sicily and Gallia Narbonensis Latin rights were given, and, 
 what was of still more importance, provincial governors 
 were appointed by Caesar. Hitherto each one of the 
 provinces had been practically a principality which the 
 Roman governor used to fill his pocket or to advance his 
 political fortunes. The interests of the provincials and of 
 the home government were alike held in light esteem. 
 Under Caesar's regime a governor felt his subordination 
 to a central authority, and knew that he was responsible 
 to a man who regarded each i)rovince as an integral part 
 of the empire. 
 
 I 131. Course of Events after Caesar's Death. After 
 Caesar's death both his friends and the conspirators waited 
 in great suspense for some move on the part of the oppos- 
 ing faction, as well as for some indication of the attitude of
 
 THE PERIOD OF TRANSITION 1 39 
 
 the Roman populace. M. Lepidus, who had been Caesar's 
 viagister equiticm, was the first to adopt a positive course. 
 He moved his troops into the city and thus gave a tactical 
 advantage to the Caesarians. The consul Antony strength- 
 ened their position still further by securing possession of 
 Caesar's papers and of the state treasure in the temple of 
 Ops. But both parties were ready for the compromise, 
 adopted by the senate March 17, which confirmed the 
 arrangements of Caesar, but provided that no investigation 
 should be made into the circumstances of his death. On 
 the basis of this action Antony laid directly before the 
 popular assembly a series of bills which he found, or which 
 he claimed to have found, among the papers of Caesar. 
 Furthermore, on the pretext that his safety was endangered 
 by disturbances in the city, he secured a bodyguard of 
 several thousand men. A systematic effort was made also 
 to win the favor of the veterans living in Italy. The sup- 
 port of his colleague, Dolabella, was secured by obtaining for 
 him the province of Syria. He had the province of Mace- 
 donia assigned to himself at first, with control of the legions 
 which Caesar had collected for the Parthian war ; but, feel- 
 ing that it would be better for him to be nearer Rome, he 
 had the popular assembly take Cisalpine Gaul from D. 
 Brutus, to whom it had been assigned, and give it to him. 
 Somewhat later the Macedonian legions were also placed 
 under his command. 
 
 132. Octavius. The arrival in Italy of Octavius, Caesar's 
 grand nephew, a young man in his nineteenth year, whom 
 the dictator had adopted and made his heir, seemed likely 
 to give affairs an unexpected turn. The deferential man- 
 ner which Octavius assumed toward certain senatorial 
 leaders on the one hand, and on the other hand his gener- 
 ous treatment of Caesar's followers, and the fact that he
 
 I40 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 bore their great leader's name, won for him at the same 
 time the respectful consideration of senators and the enthu- 
 siastic support of many Caesarians. Antony appreciated 
 how dangerous a rival he might become and tried to thwart 
 his plans at every point, but Caesar's veterans forced a 
 reconciliation between their two leaders. 
 
 133. The Liberatores. Meanwhile the liberatores, as 
 Cicero styled the conspirators, were without a plan and 
 ^vithout leaders. M. Brutus and Cassius thought it wise to 
 withdraw from the city. Cicero despondently set out for 
 Greece, and the other senatorial leaders gave little effective 
 support to the old regime. In September the Macedonian 
 troops arrived in Italy, but Octavius found means to detach 
 so many of them from Antony's service that two months 
 later Antony, for fear of losing the rest, hastily set out for 
 Gallia Cisalpina with his bodyguard and the three legions 
 which remained loyal to him. 
 
 134. The War about Mutina. W'xih. the departure of 
 Antony from Rome the senate began to assert itself once 
 more. Under the leadership of Cicero, who attacked 
 Antony vigorously in his Philippic orations, the senate was 
 induced to invest Octavius with the i7?ipcrium, and to com- 
 mission him, in cooperation with the consuls of 43, to con- 
 duct the war against Antony. Acting under this authority, 
 in the early part of 43 Octavius set out from Rome with 
 Hirtius, one of the consuls, to relieve D. Brutus, while Pansa, 
 the other consul, followed in March with four legions of 
 recruits. After some preliminary skirmishing, in which 
 Antony gained the advantage, a decisive battle was fought 
 near Mutina, April 21, in which his army was completely 
 defeated. But the victory was dearly bought. Hirtius fell 
 on the field of battle and Pansa was mortally wounded, 
 dying two days later. The command of the forces acting
 
 THE PERIOD OF TRANSITION 141 
 
 against Antony was assigned to D. Brutus. Octavius, who 
 had good reason to feel aggrieved at this slight, withdrew 
 from further participation in the struggle, and marched 
 to Rome at the head of eight legions, demanding the con- 
 sulship. There was no means at hand to withstand him, 
 and August 19 he was elected consul. Meanwhile, in the 
 North Antony was strengthened by the accession of Lepi- 
 dus, governor of southern Gaul, of Plancus, who had charge 
 of northern Gaul, and of Pollio, with troops from Spain. 
 D. Brutus was deserted by his troops, and while seeking to 
 escape was murdered at Aquileia. 
 
 135. The Second Triumvirate. In October Octavius 
 went north, and held a conference with Antony and Lepi- 
 dus at Bononia, which resulted in the formation of a com- 
 pact for the adjustment of affairs in Italy and for the 
 prosecution of the war in the East against M. Brutus and 
 Cassius ; and in November, by a vote of the tribal assembly, 
 Antony, Lepidus, and Octavius were made /// viri rei 
 publicae constituendae for a period of five years. The second 
 triumvirate was, therefore, distinguished from the first by 
 the fact that it rested on a legal basis, while the compact 
 which Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus had formed was purely 
 a private arrangement. The triumvirs of 43 adopted the 
 principle of coUegiality on its positive but not on its neg- 
 ative side. All three members were at all times vested with 
 the full power of their office, but the possibility of interpos- 
 ing a veto was not recognized. In so far as its exercise of 
 executive and legislative powers was concerned, the second 
 triumvirate differs little from Caesar's dictatorship. The 
 magistracies, the senate, and popular assemblies were all 
 directly or indirectly under the control of the new officials. 
 In Rome and Italy the triumvirs were confronted with the 
 problem of establishing a new re'gime and of maintaining
 
 142 REPUBLICAN TERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 order, of i)unishing certain republican leaders, levying 
 troops, and apportioning suitable rewards to the veterans. 
 Outside of Italy there were still more urgent matters, 
 notably the task of bringing the provinces under their con- 
 trol and of prosecuting the war against M. Brutus and 
 Cassius. Their return to Rome was followed by a reign of 
 terror which rivaled that of Sulla. Cicero was one of the 
 early victims of their fury. In reaching an agreement for 
 the government of Italy and the provinces no immediate 
 difficulty was experienced. The several provinces were 
 assigned to the individual members of the triumvirate and 
 their followers, while the administration of affairs in Italy 
 and the war in the East were left to the joint direction of 
 all three triumvirs. 
 
 136. The Battle of Philippi. The situation in the East 
 called for immediate attention. In the early part of 43 
 M. Brutus entered Macedonia and was recognized as its 
 legal governor by his jDredecessor, Q. Hortensius. Cassius 
 also took possession of his province, Syria. Both of them 
 succeeded in levying large bodies of troops, and C. Antonius, 
 the brother of Marcus, and Dolabella, who had come out 
 to take possession of Macedonia and Syria respectively, by 
 virtue of measures whose passage Antony had secured, were 
 disastrously defeated. The two re]iublican leaders met at 
 Sardis, and with nineteen legions of foot soldiers and 20,000 
 horsemen advanced to Philipi)i in the autumn of 42. Over 
 against them lay the army of the triumvirs, of about the 
 same size. Two battles followed. In the first the forces 
 under Cassius were defeated by Antony, and Cassius com- 
 mitted suicide, Brutus, however, gained a victory over 
 the troops of Octavius. In the second battle, which his 
 troops forced him to fight against his judgment, he was 
 defeated and took his own life.
 
 THE PERIOD OF TRANSITION 143 
 
 137. The Movements of the Triumvirs. Lepidus was 
 suspected of being disloyal to his colleagues, and, in the 
 division of territory after the battle of Philippi, Spain and 
 Gallia Narbonensis, which had been placed under his con- 
 trol, were taken from him ; but later, on grounds of expedi- 
 ency, Octavius thought it wise to allot Africa to him. From 
 this time forth, however, Lepidus played a subordinate part 
 in the triumvirate. Antony remained in the East. At 
 Tarsus he met Cleopatra, who came to explain her con- 
 duct during the war, and accompanied her to Egypt. To 
 Octavius in Italy fell the hardest task. 
 
 138. The Perusian War and the Peace of Brundisium. 
 Nearly 200,000 veterans were demanding the land which 
 had been promised to them. High taxes, the scarcity of 
 food, and the confiscation of land for the soldiers devel- 
 oped a spirit of discontent. L. Antonius the brother, and 
 Fulvia the wife, of the triumvir, put themselves at the head 
 of the disaffected. All efforts at reconciliation proved fruit- 
 less, and civil war followed. L. Antonius was soon shut up in 
 Perusia, however, and after a long siege was forced to yield. 
 After the surrender of Perusia, Fulvia hurried to her hus- 
 band for help. A number of circumstances induced Antony 
 to listen to her appeals and to take an active part in the 
 management of Italy. One thing especially that influenced 
 him to adopt this course was the fact that Octavius had 
 taken possession of Gallia Narbonensis, because of the help 
 which its governor had given L. Antonius. This province 
 had been allotted to Antony, and its acquisition by Octavius 
 made the latter master of the entire West. The time for 
 action seemed a favorable one to Antony, since he had 
 secured the support of Sextus Pompeius, whose fleet con- 
 trolled the Mediterranean. He appeared before Brundisium, 
 therefore, in the summer of 40, and civil war seemed
 
 144 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 imminent ; but the mediation of Octavius's friends, Cocceius 
 Nerva and Maecenas, and of Asinius Pollio, who repre- 
 sented Antony, as well as the strong stand which the 
 legionaries took in favor of peace, brought about a recon- 
 ciliation between the rivals. The need which Antony felt 
 of Italian reinforcements for the Parthian war also induced 
 him to listen to proposals of peace. 
 
 139. War with Sextus Pompeius and the Retirement of 
 Lepidus. As for Octavius, the prospect of carr)-ing on a 
 war against the combined forces of Antony and Sextus 
 Pompeius may well have alarmed him. In fact, Pompeius 
 had made himself master of the Mediterranean, and, by 
 interfering with the transportation of grain, had Rome and 
 Italy in his power, in a measure. It was this state of things 
 which forced Octavius in 39 to recognize formally the 
 demands of Sextus Pompeius. His claim to the islands of 
 Sicily and Sardinia was confirmed; he received compen- 
 sation for the loss of his father's property, and a consulship 
 in the future was promised to him. But Octavius felt that 
 his own position was a precarious one so long as Sextus 
 Pompeius controlled the Mediterranean. The treachery 
 of Menodorus, one of the fleet commanders of Pompeius, 
 put Sardinia in his power. Thereupon war broke out at 
 once. A misunderstanding with Antony seemed likely to 
 involve Octavius in still greater difficulty, but fortunately 
 a reconciliation was effected at Tarentum in 37 through the 
 mediation of Octavia, the wife of Antony and sister of 
 Octavius, and Antony as well as Lepidus sent a fleet to help 
 Octavius. Sextus Pompeius was defeated at Naulochus in 
 36, and fled to Asia. His forces surrendered themselves to 
 Lepidus, who thereupon took possession of Sicily, and 
 showed signs of an intention to regain his influence in 
 the triumvirate. His success was short-lived, however.
 
 THE PERIOD OF TRANSITION 145 
 
 Octavius won over his troops, and Lepidus was deprived of 
 his provinces and forced into retirement. The result of this 
 war was of immense importance to Octavius. He had rid 
 himself of a rival who threatened his supremacy in the 
 West; he had removed the danger of famine in Italy — a 
 most prolific cause of discontent in the peninsula — and 
 he had made himself master of the provinces and of the 
 forces of Lepidus. 
 
 140. Estrangement of Octavius and Antony. The en- 
 forced retirement of Lepidus from the triumvirate doubtless 
 intensified the rivalry between Octavius and Antony, just 
 as the death of Crassus had made the conflict between 
 Caesar and Pompey inevitable. Antony resented in par- 
 ticular the acquisition by Octavius of Sicily and of the 
 provinces which had belonged to Lepidus. On the other 
 hand, Antony's relations with Cleopatra and his plans 
 in the Orient excited suspicion and hostility at Rome. 
 Egypt, Cyrene, Cyprus, and portions of Crete and Cilicia 
 were placed under her control. Only Asia and Bithynia 
 retained the character of Roman provinces. In fact, there 
 was some reason for believing that Antony was planning 
 the estabUshment of a great rival power in the East with 
 Alexandria for its capital. The feeling which this suspicion 
 excited was intensified when the contents of Antony's will 
 were revealed by some of his former friends, and it became 
 known that the assignment of territory to Cleopatra was 
 therein confirmed. Antony's neglect of Octavia, and the 
 fact that he divorced her in 32, played no small part in 
 stirring the anger of the people. The policy of Octavius 
 was as well adapted to win the gratitude of the Italians as 
 that of Antony had tended to estrange them. The sup- 
 pression of the piratical enterprises of Sextus Pompeius in 
 the Mediterranean, the lightening of the taxes, and the
 
 146 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 restoration of order in Italy, largely through the efforts of 
 Maecenas, and the far-reaching improvements which Agrippa 
 effected in Rome had won for Octavius the sympathy and 
 support of all classes in the peninsula. 
 
 During the years 35-3 Octavius was engaged in a 
 campaign against the Illyrians, who had taken advantage 
 of the disturbed condition of Italy to make incursions into 
 the peninsula. These peoples, as well as the Dalmatians, 
 were conquered, and points of great strategical and com- 
 mercial importance in Pannonia were occupied. Antony, 
 in the meantime, was carrying on operations in Armenia 
 and Media as a sequel to the war which he had been 
 unsuccessfully waging against the Parthians ever since the 
 year 40. 
 
 141. Outbreak of the War. At the close of the year 
 33 both of them were free from other complications, and 
 the election of two of Antony's supporters to the consul- 
 ship for the following year precipitated the conflict. The 
 attacks which the new consuls made on the policy of 
 Octavius in taking possession of Sicily and Africa were 
 without effect, and they left the city to go to Antony. 
 Adopting the policy which his great leader had proposed 
 in the year 50, Antony offered to give up his exceptional 
 powers if Octavius would adopt the same course ; but 
 Octavius had forestalled his action by deposing him from 
 his position as triumvir, and the war which followed was tech- 
 nically waged, not against Antony, but against Cleopatra, 
 
 142. Battle of Actium and Death of Antony. During 
 the year 32 Antony and Cleopatra collected a force of 
 more than 100,000 men and 500 ships. The fleet and 
 army of Octavius crossed from Bnmdisium in the spring 
 of 31, and the two armies lay encamped .near one another 
 for several months. The issue was decided by a naval battle
 
 THE PERIOD OF TRANSITION 1 47 
 
 near Actiuni, September 2, 31. The fleet of Antony and 
 Cleopatra was deserted by its leaders and forced to sur- 
 render, and after the battle the opposing army went over 
 to Octavius. Antony and Cleopatra fled to Egypt. Octa- 
 vius followed them thither a year later, and when Alexandria 
 had fallen into his hands and they had learned that he 
 would show them no mercy, they both took their own 
 lives. Egypt came under the personal control of Octavius. 
 The latter returned to Italy in the summer of 29, after set- 
 tling certain affairs in the Orient, and concluding a peace 
 with the Parthians. 
 
 Selections from the Sources 
 
 Caesar becomes master of Italy : Caes. B. C. I. 7-29 ; Cic. ad 
 Ait. Bks. VII-IX; ad Fam. Bks. XIV, XVI (passim); Plut. 
 Caes. 32-5 ; Pomp. 60-62 ; Appian, B. C. II. 35-8. — First Spanish 
 campaign: Caes. B. C. I. 37-55, 59-87; II. 17-21 ; Cic. ad Att. 
 X. 12a. 3. — Defeat of Curio: Caes. B. C. II. 23-44. — Pharsalus : 
 Caes. B. C. III. 84-99 ; Appian, B. C. II. 75-82 ; Plut. Caes. 42-6.— 
 Pompey's death : Caes. B. C. III. 96, 102-4 ; Appian, B. C. II. 81, 
 83-6; Plut. Pomp. 77-80; Die, XLII. 3-5. — Events in Egypt: 
 Caes. B. C. III. 106-112; Bell. Alex. 1-33; Appian, B. C. II. 
 89-90; Plut. Caes. 48-9; Die, XLII. 7-9, 34-44. — Zela : Appian, 
 B. C. II. 91; Plut. Caes. 50. — African campaign: Bell. Afr. ; 
 Appian, B. C. II. 95-100; Plut. Caes. 52-4; Cato, 56-73; Dio, 
 XLIII. 2-13. — Second Spanish campaign: Bell. Hisp. ; Appian, 
 B. C. II. 103-5; P'ut- Caes. 56; Dio, XLIII. 28-40. — Caesar's 
 death: Appian, B. C. II. 111-117; Plut. Caes. 60-69; Brut. 14-17; 
 Suet. lul. 80-89; Veil. II. 56; Dio, XLIV. 9-19. — Caesar's dicta- 
 torships: Caes. B. C. II. 21. 5 (cf. III. 2. i); Appian, B. C. II. 48; 
 Dio, XLII. 20; Plut. Caes. 51; Cic. ad Fam. IX. 15. 4-5; Dio, 
 XLIII. 14; Suet. lul. 76; Appian, B. C. II. 106; Plut. Caes. 57; 
 Dio, XLIV. 8; XLVI. 17. — Caesar's tribunate: Dio, XLII. 20. 
 — Title of imperator : Dio, XLIII. 44; Suet. lul. 76. — Praefectus 
 morum : Dio, XLIV. 5; Suet. hil. 76. — Praetorian governors, i yr., 
 consular governors, 2 yrs. : Cic. Phil. I. 19; V. 7; VIII. 28. —
 
 148 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 16 praetors, 40 quaestors: Dio, XLIII. 47, 49, 51 ; Suet. Iiil. 41. — 
 Power to nominate: Dio, XLIII. 47, 51 ; Cic. Phil. II. 80; Appian, 
 B. C. II. 12S; Suet. Jul. 76. — 900 senators: Dio, XLIII. 47. — 
 Bestowal of Latin rights: Cic. ad Ait. XIV. 12. i ; Tac. Ann. XI. 24. 
 
 — Appointment of provincial governors: Dio, XLII. 20. — Consules 
 suffecti: Dio, XLIII. 46. — Seizure of Caesar's papers and treas- 
 ure: Cic. Phil. I. 17; II. 93 ; Appian, B. C. II. 125. — Meeting of 
 senate, March 17: Appian, B. C II. 135-6; Dio, XLIV. 22-34; 
 Cic. JViil. I. I f. ; I. 31 f. ; Veil. II. 58. — Antony acquires Cis- 
 alpine Gaul: Cic. ad Alt. XIV. 14. 4; Appian, B. C. III. 27-30; 
 Veil. II. 60; Appian, B. C. III. 55. — Octavius comes slowly to 
 Rome: Cvc.ad Alt. XIV. 5. 3; ibid. 10. 3; XV. 2. 3; Appian, B. C. 
 III. 9-23; Dio, XLV. 1-4. — His relations to Antony: Appian, B. C. 
 III. 28-45; Dio, XLV. 5-9; ibid. 11-15; Suet. Aug. 10. — Antony 
 marches north: Cic. Phil. III. i ; V. 24; Appian, B. C. III. 46. — 
 Battle near Mutina : Appian,^. C. III. 66-72; Dio, XLVI. t,-j. — 
 Lepidus joins Antony : Cic. ad Fa7n. X. 23. 2 ; Appian, B. C. III. 
 83-4. — Pollio and Plancus join Antony : Appian, B. C. III. 97 ; Dio, 
 XLVI. 53; Veil. II. 63. — Octavius is elected consul: Liv. Ep. 
 CXIX ; Appian, B. C. III. 88-94; Dio, XLVL 40-45. — Death of 
 D. Brutus: Appian, B. C. III. 97-8; Veil. II. 64. — Second tri- 
 umvirate formed: Liv. Ep. CXX; Appian, B. C. IV. 2 ff. ; Dio, 
 XLVI. 54-6; Suet. ^«^. 27 ; Plut. Aitt. 19. — Lex Titia : Appian, 
 B. C. IV. 7; Dio, XLVII. 2. — Death of Cicero: Plut. Cic. 47-8; 
 Appian, B. C. IV. 19-20; Veil. II. 66. — Macedonia, Illyricum, and 
 Greece allotted to M. Brutus: Cic. Phil. X. 13-14; Plut. Brut. 27; 
 Dio, XLVII. 22. — Syria assigned to Cassius : Cic. Phil. XI. 29 ff. ; 
 Dio, XLVII. 28; Veil. II. 62. — Philippi : Appian, B. C. IV. 
 109-131 ; Dio, XLVII. 37-49; Plut. Brut. 38-53; Veil. II. 70-72. 
 
 — Division of territory: Appian, B. C V. 3 ; Dio, XLVIII. 1-2. — 
 Perusian war: Appian, B. C. V. 12-49; Dio, XLVIII. 4-15 ; Veil. 
 II. 74. — -Treaty of Brundisium : Appian, B. C. V. 64-5; Dio, 
 XLVIII. 28-30; Veil. II. 76. — Concessions to Sex. Pompeius : 
 Appian, B. C. V. 72; Dio, XLVIII. 36. — War with Sex. Pom- 
 peius: Appian, B. C. V. 77-122; Dio, XLVIII. 45-XLIX. 10; 
 Veil. II. 79. — Treaty of Tarentum : Dio, XLVIII. 54; Appian, 
 B. C. V. 93-5; Tac. Ann. I. 10. — Retirement of Lepidus: Liv. Ep. 
 CXXIX; Suet. Aug. 16; Appian, B. C. V. 122-6; Dio, XLIX. 
 11-12. — Parthian campaign of Antony: Dio, XLVIII. 24-7; ibid. 
 39-41; XLIX. 19 ff. ; Plut. Ant. 37-52 ;• Veil. II. 82. — niyrian
 
 THE PERIOD OF TRANSITION I49 
 
 campaign of Octavius : Dio, XLIX. 34-8; Appian, Bell. III. 16-28; 
 Liv. Epp. CXXXI-CXXXIL — Territory given to Cleopatra: Plut. 
 Ant. 54; Dio, XLIX. 32, 41 ; L. i, 3. — War declared against Cleo- 
 patra: Plut. Ant. 60; Dio, L. 4, 6. — Actium : Plut. A7it. 64-8; 
 Dio, L. 31-5; Veil. II. 85. — Surrender of Antony's army: Plut. 
 Ant. 68. — Death of Antony : Dio, LI. 10 ; Plut. Ant. 76-7. — Death 
 of Cleopatra: Dio, LI. 11-14; Plut. A7tt. 84-6. 
 
 Selected Bibliography ^ 
 
 O. E. Schmidt, Der Briefwechsel des M. Tullius Cicero. Leipzig, 
 1893. 
 
 Tyrrell and Purser, The Correspondence of M. Tullius Cicero, Vols. 
 V and VI. London, 1897-9. 
 
 W. Drumann, Geschichte Roms, 6 vols. Koenigsberg, 1834-44. 
 
 A. Stoffel, Histoird de Jules Cesar : Guerre Civile, 2 vols. Paris, 
 1887. 
 
 A. V. Goeler, Caesars Gallischer Krieg. Tiibingen, 1879. 
 
 W. Judeich, Caesar im Orient. Leipzig, 1885. 
 
 O. E. Schmidt, Die letzten Kampfe der rom. Republik (Neue Jahr. 
 f. Philol. u. Paed. XIII, Suppl. pp. 665-722). 
 
 A. V. Hagen, De hello Mutinensi quaestiones criticae. Marburg, 
 1886. 
 
 V. Gardthausen, Augustus und seine Zeit (1. i, 2; II. i, 2). Leip- 
 zig, 1891-6. 
 
 Th. Mommsen, Res gestae divi Augusti, 2d ed. Berlin, 1883. 
 
 ^ See also general bibliography on p. 22.
 
 SECTION II — DESCRIPTIVE 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 THE ATTRIBUTES OF MAGISTRACY 
 
 (a) Magistratus, Imperium, Potestas 
 
 143. Method of Treatment. Our historical survey of 
 the development of Roman political institutions has shown 
 that the right of initiating action was the peculiar preroga- 
 tive of the magistrate, and that in the early period he was 
 practically the supreme lawgiver and judge, as well as the 
 executive. To put it in another way, the functions acquired 
 later by other branches of the government were in the early 
 days exercised by the executive. We have traced the 
 process of differentiation. First of all, the senate, which 
 was at the beginning of the republic merely an advisory 
 body, found means to enforce its claim to a share in the con- 
 trol of the state. Later, the popular assemblies developed, 
 and finally a well-organized judicial system was established. 
 A systematic examination of Roman political institutions 
 will, therefore, follow the order of historical development, in 
 taking up first the magistracies, then the senate, the popular 
 assemblies, and finally the courts of law. Our historical 
 investigation has suggested one other important point in 
 the method of treatment. At the beginning of the repub- 
 lican period the magisterial power was vested in a single 
 college of magistrates. The establishment of new magis- 
 tracies, as time went on, meant simply the assignment of 
 
 150
 
 MAGISTRATUS, IMPERIUM, POTESTAS 151 
 
 certain specific duties to the new officials. The new 
 magistracies had all the general characteristics of the 
 original magistracy out of which they sprang. Therefore, 
 before passing to an examination of the functions of the 
 individual magistrates, it will be natural and convenient to 
 consider the general attributes of the Roman magistracies 
 taken as a unit. 
 
 144. Definition of Magistratus. The term magistratus 
 was used of the office and of its incumbents. In the con- 
 crete sense the 7nagistratus was the authorized representa- 
 tive of the people for the conduct of public business of 
 a secular character. His authorization came through an 
 election by the populus. The dictator, interrex, and magis- 
 ter equitum, who were appointed by a magistrate, and were, 
 therefore, only indirectly dependent on a popular election, 
 were relics of the monarchical constitution, and not prod- 
 ucts of the republic at all. The tribunes were chosen in 
 an assembly made up of plebeians only, so that in the strict 
 sense of the word they were not magistrates. Priests do 
 not fall in this category because their duties were of a 
 religious character. 
 
 145. Magistratus Maiores and Minores. According to 
 the point of view from which they are considered the 
 magistracies may be classified as magistratus maiores or 
 mi?iores, patricii or plebeii, curule or not curule, ordinary 
 or extraordinary, cum imperio or sifie itnperio. The Romans 
 themselves differed in their classification of the magistra- 
 cies as magistratus maiores or 7ni?iores. Thus the augur 
 Messala (Gell. XIII. 15. 4) maintained that the interrex, 
 consul, praetor, dictator, censor, niagister equitum, and all 
 magistrates or pro-magistrates vested with consular or prae- 
 torian power, inasmuch as they had the right to take the 
 aiispicia maxima, were magistratus maiores. The others,
 
 152 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 who could take only the auspicia minora, were magistratus 
 minores. On the other hand, it seems better to draw the 
 line of distinction between these two classes of magistrates 
 Will. I. 225 f. below the quaestorship, because the quaestors and aediles 
 with the higher magistrates were admitted to the senate in 
 the later republic by virtue of having held their respec- 
 tive offices, whereas magistrates of a lower rank were not 
 members of that l)ody. 
 
 146. Magistratus Patricii and Plebeii. Up to the 
 middle of the fourth century b.c. the terms magistratus 
 patricii and plebeii were applied to the magistracies open 
 to patricians and plebeians respectively. After plebeians 
 had been made eligible to all the magistracies the distinc- 
 tion has no technical meaning. The tribunes are some- 
 times styled magistratus plebeii, but inaccurately, because, 
 as we have seen, the tribunes were strictly speaking not 
 magistrates at all. 
 
 147. Curule and non-Curule Magistracies. The right to 
 use the curule chair was a privilege belonging especially 
 to magistrates who had the i7nperiufn. When the curule 
 aedileship was established, however, the sella curnlis was 
 made one of the insignia of the office, although the incum- 
 bent of the office did not have the imperium. The magis- 
 
 St. R. 1. 401 f. trates (not including plebeian officials) above the quaestor 
 were magistratus curules. 
 
 148. Magistratus Ordinarii and Extraordinarii, Ordi- 
 nary magistrates were those who were chosen at fixed 
 intervals, like the consul or censor. Those who were 
 elected for an exceptional purpose were called magistratus 
 extraordi)iarii. Some of the magistracies of the latter class, 
 as, for instance, the dictatorship, formed a regular part of the 
 Roman administrative system, while others, like the decem- 
 virate or the consular tribunate, were extra-constitutional.
 
 MAGISTRATUS, IMPERIUM, POTESTAS 1 53 
 
 149. Magistratus cum Imperio and sine Imperio. The 
 consul, praetor, dictator, and magister equitum had the 
 impei'ium. The censor, aedile, quaestor, and of course 
 the plebeian officials, were sine imperio. The imperiuiti 
 represents the supreme authority of the community in its 
 dealings with the individual. It is not strictly opposed to 
 potestas, which is a generic term to indicate the power Festus, v. 
 \vith which a magistrate was vested for the discharge of his p"™ "'d^liS!^ 
 duties. Under the republic the exercise of the imperium 
 
 within the city was limited, especially by the right of appeal. 
 It was still enjoyed by the magistrate abroad, however, and 
 the term was practically restricted in its application to the 
 absolute power exercised by him. 
 
 150. Maior Potestas. The various magistrates exercised 
 functions of so different a character that the members of 
 the several colleges had the right of initiative, and within 
 their own sphere of duties were practically free from out- 
 side influence. However, to avoid the danger of conflict 
 and the consequent stoppage of the machinery of govern- 
 ment, in matters like the summoning of the senate or the 
 comitia, where the abstract right to take the contemplated 
 action was vested in more than one magistracy, the maior 
 potestas of one college over against another was recognized 
 by the constitution. On this basis the offices were arranged 
 
 in the order of dictator, consul, praetor, aedile, and quaestor. Lex Sal- 
 No one of the magistrates mentioned had the maior potes- chap!^"-'. 
 tas over the censor, but he enjoyed that right over the 
 quaestor and aedile, whose duties were in some respects akin 
 to his. In the exercise of his maior potestas a. higher magis- Geil. 13. 16. i; 
 trate could either forbid a lower magistrate to take action in ^-y 8. 36. i. 
 a specific case, or suspend him from office altogether. 
 
 We have seen (p. 25) that the republican chief-magis- 
 trate, when compared vidth his monarchical predecessor,
 
 154 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 was placed under two important limitations. He shared 
 his ofifice with a colleague, who had the right to veto his 
 action, and he held ofifice for a limited period. The sys- 
 tem of coUegiality was one of the most peculiar features of 
 the Roman constitution. It promoted efficiency, in that 
 the functions of an office could be exercised simultaneously 
 by the several members of a college. This was not the 
 real purpose of the arrangement, however. It was rather 
 devised to protect the citizen from the arbitrary action of 
 a single magistrate. 
 
 151. Par Potestas and the Veto Power. Each member 
 of a college was at all times vested with the full power of 
 his magistracy, and his negative right to prevent the com- 
 pletion of a given undertaking took ])recedence of his 
 colleague's positive right to take the step in question. 
 The technical term for this exercise of the par potestas, 
 which existed between the members of a college, was inter- 
 cessio. The exercise of this negative power was subject 
 to three conditions. The protest must be made by a 
 Cell. 13. 12.9; magistrate in person; it must be made against a magis- 
 3.^20! I. trate, and directed against a matter already partially 
 
 advanced toward completion. The first limitation made 
 an oral exercise of the right necessary. The second 
 one theoretically exempted action taken by the comitia 
 from the scope of the intenessio. Even this limitation, 
 however, left it within the power of a magistrate to inter- 
 fere with the action of a colleague presiding over a popular 
 assembly up to the point where the people declared their 
 will with reference to a proposition. 
 
 The par potestas was, therefore, more restricted in its 
 application than the maior potestas, since the latter allowed 
 a higher magistrate not only to exercise the right of 
 intercessio, as just indicated, but also to forbid a lower
 
 MAGISTRATUS, IMPERIUM, POTESTAS I55 
 
 magistrate to make a proposed arrangement, before any- 
 preliminary steps looking to its establishment had been 
 taken, or to declare invalid such an arrangement when 
 perfected by him. A member of a magisterial college, 
 however, in the exercise of his par potestas, could inter- 
 pose his veto only when his colleague had made some 
 progress toward the accomplishment of his purpose. The 
 veto power was not often used by a magistrate against a 
 colleague. It was of little effect, because the magistrate 
 who disregarded it could not be called to account until 
 his term of office had expired. The tribune, however, 
 could veto the action of any regular magistrate, and could 
 impose an immediate penalty for the non-observance of 
 the veto, and since, as we have already seen (p. 45), at 
 an early period the tribune became the recognized repre- 
 sentative of the rights of the individual, as opposed to the 
 claims of the community, his veto power superseded that 
 of the magistrate, and put an effective limitation on the 
 magisterial prerogative. In point of fact conflicts be- 
 tween members of a college were generally avoided by 
 taking joint action in a specific case, by adopting the 
 principle of alternation, by assigning functions on the basis Cic. de Re 
 of seniority or by lot, or by giving different provinciae lIv. 2.^8.^6' 
 
 to the several members of a college. Thus, in the early 22.27.10; 
 
 ° ' 35- 20. 2. 
 
 period, the consuls, although both were in full possession 
 
 of the consular power throughout the year, in practice alter- 
 nated from month to month in the active exercise of that 
 power within the city. When they were in joint command 
 of an army in Italy they commonly alternated day by day. Liv. 4. 46 5 
 The possession of the fasces passed from one^ to the other 
 to indicate the change. In the case of most magistracies, 
 however, provinciae, or distinct spheres of action, were 
 assigned to the several members of a college, so that there 
 
 22.41.3.
 
 156 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 was scarcely a possibility of conflict. This was true, for 
 instance, of the praetorship and the aedileship. In such 
 cases the system of coUegiality dropped away altogether. 
 
 (b) Term of Office 
 
 152. Limited Term of Office and the Prorogatio Imperii. 
 The second limitation put on the republican magistracies 
 was of still greater importance than the one just discussed, 
 and perhaps no political change contributed more to the 
 downfall of the republic than the failure to observe it. All 
 magistrates held office for a fixed and brief period, and the 
 more exceptional the power of an official was, the briefer 
 his tenn of office was. Thus the consul and most of the 
 regular magistrates held office for one year, while the dic- 
 
 Cic. de i.egg. tator's term was not to exceed six months. Two contin- 
 
 3- ^> gencies might arise which would lead to a violation of this 
 
 practice. Exceptional circumstances might necessitate a 
 prorogatio imperii, or extension of the term of office 
 beyond the fixed period, or magistracies might become 
 vacant before the expiration of the legal term. The first 
 contingency arose now and then in case of an imi)ortant 
 war. In 326, at the end of the consular year, the con- 
 
 Liv. 8. 23. 12. sul Q. PubUlius Philo, who had charge of the forces act- 
 ing against the Samnites, was instructed to retain command 
 of the army until the war was brought to an end (cf. 
 p. 44). He was said to act pro consu/e, but his power 
 was less than that of a consul, since it could be exercised 
 for a specific purpose only and only within a limited terri- 
 tory. The jirecedent which was set in this case was not 
 infrequently followed later, but the prorogatio imperii was 
 
 Liv. 9. 42, 2. usually for a year or even for a shorter time. However, 
 when the era of territorial aggrandizement outside ( f
 
 POWERS OF THE MAGISTRATE 1 5/ 
 
 Italy began, toward the close of the third century B.C., 
 this occasional expedient became an integral part of the 
 Roman administrative system. Instead of directly choos- 
 ing officials to act as provincial governors, these positions 
 were filled by extending the term of office of magistrates 
 who had served for a year at Rome, and the governors in 
 the various provinces acted pro conside or pro praetore, as 
 the case might be, and in course of time the maximum 
 limit of one year set for such an extension of the term of 
 office was no longer observed. 
 
 153. Filling of Vacancies. On the other hand, a magis- 
 tracy might become vacant before the expiration of the 
 legal term. Such a contingency might arise, for instance, 
 from the death or resignation of one consul or of both. 
 If there was one vacancy in a college, it was filled by the 
 election of a new member to hold office for the rest of the Herz. i. 611. 
 term. If both places were vacant, two new members were 
 
 chosen to hold office for a full year from the date of their St. R. i. 
 
 inauguration. Consequently in the early period the official ^^'' 
 
 year does not begin at any fixed date in the calendar; but 
 
 from 217 the beginning of the official year was fixed at Herz. i. 614, 
 
 March 15. This continued to be the accepted date until 
 
 154. From that time on, the consuls regularly entered on 
 
 their offices January i. 
 
 (c) Constitutional Powers of the Magistrate 
 
 154. The Constitutional Powers of Magistrates. A mag- 
 istrate having the impcrium represented the community in 
 all its deaUngs with gods and men. The imperium included 
 the power (i) to take the auspices and to supervise certain 
 other religious matters which had a bearing on political 
 action, (2) to represent the state in its dealings with
 
 158 KEI'UHLU'AN PERIOD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 in(li\iduals and with other communities, (3) to command 
 the army and navy, (4) to punish those who withstood 
 constituted authority, (5) to exercise civil and criminal 
 jurisdiction, (6) to issue proclamations and edicts, (7) to 
 summon the senate and popular assemblies for deliberation 
 and action on affairs of state, (8) to supervise administra- 
 tive matters affecting the welfare of the community or of 
 individual citizens. 
 
 155. The Taking of Auspices. As we have already 
 noticed (p. 26), after the establishment of the consulship, 
 the control of strictly religious affairs, whether of a general 
 or a particular character, rested with the priests ; but 
 religious matters having a political significance were left to 
 the magistrate, and the priests participated in such cases 
 only to the extent of assisting or giving technical advice. 
 The Romans believed that the pleasure of the gods in a 
 particular case could be learned by adopting the proper 
 means, and that it was desirable to govern one's action by 
 it. In particular it was necessary to consult the gods by 
 taking auspices before the election of a magistrate, before 
 his assumption of office, before a meeting of the comitia a« 
 a legislative body, and before a magistrate set out on a 
 campaign. In the first three cases the auspices must be 
 Cell. 3. 2. 10; taken on the day and on the spot of the proposed action. 
 23.4. ' If unfavorable omens preceded or accompanied the election 
 of a magistrate, or the passage of a law, there existed a 
 Cic. ad Att. legal defect (vitium), which in the one case made it incuni- 
 Phii.V. So; bent on the magistrate to lay down his office, and in the 
 deLegg.2.31; Qtj^er case necessitated the reenactment of the bill by the 
 
 de Div. 2. 42 ; •' 
 
 in Vat. 20; comitia. In the last century of the republic, however, if a 
 
 8. 15. 6. ' measure with a technical defect of this sort was taken up 
 
 later by the senate and favorably acted on, it became 
 
 valid. In all cases political action of which the gods
 
 POWERS OF THE MAGISTRATE 159 
 
 disapproved could be taken on a subsequent occasion, if 
 the auspices were favorable. No legal penalty attached to 
 the non-observance of unfavorable omens. Thus Crassus 
 did not expose himself to a penalty at the hands of man 
 when he disregarded unfavorable auspices in crossing the 
 Euphrates, but the disaster which befell his Parthian expe- 
 dition vindicated sufficiently the dignity of the gods. 
 
 156. Auguria Oblativa and Auspicia Impetrativa. The 
 gods were supposed to indicate their will through unsought 
 manifestations {auguria oblativa or dirae), or by means 
 oi auspicia impetrativa, i.e., in answer to inquiries properly 
 made. The first class of warnings came, for instance, in the 
 form of a flash of lightning before a meeting of the comitia, 
 
 or took the shape of a case of epilepsy among the voters. Festus, 
 
 Officiating magistrates, or augurs commissioned by them, p ^^°^ \^.%_ 
 obtained auspicia by watching for signs {spectio). They 
 
 were of three classes : signa ex avibus, signa ex quadru- Servius on 
 
 pedibus, and signa caelestia. Omens of the first two sorts and 5' 197; 
 
 were to be had by marking off a square (templum) on the Festus, v. 
 
 ground, or on the sky by drawing imaginary lines, and by templa and 
 
 sinistr3,G 3,VGS 
 
 watching the progress across it of four-footed beasts or pp. 157, 339,' 
 birds, as the case might be. Signa caelestia were obtained '^ ' ' 
 by noting the direction of flashes of lightning through a Cic. de Div. 
 previously determined part of the heavens. In the field ' '^ 
 auspicia pullaria WQXQ commonly taken from the behavior Liv. 10.40.2f. 
 of chickens while eating. 
 
 157. Regulations governing the Auspices. The officiat- 
 ing magistrate could theoretically heed or disregard the 
 announcement {obnuntiatid) of unfavorable auspices by 
 another official. In case conflicting omens were observed 
 by different magistrates, the preference was given to those 
 of the magistrate who had the maior potestas. Ultimately, 
 however, the higher magistrates avoided such conflicts by Gell. 13. 15. i.
 
 l60 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: DESCIRIPTIVE 
 
 forbidding the lower magistrates to take the auspices on a 
 given day. The practice of taking the auspices was a part 
 of the old patrician re'gime, so that for several centuries the 
 tribunes did not exercise the right, and omens jilayed no 
 part in the meetings of the plebeian assembly ; but by the 
 lex Aelia Fiijla, of about 155, they were applied to the 
 St. R. I. 113. plebeian assembly, and could be taken by the tribunes, and 
 were also used by the magistrates against the tribunes. 
 The use of auspices afforded such a convenient means of 
 interfering with meetings of the popular assemblies that the 
 mere announcement of a magistrate's intention to take 
 them on a certain day was sufficient to cause a postpone- 
 Cic. pro Sest. ment of the coinitia. Consequently, by the lex Clodia of 
 ^^' 58, obnuniiaiio was forbidden. Besides the taking of the 
 
 auspices, other religious matters, which rested with the mag- 
 istrate, sometimes with the cooperation of the senate or the 
 comitia, were the reception of new forms of worship, the 
 establishment of new priesthoods, the building of temples, 
 and the authorization of holy days. 
 
 158. Power to represent the State. As the authorized 
 representative of the state, the magistrate in time of war 
 could declare a truce with the enemy, and he could con- 
 clude peace with a hostile state, subject to the approval of the 
 
 Liv. 9. 5. I ; people. Disposal of the spoils of war and control of the state 
 land had been part of the royal prerogative, but under the 
 republic the senate and the people took these matters into 
 their own hands. However, all current business connected 
 with conquered territory and the ager puhitcus, such as the 
 rental of state lands, was in the hands of the magistrates. 
 
 159. Rights as Commander-in-Chief. The centuriate 
 comitia alone had the right to declare war, but the prose- 
 cution of it was left to the chief-magistrate. As commander- 
 in-chief of the forces of the state he was empowered to 
 
 19- 3-
 
 POWERS OF THE MAGISTRATE l6l 
 
 levy and organize troops, to conduct a campaign, and to Liv. 22. 38. 
 conclude a provisional treaty of peace with the enemy. A ^ ■" -'9- 
 strict line of distinction was drawn between the powers of 
 a magistrate at home {domi) and abroad {inilitiae). Up 
 to the first milestone outside the city the magisterial power Herz. I. 
 was limited by the right of appeal and by the tribunician '*^' "' ^' 
 veto. Beyond that point the magistrate, in whose favor 
 the lex ciiriata de impcrio had been passed, acquired the 
 unlimited power of the imperiu7?i. The civil magistrate, as 
 well as the general in time of war, therefore, had the power 
 beyond the limit mentioned of inflicting the death sentence ; 
 but, sometime between the second Punic war and the period 
 of the Gracchi, the leges Porciae gave citizens, wherever they Cic. de Re 
 might be, the right of appeal in a question of life or death, p^^ Rab.^'^' 
 A Roman general, however, retained the right to inflict P'^'l'^- '^' 
 death as a military penalty, although in such a case a man ii. 5- 163 ; 
 could not be flogged to death. The possession of the full 
 power of the imperiiwi was indicated to the eye by the fact 
 that beyond the first milestone the bundle oi fasces borne St. R. i. 
 by the lictors included the ax (securis) . On the other '^' ^''^ 
 hand, the magistrate lost the imperiimi and the insignia 
 indicating it, except in case of a triumph, when he entered 
 the city. The right to a triumph was implied in the pos- 
 session of the mihtary authority which the imperiian con- 
 ferred, but was conditional on winning a decisive battle Liv. 10. 37. 8; 
 in which the enemy lost 5000 men. The war must also 28 ?8.''4'' 
 have been carried on against a foreign foe, and must have ^i- 20. 3; 
 
 '^ '^ Val. Max. 2. 
 
 led to an extension of the hmits of Roman authority. 8. i. 
 The honor could be claimed only by dictators, consuls, or 
 praetors, or by pro-magistrates acting with the authority of 
 the two last-mentioned officials. In- the last years of the 
 republic the senate used its power of granting or refusing 
 a triumph to express its approval or disapproval of the
 
 l62 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 conduct of a campaign, without strictly obsening the legal 
 Cic. Phil. requirements in the case. A stipplicatio was also sometimes 
 '•*■ ^''' granted by the senate, and a successful general might 
 
 Liv. 2;. 19.4; receive the title of imperator from the senate, or on the 
 S-Tac.Ant. field of battle by acclamation. 
 
 3- 74- 160. Disciplinary Power of the Magistrate. The Roman 
 
 magistrate had the power to punish the disobedient or 
 those who interfered with him in the discharge of his duty. 
 His exercise of this disciplinary power is to be distinguished 
 from his judicial functions. In the latter case offenses were 
 carefully defined and classified by law; the facts were 
 elicited in accordance with a prescribed method of pro- 
 cedure, and the penalty was also prescribed. In discipli- 
 nary actions conducted by an executive officer the nature 
 of the offense and of the penalty were determined by the 
 magistrate, largely in accordance with his own discretion. 
 This disciplinary power belonged originally only to the 
 magistratiis cum imperio, but was subsequently conferred 
 upon the censors, aediles, and even the tribunes. The 
 Cic. de Legg. common penalties inflicted were fines, corporal punishment, 
 3- ^- imprisonment, and death. Within the city in the course- of 
 
 time magistrates were forbidden to inflict corporal punish- 
 ment on citizens, and cases involving the death sentence 
 were tried before the centuriate comitia. After the passage 
 Cic.de Re of the kx Akrnia Tarpcia (cf. i). 76) all cases in which 
 Stus^'^' the fine exceeded 3020 asses could be appealed to the 
 p.237,ed.M.; tribal assembly. 
 
 161. Civil Jurisdiction of the Magistrate. The civil 
 jurisdiction of the magistrate might be inter prh'atos or 
 inter pop uhim d privates. In the early rei)ublican period 
 cases of both kinds were heard by the consul. In course 
 of time, however, the exercise of judicial functions became 
 the exclusive prerogative of certain magistrates chosen
 
 POWERS OF THE MAGISTRATE 163 
 
 solely or partly for that purpose. Thus, in the year 366, 
 praetors were elected for the first time to relieve the con- 
 sul of his judicial duties (p. 37) in civil suits in which both 
 parties were private individuals. In Italy, outside of Rome, 
 similar functions were performed by circuit judges, known 
 ^s, praefecti iuri diaindo (cf. p. 74). In the provinces the 
 governor administered justice. The collection of the taxes 
 and of rental from the state land gave rise to many civil 
 suits to which the state was a party. Such cases were 
 heard by censors, quaestors, and aediles, within whose 
 province the management of public finances fell. This 
 method of procedure was manifestly unfair to the indi- 
 vidual. Under it the magistrate who brought or defended 
 the suit in the name of the state also acted as the judge, 
 from whose decision no appeal could be taken. 
 
 162. Criminal Jurisdiction of the Magistrate. The exer- 
 cise of the magistrate's judicial functions, as well as his 
 disciplinary power, was limited by the right which citizens 
 had of appealing to the popular assembly when a magistrate 
 imposed the death sentence or a fine of more than 3020 
 asses. The establishment of quaestiones pcrpetuae, or stand- 
 ing courts, in the second century (cf. p. 74), and the 
 development which the system underwent during Sulla's 
 dictatorship (cf. p. 106), led to very important changes in 
 the criminal jurisdiction of the magistrate. Most of the 
 newly established courts were under the presidency of the 
 praetor, whose duty it was to conduct the preliminaries to 
 the trial, to preside during the trial proper, and to announce 
 the innocence of the accused person, or fix the penalty, in 
 accordance with the decision of the jury. 
 
 163. The Right to issue Proclamations. The right to 
 enforce obedience carries with it the right to announce pub- 
 licly regulations which shall be binding on the community.
 
 164 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: UESCRIPTIVE 
 
 In Rome proclamations took the form of edict a, or magis- 
 terial announcements affecting the entire community or 
 whole classes of citizens, or of decreta concerning indi- 
 viduals. The proclamation of a magistrate naturally dealt 
 with matters over which he had special jurisdiction. It 
 was valid only during the term of office of the magistrate 
 who issued it. In this respect it differed from a law. It 
 acquired the practical force of a law, however, in the case 
 of the edict urn tralaticium, i.e., when successive magistrates 
 adopted and announced the same body of regulations which 
 their predecessors had issued. 
 
 164, The Right to preside over Legislative and Electoral 
 Bodies. Public meetings for the discussion of political 
 questions had an official character, since they could be called 
 by officials only. Such gatherings, called contiones, were 
 under the presidency of an official, and no one could 
 address them without his consent. They usually preceded 
 the cotnitia, or assemblies held for electoral or legislative 
 purposes. The higher magistrates had the ius agendi cum 
 populo, or the right to summon the comitia and preside over 
 them. Limitations put on certain magistrates in specific 
 cases will be noted later. The plebeian officials had only 
 the ins agendi cian plebe. The tribune, as well as the 
 higher magistrates, had the right to call the senate together 
 {ins agendi cum patribus^ , lay matters before it, and ask for 
 a vote upon such motions as might be made. 
 
 165. General Powers as an Executive. It may go with- 
 out saying that to the magistrate, who represented the 
 legislative branch of the government, fell the superin- 
 tendence of administrative business and the execution of 
 judicial decisions. He had charge of such matters, there- 
 fore, as the erection of piil)lic buildings, the receipt and 
 payment of public moneys, and the maintenance of order.
 
 EMOLUMENTS, INSIGNIA, ATTENDANTS 165 
 
 166. The Consilium. In the performance of important 
 duties he was assisted by a cojisilium, or board of technical 
 advisers. Such a board assisted the censor, for instance, St. R. 11.465 
 and the praetor in rendering their decisions in certain judi- 
 cial matters. The theoretical relation also which the senate 
 
 bore to the consul was that of a consilium. 
 
 (d) Etnoluments, Insignia, Attendants 
 
 167. Emoluments of Office. A Roman magistracy under 
 the republic was regarded as an honos pure and simple, so 
 that no salary was paid to any official. For this reason 
 only the well-to-do could hold office, and, during the last 
 century of the republic, when success in the elections 
 depended on extravagance shown in the games, candidacy 
 must have been confined to the rich — or at least to those 
 whose credit was good. The magistrate received compen- 
 sation out of the state treasury, however, for any money 
 which he might be required to pay out in the perform- 
 ance of his duty. In some cases the compensation fell 
 far short of the sum which he was required by necessity 
 or tradition to spend. This was true, for instance, of the 
 outlay which the aedile made for the public games. On the 
 
 other hand, the requisitions which commissioners and pro- Liv. 29. 11.4 
 vincial governors could make for the suitable maintenance clc.^de Leg. 
 of themselves and their retinues became a source of great As/; ^- 3^ ; 
 
 ° in V err. 
 
 profit. (passim). 
 
 168. Insignia of Office. The magisterial dignity was 
 indicated to the eye by insignia and by attendants. The 
 
 most characteristic mark of office was the toga praetexta, Plut.Q.R.Si 
 
 which all magistrates from the consul to the aedile wore 
 
 within the city. When abroad, the consul put on \hepaiuda- Festus, v. pa 
 
 • ludati, p. 2 5 J; 
 
 mentum, a short red cloak. On occasion of a triumph a ed. M.
 
 l66 UKI'UBLICAN PERIOD : DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 successful general wore the toga purpurea. On formal 
 
 occasions, as when administering justice, dictators, consuls, 
 
 Liv.40. 45. 8; censors, praetors, and cunile aediles sat on a sel/a curulis, 
 
 - ^g 6^ ' ^' pl'i^-cd on a tribunal. In early times the magistrate also had 
 
 the right to ride in a vehicle within the city limits. Perhaps 
 
 no external mark of office was more highly prized and of 
 
 more practical imj)ortance than the ius ii?iaginum. Every 
 
 family whi( h included a curule magistrate in its number had 
 
 Cic. ad Fam. the right after his death to keep in the atrium a painted 
 
 ni Verr.' waxen mask in his likeness with an inscription {libellus) 
 
 »'•. 5-36; beneath it setting forth his offices and achievements. 
 
 Liv. 10. 7. II ; " 
 
 Plin. N. H. These imagines constituted the patent of nobility for that 
 ■^^' ' patricio-plebeian aristocracy which ruled the state for three 
 
 centuries. 
 
 169. Lictors. The higher magistrates were attended in 
 public by lictors, who protected them and cleared a way 
 for their passage. The lictors bore over their left shoulder a 
 bundle of rods, called \.\\q fasces, which symbolized the magis- 
 trate's right to enforce obedience. The ax (seeuris), placed 
 within the bundle and carried outside the city, indicated 
 his power of life and death. The number of lictors in 
 attendance varied according to the rank of the magistrate. 
 
 Poiyb. 3. 87. Twenty-four attended a dictator, and twelve a consul. The 
 
 7 ; Censo- 
 
 rinus, 24. 3; practor m-banus had two, while the praetor or propraetor 
 ii.'VMz.'^" in a province was accompanied by six. Censors, and 
 magistrates from the aedile downwards, had no lictors. In 
 the provinces the lictors inflicted corporal ])unishment and 
 the punishment of death, when ordered to do so by the 
 magistrate. 
 
 170. Scribae, etc. The scrihae held the most important 
 position among the subordinates of the several magistrates. 
 'J'hey were assigned to magistrates by lot, and from them 
 
 Wilm. Ex. . . ■' 
 
 inscr. 1302. recei\ed the titles of scribae (/uacstorii, aedilicii, etc., as the
 
 CONDITIONS OF ELIGIBILITY I67 
 
 case might be. Viatores acted as messengers, zxiA praecones Festus,p.37i, 
 announced a meeting of the senate or the people, and varro L. L. 
 summoned individuals to court. Accensi were personal ^- 8(>-9i- 
 attendants of a magistrate, who were usually chosen from 
 his own household, and had, therefore, only a quasi-official 
 status. Most of these positions were held by freedmen 
 or the sons of freedmen, and the principles of civil service Cic. ad Q. 
 reform were observed to such an extent that an apparitor '^' '' '' '■'' 
 was not only reasonably sure of retaining his office during 
 good behavior, but could usually transmit it to his son, or 
 sell it, provided, of course, that the new incumbent was 
 regarded as a suitable person for the position. 
 
 (c) Conditions of Eligibility 
 
 171. General and Special Conditions of Eligibility. In 
 
 early times, of course patricians only were eligible to the 
 magistracies, but after the middle of the fourth century 
 class distinctions counted for nothing, in so far as eligi- 
 bility to political office was concerned, except that patricians 
 could not be elected to plebeian offices, nor to certain 
 places in the magisterial colleges reserved for plebeians. 
 In Cicero's time it was required of all candidates for office 
 that they should be citizens, and that they should have a 
 respectable standing in the community. Furthermore, they 
 were not eligible to reelection until an interval of ten years 
 had elapsed (p. 70), nor could a person hold two offices 
 at the same time. Freedmen and their sons were in gen- St. R. i. 488. 
 eral not eligible. Some of these points were not strictly 
 observed during periods of political disturbance. The 
 magistrates who conducted the election passed on the 
 eligibility of all candidates. Special conditions of candi- 
 dacy were fixed for particular offices, notably the higher
 
 l68 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 ones. The most important of these were the attainment 
 of a certain age and the observance of the cert us onio 
 magisiratiium. 
 
 172. The Certus Ordo. From a comparatively early 
 period the tradition had grown up that certain offices must 
 be held before one could be elected to certain other 
 offices. This condition was given a legal form by the 
 lex Villia of 180 (cf. p. 70), and by one of the leges 
 Corneliae of 81 (cf. p. 105). These laws required one to 
 St. R. I. hold the quaestorship before assuming the praetorship, and 
 
 ^■^' ■ the praetorship before the consulship. Further than this 
 
 repubHcan legislation does not seem to have gone, but 
 custom had set the quaestorship before the curule aedilc 
 ship, and the duties of the curule and plebeian aediles 
 were so similar that they both fell into the same place 
 in the series. The tribunate was so closely connected with 
 the plebeian aedileship that it was placed next in order 
 below it. However, since plebeian offices could not be 
 held by patricians, it was not necessary that a candidate 
 for a higher magistracy should hold them. Membershij) 
 in one of the colleges making up the XXVI viri, and 
 the office of tribiinus milituin, i)receded the quaestorshii). 
 St. R. 1. 548. Finally it was customary to choose ex-consuls only to the 
 dictatorship and censorship, so that the certus ordo, estab- 
 lished partly by law and partly by custom, in the way 
 St. R. I. indicated above, was : dictator, consul, interrcx, praetor, 
 
 ^^*' ■ magister cquitum, censor, aedilc, tribunus plcbis, quaestor, 
 
 one of the viginti sex viri, tribunus jnilitum. Perhai^s the 
 censorship was assigned in this official gradus honorum to 
 the position which it holds, below the consulshij) and prae- 
 torship, because the censor was not attended l)y lictors. 
 
 173' -A^g^ Requirement. In the early period of the 
 republic there was nt) niininuuu age requirement fixed for
 
 CANDIDACY, ELECTION, RESPONSIBILITY 169 
 
 candidates for the various offices. The matter was left 
 wholly to the discretion of the magistrate who conducted 
 the election. It was, however, covered in part by the 
 lex Villia and by legislation of 81, but the provisions of 
 these two laws are not known wth certainty. It is ^^'J"- Dr. 242, 
 
 n. 2 ; Herz. I. 
 
 probable, however, that after the time of Sulla thirty-one 668, n. i ; 
 
 St R T 
 
 years was the minimum age for the quaestorship, and forty j(,8 ff' 
 years for the praetorship, and that an interval of at least two 
 years was required between the end of a term of office and 
 the assumption of the magistracy next above it. Indirectly 
 these two provisions also made forty-three the minimum 
 age for the consulship. 
 
 (/) Candidacy, Election, Resigttation, Responsibility 
 
 174. Professio. Candidates were not fomially nomi- 
 nated for office by their supporters, as is the case in this 
 country, but they announced their own candidacy, as in 
 England those who wish to be elected to membership in 
 the House of Commons usually do ; although, if we may 
 make an inference from the political posters found in 
 Pompeii, this personal announcement was often prompted 
 by the privately or publicly expressed desire of personal 
 friends or political supporters. Since the official who pre- 
 sided at an election exercised his discretion in passing on 
 the eligibility of a candidate, it was desirable to get his 
 opinion on that point before the election took place. For 
 this reason candidates came to adopt the practice of 
 formally notifying the prospective chairman of their inten- Liv. 7. 22. 8; 
 tion to stand for a certain office. Thereupon the official yell. 2.^92. 
 formally announced his acceptance or rejection of their 3-4- 
 candidacy, although this did not prevent him from recon- 
 sidering his decision at the time of the election. This
 
 170 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 practice of making a pro/ess io, or preliminary announce- 
 ment of one's candidacy, was crystallized, probably in 98, 
 into a law, which provided that the profcssio should be 
 made seventeen days before the election took place. This 
 law, as we have already noticed (p. 114), played an 
 important part in the quarrel between Caesar and the 
 senate. 
 
 175. Petitio. In the interval between \\\e profcssio and 
 the election came the petitio, although in point of fact in 
 the last years of the republic the political canvass began at 
 least a year before the election. Candidates for office 
 appeared in the forum clad in a newly whitened toga. 
 Cic. adAtt. They shook hands with voters, and took care to have a 
 Livil'as. 13; well-attended salutatio, and to be accompanied by large 
 7. 15. 12-13. escorts in going to and fro. They sometimes gave lar- 
 gesses, contributed money out of their own pockets for the 
 public games, and aimed at securing the support of guilds 
 and political clubs. Of course success in a foreign war 
 gave a candidate prestige, and full use was made of this 
 fact. As the right of citizenship was extended beyond 
 Cic. ad Att. the limits of Rome, electioneering tours were undertaken 
 ^" '■ ^' throughout Italy. General public meetings to promote the 
 
 interests of a particular person do not seem to have been 
 held, but candidates probably had an opportunity to set 
 forth their political " platforms," and to criticise their 
 opponents at contiones called by friendly magistrates to 
 discuss public measures, and doubtless certain clubs and 
 guilds held meetings of a political character. That candi- 
 dates for office were not contented with the use of legiti- 
 mate political methods is shown by the passage of numerous 
 bribery laws from the early part of the second century 
 onwards (cf. p. 71), and by legislation against the sodalicia, 
 or political clubs.
 
 CANDIDACY, ELECTION, RESPONSIBILITY I/I 
 
 176. Elections. All elective magistrates were chosen 
 by Xht populus, i.e., in the comitia centuriata or the patricio- 
 plebeian comitia tributa. In the former the consuls, praetors, Gell. 13. 15. 4. 
 and censors were elected. Curule aediles and quaestors 
 
 were chosen in the comitia tributa. Tribunes and plebeian Tac. Ann. 
 
 aediles were elected in the conciliiwi plebis. For the cen- Liv%.' 46. i f. 
 turiate cof)iitia, meeting as an electoral body, the presiding 
 
 officer was the dictator, consul, or interrex ; for the tribal cic ad Att. 
 
 comitia, the dictator, consul, or praetor ; for the coficilium ^' ^' ^' 
 plebis, the tribune. After Sulla's time elections took place 
 
 usually in the latter part of July. The exact date was st. R. i. 
 
 fixed by the magistrate. A postponement was not uncom- 5^'*' "' 5- 
 
 mon in the later years of the republic. Thus, in 59, the cic. ad Att. 
 
 elections were not held until October, while bribery and ^' ^°' ^' 
 
 violence prevented them from being held at all in 54. ck. adQ. 
 
 Even after a majority of the votes had been cast for a ^^■^^' ^^' ^ ' 
 candidate his election did not become valid until a formal 
 
 announcement {renuntiatio) of the result had been made Veil. 2. 92. 
 
 by the presiding officer, and cases were by no means |j'aj[. \^\_ ,. 
 unknown where the chairman had refused to declare a 
 certain person elected. 
 
 177. Entrance on Office and Retirement from It. In 
 Cicero's day the quaestors assumed office December 5, cic. in Verr. 
 the tribunes December 10, the consuls and all the other ^*^*-t'4°' 
 
 C. I. L. I. 202. 
 
 magistrates January i. Early in the morning of the first 
 of January one of the newly elected consuls took the 
 auspices, went to the capitol, attended by senators, and Ov. Fast, 
 made a sacrifice to Jupiter. Later in the day he called Suet. Aug. 
 a meeting of the senate, which was attended by the other lIv. 26. 26. 
 magistrates, to consider public questions of a general char- 
 acter. Within five days after taking office, magistrates 
 were expected to take an oath to support the laws {iurare 
 in leges') . Those magistrates who were to hold the imperiiim
 
 St. R.I. 628 f. 
 
 172 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 Cell. 13. 15.4; were required to secure the passage of the lex curiata 
 
 Cic. de Leg. . . . . . 
 
 Agr. 2. 26ff. de iftipeno. Some fictitious importance was given to this 
 formal act in the later years of the republic by the oppo- 
 sition of the tribunes. A magistrate could resign before 
 his term of office had expired, and, in case of criminal con- 
 duct, moral pressure could be brought to bear upon him 
 to induce him to resign, as was done in 63 in the case of 
 
 Cic. in Cat. Lentulus. He could be removed from office, however, only 
 by the people who had elected him, but this radical step was 
 rarely taken in times of peace (cf. pp. 95, 135). 
 
 178. Responsibility of Magistrates. Theoretically, magis- 
 trates, like private citizens, were amenable to the laws, and 
 civil or criminal action could be brought against them 
 either during their term of office or after its expiration. 
 However, certain considerations of a theoretical and prac- 
 tical nature put a check on the application of this principle 
 in its extreme form. Thus action could not be brought 
 against a magistrate in office unless the judge before whom 
 
 .Suet. lul. 17; the case came had the inaior potcstas. The consul was, 
 therefore, exempt from trial during his term of office, 
 because no magistrate had the maior potestas over him. 
 Furthermore, the danger of interfering with the transac- 
 tion of public business usually checked any attempts to 
 hold even a lower magistrate responsible in the courts, 
 until his term had expired. The dictator could not be 
 called to account in any case, and, although the censor 
 does not seem to have been exempted by law from 
 responsibility for his conduct, the proper performance of 
 his duties involved the exercise of so much discretion 
 that no successful action ever appears to have been 
 brought against him. The development of one phase of 
 the tribune's functions deserves special notice in this 
 connection. From the outset he was vested with the right 
 
 Digest, 4. 8. 4.
 
 CANDIDACY, ELECTION, RESPONSIBILITY 1/3 
 
 to inflict a summary punishment on any one who violated 
 the sanctity of his person, or disregarded his veto power. 
 As we have already noticed (p. 76), the irregularity of 
 this procedure, and the theory that a failure to recognize 
 the rights of the representative of the plebs was an offense 
 against the dignity of the whole order, led to the practice 
 of bringing such cases, especially if magistrates were 
 offenders, before the concilium plebis. Before this court 
 ex- magistrates were freely held responsible for malfeasance 
 in office, embezzlement of public funds, and for other 
 offenses of a more or less political character. After the 
 establishment of the quaestio?ies de repetiuidis, de ambitu, 
 and de maiestate (cf. p. 106), offending magistrates, espe- 
 cially provincial governors, at the end of their term of 
 office were brought before these courts. The purpose of 
 these actions was often, not to secure justice, but to win an 
 advantage by discrediting a political opponent. 
 
 Selected Bibliography ^ 
 
 Mommsen, Rom. Staatsrecht, 3 vols. (Vols. I and II in 3d ed.) 
 
 Leipzig, 1887. (Cited in reference, St. R.) 
 Herzog, Geschichte u. System d. rom. Staatsverfassung, 2 vols. 
 
 Leipzig, 1884-7. (Cited in reference, Herz.) 
 Bouche-Leclercq, Manuel des institutions Komaines. Paris, 1886. 
 
 (Cited in reference, B.-L.) 
 Madvig, Verfassung u. Verwaltung d. rom. Staates, 2 vols. Leipzig, 
 
 1 88 1 -2. (Cited in reference, Madv.) 
 Schiller, Staats- und Rechtsaltertlimer in Miiller's Ilandbuch, Bd. 
 
 IV.2 Munich, 1893. (Cited in reference, Sch^ 
 
 ' General works of reference like the Dictionaries of Classical Antiquities by 
 Seyffert (revised by Nettleship and Sandys), by Smith (revised by Wayte and 
 Marindin), by Daremberg and Saglio, and by Peck, and Pauly's Real-Encyclopadie 
 (4 vols, now published, revised by Wissowa) may also be consulted with profit in 
 connection with this chapter and with those which follow.
 
 174 KKPUBLICAN I'ERIOD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 I-ange, Romische AUerthlimer, 3 vols. Kerlin, 1S76-9. 
 
 Mispoulet, Les institutions politiques des Remains, 2 vols. Paris, 
 
 1882. 
 Ad. Nissen, Das lustitium. Leipzig, 1S77. (Cited in reference, 
 
 Nissen, Ittst.) 
 Mommsen, Die Rechtsfrage zwischen Casar u. dem Senat. Breslau, 
 
 ■ 1857. 
 Karlowa, Romische Rechtsgeschichte, Vol. I. Leipzig, 18S5. 
 H. Nissen, Das Templum. Berlin, 1869. 
 Bruns, Pontes iuris Romani antiqui, ed. VI. cura Theodori Monim- 
 
 seni et Ottonis Gradenwitz. Lipsiae, 1893. (Cited in reference, 
 
 Bruns.) 
 Willems, Le droit public Romain, 6th ed. Louvain, 1888. (Cited 
 
 in reference, IVill. Dr.) 
 
 SUI'PLEMENT.ARV LITERATURE, I90I-I910 
 
 De Ruggiero, II consolato e i poteri pubblici in Roma. Rome. 1900. 
 Le Jeune, L'imperium des magistrats de Rome sous la republique. 
 Rennes, 1SS9.
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 THE SEVERAL MAGISTRACIES 
 
 (a) The Consul 
 
 179. The Consul's Alternative Titles. At the begin- 
 ning of the republican period thie two chief magistrates 
 were csXXtd praetores , indices, or consules. The significance 
 of the first two titles is correctly explained in Cic. de Legg. 
 III. 8 : regio imperio duo simto, iique praeeiindo, iudicandOy 
 consulendo, praetores, indices, consules appeUa7nino. Perhaps 
 it was because the functions of the chief-magistrate as 
 commander-in-chief of the army surpassed his civil duties 
 
 in importance and dignity that he was commonly styled Legg. XII. 
 praetor in the early period. Perhaps praetor indicated Liv. 3. 55. 12 
 his military, and iudex his civil functions. At all events, 
 after 367, when the jurisdiction of the chief-magistrate in 
 civil cases was transferred to the incumbent of the newly 
 established magistracy, the former is regularly called consul. 
 Cicero's explanation of the word consul is not correct. 
 The title indicates rather that the supreme power was held 
 by more than one person. In this respect of course the 
 position of the republican chief-magistrate was distinguished 
 from that of the king. 
 
 180. CoUegiality. What has been said (pp. 167-172) in 
 a previous chapter, dealing with the magistrates in general, 
 with reference to eligibility for office, method of nomina- 
 tion, candidacy, elections, entrance on office, and retire- 
 ment from it, is peculiarly applicable to the consulship.
 
 176 RErUULICAN I'KKIOl): DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 Both members of this college were at all times vested 
 with the full jKnver of theii office. To avoid a conflict 
 of authority, so far as it was possible to avoid it under 
 this system, in the early period, as we have already noticed 
 (p. 155), the consuls took turns month by the month in 
 exercising the right of the initiative, the older of the two 
 Gell. 2. 15. 4. enjoying this privilege for the first month of the official 
 year. The consul who was thus honored during a given 
 month was sometimes called consul maior. This method 
 of alternation, however, was probably given up before 
 Cicero's time, although it was restored by Caesar. The 
 other methods of avoiding a conflict which have been men- 
 tioned, were freely used. In time of war both consuls took 
 the field in the early period, but, after Sulla's reform of the 
 constitution (cf. p. 105), they rarely left the city and, there- 
 fore, rarely exercised the military iviperium. 
 
 181. lus cum Populo Patribusque Agendi. The consul 
 was vested with all the powers which belonged to the 
 magistracy (pp. 157 f.). The functions jjeculiar to his office 
 may be conveniently considered from the point of view 
 of home politics and foreign politics. In the field of 
 domestic affairs his most important powers were those 
 which he exercised as chairman of the senate and of the 
 assemblies of the popiilus. He alone of the regular magis- 
 trates could preside over the centuriate comitia called 
 for the election of magistrates. The nomination of a 
 dictator was also intnisted to him. Furthermore, cus- 
 tom had conferred on him alone the right to bring impor- 
 tant bills before the comitia ccnturiala or the comitia 
 tributa. His relations with the senate are more difficult 
 to define. It was his duty to consult that body in impor- 
 tant matters, but the law laid down no ])rovisions to govern 
 his action in specific cases, so that the question was left
 
 THE CONSUL 177 
 
 to his own discretion. He could even propose a measure 
 in the popular assembly without securing the auctoritas 
 senatus, or previous approval of the senate. This was the 
 course which Caesar adopted in 5 9 in securing the passage 
 of his agrarian bill. But the senate could usually bring Liv. Kp 103 
 such an attempt to naught by interposing rehgious diffi- 
 culties, or by persuading a tribune to interpose his veto. 
 In fact, Caesar's course in 59 was regarded as almost revo- 
 lutionary. No satisfactory line of distinction can be drawn 
 between the kind of legislation which the consul secured 
 and that which was proposed by the tribune, except that 
 the latter usually had a more partisan bias. 
 
 182. Judicial Functions. The establishment of the prae- 
 torship in 367 took almost entirely from the consul his juris- 
 diction in civil cases {iurisdictio inter privatos). Later only 
 friendly transactions which needed the confirmation of the 
 state's authority, -like the manumission of a slave, or the 
 emancipation of a son from the patria potestas, came under 
 his jurisdiction. The laws establishing the right of appeal, 
 the assumption of judicial powers by the concilium plehis 
 (p. 76), and the establishment of the qitaestioncs pcrpetuae 
 under the presidency of the praetors (p. 106), robbed the 
 consul of his functions as a criminal judge, so far as citizens 
 were concerned. Important criminal proceedings against 
 foreigners and against slaves were, however, still left in his 
 charge. 
 
 183. Religious Duties. The revolution of 509 trans- 
 ferred the religious functions of the chief-magistrate to the 
 priests. The consul, however, still had certain religious 
 duties to perform, such as taking the auspices (p. 158), 
 
 making sacrifices, pronouncing and performing vows in Liv. 9. 46. 6 
 the name of the state, dedicating temples, and supervising ^^^ {''^'' 
 certain public games.
 
 178 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 184. Financial Duties. The control which the king, and 
 the consul in the early republican period, had had over the 
 finances of the state, was in later days exercised on the 
 one hand by the senate and the people, on the other by 
 the censor and the quaestor. The right to enact and repeal 
 
 Liv. 2. 9. 6; revenue laws was from the outset intrusted to the senate. 
 
 23- 31- 1- jj^ ^j^g l^jgj. period the consuls also adopted the practice 
 of consulting the senate with reference to the expenditure 
 of public funds, until in course of time that body acquired 
 
 I.iv.44.i6.if.; in large measure the control of the public treasury. The 
 
 Cu:. in \ at. f^-^j^ncial powers of the consul were still further limited by 
 the establishment of the censorship, and by the elevation of 
 the quaestorship to an independent elective office. The 
 quaestor alone could authorize the payment of public 
 moneys, and the censor, during his term of office at least, 
 had exclusive charge of the ager publicus, the farming of 
 the taxes, and the construction of public buildings and 
 public works. However, the consul took charge of most 
 matters of this sort during the last three and a half years 
 of a lustrum after the censor had gone out of office. 
 
 185. Functions of the Consul outside the City. As 
 we have already noticed (p. 161), a sharp line of distinc- 
 tion was drawn between the powers which a magistrate 
 could exercise at home (domi) and abroad {militiae) . Up 
 to this point we have considered the consul's powers and 
 duties in the city. Outside the city his functions consisted 
 mainly in conducting campaigns, and in representing the 
 home government in its dealings with Italy, the provinces, 
 and with independent states. 
 
 186. The Consul as Commander-in-Chief. A declaration 
 of war always required the fovorable action of the centu- 
 riate comitia. The consul, however, retained the right to 
 call the citizens to arms in case of an emergency, but, as
 
 THE CONSUL 1 79 
 
 the military operations of Rome increased in importance, 
 and more than two generals in the field were required, the 
 whole question of the levy and the organization of the 
 army was submitted to the senate for its consideration. 
 After 207 also the choice of the tribuni niilitum for the Liv.27.36. 14 
 four legions of the regular levy was taken out of the hands 
 of the consul and made by popular election. When mili- 
 tary operations were carried on at a single point, the con- 
 suls had the supreme command on alternate days. When Liv. 22. 45. 
 two campaigns were being carried on at the same time, the ^~'^' 
 senate was often asked to assign the two consuls to their 
 respective fields, and in this way that body made its influ- 
 ence felt still further in the management of military affairs. 
 In the general conduct of a campaign the consul was given a 
 free hand, although at its close he might be held responsible 
 before the concilium plebis (pp. 172-3) for such military 
 offenses as cowardice or ill-treatment of prisoners. In the 
 early period apparently the chief-magistrate could conclude 
 a valid treaty of peace with an enemy, but in later times, 
 perhaps after the humiliating treaty of the Caudine Forks 
 in 321, the right to conclude a permanent treaty of peace Liv. 9. 5. i. 
 was taken by the people as its exclusive prerogative. The 
 magisterial right to sue for a triumph, for the title of 
 imperator, and for a supplicatio has already been discussed 
 (pp. 161 f.). 
 
 187. The Consul's Duties in Italy. The control which 
 the consul had over Italy outside of Rome and that which 
 he exercised over the provinces differed essentially, for two 
 reasons. In the first place, the provincials were not citi- 
 zens, while in the first century the Italians had the rights 
 of citizenship in full, or to a limited extent. Furthermore, 
 each province was a political unit subject to its governor, 
 while in Italy affairs other than those of a purely local,
 
 l8o REI'UBLICAN PERIOD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 fiscal, or judicial character were directed from Rome. 
 The relations which the Italian communities bore to the 
 central government were determined by treaties (cf. p. 59), 
 and one of the i)rincipal duties of the consul was to secure 
 the observance of these treaty relations, and, with the 
 Liv. 10. 1. 3. cooperation of the senate (cf. p. 236), to suppress con- 
 spiracies and put down serious uprisings. In his mili- 
 tary capacity he took charge of the contingents of troops 
 furnished by the Italian allies, and protected Italy from 
 inroads from across the frontier. 
 
 188. The Consul in the Provinces. In the early period, 
 foreign campaigns, as well as those in Italy, were conducted 
 by the consul. In case a praetor was already in charge 
 of the province where the war was being carried on, he 
 assumed the same relation to the consul which he would 
 have held to him if both magistrates had been in Rome. 
 If the province was not under a praetorian governor, the 
 consul took upon himself all civil and military duties. 
 Sulla's legislation extended to all the provinces the prac- 
 tice of sending out ex-magistrates as governors at the end 
 of their term of office at Rome, so that after his dictatorship 
 the consul had no occasion to go into a province during 
 his term of office. Sulla's arrangement was slightly modi- 
 Dio, 40. 56; fied by the law of 52 which fixed an interval of five years 
 1.^85. 9. between the incumbency of a magistracy at Rome and the 
 
 assumption of a ])rovincial governorship. 
 
 Through the consul also negotiations were carried on with 
 other states. He received embassies, introduced them to 
 the senate, when he saw fit to do so, referred questions 
 of international politics to that body for discussion, and 
 laid before the popular asseml)ly the recommendations of 
 the senate with reference to an offensive war or a treaty 
 of peace.
 
 DICTATOR AND MAGISTER EQUITUM l8l 
 
 189. The Quaestio Extraordinaria, Senatus Consultum 
 Ultimum, and lustitium. Certain exceptional powers given 
 to the consul, or assumed by him on his own responsibility 
 in an emergency, are on the border line between his powers 
 domi and militiae. These extraordinary powers came to him 
 in one of three ways : through the establishment of a quaes- 
 tio extraordinaria, the passage of a senatus consultum ulti- 
 mum, or the announcement of a iustitium. When crimes 
 of a political character had been committed by private 
 citizens or by magistrates, for the adjudication of which 
 the ordinary courts seemed unsuitable, the investigation of 
 the accused persons, and their punishment, if found guilty, 
 were sometimes intrusted to special courts under the presi- 
 dency of the consuls and the other higher magistrates. In Liv. 42. 21. 5; 
 such cases the right of appeal was suspended. When a con- 2. 54. 
 spiracy, an insurrection, or a revolution threatened public 
 security, or the integrity of the state, the senate at times, 
 
 instead of instructing the consul to appoint a dictator, passed 
 the senatus consultum ultimum, so called, which, under the sall. Cat. m- 
 interpretation put on it for many years, suspended the right ^^^^- ^- ^■ 
 of appeal and the tribunician veto power. A iustitium cic. de Har. 
 could probably be declared by the consul on his own respon- y'kJ^'^-xi ■ 
 sibiHty, but this was so extreme a step to take, that the Liv. 3. 27. 2. 
 senate was usually consulted beforehand. The instil iu7n 
 involved the suspension of public business, in particular of 
 fiscal and judicial business, and the closing of the shops. 
 
 (6) The Dictator and Magister Equitum 
 
 190. Appointment of a Dictator. The consul, as we have 
 already noticed (pp. 25 f.), inherited the poUtical powers of 
 the king, except that he was subject, either at the outset 
 or at an early period, to the checks put on him by the
 
 3- 9; Liv. 
 4. 21. 9-10 
 
 182 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 principle of coUegiality, the right of appeal, the tribunician 
 veto, and the possibility of being held accountable for his 
 conduct. From all these limitations the dictator in the 
 early period was relieved. A dictator was appointed when 
 the integrity of the commonwealth was threatened by wars 
 without or by dissensions within the borders of the state. 
 Liv. 4. 26. 11; The power to appoint was vested in the consuls. Some- 
 cenus^24! times the two consuls acted together in making the choice. 
 At other times one of them was chosen by lot to select the 
 dictator. The veto of a colleague or of a tribune was not 
 recognized. Constitutionally the senate had no voice in 
 the matter, but, during the period of its supremacy, that 
 body usually passed on the advisability of choosing a dicta- 
 Cic. de Legg. tor, and secured the appointment of the individual favored 
 by it. An important change in the method of appointment 
 was made during the second Punic war after the disastrous 
 defeat at Lake Trasimenus. The necessity of choosing 
 a dictator was recognized by every one, and, as if by com- 
 mon consent, an act authorizing the appointment was passed 
 Liv. 22. 8. by one of the popular assemblies. This irregular method 
 t'. ' of procedure was followed on one or two subsequent occa- 
 
 14 f- sions also. The choice was usually Hmited to ex-consuls, 
 
 but there does not seem to have been any legal restriction 
 covering this point. 
 
 191. His Powers and Duties. The consuls and other 
 magistrates continued in office after the appointment of 
 Liv. 5. 9. 6; a dictator, but he exercised the right of mains imperium 
 30.24.3. ^^^ ^^^ ^^^^ them. He could, however, if he pleased, 
 
 force them to resign. Inasmuch as his duties involved 
 mainly the preservation of order or its restoration, the 
 exercise of his functions rarely brought him into conflict 
 with the praetor, censor, or aedile, so that the business of 
 those officials was carried on without interruption during
 
 DICTATOR AND MAGISTER EQUITUM 1 83 
 
 a dictatorship. He was attended by twenty-four lictors, Polyb. 3. 
 who carried axes even within the city. The appointment LiVfl 18. 8, 
 of a dictator curtailed the rights of the individual citizen. 
 He was in a way also a representative of the conservative 
 party. It is not strange, therefore, that the party of prog- 
 ress fiercely attacked the institution, and as that party grew Liv. 27. 6. 5 ; 
 in power it succeeded in making good the right of appeal, p_ igg/ed. M 
 perhaps in 300, and the right of a tribune to interpose his 
 veto — a right which was gained toward the close of the third 
 century. The dictator was never held responsible for his 
 conduct, however, and there is only one recorded instance Liv. 22. 25. 
 where a colleague was chosen. Still the two changes 
 mentioned above robbed the dictatorship of its impor- 
 tance in large measure, and the last incumbent of the office 
 was chosen in 202. Dictators were appointed not only 
 seditionis sedandae causa, but also to perform certain 
 political or religious acts which could not well be per- 
 formed by the regular magistrates. Thus they were chosen 
 comitiorum habefidomm, feriaruui constituendarum, and Liv. 7. 22. 10; 
 davi figendi causa. '^-j.-x-x. 6.' 
 
 192. Term of Office. The dictator was expected to lay 
 down his office when the business for which he had been 
 chosen had been brought to an end. The maximum term 
 was six months. The dictatorship of Sulla (p. 104) and of 
 Caesar (pp. 134 f.) in the first century B.C. was, there- 
 fore, essentially different in this respect from those of the 
 early period. Sulla assumed the office for an indefinite 
 period, and Caesar for life. Some of the other points in 
 which this new magistracy differed from the old one are 
 
 noted elsewhere (pp. 135, 218). On the motion of Antony cic. PhiL 
 the dictatorship was abolished after Caesar's death. '■ 3^- 
 
 193. The Magister Equitum. At the outset the dictator 
 
 11 1 • 7- 1-11 T 1 Cic. de Re 
 
 was called ?jiagister popuh, a term which throws some light publ. 1.63.
 
 184 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 on the relation which his subordinate, the magister equitum, 
 
 bore to him. The dictatorship was primarily a military 
 
 ofifice, and its incumbent commanded the infantry, while 
 
 Cic.de Legg. the magister equitum had charge of the cavalry. If we 
 
 ■X. 9 ; Varro, ,.,.,,. ,. . •,, 
 
 L. L. 5. 82. thmk of the dictator as vested for a short tuiie with the 
 powers of the king, which is essentially true for the early 
 period, the magister equitum corresponds to the king's chief 
 military subordinate, the tribunus celerum (p. 16). He was 
 
 Liv. 9. 38. appointed by the dictator, was the dictator's immediate sub- 
 ordinate, and during the absence of that official received 
 his exceptional powers. He went out of ofifice with his 
 
 Dio, 42. 27. superior. He was attended by six lictors, wore the prae- 
 texta, and probably used the curule chair on ofificial occa- 
 sions. He ranked just below the praetor (p. 168). The 
 ofifice became extinct when the dictatorship was given up, 
 but was revived by Caesar. 
 
 {c) The Consular Tribune 
 
 194. Origin of the Consular Tribunate. Roman histo- 
 rians give as one reason for the establishment of the con- 
 Liv. 4. 7. 2. sular tribunate the development of military operations and 
 the need of more than two generals in the field. This may 
 have been a subsidiary motive, but the real explanation 
 of the change is probably the one given in a previous 
 chapter (p. 34). From the earliest times the armed force 
 of the community had been commanded by tribuni jniii- 
 tuiu. These were at first three in number, then six, and, 
 when more than one legion was levied, six for each legion. 
 The establishment of the ofifice of tribuni miiitum cotisulari 
 potestate meant simply the investiture of a certain number 
 of these purely military officials with the jjolitical powers 
 of the consul. This was accomplished by an election in
 
 THE CONSULAR TRIBUNE 185 
 
 the centuriate comitia. All citizens sensed in the army Liv. 5. 52. 16. 
 and were eligible to the office of tribunus militum, so 
 that the substitution of consular tribunes for consuls in- 
 volved the admission of plebeians to the chief magistracy, Liv. 4. 6. 8. 
 and satisfied their demands in part, while at the same time, 
 as we have already noticed (p. 34), the patricians left a 
 way open to restore to their own class its exclusive political 
 privileges, when a favorable opportunity presented itself. 
 
 195. Number of the Consular Tribunes and their Powers. 
 The normal number six was suggested by the number of 
 military tribunes in charge of each legion. The numbers 
 three and four, which are not uncommon in the college, 
 may be due to the fact that they adapted themselves 
 readily to the system of monthly sequence during the 
 
 year. As their title indicates, these officials had all the Liv. 4. 7. 2. 
 powers and insignia of the consul, even the right to take 
 the auspices and to name a dictator. The only partic- 
 ulars in which the power and dignity of the office were 
 inferior to those of the consul seem to have been that the 
 consular tribunes could not delegate their authority, could Liv. 4.45. ;£.; 
 not triumph at the close of their term of office, and did ' ' ' ^°' 
 not enjoy the privileges which ex-consuls had. The last 
 distinction is of both political and social importance. 
 Those who had been consular tribunes did not have the 
 right of priority in speaking and voting in the senate, 
 which was one of the privileges of ex-consuls. In fact, 
 plebeians who had filled the office were probably not 
 allowed to take part in the debate at all. This limitation St. R. ill. 
 more than any other must have made the plebeians dis- ^ ^' 
 satisfied with the compromise. Furthermore, ex-consular 
 tribunes did not have the itis imaginiim (p. 166). 
 
 196. Disappearance of the Office. The office lasted 
 
 from 444 to 367. It vas abolished by the Licinian law. Liv. 6. 35. 5.
 
 1 86 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 During the period of its continuance there were fifty-one 
 colleges of consular tribunes and twenty-two of consuls, and 
 for four years, from 375 to 371, there were no curule magis- 
 trates. In the year 53 it was proposed to reestablish the 
 consular tribunate, in order to satisfy the rival candidates for 
 the chief-magistracy by increasing the number of positions 
 available, but the plan was not carried out. 
 
 {d) Tlte Praetor 
 
 197. Relation of the Praetor to the Consul. The circum- 
 stances under which the praetorship was established have 
 been noticed elsewhere (p. 37). The new magistrate was 
 regarded as the collega consuhtm, and in the early period 
 ex-consuls were not infrequently elected to the office. 
 
 7. I. 6. Certain important duties which had belonged to the consul 
 were taken from him and assigned to the praetor. It was 
 very natural, therefore, to regard the praetor as equal in 
 
 6. 42. II. dignity to the consul. In point of fact the sphere within 
 which he exercised his regular functions was so shar})ly 
 defined, and he was made so complete a master of it, that 
 there was little danger of conflict between him and the 
 consul. When such conflict came, however, the principle 
 
 1.13. 15.4. of fuaius imperhwi was recognized, and the praetor was 
 forced to yield. His inferior position was indicated to 
 the eye by the fact that he was attended by only six 
 
 >'=i"' lictors, and in the later period he was accompanied by 
 
 only two when performing his judicial duties in the city. 
 
 198. Method of Election ; Title. Certain practices ob- 
 served in electing praetors bring out in a concrete way 
 the relation which the consul and the praetor bore to each 
 other. As Aulus Gellius says {N. A. XIII. 15. 4): praetor, 
 etsi conlega consulis est, neque praetoret)i neque consulem iiire
 
 THE PRAETOR I 87 
 
 rogare potest, . . . qjiia imperinm minus praetor, mains habet 
 cofisul, et a minore i}?iperio mains aut viaior conlega rogari 
 iure 71071 potest. Patricians only were eligible to the office 
 at first, but within thirty years of its establishment it 
 was thrown open to the plebeians also (p. 42), whether 
 by law or otherwise is not clear. The chief-magistrate 
 lost the title of praetor and it was given to the new 
 official (p. 175), although it did not suggest his duties as 
 well as index would have done. 
 
 199. Three Periods of the Praetorship. The history of 
 the praetorship, from the point of view of the functions 
 which the incumbents of the office exercised, falls into 
 three periods — from 367 to 227, from 227 to 81, and from 
 81 down into the empire. In the first period the special 
 duties of the praetor were judicial. In the second period 
 the college of praetors was divided into two sections. The 
 members of one section were judges ; those of the other 
 were provincial governors. In the third period, under the 
 republic, all of the praetors were judges at Rome, during 
 their first year of office, and provincial governors the 
 following year. 
 
 200. Development of the Praetorship. There was only 
 one praetor at the outset. This fact distinguishes the 
 praetorship from all the other magistracies. From the theo- 
 retical point of view, however, as we have seen, the praetor 
 was regarded as the colleague of the two consuls, and, 
 therefore, in a vague way may have been at first thought of 
 as a member of the college to which the consuls belonged. 
 The judicial duties of the praetor confined him to the city, 
 while the consuls, his two colleagues, if we may so call 
 them, were frequently engaged in carrying on wars abroad. 
 In consequence of this difference he was styled praetor 
 urbanus. The duties of the new magistracy increased to
 
 l88 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 such an extent that in 242 it was found necessary to choose 
 Liv. Ep. 19. a second praetor. The praetor urbanus assumed charge 
 of all civil suits in which citizens only were interested, 
 while the new magistrate officiated when one party or 
 Liv. 22. 35. 5. both parties were peregritii. It was from this fact that he 
 received his distinguishing title of praetor peregrinus. 
 Along with the increase in the size of the college of 
 Liv. 22. 35. 6; praetors in 227 to four, and in 197 to six, went a change 
 ^^' ^^' ' in the functions of certain of the incumbents of the office, 
 for, as we have already noticed (p. 71), the four new 
 praetors were added to take charge of the four newly 
 acquired provinces. To meet the increasing demand for 
 provincial governors, and to provide for the transaction of 
 judicial business in the city, the Romans were obliged to 
 St. R. II. resort frequently to the prorogatio wiperii. The adoption 
 ^'-^ ■ of this device in the case of the praetor made his office 
 
 practically one of two years. So far as the term of 
 office was concerned, it was not a radical change which 
 Sulla made, therefore, in formally assigning to every praetor 
 one year in Rome and one year in a province. The 
 importance of the change consisted in the fact that from 
 this time to the fall of the republic the functions of all the 
 praetors were essentially the same, and that all of them 
 St. R. II. assumed judicial duties for a year and undertook the gov- 
 ernment of a province for the following year. The number 
 of praetors, which Sulla raised to eight, was increased by 
 Dio, 42. 51; Caesar to ten, then to fourteen, and ultimately to sixteen. 
 43-47, 43- 49- 201. Division of Duties. From the time when more than 
 one praetor was chosen, the principle of collegiality, and 
 Cic. in Verr. the consequent possibility of exercising the veto power, was 
 11.1.119. recognized; but it did not have much meaning for the 
 praetor's office, because the duties of the several praetors 
 were (juitc distinct from one another. It occasionally found
 
 THE PRAETOR 1 89 
 
 expression in a positive way in the joint action of two or 
 more praetors in a matter concerning them all. The prae- 
 tor nrbanus took precedence of all his colleagues, and Liv 24. 9. 5. 
 assumed the chief-magistracy during the absence of both 
 the consuls. The assignment of each praetor to his pro- 
 vincia, or sphere of duties, was made by lot. From Sulla's 
 time the casting of lots took place after the election to deter- 
 mine the praetor's functions for the first year, and during 
 the first year of office to decide which provinces should be 
 governed by the several praetors during the second year. 
 
 202. Powers of the Praetor. The praetor's powers were 
 of three different sorts. He acted as a judge, as a pro- 
 vincial governor, and as an administrative officer. The 
 details of judicial procedure and the duties of a provincial 
 governor are given elsewhere, but one or two facts of a 
 general character bearing on his judicial duties may be 
 stated here. 
 
 203. The Praetor as a Criminal Judge. To the con- 
 stitutional changes already mentioned in the functions of 
 the praetor, which divide the history of his office into three 
 periods, may be added the change which resulted from the 
 establishment of the gitaestiones perpehme (ci.\)Y>. 74, 106). 
 These courts were put under the presidency of the praetor. 
 Up to the time of their estabUshment he had been solely a 
 civil judge, but henceforth he conducted criminal cases also. 
 The development of the praetor's criminal jurisdiction out 
 of the civil is not hard to understand. The earliest quaestio 
 perpetua, that to try governors charged with extortion, was 
 from one point of view a civil court, in which those who 
 had suffered had the right of complaint. From another 
 point of view the proceeding assumed the character of a 
 criminal action, since the offense had been committed by 
 a state official and was to the detriment of the state.
 
 190 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 204. The Edictum Praetorium. Of the magisterial 
 powers mentioned above (pp. 157 ff.) the ius edicendi 
 assumed the greatest importance at the hands of the prae- 
 tor. On taking office he pubUshed the maxims of law and 
 the forms of procedure {fonnulae) by which he would be 
 
 Ascon. in governed throughout the year of his office. This edict was 
 ^d "^Or.' ^' ^^' properly called, therefore, an edictum perpehawi. A praetor 
 commonly adopted the edict of his predecessor, making 
 such additions and changes as seemed to him and his 
 advisers desirable, and in this way a large part of the 
 Roman civil and criminal law was developed. The edicts 
 of the praetor peregrinus formed in a similar way the basis 
 of the ius gefitium. 
 
 205. The Praetor as an Administrative Officer. Admin- 
 istrative action was taken by the praetor, either in his 
 capacity as an independent magistrate, or as the repre- 
 sentative of the consul. Action in the first case was usu- 
 ally taken under the authorization of the senate, and covered 
 such matters as presiding over the cojnitia when laws were 
 being passed or inferior magistrates elected. Furthermore, 
 he conducted civil and military affairs under the direc- 
 tion of the consul, and, as noted above, in the absence 
 of the consuls the praetor urbanus became with certain 
 limitations the chief-magistrate. 
 
 (<?) Tlte Censor 
 
 206. CoUegiality. The censorship was established in 
 443 or 435 (cf. p. 37). In the case of this office the 
 collegiate principle was carried out in its extreme form. 
 A majority of the centuries must cast their votes for both 
 members of the college at the same meeting to make 
 an election valid. If one censor retired from office, his
 
 THE CENSOR IQI 
 
 colleague must also withdraw, and joint action was necessary 
 in all important matters. This requirement of joint action 
 furnished the principal safeguard of the citizen against 
 the arbitrary action of one member of the college, since 
 the censors were practically unaccountable for their official 
 actions. 
 
 207. Election of Censors ; Term of Oflace. At the outset 
 patricians only were eligible. The first plebeian was elected 
 to the office in 351, and a few years later the principle Li v. 10. 8. 8. 
 governing eligibility to the consulship was applied to the 
 censorship also. One censor must be plebeian ; both might Liv. 8. 12. 16 
 be. Censors were elected in the centuriate comitia under Liv. 32. 7. i ; 
 
 ,1 1 \ • ccL Gell. 13. 15.4. 
 
 the presidency of the consul, and entered on their ottices 
 immediately after their election. New censors were chosen Varro, L. L. 
 
 r- 1 ^ ^ ^ cc c 6. 1 1 ; Censo- 
 
 at intervals of four or five years, and held otfice tor a year rinus, i8. 13; 
 
 and a half. The business left unfinished at the end of J^^^j'st/I!' 
 
 their term of office was turned over mainly to the consuls H- zip- ff- 
 
 and aediles. Technically the censorship stood below the 
 
 praetorship (p. 168), but in practical importance and in 
 
 public esteem it was rated much higher. In fact, during 
 
 the first half of the second century it surpassed all the 
 
 other magistracies in dignity and influence. Consuls and 
 
 praetors did not have the right to veto the action of the 
 
 censor, and the tribune rarely exercised it. The censor 
 
 sat in the curule chair on formal occasions, and, when Liv. 40. 45.8 
 
 inaugurated, wore the purple toga. On the other hand, he 6.V3- 7 
 
 was not vested with the hnperiiim, and consequently was 
 
 not attended by lictors (cf. p. 166). He did not have the 
 
 right to convoke the senate or the comitia. 
 
 208. The Duties of the Censor. The administrative 
 duties of the office consisted ( i ) in assessing the property 
 of citizens and arranging them in tribes, classes, and cen- 
 turies, (2) in revising the lists of knights and senators,
 
 192 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 (3) in managing the finances of the state. In their per- 
 formance of these duties the censors exercised a general 
 supervision over the morals of the community. 
 
 209. Preliminaries to the Census. The first step in the 
 assessment of property was to summon all citizens to a 
 contio in the Campus Martins, where the formula census 
 which stated the principles to be followed in making the 
 assessment and the lists was announced. Those summoned 
 were omnes Quirites, \equites'\ pcdites, armati privatiquc, 
 curatorcs om?iium trilmu7?i, si quis pro se sive pro altera 
 ratiojietn dare volet (Varro, L. L. VL 86). It will be noted 
 that those who were exempt from military service on the 
 score of age or ph}'^ical disability, as well as those who 
 were subject to it, were required to present themselves. 
 Boys who were not under the patria potestas and women 
 who were not under the legal control of either father or 
 husband were required to a])pear, and were registered in a 
 special list. Those who failed to be registered, the incensi, 
 were liable to the loss of personal freedom and property, 
 but in the later period the assessment of their property 
 was made without their assistance, and they escaped 
 the penalty. The censors were assisted by the curatores 
 tribuicm, or administrative representatives of the several 
 tribes, and by a concilmm made up of officials and expert 
 advisers. 
 
 210. The Census and the Nota. Every citizen was 
 required to give his name, age, domicile, the name of his 
 father or former owner, his tribe, his family circumstances, 
 the number of years of military service which he had ren- 
 dered, and the amount of his taxable property. On the 
 basis of the information thus obtained the censors deter- 
 mined the taxes and drew up the lists of citizens according 
 to tribes, classes, and centuries. The basis of classification
 
 THE CENSOR I93 
 
 is discussed elsewhere (pp. 250-251). Law or custom had 
 laid upon them, in the performance ' of this duty, the 
 obligation of inquiring into the manner of life {jnores) of Liv. 4. 8. 2; 
 every citizen, and in particular of finding out the way de Legg. -^V 
 in which each one had performed his duty to the state. 
 The commission of a crime like theft, an objectionable Geli. 4. 20. 6; 
 mode of life, cowardice in the presence of the enemy, cVc. de'Re 
 malfeasance in office, and similar matters might lead the Pubi. 4. 10; 
 
 ' ° de Or. 2. 272. 
 
 censors to assign a citizen to a large tribe {tribu movere) 
 and thus diminish the value of his vote, or to deprive 
 him of his centuriate vote (^i?iter aerarios referre), to take 
 from a knight his horse (adimere equimi), or to remove a 
 name from the Hst of senators (senatu movere). The inflic- 
 tion of this punishment was indicated by placing a nota 
 after a citizen's name in the list. The effect of the punish- 
 ment lasted until a new census was made. It was within 
 the censor's power also to issue proclamations forbidding 
 extravagance and scandalous methods of living. 
 
 211. The Recognitio Equitum. Admission to knight- 
 hood depended mainly on the possession of a certain 
 amount of property. In the late repubhc and early empire 
 
 the minimum required was 400,000 sesterces. The general Hor. Epist. 
 assessment of citizens in the Campus would, therefore, pijn. n! h 
 enable the censor to draw up the list of knights, but in 33- 2P- 
 the case of the equites eqiio publico a special ceremony 
 took place in the forum. Each knight whose equipment 
 was furnished by the state was required to bring his horse 
 for inspection by the censors. If the state of his equip- 
 ment and his previous record were satisfactory, he received 
 the order, traduc equum ; otherwise, vende equuin. Rewards Liv. 29. 37, 
 for distinguished service were also granted at this time. ^'°' 
 
 212. The Lectio Senatus. The duty of revising the 
 list of senators was assigned to the censor by the Ovinian
 
 194 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 law (cf. pp. 46 f.) toward the close of the fourth century, and 
 contributed largely to the importance of that magistrate's 
 office. He enjoyed, and, during the period of the censor- 
 ship's greatest influence, exercised freely the right to drop 
 men from the senate and to fill vacancies. The reform of 
 Sulla took this power from him (p. 105), and, even after 
 the repeal of a large part of Sulla's legislation, the censor 
 did not regain the right to add names to the list of sena- 
 tors. He recovered, however, the power of removal. 
 
 213. Management of Public Finances. To the censor 
 fell the collection of revenue {j'cctigalid) and the expendi- 
 ture of public moneys {icltro tributa). The most important 
 matters under the first head consisted in farming out the 
 taxes to the highest bidder {maximis J>retiis), in selling 
 or renting public land, and in granting for a fixed sum 
 certain privileges controlled by the state. The most im- 
 portant expenditure which came under the control of the 
 censor was that entailed by the construction or repair of 
 public buildings, roads, bridges, and aqueducts. The range 
 of his duties in this respect, however, did not often extend 
 beyond Rome and the Italian roads. The work was com- 
 monly done by contractors {conductores) , and paid for out 
 of funds placed at the disposal of the censors by the senate. 
 A record of the contracts made by them (Jeges censoriae) 
 was kept in the aerariiivi. Questions of taxation at issue 
 between the state and individual citizens, and matters in 
 dispute between the state and publicani or conductores, 
 were submitted to the censor for settlement (cf. p. 163), 
 and this phase of his official duties must have been very 
 important. 
 
 214. Completion of the Lustrum. The conclusion of 
 the census was marked by a sacrificiiim histrale, or offering 
 of a boar, a ram, and a bull {suovctaurilid), in the Campus.
 
 THE CENSOR I95 
 
 After that the censor led the assembled army to the city 
 gate, dismissed it, drove a nail in the wall of a certain 
 temple, deposited the list of citizens in the aerarium, 
 and laid down his office. Unfinished business, and new 
 business which might arise before new censors were chosen, 
 were managed by the consuls, aediles, and quaestors. 
 
 215. Census outside of Rome. By the lex Julia iniini- 
 cipalis (cf. 11. I, 42 ff.) of *the year 45, arrangements were 
 made for taking the census in the nmnicipia throughout 
 Italy, and for reporting the results at Rome sixty days 
 before the completion of the Roman census. 
 
 216. Decline of the Censorship. The reasons for the 
 decline and disappearance of the censorship are not far to 
 seek. With the rapid increase of the population, and of 
 the financial interests of the state, the censors were unable 
 to perform within the specified time the duty assigned to 
 them. Toward the close of the second century, and in the 
 
 early part of the first century, their work was either left Herz. 1.796 f 
 undone or done in an unsatisfactory manner. Further- 
 more, the method which Sulla introduced of filling the 
 senate (cf. p. 105), robbed the censor of one of his most 
 important duties. In fact, there were no censors between 
 80 and 70. A third agency which contributed to the 
 downfall of the censorship was the fact that with the growth 
 of the city the censors were unable to maintain their con- 
 trol over the morals of the community, and that to make 
 matters worse the nota came to be used as a political 
 weapon, so that the right to affix it was curtailed by law Ascon., p. 9, 
 in 58. Although the law was repealed six years later, pro Sest.^55'^ 
 this function of the censor's office never regained its 
 significance.
 
 196 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 (f) The Tribune 
 
 217. Election, Number, Insignia, Assistants. The trib- 
 une never became a magistrate in the strict sense of the 
 word (cf. p. 151), but, inasmuch as his functions in the 
 later years of the repubHc closely resembled those of a 
 magistrate, the office may be conveniently discussed at 
 this point. The law always required a candidate for the 
 tribunate to be a plebeian. From 494 to 47 1, tribunes were 
 probably elected in a plebeian curiate assembly (cf. p. 29). 
 After the latter date they were chosen in the plebeian 
 tribal assembly, presided over by a tribune. The number 
 
 Herz. 1. 152, of tribunes at the outset is uncertain. Perhaps there were 
 
 "■ ^' five, one representing each class. In 45 7 the number was 
 
 increased to ten, and this continued afterwards to be the 
 size of the college. The tribunes had no insignia of office. 
 In fact, the democratic character of the position was in- 
 
 Liv. 42. 33. 1, dicated by the simple subsellia on which they sat when 
 perforaiing their official duties. At the outset the plebeian 
 aediles served as their assistants, but, as the importance and 
 also the duties of the aedile increased, the two offices drew 
 
 Liv. 2. 56. 13. apart, and viatores were assigned to the tribune to help 
 him in the performance of his duties. 
 
 218. Fundamental Power of the Tribune. The tribunate 
 was established for one specific purpose, viz., to protect the 
 individual citizen, and especially the plebeian, from arbitrary 
 action on the part of a magistrate. His effective exercise 
 of this right was assured to him by two things. In the 
 
 Gell. 13.12.9; first place, he could infiict punishment, even the punish- 
 
 47^ p?ut. Ti. ment of death, on the magistrate who persisted in taking 
 
 ^'"' '°- a step which he had forl)idden. In the second place, he 
 
 Val. Max. himself was sacrosanct, and any one could be put to death 
 
 9' 5- ^- with impunity, and without process of law, who violated
 
 THE TRIBUNE 1 97 
 
 the sanctity of his person. The jjrohibition of the tribune 
 
 must, however, be deHvered in person, and at the moment Gell. 13. 12. 6. 
 
 when the contemplated action was being taken. This fact 
 
 accounts for the early increase of the number to ten, and Liv. 3. 30. 7. 
 
 for the establishment of the tradition that the tribune must 
 
 not be absent from home for a night, and must leave his 
 
 door open. The principle underlying these arrangements 
 
 explains also why the action forbidden by the tribune could 
 
 be taken later, and become valid, unless again vetoed by 
 
 him. This power (^tus auxilii) could be exercised only 
 
 inside the first milestone. Even the ins ciun plebe agendi 
 
 was possessed by the tribune before 449 only to the extent 
 
 of convoking the plebs to elect his successor. 
 
 219. Why the Tribune's Power increased. Three fac- 
 tors united to bring about a rapid and far-reaching devel- 
 opment of the tribune's j^owers. One of these was the 
 political tendency during the early centuries of repub- 
 lican history. The other two were the inviolability of the 
 tribune's person, and his power of inflicting jjunishment. 
 From the establishment of the republic down to the middle 
 of the fourth century there was a steady movement toward 
 the equalization of the political rights of the plebeians and 
 patricians. The tribunes were the natural leaders of the 
 plebeians in this movement, and an increase in their 
 powers was a natural concomitant of the growth of the 
 political rights of the plebeians. However, without the 
 protection which was given him by the sacrosanct charac- 
 ter of his person, and by his right to impose an immediate 
 penalty, he would have found it well-nigh impossible to 
 make good his claims to new power or to overthrow the 
 existing order of things. With these powers he was almost 
 invincible. No system of government could permanently 
 resist the ins auxilii, safeguarded as it was by the two
 
 198 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 privileges just mentioned. It is not easy to follow in the 
 traditional account the development of the tribune's 
 authority, but its course can be inferred with a high 
 degree of probability. 
 
 220. Powers of the Latest Tribunate. In the later 
 years of the republic these powers in the main were : (i) 
 the ius aiixilii, extended into the ins intercedendi ; (2) the 
 ius coercitionis, with the complementary right of conducting 
 criminal trials; (3) the ius cinn plebe agcndi ; (4) the itis 
 cum pat rib us age?idi ; and (5) certain general administrative 
 powers. 
 
 221. The Intercessio. The inter cessio carried with it 
 the right to thwart any official act of administration. It 
 was directed against the magistrate and not, like the veto 
 of a president, governor, or mayor, against a measure. In 
 the case of the senate, the tribune had the right to impose 
 his veto on the magistrate at any stage in the proceed- 
 ings ; for instance, when a matter was being laid before 
 the senate for consideration, when the senators were asked 
 their opinions, or when the vote was ordered. In a similar 
 way, when the comitia met for legislative or judicial pur- 
 poses, the intercessio was admissible at any point, until the 
 decision of the people had been finally announced. At 
 first sight this extraordinary power seems to have little in 
 common with the latio auxilii, which could only take place 
 when a specific thing was being done to an individual by a 
 magistrate, and when that individual called on the tribune 
 for help. The greater power may well have developed out 
 of the less, however, in this way : When the magistrate 
 was instructed by the senate, for instance, to adopt a cer- 
 tain course affecting a large number of citizens, befor-e the 
 measure was carried into effect, the tribune may have 
 announced his intention to protect any citizen against
 
 THE TRIBUNE I99 
 
 whom the magistrate should try to carry out the senate's 
 decree. The obvious result of such a declaration would be 
 to make the measure of no effect, and we may well believe 
 that a practical people like the Romans would consider it 
 far better to get the opinion of the tribune, when a measure 
 was under consideration, and to secure his approval, if 
 possible, than to run the risk of passing an ineffective law. 
 Furthermore, peaceable opposition to a bill under discus- 
 sion was preferable to forcible opposition to an enacted law 
 (cf. p. 38). The intercessio of the tribune did not prevent 
 a magistrate from submitting a measure a second time to 
 the senate or comitia, however, and if the tribune inter- 
 posed no objection on the second occasion the bill became 
 a law. The tribune could exercise a modified form of his 
 veto, however, by asking for a night to consider the mat- 
 ter, instead of definitively prohibiting it. Occasionally the 
 senate sought to prevent a tribune from interposing his 
 veto by incorporating in a proposed measure a statement 
 that if any tribune vetoed it he would be acting contra re7n cic. ad Fam. 
 publicam, but this device does not seem to have been of ' ' " 
 much avail. The tribunician veto against a measure deal- 
 ing with the consular provinces was not admissible (unless cic. de Prov. 
 this restriction was removed in 52), nor could the tribune '^"s- ^7- 
 prevent the election of a magistrate. It is not clear what 
 restrictions Sulla laid on the veto power of the tribune, cic.de Legg. 
 but they do not seem to have been of a permanent ^ ^^ ' ^^^^^^ . 
 character. i- 7- 3- 
 
 222. Criminal Jurisdiction of the Tribune. As we have 
 already noticed, the lex sacrata of 494 empowered the 
 tribune to punish the magistrate who persisted in a course 
 which he had forbidden, or who violated the sanctity of Cic. pro 
 his person. This power was given to him because he " ' ^'^' 
 represented in his person the rights of the plebeians. It
 
 200 REPUIJLICAN PI<:RIUD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 was exercised by him when the magistrate had transgressed 
 in a specific case ; but the whole policy of a magistrate 
 might be prejudicial to the interests of the plebeians, and 
 it was a natural development of the tribune's power to hold 
 such a magistrate responsible for his conduct. A summary 
 punishment inflicted by the tribune in such a case would 
 hardly be appropriate, and, furthermore, the objectionable 
 acts might have been committed away from Rome, or 
 some time before. The practice, therefore, grew up of 
 allowing the tribune to prosecute such offending magistrates 
 before the plebeian assembly. But conduct prejudicial to 
 the best interests of the plebeians was prejudicial to the 
 whole state, for the patricians in the later period constituted 
 an element numerically almost negligible in the community ; 
 or, to put it in another way, the community was practically 
 a plebeian community, and offenses against the state could, 
 without a serious violation of equity, be tried before the 
 plebeian assembly. In this way the tribune became a 
 public prosecutor, and the concilium plebis developed into 
 a court for the trial of magistrates accused of such offenses 
 as cowardice, appropriation of public funds, or illegal reten- 
 tion of oiifice. This method of judicial procedure was 
 gradually given up after the establishment of the guaestiones 
 perpetiiae. 
 
 223. The lus cum Plebe Agendi. Down to 449 the con- 
 cilium plebis met to elect tribunes and aediles, and perhaps 
 also to adopt resolutions. The Valerio-Horatian laws of 
 the year mentioned gave it the power to legislate for the 
 whole community under certain conditions, and the legis- 
 lation of 339 and 287 removed even these restrictions 
 (pp. 49 ff.). Some of the effects of these changes on the 
 tribune's position have already been noted (p. 45). Sulla 
 limited the legislative competence of the tribune by making
 
 THE TRIBUNE 20I 
 
 the preliminary approval of the patrician members of the Appian, B. C. 
 senate necessary to secure the validity of a plebiscitum, Ep^.^9'7 ; Caes. 
 but this restriction was removed in the year 70. S'*^',''^' 
 
 J ' lac. Ann. 
 
 224. The lus cum Patribus Agendi. In the early period 3- 27- 
 of the tribunate, the tribunes, as classical writers tell us, sat 
 outside the doors of the senate and waited for the passage Val. Max. 
 of bills by that body. The circumstances under which they ^' ^' ^' 
 were admitted to the senate-house and allowed to state 
 
 their objections there have already been noticed (p. ■T)^~). 
 
 This change would not have required the passage of a law. 
 
 The right which the tribune acquired, perhaps in connection 
 
 with the passage of the Hortensian law, to convoke the Cic.de Legg. 
 
 senate and lay matters before it for consideration, was also ad'pam 
 
 a sign of the rapp7-ocheinent between the tribune and the '°- ^S- 2. 
 
 senate. The Hortensian law took the coiiciliinn plebis out 
 
 from under the control of the senate, but the senate may 
 
 well have hoped that, by allowing the tribune to bring Herz. I. 
 
 matters directly before it, he would be led to subi;nit bills ^^^ ^" 
 
 to it for its consideration before presenting theifi to the 
 
 plebeian assembly for action. ,-- 
 
 225. Administrative Duties. Occasionally matters of an 
 administrative character, like the dedication of a temple, 
 or the supervision of the coinage, fell to the charge of 
 the tribune, but duties of this sort never assumed much 
 importance under the republic. 
 
 226. The Tribune as a Political Leader. The part 
 which the tribune played as a political leader has been 
 noticed here and there in the historical part of this book. 
 A simple solution of the question at issue between the 
 plebeians and patricians in 494 could have been secured 
 by giving the plebeians full political rights, but the patri- 
 cians were not willing to grant them, and the plebeians 
 were not strong enough to force them to take that step.
 
 202 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 In the period from 494 to 337 the plebeians gained their 
 object, however, under the leadership of the tribune, and 
 the tribunate of the first 150 years finds its real political 
 significance in the achievement of this result. In the 
 second period, after 337, when the plebeians had at last 
 gained admission to every magistracy, the tribune is prac- 
 tically no longer a representative of a class, but he stands 
 for the rights of the individual over against the rights, or 
 claims, of the community or of the state. 
 
 (g) T7ic Acdile {Plebeian and Ctirtde) 
 
 227. Relations of the two Colleges. These two colleges 
 of officials may proi)erly be considered together, and under 
 the head of the magistracies, for, although the plebeian 
 aediles were not technically magistrates, their duties came 
 to be essentially the same as those of the curule aediles, 
 who were magistrates, and the two colleges are closely 
 allied to one another historically. 
 
 228. The Early Plebeian Aedileship. The plebeian 
 aediles, whose office dates back to the beginning of the 
 republic (cf. p. 28), were two in number, and were always 
 elected by the concUium pkbis. Only plebeians were 
 eligible to the office, and, like the tribunes, they were 
 sacrosanct. Their main business consisted in helping the 
 tribunes in the performance of their duties, and in preserv- 
 ing plebiscites and decrees of the senate in the temj^le 
 of Ceres. From the outset, as their title aediles indicates, 
 they seem to have supervised to some extent the construc- 
 
 . 90. tion of ])ublic buildings. They had, also, a limited criminal 
 jurisdiction. 
 
 229. Development of the Office. Perhaps there is no 
 office which in its history better illustrates the practical
 
 THE AEDILE 203 
 
 nature of the Romans and their tendency to adapt existing 
 institutions to new situations than the aedileship does, and 
 there is no case in which the successive steps by which 
 this adaptation took place are shown more clearly. Fur- 
 thermore, the history of the aedileship presents in a con- 
 crete way the process by which the two distinct elements, 
 which originally made up the Roman community, were 
 merged into one body. As the city grew, the necessity for 
 a more efficient police service developed, and the duties 
 which the aediles performed in assisting the tribunes made 
 it natural to employ them in this service. As early as the 
 middle of the fifth century they were apparently called on 
 to protect the city in moments of danger, and to see that Liv. 3. 6. 9. 
 grain was sold at a low price. Duties of this sort affected 
 patricians as well as plebeians. 
 
 230. Establishment of the Curule Aedileship. At the 
 same time their connection with the tribune's office became 
 looser, and viatores were appointed in their stead to assist 
 the tribunes (cf. p. 196). In fact, they were rapidly 
 acquiring the positive functions of magistrates. Yet the 
 patricians had no voice in their election, although their 
 power extended over the patricians. It was under these 
 circumstances that the curule aedileship was established 
 in 366 (cf. p, 42), as an offset to the plebeian aedileship ; 
 for patricians only were eligible to the new office. These 
 modifications in the character of the aedileship evidently 
 had their origin, partly in a tendency to assimilate the 
 plebs to the rest of the people, by eliminating the dis- 
 tinctive character of their representatives, and partly in 
 the need of officials for the performance of new duties. 
 
 231. Differences between the two Colleges. The curule 
 and plebeian aedileships were at first very different from 
 one another in respect of technical character and official
 
 204 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 dignity. The curule aediles were elected by the popuhis 
 meeting in the awiitia tributa under the presidency of a 
 magistrate. They acciuired the right to a seat in the senate, 
 after the passage of the Ovinian law (pp. 46 ff.). They had 
 the ius imaghuwi, and on formal occasions wore the toga 
 praetexta and sat in the curule chair. From this last hiark 
 of.office they derived the distingviishing part of their tide. 
 The plebeian aediles, on the other hand, were elected by 
 
 II. the concilium plebis under the presidency of a plebeian 
 
 '■ official, and lacked all of the distinguishing marks of office 
 just mentioned. The exclusive right of the patricians to 
 the curule aedileship was given up in a very few years after 
 the establishment of the office, and the two positions in the 
 
 1.6. college were filled by plebeians in alternate years. The 
 two colleges were also brought nearer together by the 
 relinquishment on the part of the plebeian aediles of their 
 
 II. sacrosanct character, and by their acquisition in course of 
 
 ^' time of a right to a seat in the senate. 
 
 232. Powers of the Aedile. The members of the two 
 colleges had essentially the same powers. They had the 
 supervision of public places {cura urbis) ; they had charge 
 of the corn supply and of commercial transactions {cura 
 annonae) ; they superintended the public games ; and they 
 had certain judicial powers. 
 
 233. The Cura Urbis. The cura urbis was a natural 
 outgrowth of the police functions which the aediles had 
 first exercised as assistants of the tribunes. They had 
 charge especially of the streets, baths, temples, and other 
 l)ublic works. It was their duty, for instance, to see 
 that order was preserved in public places, and that the 
 regulations governing obstruction of the streets and the 
 cleaning of them were observed. The construction of 
 public works was in charge of the censor or consul, but
 
 THE AEDILE 20$ 
 
 when they were completed the aedile assumed the respon- 
 sibility of keeping them in repair. Being charged with the 
 maintenance of order in public places, and having a super- 
 vision over the public games, as we shall presently see, it 
 was very natural that they should be held responsible for 
 the maintenance of good order, when public gatherings of a 
 secular or religious character, such as contiones, processions, 
 or games, were held. 
 
 234. The Cura Annonae. One of the most important 
 
 of their duties consisted in supplying the city with grain. Liv. 10. 11. 9; 
 After the acquisition of rich provinces to the south and east, !o! 26. 6.' 
 and when agriculture in Italy had declined, this function 
 was a matter of great moment, and increased steadily in 
 importance as the city grew. Since it was their primary 
 purpose to have food sold at a low price, the aediles had the 
 right to carry out the laws which fixed the price of grain, 
 to inspect weights and measures, and to exercise a general C. I. L. X. 
 supervision of mercantile transactions, especially of the sale pers! i.'i3o. 
 of articles of food. In the performance of these duties 
 they exercised judicial power, and issued edicts with ref- 
 erence to matters coming under their administrative super- 
 vision. In this way they developed a code of commercial 
 law, largely through the influence of the praetor pere- 
 griniis, who, in the adjudication of cases coming before 
 him, necessarily considered the laws of other commercial 
 peoples. 
 
 235. The Cura Ludorum. The ludi pkbeii were, per- Liv. 23. 30. 17 
 haps from the first, in charge of the plebeian aediles. 
 
 These officials also assisted the magistrates in the general 
 public celebrations. Out of these two facts naturally de- 
 veloped the practice of giving the aediles supervision of any 
 newly established games, so that in Cicero's time, for instance, 
 the curule aediles were in charge of the ludi Romani, the
 
 206 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 Floralia, and the Megaknsia, while the plebeian aediles 
 conducted the ludi pleheii and the Ceriales. 
 
 236. Judicial Functions. The power of the aedile to 
 act as a public prosecutor, and to summon those who 
 were charged with usury and certain other offenses before 
 the comitia tributa, was never of great importance, and lost 
 its significance in large measure after the establishment of 
 the quacstiones perpctuae. 
 
 237. Limits of Jurisdiction and Division of Duties. The 
 duties of the aediles were evidently of an urban character. 
 Furthemiore, the historical relation which the plebeian 
 aedile bore to the tribime naturally limited the former 
 official too in the exercise of his power to the space within 
 the poinocrhim. To this restriction the curule aediles also 
 conformed. As for the division of duties between the 
 two colleges, so far as concerns police supervision, it was 
 local. The city was divided into four quarters, and each 
 one of these quarters was placed under the control of an 
 aedile. In other matters the assignment of duties was 
 determined by tradition or convenience. Each of the 
 four aediles had the right of veto against his colleague in 
 the same college, but not over a member of the other 
 college. 
 
 (A) Tlie Quaestor 
 
 238. History of the Quaestorship. As we have already 
 seen {^. 16), there were quaestorcs parricidii under the 
 monarchy. Some light is thrown on the nature of their 
 duties by the definition which Festus gives of parrichia. 
 He remarks, 7iam parricida iion iitiqiie is, qui parciitrm 
 occidisset, dicebatur, sed qualcmciimqiic /lomhu'vi indcmua- 
 tum. The office continued in the republican period, but 
 underwent an important change in its character. Beginning
 
 THE QUAESTOR 20/ 
 
 with the establishment of the repubhc, the quaestor is 
 not only the representative of the state in criminal cases of 
 a non-poUtical character, but he becomes the keeper of the 
 state funds. Under the monarchy the incumbents of the 
 office were appointed by the king, and the right of appoint- 
 ment was inherited by the consul, and exercised by him 
 until 447, when the office was made elective, and its 
 incumbents were chosen in the comitia tributa (p. 33). 
 Perhaps this change in the method of choosing the quaes- 
 tors came about in the following way : One of the most 
 important duties of the quaestor must have consisted in 
 conducting cases of appeal before the popular assembly. 
 As long as the quaestor was appointed, he acted, not by 
 virtue of the power vested in his own office, but solely as 
 the representative of the chief-magistrate. The establish- 
 ment, however, of the right of appeal made the quaestorship 
 a necessary part of a judicial system which was entirely 
 independent of the chief-magistrate. It was natural, there- 
 fore, that the office should become independent, that is, 
 that it should be made elective. The ancient historians 
 have very little to say about the judicial functions of the 
 quaestors under the republic. They must still, however, 
 have performed the duties mentioned above, until, with 
 the establishment of the quaestio?ies perpetiiae, such matters 
 passed altogether out of their hands. The increase in the 
 number of the quaestors, to four in 421, to eight in 267 
 (p. 72), to twenty under Sulla (p, 105), and to forty in the 
 year 45 (p. 137), involved no essential change in the char- 
 acter of the office. The size of the college was increased to 
 provide for the provinces and for the financial administra- 
 tion of Italy, and the functions of the office may be con- 
 veniently considered from the point of view of the quaestores 
 urbani, the quaestores tnilitares, and the Italian quaestors.
 
 208 RErUBLICAN PERIOD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 239. The Quaestores Urbani. The two principal duties 
 of the quaestores urbaiii have already been mentioned. vSo 
 little information can be had from the ancient sources with 
 reference to the quaestor's exercise of criminal jurisdiction, 
 that it is impossible to find out exactly what his functions 
 were in this respect, or to determine his relation to certain 
 other ofificials, such as the II vifi perdu ellionis. His finan- 
 cial duties are better known. He received all money due 
 
 c. ad Fam. to the State, kept an account of the condition of the state 
 acTO,'44-" treasury, and made such payments from the public funds 
 V- 33- 42- 4; as he was empowered to make by special law or by the 
 proper magistrate. He represented the state, too, in the 
 V. 4. 15. 8. smaller matters involved in the execution of contracts. 
 The care of the public records was also intrusted to him. 
 In this last matter the duties of the cjuaestor and of 
 th^ plebeian aedile were similar (cf. p. 202), except that 
 the aediles took charge of certain documents only, while the 
 quaestor kept all records. Two S])ecial points of weak- 
 ness in the management of the finances by the quaestors 
 may be noticed. They were simply receiving agents and 
 paymasters for the state. They had no initiative in finan- 
 cial affairs, and could exercise their discretion in minor 
 matters only. Furthermore, they held office for a year 
 only, and in so short a time could not make themselves 
 familiar with all the affairs of their department, so that the 
 honesty with which accounts were kept depended largely 
 on the integrity of their trained assistants, the scrihae, 
 whose tenure of office was permanent. The records and 
 the accounts of the quaestor were kept in the aerarium 
 in the temple of Saturn. 
 
 240. The Quaestores Militares and Provincial Quaes- 
 tors. 'I'he increase in the number of (juaestors from two 
 to four, which took i)lace in 421, was to provide a financial
 
 THE VIGINTI SEX VIRI 209 
 
 officer for each of the consuls when in command of an 
 
 army. Money intended for a campaign was delivered to Liv. 35. 1. 12; 
 
 them. They paid the soldiers, took charge of the spoils,, j^'^j ^lo^^"' 
 
 and exercised the same general functions in the field which "• 3- ^n- 
 
 the quaestor urbafius exercised at Rome. This plan was 
 
 adopted for the provinces also, although, in the case of a 
 
 province, the quaestor held a somewhat more important 
 
 position than the quaestor militaris did, since he was next 
 
 in rank to the governor, and acted in his stead in case of Cic. ad Fam. 
 
 his absence or death. ^' '5- ^■ 
 
 241. The Italian Quaestors. In 267, as we have already 
 noticed, four new quaestors were appointed. They were 
 apparently assigned to duty in Italy, but the nature of 
 their functions is not perfectly clear. Their principal duty 
 seems to have been to look after the financial interests of 
 the federal government in Italy. Their headquarters were 
 in Cispadane Gaul, perhaps at Ariminum, at Ostia, and 
 possibly at Cales. It is not known where the fourth Italian 
 quaestor was stationed. The quaestor at Ostia had charge Cic. pro Sest. 
 of the grain supply. ^^' 
 
 (i) The Viginti Sex Viri 
 
 242. The XXVI Viri in General. Although the six col- 
 leges of magistrates below the quaestorship were inde- 
 pendent of one another, they formed a. single group, so 
 far as the ordo 7nagistratuuni was concerned, and were 
 known as the XXVI viri. This group included the X viri 
 stlitibus iudica7idis, the IIII praefecti Capuam Cumas, etc., 
 the III viri capitales, the /// viri monetales, the //// viri 
 viis in urbe purgafidis, and the II viri viis extra urbeni pur- 
 gandis. Several, if not all, of these offices were appointive, 
 when they were first established, but after a time they all
 
 2IO RErUBLICAN PERIOD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 became elective. The incumbents were chosen in the 
 
 comitia tributa. Besides the specific functions mentioned 
 
 Cic. de Legg. below, special duties were often intrusted to the several 
 
 ■7, (3. 
 
 colleges by the senate. The viginti sex viri had no insignia 
 of office. 
 
 243. The Several Colleges. The oldest of these minor 
 
 magistrates were the X viri stlitibiis iiidicandis. They are 
 
 Liv. 3. 55. 7. mentioned in the lex Valeria Horatia, and, therefore, go 
 
 back to at least the middle of the fifth century. They are 
 
 spoken of in the connection mentioned as sacrosanct, and 
 
 are associated with the tribunes and aediles, so that the 
 
 office was probably established to protect the plebeians. 
 
 Very likely they passed on questions involving the right to 
 
 citizenship — a matter in which the plebeians would be 
 
 Cic.proCaec. vitally interested. At least in Cicero's time questions of 
 
 97, e omo, ^j^^^ ^^^^ would seem to have come before them. Probably 
 
 at first plebeians only were eligible to the office, but in later 
 
 Liv. 9. 20. 5 ; days that restriction was abandoned. The praefedi Capuam 
 
 ^ ■ ^ ■ ^ ■ Cumas were the judicial representatives of the praetor in 
 
 Campania, and at first were probably appointed by him. 
 
 They took their title from the two principal points within 
 
 their district. The college of III viri capitales was estab- 
 
 Liv. Ep. II. Hshed soon after 290, and appointments to it were at first 
 
 made by the praetor, but, some time within the ne.\t one 
 
 hundred and seventy-five years, the office became elective. 
 
 These officials were police magistrates, whose duty it was, 
 
 Sail. Cat. 55. under the supervision of the aediles, to preserve order in 
 
 ciuent^s- the city, to arrest criminals, to sit in judgment on them and 
 
 Geli. 3. 3. 15; punish them if they were strangers or slaves, and to obtain 
 
 Liv. 25. I. 10. ^ ■' '^ ' 
 
 evidence against persons under indictment. Caesar in- 
 creased the number in this college to four (p. 137). Little 
 more is known of the /// 7.'iri vionetales or /// viri aere 
 argento auro Jlando feriundo^ as they are sometimes called,*
 
 MAGISTRATES TO FILL VACANCIES 2 11 
 
 than is indicated by their title. The duties performed by 
 them were for a long time in charge of special commissions, 
 and the establishment of the magistracy comes at a com- 
 paratively late date. Caesar added a new member to this 
 college (cf. p. 137). The IIII viri viis in urbe purgandis Lex lul, 
 and the 11 viri viis extra 2irbempurga7idis,2,'=> the names of il"o''^69 
 these offices indicate, were charged with the duty of seeing 
 that the streets and roads were kept clean. 
 
 (y) Magistrates to fill Vacancies 
 
 244. Delegation of the Imperium. The Romans pro- 
 vided for the vacancy which resulted from the death or the 
 absence of a magistrate in a variety of ways. No serious 
 difficulties arose in the case of the lower magistracies, 
 because of the size of the colleges. In the case of the 
 censorship, the duties of the office during the last three 
 and a half years of a lustrum were performed by the con- 
 sul and aedile (p. 195). Real difficulty arose, however, 
 from the death or the absence of both consuls from the 
 city, from the withdrawal of a governor from his province, 
 and from the occasional necessity of providing more com- 
 manding officers in the field than the higher magistracies 
 furnished. 
 
 245. The Interrex. Provision was made to cover a 
 vacancy in the consulship by the institution known as the 
 interregnum. This institution goes back to the monarchy, 
 and the functions of the interrex during that period have 
 already been noticed (p. 14). Under the early republic, 
 when the armies were always commanded by the consuls, 
 
 the death of both chief-magistrates occurred in several Will. ii. 10- 
 instances. In such cases the method of procedure was ^^' 
 essentially the same as that which was followed on the
 
 212 KErURLICAN PERIOD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 Liv. 1. 17. 5 f. death of the king, except that under the republic the new 
 chief-magistrates were elected in the centuriate comitia, 
 summoned for that purpose by the interrex and presided 
 over by him. In fact, the interrex was appointed mainly 
 to hold the elections, and the interregnum ceased as soon 
 as the new consuls were chosen. At the same time, how- 
 
 st. R. i.66of. ever, he was vested with all the powers and privileges of 
 the consul, but, as the term of office of each interrex lasted 
 
 Cic. ad Fam. only five days, it was impossible for him to carry on public 
 
 ''■ "■ ^' business in an orderly way. The last interregnujn occurred 
 
 in the year 53-52. 
 
 246. Praefectus Urbi and pro Praetore. When both 
 consuls were obliged to leave the city, the last to depart 
 
 Liv. 3. J. 6 ; appointed a praefectus urbi to represent him during his 
 •'■ ^' ''■ absence. The prefect was vested with all the powers of 
 
 the consul. After 366, however, the praetor urbanus 
 became chief-magistrate in case both consuls .were absent 
 from the city (cf. p. 189), and from that date down to 
 Caesar's time (cf. p. 136), the city prefect was chosen 
 only at the time of xh^feriae Latinac, when all the regular 
 magistrates were absent from the city in attendance on that 
 festival. In a somewhat similar way, when a consular gov- 
 ernor left his province before his successor arrived, he dele- 
 Cic. ad Fam. gated the intperiutn to his quaestor, who governed the 
 ^■'^■'^' province with the title oi quaestor pro praetore. 
 
 247. Privati cum Imperio. This practice of conferring 
 on a lower magistrate, or even on a private citizen, the 
 powers and privileges of a higher magistracy was occa- 
 sionally adopted in times of danger even by the home 
 governnient. It amounted to a virtual increase in the 
 size of the magisterial college affected. The individuals 
 upon whom the imperiutn was conferred recei\ed usually 
 the pro-magisterial title. Thus in 211 the tribunes were
 
 MILITARY OFFICERS AND JUDGES 213 
 
 instructed by the senate to secure the passage of a law Liv. 26. 2. 5; 
 
 authorizing the appointment of some one as commanding ^ ■ ' • 4 • 
 
 officer in Spain. The law was passed, and P. Scipio, at 
 
 that time an ex-aedile, was made governor of the province 
 
 with the title pro conside. In the same year a senatus con- 
 
 sidtutn conferred the imperium on all the ex-dictators, ex- Liv. 26. 10. 9. 
 
 consuls, and ex-censors for the defense of the city against 
 
 Hannibal. This practice was carried to a still greater 
 
 length in 77, when Pompey, who had held no magistracy Liv. Ep. 91; 
 
 at all, was made commander of the forces in Spain with i_" ' °™^' 
 
 the title of proconsul. The senatus cojisultiwi idtimmn 
 
 and the prorogatio imperii have been mentioned elsewhere 
 
 (pp. 156, 181), and do not properly come into consideration 
 
 here. 
 
 {Ji) Elective Military Officers and Judges 
 
 248. Elective Military Officers. There were two colleges 
 of officials, that of the tribuni militum and of the // viri 
 7iavales, whose members, like the magistrates, were elected 
 by the people, but they differed from the magistrates in 
 that they had no civil functions. 
 
 249. Tribuni Militum. Down to 362 the tribimi mili- 
 tum had been appointed by the consuls, but in that year for 
 
 the first time six of them were elected in the comitia tributa. Liv. 7. 5. 9- 
 In 311 the people were allowed to elect sixteen, and after \-?°.(^\. 
 207 they elected twenty-four. As six were required for a 
 legion, this last change provided for the usual levy of four 
 legions. If more than twenty-four tribunes were needed, 
 the additional appointments were made by the consuls. It 
 is a significant fact that the date of the election of the first 
 military tribunes coincides so nearly with the date of the 
 Licinian law. That law put an end to the consular tribu- 
 nate by substituting the consulship for it. Now the consular
 
 214 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 tribunes were merely military tribunes vested with political 
 power (p. 184). The aboUtion of the consular tribunate 
 meant a certain loss to the democracy. The concession 
 made in 362 was, therefore, by way of compensation for 
 that loss. The tribunes elected by the people were known 
 as tribuni militian a popiilo. Their duties were of a purely 
 military character, and differed in nowise from those of the 
 tribunes appointed by the commanding officer. 
 
 250. The II Viri Navales. The // viri navales held 
 essentially the same position in the fleet which the tribuni 
 militutn held in the army. The ofifice was at first an 
 appointive one, like that of military tribune, but in 311, 
 when the number of elected tribunes was raised to sixteen, 
 the // viri fiavales were for the first time chosen by the 
 people. They were not elected annually, but as circum- 
 stances required, since under the republic there was no 
 permanent fleet, and, therefore, naval commanders were 
 not always needed. The holding of the election was 
 authorized by the senate. Nothing is heard of the ofifice 
 in the later republic. 
 
 251. Elective Judges. Since the number of praetors 
 was not large enough to provide presiding judges for all 
 the quaestioncs perpetuae, at intervals a index giiaestiofiis 
 was chosen from the ex-aediles by popular election. In 
 dignity, then, the ofifice stood between the aedileship and 
 the praetorship. The index quaestionis had charge of the 
 quaestio de sicariis et vcneficis. The nature of the cases 
 brought before this court made the position of its presiding 
 judge an important one. The first mention of this index 
 is in 98, but the epoch of greatest importance for the ofifice 
 is from Sulla's dictatorship down to the time of Augustus, 
 when it disappears. The incumbents of the ofifice had no 
 political functions.
 
 EXTRAORDINARY OFFICIALS 21$ 
 
 (I) Extraordinary Officials 
 
 252. Two Classes of Extraordinary Officials. All the 
 magistracies and offices which have been considered up to 
 this point formed for a longer or shorter period a regular 
 part of the Roman administrative system, but emergencies 
 arose when the regular officials did not seem capable of 
 dealing with the situation. Under such circumstances ex- 
 traordinary offices were created by special laws, or special 
 officials were chosen to carry out a particular undertak- 
 ing. It may be convenient to classify these extraordinary 
 officials in two categories, according as they were placed 
 under constitutional restrictions, or were above the con- 
 stitution. The principal officials of the first class were 
 the // viri perdiiellionis, the commissioners agris dandis 
 adsignatidis and coloniae deducendae, the commissioners 
 appointed to dedicate public buildings, or carry out some 
 financial undertaking, and the legati. The most celebrated 
 officials coming under the second head were the X viri 
 consulari imperio legibics scribendis, the dictator legibus 
 scribendis et rei piiblicae constituendae, and the /// viri rei 
 puhlicae constituendae. 
 
 253. The II Viri Perduellionis. The college of II viri 
 perdueHionis, which passed judgment on those charged with 
 treason, and represented the state in such cases before 
 the centuriate comitia, if appeal was taken, has little mean- 
 ing for the republican period. There are only two known Liv. 6. 20. 12; 
 instances after 509 when II viri perduellionis were ap- perd.^12. 
 pointed, and in the second case, that of Rabirius in 63, 
 
 the institution was called into life for political purposes 
 only. The power attaching to the office was too great to 
 be granted to two men, while, on the other hand, the cen- 
 turiate comitia, to which appeal from their decision was
 
 2l6 Rlil'UBLlCAN I'ERIOD : DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 carried, was too unwieldy a body to settle judicial matters. 
 The // virt perduellionis, therefore, gave way to the 
 quacstiones. 
 
 254. Special Commissions. The duties of land commis- 
 sioners consisted in di\ idiiig and assigning the land chosen 
 for allotments, and, in case a colony was to be established, 
 in drawing up a charter and in providing for the imme- 
 diate government of the community. The number of 
 members serving on these commissions ran all the way 
 from three to twenty. The commission exi)ired when the 
 work for which it had been established was finished. The 
 size of the allotments and the methods and conditions of 
 assignment were fixed in the law creating the commission. 
 From a very early period the principle was recognized that 
 state land could be given away only with the consent of 
 the people. When a temple or other public building was 
 to be constructed, the power to use public land for the 
 purpose in question was granted by law and // viri aciii 
 Iflcaudae were chosen. I'he dedication of a temple often 
 fell to the lot of one of the higher magistrates, but not 
 infrequently the matter was intrusted to // viri aedi 
 liedicandae. The execution of economic measures, espe- 
 cially those of a novel character, was sometimes intrusted 
 to a commission rather than to a magistrate. A case in 
 |)oint was fiirnished by the V viri f/ie/isarii, or commission 
 appointed in 351 to assist individuals in securing loans 
 (cf. p. 49). 
 
 255. Legati. In its management of foreign affairs the 
 senate from time to time sent out legati. They were 
 appointed by the magistrate or commanding officer at the 
 instance of the senate. They may be divided into two 
 classes according to the duties assigned to them. Those 
 of one class were sent to independent states to deliver a
 
 EXTRAORDINARY OFFICIALS 2.\^ 
 
 message from the senate or to carry on diplomatic nego- 
 tiations. Legati of the other class were sent to assist 
 generals in the field. As we have already seen (p. 69), 
 campaigns were carried on under the joint direction of the 
 senate and of the officer commanding the forces. The 
 legati attached to the staff of the general in command 
 were, therefore, the representatives of the senate, and, as 
 such, took part in the councils of war and held important Liv. 8. 35. ic; 
 commands. This right of the senate to send out commis- ^' •^'^' 
 sions was much abused in the later years of the republic. 
 The practice developed of granting to senators a legatio 
 libera^ which allowed them to travel through the provinces Cic. ad Fam. 
 on their private business and enjoy all the privileges and Flacco',86. 
 honors of accredited commissioners. Midway between the 
 two classes of legati which have been mentioned were the 
 commissioners sent out by the senate to draw up, with 
 the help of the general in the field, the lex provinciae 
 (cf. pp. 89-90) for the people of a newly acquired terri- 
 tory. Senatorial commissions varied in number from two Liv. 29. 1 1.3; 
 to ten. The commission appointed to draw up a provincial yj_ 55.' 4. ' 
 constitution always numbered ten. Members of senatorial 
 commissions were almost always senators. 
 
 256. The X Viri Legibus Scribendis. The cases in which 
 the Romans under the repubUc chose extraordinary officials 
 to revise the fundamental law of the state, and released 
 them from restrictions ordinarily laid on magistrates, are 
 few in number. The decemvirate of 451 (cf. pp. 30 f.) is, 
 however, an instance in point. That commission was 
 chosen to revise, or codify, and to publish the law of the 
 land. Its members were elected in the popular assembly, 
 and, like other magistrates, they were liable to a veto from 
 other members of the college. On the other hand, they 
 were not subject to the tribunician veto. In fact, the
 
 2l8 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 tribunate was suspended or abolished for the time. The 
 Liv. 3. 32. 6. term of office for the first decemviral college was a year. 
 
 The second was apparently to continue in office until its 
 Liv. 3. 55. 5 ; task was complete. The Valerio-Horatian law of appeal 
 Publ. 2. 54. forbade the establishment of such a magistracy in the 
 
 future. 
 
 257. The Later Dictatorship. Some of the points of 
 difference between the dictatorship of Sulla and the tradi- 
 tional dictatorship have already been noticed (pp. 134 f.). 
 
 Appian, B. C. The lex Valeria of 82, which conferred this position on Sulla, 
 Cic-^deLeg. authorized him to undertake a thorough revision of the 
 Agr. 3- 5- constitution, as the title of the office shows, viz., diciatura 
 legibus scribendis et rei publicae cotistituendae. The unlim- 
 ited power of the office is indicated not only by Cicero's 
 characterization of it as an office of such a sort ui omnia, 
 quaecuT7ique ille (i.e., Sulla) feeisset, essent rata, but also by 
 the use which Sulla made of it. Caesar's dictatorship was of 
 the same sort. Sulla's term of office as dictator was prob- 
 ably unlimited. As for Caesar, we have already noticed 
 that in 48 the dictatorship was apparently given to him for 
 an undefined period, in 46 for ten years, and in 44 for life. 
 Some of the important powers exercised by Sulla and Caesar 
 Suet. Jul. 41 ; by virtue of their dictatorshij) were : the right to name the 
 2*2 J?*^^'^' magistrates (cf. pp. 137 f.) and to add members to the 
 pro Lig. 12. senate, to name magistrates in the jnunicipia, to impose 
 penalties without submitting to the right of appeal, and to 
 control the ager publiius. 
 
 258. The Triumvirate. The triumvirate to which Lepi- 
 dus, Antony, and Octavius were appointed held a posi- 
 tion in the state similar to that which Caesar had held 
 during his dictatorship. The office was established by the 
 
 St. R. II. 707. lex Titia of 43 (cf. \). 141) for a ])eriod of five years.
 
 EXTRAORDINARY OFFICIALS 2ig 
 
 In 38 it was renewed. As we have already noticed, the 
 members of the triumvirate adopted the principle of col- 
 legiality on its positive side. Like Caesar, they exercised 
 the right to name the magistrates for Rome and for the 
 municipia, to punish without appeal, and to manage state 
 lando 
 
 Selected Bibliography ^ 
 
 The dictator : A. Dupond, De dictatura et de magisterio equitutn, 
 Paris, 1875; E. Servais, La dictature, Paris, 1886; F. Haverfield, 
 The abolition of the dictatorship, Class. Rev. III. 77. — The con- 
 sular tribune : Heinze, De tribunis militum cons, pot., Stettin, 1861. 
 — The praetor : F. Faure, Essai historique sur le preteur romain, 
 Paris, 1878; O. Lenel, Das Edictum perpetuum, Leipzig, 1883. — 
 The censor: Servais, La censure, ■Luxemburg, 1880 ; Willems, Le 
 senat de la republique romaine, I. pp. 239-625, Louvain, 1883; 
 A. W. Zumpt, Die Lustra der Romer, Rhein. Mus. XXV. 465 £f. ; 
 XXVI. I ff. — The tribune of the plebs : Soldan, De origine, causis 
 et primo tribunorum plebis numero, Hanau, 1825 ; W. Ihne, Rhein. 
 Mus. XXI. 161 ff. ; Belot, De trib. pleb., Paris, 1872 ; P. Wehrmann, 
 Zur Geschichte des rom. Volkstribunats, Stettin, 1887. — The aedile : 
 E. Moll, Ueber d. rom. Aedilitat in altester Zeit, Philol. XLVI. 
 98 ff. ; Fr. Hofmann, De aedilibus romanis, Berlin, 1842. — The 
 quaestor: Wagner, De quaestoribus pop. romani, Marburg, 1848 
 Dollen, De quaest. rom., Berlin, 1847. — The interrex : E. Herzog 
 Das Institut des Interregnums, Philol. XXXIV. 497 ff. ; Willems, 
 II. 7 ff. — The city prefect: Franke, De praefectura urbis, Berlin 
 1851. — The tribunus militum : Geppert, De trib. mil. legionum rom. 
 Berlin, 1872. — The legati : O. Adamek, Die Senatsboten d. rom 
 Republik, Graz, 1883; Willems, II. 491 ff. — The decemvirs: E 
 Schmidt, Ueber d. rom. Decern virat, Halberstadt, 1871. 
 
 * See also p. 173.
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 THE SENATE 
 
 (a) Composition of the Senate and Senatorial Privileges 
 
 259. Method of choosing Senators. The right which 
 the king had enjoyed of making out the list of senators 
 (p. 16) was inherited by his successor, the consul. This 
 power had both a negative and a positive side. In his 
 exercise of it the chief-magistrate could strike names from 
 the list, or make such additions as would bring the number 
 up to the normal point. Since the right to exercise this 
 power probably belonged to each college of consuls, the 
 roll of senators was subject to revision each year. Towards 
 the close of the fourth century the plebiscihwt Oviniinn 
 (pp. 46 f.) transferred this power to the censor. It was 
 exercised by him under the restrictions imposed by tra- 
 dition and by the Ovinian law up to the dictatorship of 
 Sulla, when the censorship was allowed to lapse. The 
 office was reestablished in 70, but, although he recovered 
 the right to remove men from the senate, the censor did 
 not regain the power to make additions to that body 
 (cf. p. 194). Sulla and Caesar named senators in an 
 exceptional way by virtue of the dictatorship which they 
 held. 
 
 260. Number in the Senate. Before the downfall of the 
 
 monarchy the normal number in the senate was fixed at 
 
 three hundred (p. 16), and according to tradition one of the 
 
 Liv. 2. I. 10. first things done by the patrician consuls after the expulsion 
 
 220
 
 THE SENATE 22 1 
 
 of the kings was to fill up the depleted list of the senate. 
 Sulla raised the number to six hundred, and this continued Appian, B. c. 
 to be the normal size of the body, although it was tempo- suet.'iui^°°' 
 rarily raised to nine hundred by Caesar, 41, 80. 
 
 261. Composition of the Senate. So far as the com- 
 position of the senate is concerned, its history falls into 
 four periods. The first extends to 509; the second to the 
 close of the fourth century ; the third to Sulla's dictatorship ; 
 and the fourth to the downfall of the republic. In the first 
 period, patricians only were eligible. According to tradition, 
 however, the establishment of the republic brought with it iJv. 2. i. 10 ; 
 the admission of plebeians into the senate. This change p.^LT'ed. M 
 is somewhat out of harmony with the aristocratic character 
 
 of the revolution of 509, but it may have been inspired by will. i. 35- 
 a desire to secure the support of the influential plebeians in '^^' ^''^' ^^' 
 the movement against the monarchy. At all events the evi- 
 dence justifies us in believing that plebeians were admitted 
 at a very early date. The new senators were called adlecti 
 or conscripti to distinguish them from tht p aires. As Festus 
 says (p. 7, ed. M.) : nam patres dicuntur qui sunt patricii gene- 
 ris, conscripti qui in senatu sunt scriptis ad?wtati. In the 
 third period, from the close of the fourth century to the 
 time of Sulla, the senate was largely made up of ex-magis- 
 trates. The change did not come abruptly, however. The 
 plebiscitum Ovinium, which instructed the censors to give 
 the preference to ex-magistrates in drawing up the list of 
 senators (pp. 46-7), probably only gave a legal sanction 
 to a practice which had been developing for some time. 
 Under the legislation of Sulla the senate became exclusively 
 a body of ex-magistrates. 
 
 262. Conditions of Eligibility. There were three princi- 
 pal conditions of eligibility to the senate in Cicero's timeo 
 It was necessary that a senator should be a freeman and a
 
 222 REPUBLICAN I'EKIOD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 citizen, that he should have held one of the magistraius 
 maiores, and that he should not be engaged in any one of 
 certain specified occupations. 
 
 263. Citizen and Freeman. Conformity to the first 
 condition implied that a candidate for senatorial honors 
 should have reached his majority, and that he should be in 
 possession of the full political rights of a Roman citizen. 
 Furthermore, the sons of freedmen, as well as freedmen 
 themselves, were ordinarily considered ineligible by the 
 censors, although probably the former were not excluded 
 from the senate by law. 
 
 264. A Senator must be an ex-Magistrate. The Ovinian 
 law did not make the holding of a magistracy a necessary 
 condition of eligibility to the senate, but preference was 
 given to ex-magistrates. The increase which Sulla made 
 in the size of the magisterial colleges (p. 105), however, 
 provided a sufficient number of ex-magistrates to keep the 
 number of senators up to the normal point, so that, after 
 his dictatorship, no one was eligible to the senate unless 
 he had held a magistracy. In the latter half of the first 
 century the tribune and aedile of the plebs, as well as the 
 magistrates down to and including the quaestor, had a right 
 to a seat in the senate. When this right was conferred on 
 the plebeian aediles it is impossible to say. At least it 
 would seem to have been granted to them before 122. 
 The plebeian tribunes acquired the right to a seat in the 
 senate under the plebiscitum Atinium, which was probably 
 passed toward the close of the second century. The 
 quaestor gained the same privilege in the year 81. 
 
 265. A Senator must abstain from Certain Occupations. 
 The Romans felt that certain occupations j)ut a moral 
 stigma on an individual, that others were incompatible 
 with the dignity of a senator, that others prevented him
 
 THE SENATE 223 
 
 from performing his duties as senator in a satisfactory way, 
 and that still others unfitted him for passing on public 
 questions in a disinterested manner. All these occupa- 
 tions, then, made a citizen temporarily or permanently 
 ineligible to the senate. To the first class, for instance, 
 belonged the professions of the lanista, the gladiator, and Lex lul. 
 the actor. To receive wages or a salary for one's services \\ loS ff. 
 did not comport with the dignity of a senator, so that the 
 occupation of a praeco or a scriba excluded the individual Geil. 7. 9. 2 f. ; 
 in question from the senate. In fact, if a citizen gained Munic. 
 his livelihood in any business which required his constant ^^- 94 ff- 
 personal attention, that fact made it impossible for him to 
 perform satisfactorily the duties of a senator. As soon, 
 however, as he gave up the occupation in question, he became 
 technically eligible. Finally, since the senate managed the 
 finances of the state in large measure, men who had taken 
 public contracts could not be allowed to sit in that body. 
 
 266. Property and Age Requirement. Under the repub- 
 lic probably there was no property qualification for admis- 
 sion to the senate, but, since no salary was paid to a 
 senator, the position could be held only by men of means. 
 Furthermore, a reasonable fortune was required to maintain 
 the senatorial dignity. The censors must have taken these 
 facts into consideration in drawing up their lists. No age 
 requirement was definitely established by law or custom, 
 but the Ovinian law, when supplemented by the lex Villia 
 annalis, prevented any one from becoming a senator until 
 he had reached the age required for the quaestorship (cf, 
 p. 169). In fact, it may be said in general that obstacles 
 which prevented a person from becoming a magistrate 
 prevented him from becoming a senator also. 
 
 267. Classes of Senators. We have already had occasion 
 to notice that plebeians were admitted to the senate at a very
 
 224 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 early date (cf. p. 221). A plebeian senator never acquired, 
 however, two rights which his patrician colleague enjoyed, 
 viz., the right to act as an interrcx, and the right to vote on 
 the passage of the patrwn anctoritas. For a long time a 
 distinction was made also between the senators who had 
 the ins senteniiae dicendae and the pedarii^ who voted on 
 a motion already made, but were not called on to speak or 
 make a motion themselves. The composition of these two 
 classes is a matter of high dispute. As we shall .presently 
 see, the presiding officer asked senators their opinions in 
 the order of their rank, and it was within his power to 
 terminate the discussion before all the members of the 
 senate had stated their views. Senators of inferior rank, 
 therefore, took part only in the discessio, and were called 
 on, as the Romans put it, only pedibus in alienam smtcn- 
 tiam ire. From this fact they derived their name pedarii. 
 Where the line of distinction was drawn between the pedarii 
 and their more fortunate colleagues is as unsettled to-day 
 as it was in the time of Aulus Gellius, who mentions (iV. A. 
 III. 18) several different explanations of the term. It seems 
 probable, however, that the pedarii were plebeian senators 
 who had never held a curule office. It is also probable 
 that the conscripti of the early period were restricted in 
 their exercise of senatorial rights in the same way as the 
 pedarii were in the period following the Ovinian law. 
 For the time of Cicero the term pedarii has no technical 
 
 ' "■ meaning. As already intimated, senators were classed as 
 consulares, praetorii, aedi/icii, tribmiicii, and quaestorii, and 
 their opinions were asked in the order indicated. From 
 perhaps the third century down to the time of Sulla a patri- 
 cian senator of the rank of censor usually stood at the head 
 
 1. iiif. of the list. He was called iht princeps senatus, and his 
 opinion was asked first.
 
 MEETINGS OF THE SENATE 225 
 
 268. Insignia and Privileges. Members of the senate 
 in Cicero's day were distinguished by certain insignia, 
 indicating their position. These ornamejita senatoria, as 
 they were called, were the calceus senatorius, the tunica Cic. Phil. 13. 
 laticlavia, and the atmliis aureus, although the gold ring \ 5 27 f 
 was not the peculiar mark of senatorial rank, but was worn ^""estus 
 
 V. mulleos, 
 
 by knights also. Senators who had held a curule office p. i42,ed. M.; 
 
 wore a special shoe called the muUeus. Certain special pun. n. h!^ ' 
 
 privileges were also granted to senators. After 194 seats 33-iif- 
 
 were reserved for them at the public games. At dramatic Cic.deHar. ' 
 
 performances too the orchestra was set apart for them, and pfut Cat. 
 
 a not unimportant privilege was the ius Icgationis liberae '^^^'- '7- 
 (cf. p. 217). They enjoyed, except for a period of about 
 fifty years (cf. pp. 97, 106, 109), the right of sitting on * 
 the jury. Corresponding to these privileges were certain 
 restrictions which we have already considered. 
 
 (6) Meetings of the Senate 
 
 269. The Presidency of the Senate. The right to call 
 the senate and preside over it, the ius agendi cum patrihis, Geil. 14. 7. 4 
 was enjoyed by the dictator, consul, praetor, interrex, city ,.'10.^ ^^^ 
 prefect, master of the horse, and, after the middle of the 
 fourth century, by the plebeian tribune. Up to the time of 
 Sulla the consuls were absent from the city a great part of 
 the year, so that, strangely enough, the presiding officer in 
 the senate must usually have been, not the chief-magistrate, 
 but his representative, the praetor urbanus. In the early 
 period, in case both consuls were in the city, the presi- 
 dency of the senate fell to the consul who had the fasces 
 (cf. p. 155). Later it is impossible to tell how the matter 
 was decided. Each consul had the right to convoke the 
 senate, and he could not be prevented from doing so by
 
 226 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 the veto of his colleague. In the later years of the republic, 
 therefore, when the two consuls not infrequently belonged 
 to different political parties, cases of conflict must have 
 occurred. In one instance, at least, the weaker of the 
 two abstained altogether from political action. After the 
 senate had finished the business which the chief-magis- 
 trate had to lay before it, it was competent for any other 
 magistrate, having the ins referendi, to lay questions before 
 it, unless such action was forbidden by the chief-magistrate. 
 Consequently, the business which the tribune had to bring 
 before the senate was usually laid before it in that way. 
 The cases in which the tribune convoked the senate were 
 very few. It is evident that the three ofificials who pre- 
 sided over the senate most frequently were the consuls, 
 praetors, and tribunes. Accordingly, official communica- 
 tions were ordinarily addressed to them (e.g., M. Tulliiis 
 M. f. Cicero procos. s. d. cos. pr. tr. pi. senatui, Cic. ad 
 Fam. XV. i), and to them the senate intrusted the welfare 
 of the state in the senatus cotisultum ultimmn. The ius 
 re/erendi carried with it, not only the right to convoke the 
 senate, to lay matters before it for consideration, and secure 
 legal action upon them, but also to determine the order of 
 business. 
 
 270. Place and Time of Meeting. The senate was 
 called together by a praeco or by a proclamation. The 
 usual place of meeting was the curia Hostilia, at the 
 northeast corner of the forum. There were no days fixed 
 by law for the meeting of the senate. On th'e other hand, 
 in the later years of the republic, perhaps after 61, it could 
 not be called on certain dies coviitiales. A session ordi- 
 narily began early in the morning and ended before sunset. 
 In fact, the legality of a senatus consultum passed at a night 
 session was questioned. The public were not admitted to
 
 MEETINGS OF THE SENATE 227 
 
 the senate chamber, but the doors were left open, so that 
 
 it was possible for them to follow the discussion, and their 
 
 expressions of approval and disapproval often interfered Ck. ad Q. ft 
 
 with the orderly transaction of business. On rare occasions ^' ^° ^^^^' ^' 
 
 the senate went into executive session. In such a case the 
 
 doors were closed, and the lictors and viatores, who acted Liv. 42. 14. i, 
 
 as sergeants-at-arms, were excluded. In the senate chamber 
 
 each member chose the place on the sicbsellia which suited Ck. in Cat. 
 
 his fancy. The magistrates were on a raised dais, the ad Fam. '^' 
 
 consuls and praetors seated in their curule chairs, and 3- 9- 2. 
 
 the tribunes on a longum subsellium. Members rose when 
 
 addressing the senate and when the magistrates entered 
 
 and retired. 
 
 271. Quorum. A quorum does not seem to have been 
 necessary for the transaction of ordinary business, but action 
 
 on certain matters required the attendance of a specified c. I. L. 1. 196, 
 number. In particular toward the end of the republic a Ascoiip. cs 
 quorum was necessary when j'(?;2a/z/j considta were passed ed. Or.; 
 
 ^ Cic. ad Fam. 
 
 with reference to the assignment of the consular provinces. 8. 9. 2. 
 The presiding magistrate could enforce the attendance of 
 members who were absent without sufficient reason, but 
 recourse was rarely had to such extreme action. 
 
 272, Procedure during the Debate. The magistrate who 
 was to preside made an offering and took the auspices 
 before the meeting. At the beginning of the session 
 dispatches were ordinarily read, and statements were made Qgu^' 
 by the presiding officer, or by others who were authorized 
 by him to speak. Business was definitely brought before 
 the senate by the relatio of the presiding officer, whose 
 remarks began with the formula : quod boiium felixque sit 
 populo Romano Quiritiiim, referimus ad vos, patres con- 
 scripti .... The committee system was employed on rare 
 occasions. The presiding officer could make a simple
 
 228 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 Statement of the facts, or he could advocate a certain course. 
 In rare cases he laid a definite motion before the house. 
 After having stated the case, he could call for a vote at 
 once. This plan was seldom adopted, except when a 
 matter was unimportant, or when the support of the 
 majority to a given proposition was assured beforehand. 
 The demand of a senator, for an opportunity to debate a 
 question {consule') would scarcely be disregarded. Ordi- 
 narily, then, after the business before the senate had been 
 stated, the presiding officer, following the order of rank, 
 proceeded sententias rogare. The order was that already 
 indicated (p. 224), except that, after the middle of the 
 second century, the consuls-elect were first asked their 
 opinions. In a similar way the praetores designati took 
 precedence of the praetorii. Preference was shown for the 
 opinion of the magistrates-elect, because they were likely 
 to be called on to carry out the measure under considera- 
 tion. The senators, as they were called on in turn, could 
 either address the house on the question at issue, closing 
 their remarks with a motion, or they could indicate their 
 agreement with a motion already made. In responding to 
 the request of the presiding officer for his opinion, a senator 
 was not required to confine his remarks to the question 
 before the house, but he could, if he wished, speak on 
 matters entirely foreign to it, and could request the presid- 
 ing officer to bring these matters before the senate. This 
 privilege was a very important one, and made up in large 
 measure for the lack of the right of initiative, which right 
 technically the presiding officer alone had. Senators spoke 
 on a question as long as they saw fit, so that the opponent 
 of a measure could prevent action on it by talking until 
 sunset. The chairman had the right to stop a member 
 adopting such a course by ordering a viator to take him into
 
 MEETINGS OF THE SENATE 229 
 
 custody, but there is only one known instance where a Cell. 4. 10 8. 
 presiding officer made such an attempt, and his efforts 
 ended in a practical failure. Speeches were often violent Ck. ad Q. fr. 
 and personal, and were frequently interrupted by cries of sali."^Cat.^^' 
 approval and disapproval on the part of the senate. The 53- i- 
 presiding officer brought the discussions to an end when 
 he saw fit. Probably many of the senators were given no 
 opportunity to speak. Magistrates in office, who sat in the 
 senate, were not asked their opinions. 
 
 273. Method of Voting. If, during the debate, only one 
 motion had been made, the presiding officer, in case he 
 accepted it, put it to vote. If several propositions had 
 been made, he had the right to reject those which were 
 unacceptable to him, and to put the others to vote in any Caes. b, c. 
 order which he preferred. The first motion to receive the q^' |,j^jj 
 support of a majority constituted the action of the senate. "^4- 22; 
 
 ad Fam. 
 
 If a motion comprised several different propositions, a 
 division of the question could be called for, but the pre- 
 siding officer was not obliged to grant the request. At 
 the request, qtci hoc censetis, illuc trajisite ; qui alia omnia, 
 in hanc partem, the supporters of a measure passed to one 
 side of the house to be counted, the opponents to the 
 other. Magistrates in office did not vote. The result was 
 announced by the presiding officer. 
 
 274. The Intercessio in the Senate. The par potestas 
 (p. 154) conferred on the colleague of the presiding officer 
 the right to interpose his veto. In point of fact, however, 
 the veto power was rarely exercised by any other official 
 than the tribune, but, as we have already seen (pp. 198 f.), 
 he could exercise that power at any point in the proceed- 
 ings. An action of the senate which no official had vetoed 
 was called a senatus consuUicjn. In case of an intercessio, the 
 action of the senate had no legal value, but, inasmuch as it
 
 230 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 represented the opinion of a majority of the senate, it had 
 moral force, and was set down in writing and preserved, 
 constituting what was known as a senatus auctoritas, to be 
 distinguished, of course, from an auctoritas patrmn (p. 50). 
 
 275. Formulation and Publication of a Senatus Con- 
 sultum. The propositions appended to the third, eighth, 
 and ninth of Cicero's PhiUppic orAtions give one an idea 
 of the form of the motions on which the senate voted, 
 A motion was set down in writing in its final form after a 
 meeting by a committee chosen by the chairrfiaiX: This 
 committee was usually made up of those who had sup- 
 ported the measure. There were two essential parts in 
 such a document : the preamble, or praescriptio, and the 
 action proi)er. The preamble gave ordinarily the name of 
 the presiding officer, the place and time of meeting, and the 
 names of the members of the committee chosen to put the 
 measure in its final form (adesse sa-ibendd). Then came 
 a statement of the question on which action had been 
 taken, usually introduced by such a phrase as, quod M. 
 Marcellus cos. v{erbd) f{ecit) de, etc., followed by the 
 action itself. At the end of the document, in the case of 
 a senatus consult urn, stood the word c{e?isuere) ; in the case 
 of a senatus auctoritas, the name of the magistrate or mag- 
 istrates who had interposed a veto. It was incumbent on 
 the presiding officer to see that the action of the senate 
 was communicated to those concerned, and to deposit the 
 official copy of a motion in the aerariufn (cf. p. 208). 
 One of the laws of Caesar of the year 59 provided that 
 official reports of the proceedings of the senate should be 
 made and published. 
 
 276. The Roman Senate and Modern Legislative Bodies. 
 The method of transacting business followed in the Roman 
 senate was in many respects in marked contrast to that of
 
 MEETINGS OF THE SENATE 23 1 
 
 modern legislative bodies. In modern legislative assemblies 
 a large amount of the work is done by standing or special 
 committees, which carry on extended investigations, and, 
 on the basis of the information thus obtained, recommend 
 certain action to the main body which they represent. 
 The Romans made practically no use of the committee sys- 
 tem. The fact that in our modern legislative bodies there 
 are important committees, and that the presiding officer 
 in most cases determines their personnel, gives him great 
 influence in controlling members and in directing legis- 
 lation. The presiding officer in the Roman senate had 
 no such means of controlling that body. Furthermore, 
 there were no well-organized parties in Rome, nor was the 
 presiding officer in the senate a party leader to the same 
 extent that the Speaker, for instance, of our House of Rep- 
 resentatives is. Party government, with all that it implies 
 in the vv'ay of a definite programme, of caucuses, and of 
 concerted action, was practically unknown. 
 
 The senate was distinguished from most modern parlia- 
 ments in that it could meet only when it was convoked by 
 a magistrate. This state of things was consistent with the 
 theory that the senate was not a legislative body, but an 
 advisory council. It rested, of course, with the magistrate to 
 decide when he needed advice. The plan did not work in- 
 conveniently, since the members of the senate were within 
 call of the senate-house. In harmony -with this theory of the 
 functions of the senate was the further fact that the order 
 of business was in the hands of the presiding officer, and 
 was not determined, as with us, by the house itself. This 
 theory also accounts for the fact that senators did not have 
 the right of initiating legislation, that they could not even 
 speak until' they were called on, that the presiding officer 
 'y could stop a debate when he saw fit, and that he could
 
 232 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 refuse to put a motion unacceptable to him. As we have 
 seen, however, most of these limitations had little practical 
 meaning. The senate, for instance, had such effective 
 means of forcing a magistrate to convoke it, that no mag- 
 istrate ever succeeded in ruling without asking its coopera- 
 tion, and the right to initiate legislation, although theoreti- 
 cally denied, was practically exercised in a roundabout 
 way. It is a matter of surprise that the Roman senate was 
 able to transact complicated business in a wise and orderly , 
 way under the loose system which it followed. We have 
 already noticed that business was not prepared for it by 
 committees, but almost all sorts of intricate matters were 
 taken up for the first time on the floor of the house. 
 Furthermore, a comparatively short time was given to the 
 settlement of important questions. There was little of that 
 parliamentary machinery which we think so essential to the 
 orderly transaction of public affairs. There was apparently 
 no fixed order of business. A quorum was not ordinarily 
 necessary. A dozen motions might be under consideration 
 at the same time, and what must have made the situation 
 still worse is the fact that the consul could not prevent 
 members from discussing matters entirely foreign to the sub- 
 ject which he had brought up for consideration. Motions 
 were rarely written down, and, in fact, no official minutes 
 were kept of a meeting, but the senate relied on the memory 
 of the presiding officer or on notes taken by individual sena- 
 tors. Finally, any one of the ten tribunes could interpose 
 his veto and make the action of the senate invalid. These 
 weak points in its method of doing business were offset by 
 its frequent meetings, by the fact that its members were 
 almost all experienced administrative officers, by its willing- 
 ness to profit by its own long experience and by the wisdom 
 of those best qualified to advise it.
 
 POWERS OF THE SENATE 233 
 
 (c) The Powers of the Senate 
 
 • 
 
 277. Exclusive Rights of Patrician Senators. The spe- 
 cial rights which the patrician members of the senate 
 always retained have already been noticed (p. 224). Of 
 these the right to vote the auctoritas patrum was robbed 
 of all significance by the PubUlian law of 339 (pp. 50 f.). 
 The right to choose an i?iterrex from their own number was 
 very likely a political privilege of some value during the 
 stormy years of the late republic. At all events, the insti- 
 tution served to give continuity to the government. 
 
 278. Relations of the Senate to the Magistrate and the 
 Comitia. As for the senate taken as a whole, we have 
 already had occasion to notice (pp. 65 ff.) that the relations 
 which it bore to the magistrate and to the popular assem- 
 blies gradually underwent a radical change. In the period 
 of its ascendency the magistrate was Httle more than its 
 presiding officer and minister, while a great part of the 
 business of legislation came before the senate, not before 
 the comitia, and even the matters on which the popular 
 assembly ultimately took action were discussed and put in 
 final form for submission to it by the senate. Traditional 
 usage always determined under the repubhc, however, the 
 relation which its action bore to that of the popular 
 assemblies. A senatus consiilhan never stood on the same 
 plane as a lex. It could not annul a lex, nor was it valid 
 if its provisions violated those of a lex. It could, however, 
 interpret enactments of the popular assembly. It could 
 provide for matters not already covered by them, even 
 when in so doing it seemed to usurp the constitutional 
 rights of the comitia, because in so doing, if the tribune did 
 not interpose his veto, it could be assumed that its action 
 was acceptable to the populus.
 
 234 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 279. Authority in Religious Matters. The three fields 
 in whieh its activity was greatest were those of religion, 
 finance, and foreign politics. The ordinary management of 
 religious matters was intrusted to the potitifcx maxitnus 
 and the special colleges of priests. Certain regularly 
 recurring events of a religious character, like the celebra- 
 tion of the games, were in charge of the magistrates ; but 
 the welfare of the state depended on the favor of the gods, 
 and, therefore, when the gods indicated their will in some 
 extraordinary fashion, or when an important change in 
 the estabhshed religious order was contemplated, the fact 
 became one of great political concern, and it was important 
 to get the advice of the senate. For this reason, the senate 
 was consulted when prodigies had occurred, when new rites 
 were to be introduced, or religious ceremonies to be regu- 
 lated. Ordinarily these matters were laid before the senate 
 by the magistrates, and that body instructed the proper 
 religious authorities to make investigations, on which ap- 
 propriate action could be based. This action consisted, 
 in the case of prodigia, in the removal of the cause of 
 offense, in making offerings, and appointing festivals. The 
 senate, by its control of appropriations, also exercised some 
 authority even over the ordinary management of religious 
 affairs. 
 
 280. Control of Public Finances. It has been well said 
 that the control of public finances under the republic was 
 an administrative rather than a constitutional question. 
 The right which the chief-magistrate originally had to 
 receive and to pay out public moneys passed over in part 
 to the senate ; in large measure because the magistrate 
 often voluntarily referred such matters to it, for the sake 
 of getting its advice and moral supi)ort. In short, the 
 same influences (cf. pp. 67 f.) which helped the senate to
 
 POWERS OF THE SENATE 235 
 
 encroach on the traditional prerogative of the magistrate 
 in other matters were at work in this case also. A magis- 
 trate with a brief tenure of office could not maintain his 
 power over against a permanent assembly, whose members 
 held their position for life. In the case of the finances the 
 encroachment of the senate was encouraged by two special 
 facts. At a comparatively early date the supervision of the 
 treasury was taken from the consul and given to an inferior 
 official, the quaestor (p. 207), whose position made him 
 even more amenable to the senate than the consul might 
 have been. Furthermore, a large share of the consul's 
 financial business was transferred to the censor (p. 194) 
 after the middle of the fifth century. Notwithstanding 
 these changes, the consul still retained some freedom of 
 action, inasmuch as appropriations were made not in an 
 itemized form, but in lump sums, and the magistrate was 
 not required to give the senate an itemized account of the 
 receipts of the treasury. In other words, the control which 
 the senate had over ihe finances of the state was far less 
 complete and definite than that exercised by a modern 
 parliament. The senate appropriated money for the army, Liv. 24. n. 
 for the public games, and for the construction and main- l^. 12^^' 
 tenance of public works. It authorized the imposition of 
 the tribiitum, and fixed the tribute to be paid by the Liv. 23. 31. 
 provinces. The control of state land was always in dispute ^f^ ' ^g Qff 
 between the senate and the popular assembUes, and the 3- 87- 
 influence of the latter varied according to the democratic 
 or oligarchic tendency of the times. 
 
 281. Concluding Treaties, Declaring and Carrying on 
 War. The ultimate right to declare war and to conclude a 
 treaty of peace rested with the people. In practice, how- Polyb. 6. 14; 
 ever, both questions were really settled by the senate. In ,g .; "^' 
 the first place, a consul would never take the responsibility
 
 236 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 of bringing such important matters before the comitia 
 without previously consulting the senate (cf. pp. 176 f.). 
 In the second place, the senate actually conducted all the 
 ; diplomatic negotiations which resulted in a treaty or a 
 :^^' declaration of war. These negotiations were usually carried 
 5'^*- on, in the one case, between the senate and ambassadors 
 representing the power concerned, in the other case, 
 between a senatorial commission and the government of 
 Jv. 9. 5. I ; the people concerned. Only when a definite conclusion 
 I7! 55! X--. had been reached was the result submitted to the people 
 for action. In the early period, when wars were carried 
 on near Rome, the senate exercised a great influence over 
 their conduct. When, in the later period, the scene of 
 war was farther removed, the detailed control of a cam- 
 paign by it was, of course, impossible. However, com- 
 manding generals still deferred to its wishes, and reports of 
 military movements were regularly sent to it. The senate 
 found an effective means of controlling generals in the field 
 in the fact that \vith it rested the, right to appropriate 
 money for a campaign, to provide reinforcements, and to 
 grant a triumph or a supplicatio in case of a success. 
 
 282. Administration of Italy. Every extension of 
 Roman citizenship required the consent of the people, 
 so that in founding a Roman colony a lex was necessary. 
 A Latin colony, however, could be established by^ virtue 
 of a setiatiis consultiim, which could also determine the 
 6. 16. 6. number of colonists, and the amount of land to be assigned 
 to each of them (cf, pp. 59 f.). The general control of affairs 
 in Italy was divided between the consul and the senate. 
 The consul was charged with the protection of Italy from 
 incursions, and the maintenance of peace within its borders 
 (cf. pp. 179 f.). It was the duty of the senate to guard the 
 interests of the central government, and to provide for the
 
 POWERS OF THE SENATE 237 
 
 administration of justice in certain cases. To cope with 
 cases of treason, conspiracy, riot, or insurrection, a magis- iJv. 9. 16 
 trate with the imperium was sent by the senate to conduct Xo°\. - 
 an investigation and inflict punishment. Epidemics of 
 crime, which the local authorities did not seem able to iJv. 39. 41 ff 
 control, were dealt with in the same way. When two 
 communities fell into a dispute the senate appointed a Liv. 45. 13. 
 commission from its own number with power to settle the q^- 'l^^ ^\^^^ 
 difficulty. Communities which seemed to have failed in 4- 15- s- 
 their duties to Rome were required to send representatives Liv. 27. 38. 
 to the city to explain the situation. If their explanations ^"^ ' ^^' '^' 
 were not satisfactory, the towns in question were punished. 
 283. The Senate and the Provinces. The important 
 part which the senate played in the organization of a 
 province has been considered in another connection (pp. 
 89 ff.), but its control had by no means come to an end, 
 when the provincial charter had been drawn up. ' Usually 
 at the beginning of the year it decided which provinces Liv. 24. 43. 9; 
 should be consular, and which praetorian. Thereupon the 26!28.'-ff.- 
 consuls and praetors cast lots for their respective provinces, 42- 10. n ff. 
 or came to a friendly agreement on the subject. Some- 42.31.1^^^' 
 times the decision was made after the election, but before 
 the end of the year. The lex Sempronia de provinciis of Cic. de Prov. 
 123 effected an important change in this arrangement by sali.^iug. 
 requiring the senate to designate the consular provinces ^T-2rA- 
 before the election of the consuls to whom they would be 
 assigned. This prevented it from favoring political friends 
 or punishing political opponents. The praetorian provinces 
 were still designated after the elections had been held. 
 The lex Cornelia of 81 definitely instituted the promagis- 
 terial system for the provinces (cf. p. 105), but made no 
 important change in the part which the senate played in 
 the appointment of provincial governors. The lex Fompeia Dio, 40. 56.
 
 1.6 
 
 238 RKPUBLICAN TERIOD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 lie provinciis o{ \}!\Q year 52, which provided that an interval 
 of five years should elapse between the time when one held 
 the considship or praetorship at Rome and took the gov- 
 ernment of a province, also directed that the designation of 
 the provinces as consular or praetorian in a given case 
 should be made just before the governors went out to their 
 provinces, that is, about four years after their term of office 
 in Rome had come to an end. After the allotments had 
 been made, senatus consulta de proviticiis ornandis were 
 passed, assigning troops and appropriating money for the 
 several provinces. Complaints made by the inhabitants of 
 a province were addressed to the senate, and, although it 
 rarely interfered in the management of a province, when 
 it did consider favorably a provincial appeal, its action 
 prevailed over the edict of the governor. 
 
 284. The Senate and Foreign Affairs. The conclusion 
 of a treaty with a people which had been at war with Rome 
 required, as we have seen (p. 235), the sanction of the 
 people, but the senate on its own motion was competent 
 to enter into a friendly alliance with a foreign nation in the 
 name of the Roman people, to assume the protectorate 
 of a territory, or to confer the title of king or friend of the 
 Roman people on a foreign potentate. To it also foreign 
 nations addressed their comjjlaints against Rome or Roman 
 ofificials. Similarly, demands or requests addressed to foreign 
 countries were sent by the senate. Embassies from hostile 
 or friendly nations came to it. The representatives of 
 friendly powers were received into the city and entertained 
 at public expense. If the senate wished to hear the state- 
 ments of an embassy from a hostile i)cople, a meeting was 
 held outside the city ; otherwise the ambassadors were 
 ordered to leave Italy at once. On the day when the mem- 
 bers of a friendly embassy were to be heard by the senate
 
 POWERS OP^ THE SENATE 239 
 
 they were taken to the Graecostasis, a structure near the Varro, L. L. 
 curia, set apart for ambassadors, and later conducted into Uv. 26. 3if. 
 the senate by the magistrate, and allowed to make a state- ^°' ^^ ^ ; 
 
 •' ° ' 34- 57- 1-3; 
 
 ment in the Latin language. After a certain date the use Vai. Max. 
 
 2. 2. 7. 
 
 of Greek was permissible. Then they were questioned by 
 members of the senate, retired during its deliberations, but 
 returned to hear' the decision which had been reached. In 
 some cases the senate appointed a committee to confer 
 with the ambassadors and to make a report to it. The 
 sending of embassies to foreign states was authorized by Liv. 34. 59. 8 
 the senate, and all the members, usually three in number, 
 of such embassies were senators. Two circumstances in 
 particular robbed the senate in the first century of its influ- 
 ence in foreign affairs. In the first place, almost all the 
 peoples with whom the Romans had in the early period 
 carried on diplomatic relations were now subject to Rome, 
 and were therefore governed by Roman officials. In the 
 second place, campaigns were carried on at such a dis- 
 tance from Rome that it was usually impracticable for the 
 senate to dictate the terms of a treaty, and commanding 
 officers found it easy to carry on the negotiations with- 
 out paying it much attention. Furthermore, the extraor- 
 dinary powers which were granted to generals in the field, 
 as to Sulla, Pompey, and Caesar, or the powers which 
 circumstances allowed them to assume, contributed to the 
 same result. 
 
 285. Measures of Public Safety. In another connec- 
 tion (pp. 181 f.) reference has been made to the various 
 extraordinary measures which the senate took at moments 
 of great public danger. These measures included the 
 declaration of a tumultus or a iustitium, the appointment 
 of a dictator, and the passage of the senatus cotisultum 
 ultimum.
 
 240 REPUHLICAN PERIOD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 286. The Tumultus and lustitium. The dictator could 
 declare a tumultus or a iustitium without waiting for any 
 action on the part of the senate, but if a dictator was not 
 in office, the declaration was made by the senate. When 
 a tumultus had been proclaimed, the city was occupied with 
 troops, the citizens put on the sagum, and all exemptions 
 from military service were canceled. The declaration of 
 a iustitiuf?i involved the suspension of all business not 
 required by the exigencies of the case. After the period 
 of the Oracchi, both these measures were taken to supple- 
 ment the senatus consultuvi ultimum, but only when a 
 citizen had put himself at the head of an armed force, 
 and had been declared an hostis rei publicae. 
 
 287. Appointment of a Dictator and Passage of the 
 Senatus jConsultum Ultimum. A dictator was named by 
 the consul, at the bidding of the senate, when the integ- 
 rity of the commonwealth was threatened by wars without, 
 or by disorders within the confines of the state (cf. p. 181). 
 A dictator was appointed for the last time in 202. Three 
 facts explain the disappearance of the office. It had been 
 used as a weapon by the patricians in their struggle with 
 the plebeians, but the assumption by the people in the year 
 2 1 7 of the right to pass the enabling act took the office out 
 of the hands of the senate and made it useless to it. In the 
 second place, the dictatorship had been gradually stripped 
 of the exceptional powers which differentiated it from the 
 consulship (cf. p. 183). Furthermore, during the first 
 seventy years of the second century, no critical situation 
 developed in Italy, and the ascendency of the senate was 
 unquestioned, so that it felt no need of passing exceptional 
 measures. But the agitations of the Gracchi arrayed the 
 democracy against the fiobilitas, and the senate cast about 
 for means to hold the opposition in check. Now the
 
 POWERS OF THE SENATE 24I 
 
 appointment of a dictator meant the investiture of an 
 
 extraordinary magistrate with extraordinary powers, but 
 
 the right to make such an appointment was no longer 
 
 the exclusive prerogative of the senate. The same object 
 
 could be attained, however, by conferring extraordinary 
 
 powers on a regular magistrate. This step it took in 132 by 
 
 granting to the consuls of that year the right to judge and Pint. Ti. 
 
 condemn to death those found guilty of taking part in the vai. Max 
 
 revolutionary proceedings of Tiberius Gracchus. This led 4- 7- 1- 
 
 to the passage of the Sempronian law in 123 (cf. p. 98), 
 
 which forbade the execution of any citizen until he had 
 
 been heard by the people. Two years later, however, the 
 
 senate voted uti L. Opifnius cotisid rem ptiblicam defenderet, Cic. Phil. 
 
 and, under the authority of this action, the consul attacked 
 
 the Gracchan party, which had seized the Aventine hill 
 
 and killed C. Gracchus and several of his followers. In 
 
 the year 1 00, during the agitation of the tribune Saturninus 
 
 (cf. p. 100), the consuls, with the help of the tribunes 
 
 and praetors, were directed to see to it iit viiperium popie/i Cic. pro Rab 
 
 Romanimaiestasque conservaretur. Somewhat similar action ^^*^ 
 
 was taken in the years 88, 83, 77, d'^, 62, 52, 49, 48, 47, 
 
 and 43. The special power exercised by the magistrate 
 
 under this decree of the senate was that of putting citizens 
 
 to death without granting them the privilege of appealing 
 
 to the people. This proceeding was, of course, in direct 
 
 contravention of the lex Sempronia of the year 123, and 
 
 the popular party never recognized the constitutionality of 
 
 it. The modification which Cicero introduced in the plan 
 
 followed by earlier magistrates, of asking for a specific vote 
 
 by the senate on the disposition of the accused persons, 
 
 does not make his course more or less constitutional than 
 
 that of his predecessors ; for if the senate was competent to 
 
 act as a court of last resort, and to condemn citizens to
 
 242 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 death, it was competent to empower the consuls to impose 
 the death penalty through the s. c. ultimum, and specific 
 action was unnecessary. If it was not competent in the 
 first instance, it could not itself impose the penalty. The 
 whole question of the consdtutionality of the s. c. ultimum is 
 a matter of high dispute. In point of fact, the question 
 seems to bring into conflict two irreconcilable theories of 
 government, each of which prevailed to a greater or less 
 degree at different periods. The senate maintained, as 
 Cicero put it, saliis populi suprema lex est. Furthermore, 
 it claimed to have the right to decide when the safety of 
 the state required the assumption on its part of extra-con- 
 stitutional powers, and it claimed to be the ultimate deposi- 
 tary of supreme power. The first one of these propositions 
 will scarcely be questioned. Various historical considera- 
 tions support the senate's contention on the other two 
 points. As we have seen (p. lo), when the chief-magistracy 
 became vacant through death or otherwise, the sovereignty 
 returned to the patres. Furthermore, up to the year 217, 
 the senate exercised not infrequently the right to decide 
 when the public safety required the suspension of the consti- 
 tutional rights of the citizens, and in accordance with its 
 judgment instructed the consul to api)oint a dictator. Its 
 failure to exercise that ])ower for the next century or more 
 did not imply the loss of it. Opposed to this view of the 
 situation, on which the senate could rest its claim, was the 
 democratic theory that the will of the people is the law of 
 the land, and the successive achievements of the popular 
 party mark the advance made from time to time in forcing 
 the acceptance of that theory. The full recognition of 
 it, with a somewhat narrow interpretation of the word 
 "people" (cf. p. 51), was secured in 287. The failure of 
 the people to make full use of their power does not imply an
 
 POWERS OF THE SENATE 243 
 
 abandonment of the principle. Indeed, the fact was freely 
 recognized that a decree of the senate could not stand 
 against the action of the popular assembly (cf. p. 233). 
 The position of the popular party was, therefore, a strong 
 one when it maintained that no se?iatus co7isidtuni could 
 suspend the action of the lex Sempronia de provocatione. O.'^ • 
 
 The special plea which was made on certain occasions by Cic. in Cat. 
 the advocates of the senatorial prerogative, that the indi- '^' 
 viduals concerned had become enemies of the state and, 
 therefore, had forfeited the rights of citizenship, is a piece 
 of sophistry, because to concede to the senate the right on 
 its own authority of declaring that a citizen who had not 
 openly taken up arms against the government was an /wsfis 
 rei publicae was to grant it indirectly the power of suspend- 
 ing the action of a lex. The question is, therefore, like the 
 old problem of free will and necessity, and it will probably 
 be decided by different students according to the theory 
 of ideal government held by each of them. In this con- 
 nection we may mention the action of the senate declaring 
 
 that certain individuals were acting, or would act in a given Cic. ad Att 
 
 „ , . , , I. 16. 12; 
 
 case, contra rein pubhcam. Such a motion on the part ot 2.24.3; 
 
 the senate, usually directed against magistrates, often pre- g^g^^™" 
 
 ceded the passage of a s. c. idtimiim, and indicated the Caes. B. C. 
 
 intention of the senate to pass that measure, if the persons 
 
 concerned persisted in the course which they had taken. 
 
 Selected Bibliography^ 
 
 Composition of the senate and senatorial privileges : Willems, Le 
 senat de la republique romaine, Vol. I, Louvain, 1883 ; Th. Monam- 
 sen, Romische Forschungen, I.2 218-2S4; G. Bloch, Les origines 
 du senat romain, Paris, 1883 ; Fr. Hofmann, Der rom. Senat zur 
 Zeit der Republik, Berlin, 1847 ; Lange, De plebiscitis Ovinio et Atinio 
 
 1 See also pp. 22, 173, 219.
 
 244 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 disputatio, Leipzig, 1878 ; Monro, On the pedarii, Journ. of Phil. 
 IV. (1872) 113-119. — Meetings of the senate: C. Bardt, Die Senats- 
 sitzungstage der spiiteren Republik (in Hermes, VII. 14 ff.) ; Zur 
 lex Caecilia Didia {ibid. IX. 305 ff.) ; Lange, Die lex Pupia (in 
 Rhein. Mus. (N. F.), XXIX. 321-336, and XXX. 350-397) ; Lanciani, 
 L'aula e gli uffici del senate romano (Mem. dell' Accad. dei Lincei, 
 XI) ; Mispoulet, La vie parlementaire a Rome sous la republique, 
 Paris, 1899; B. Pick, De senatus consultis Romanorum, Part I, 
 Berlin, 1884; Hiibner, De senatus populique actis, Leipzig, 1859; 
 Willems, Vol. II. — Powers of the senate: II. Genz, Das patri- 
 zische Rom, Berlin, 1878; Soltau, Altromische Volksversammlungen 
 (109-226), Berlin, 1880; Nissen, Das lustitium, Leipzig, 1877; 
 Willems, Vol. II. 
 
 SUPPLEMICXTAUY LlTERATlTRR, I 90 I - I 9 I O 
 
 Barbagallo, Una misura eccezionale dei Roniani : II senatus con- 
 sultum ultimum. Rome, 1900. 
 
 Delaunay, Les relations des magistrats et du senat sous la repu- 
 blique. Rennes, 1896. 
 
 P. Willems et J. Willems, Le senat romain en 65 de notre ere. 
 Louvain, 1902. 
 
 Sands, The Client Princes of the Roman Empire under the Re- 
 public. Cambridge (England), 1906.
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 THE PEOPLE 
 
 (a) Citizens and their Rights 
 
 288. How Citizenship could be Acquired. The rights 
 of citizenship could be acquired by birth, by naturaliza- 
 tion, or by manumission. They belonged, therefore, to the 
 issue of a legal marriage (iustum mat r into mum), contracted 
 between those who had the ins conubii. Before 445 the 
 ius conubii was enjoyed by the patricians only, but in 
 that year it was given to the plebeians also (cf. pp. 33 f.). 
 Foreigners could gain the rights of Roman citizenship only 
 through action of the popular assembly, although, in the Liv. 4. 4. 7. 
 later years of the republic, generals in the field seem to Cic.proArc 
 have usurped this prerogative of the people in a few cases. Ba'lbo^ 19. 
 Special facilities were granted to the Latins and the allies 
 
 in acquiring citizenship, as we shall presently see. The 
 formal announcement of a slave's freedom by his master 
 made him a citizen. This announcement could be made 
 in the presence of a magistrate, or in a will, or the master 
 could confer freedom and citizenship on him at the same 
 time by having his name enrolled in the censor's list. 
 
 289. How it could be Lost. Roman citizenship implied 
 personal liberty. Consequently, any one who was captured 
 in war, turned over to the enemy, or sold into slavery, lost 
 it completely. This complete forfeiture of civic and family 
 rights, as well as of freedom, was known as the capitis 
 deminutio maxima. Captives who returned to the city 
 
 245
 
 246 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 could regain their rights. The capitis deminutio fnedia im- 
 plied the loss of all civic and family rights, but not of personal 
 liberty. Those who had become citizens in another state, 
 who had gone into voluntary exile, or had been banished, 
 suffered this penalty. Capitis deminutio minima took place 
 in case of adoption. The adopted person lost the family 
 rights which he had formerly enjoyed, but he acquired the 
 rights of the family into which he was adopted. 
 
 290. Three Classes of Freemen. There were three 
 classes of freemen under the republic : (I) those who had 
 the full right of Roman citizenship ; (II) those who enjoyed 
 it only in part or when they had conformed to certain 
 conditions; and (III) those who in their own persons had 
 no rights before the law. 
 
 291. Equalization of the Rights of Citizenship. Under 
 the monarchy patricians alone had the full rights of Roman 
 citizenship. What these rights were, and what the position 
 of the plebeians was, we have already had occasion to notice 
 (pp. 17 f.). The remodeUng of the army by Servius 
 Tullius (p. 20), and the development of the new organi- 
 zation into a political body under the republic (pp. 26 f.) 
 brought important civil and political rights to' the plebeians. 
 Henceforth they participated in the meetings of the centu- 
 riate cotnitia for the enactment of laws and the election of 
 magistrates. The lex Valeria allowed them to appeal to 
 the popular assembly in case the death penalty had been 
 imposed by a magistrate (p. 27). The establishment of 
 the tribunate in 494 gave them greater protection against 
 patrician magistrates (p. 28), and at the same time secured 
 to them a political institution in which the patricians had 
 no part. By the lex Canuleia of 445 they gained the ius 
 conubii between themselves and the patricians. The polit- 
 ical agitation of the fourth century secured them admission
 
 RIGHTS OF CITIZENS 247 
 
 to the magistracies and to certain priesthoods. The pas- 
 sage of the Valerio-Horatian, PubliUan, and Hortensian 
 laws technically freed the popular assemblies, and in par- 
 .ticular the plebeian tribal assembly, from the control of 
 the patrician element in the senate (pp. 49 f.). 
 
 (I) Content of the Civitas Romana. Henceforth citizen- 
 ship meant practically the same for patricians and plebeians. 
 It included the mra commercii, conubii, provocationis , legis 
 actionis, suffragii, and the ins honorum. The privileges 
 retained by the patrician consisted in the right to hold the 
 priestly offices oi flatnen and of rex sacrorum, and to be 
 one of Xh.Q fratres Arvales, Salii, and Luperci, to take part 
 in the passage of the auctoritas patrum, to act as an interrex, 
 and to be a member of a gens, and, consequently, of the 
 comitia curiata (cf., however, p. 252). On his side the 
 plebeian alone was eligible to the tribunate, and none but 
 plebeians could participate in the meetings of the concilium 
 plebis. 
 
 (II) Restricted Citizenship, i . Freedmen. A second class 
 of freemen enjoyed the rights of Roman citizenship only in 
 part, or when they had satisfied certain conditions. In this 
 category were the freedmen. They never gained the right 
 to sit in the senate, and, up to the time of Appius Claudius, 
 they were not enrolled in the tribes. The radical improve- 
 ment which he made in their position (cf. pp. 54 ff.) was 
 partly lost in the reaction of 304, which restricted them to 
 
 the four city tribes (cf. p. 56). Numerous attempts were Herz. i. 996. 
 made by democratic leaders in the first century to secure 
 them admission to other tribes, but without permanent suc- 
 cess. The concession which was ultimately made to them 
 with reference to admission to the senate has been noted 
 in another connection. They had the ius commercii and 
 technically the ius conubii.
 
 248 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 As we have already seen, certain offenses, or a reprehen- 
 sible mode of living, might take from a citizen his right to a 
 vote, or might deprive him of its full value, and the magis- 
 trate presiding at an election could refuse to consider the 
 claims of an objectionable candidate (p. 169). This, of 
 course, amounted to a loss of the ius siiffragii or the ins 
 hoHoru7n, as the case might be. 
 
 2. Latini. Under \k\e.foedus Cassianum, which tradition 
 
 assigns to the year 493, the members of the Latin league 
 
 enjoyed the ius wmmerdi, and probably also the ius cotiu- 
 
 bii. The war of 338 broke the power of the league and 
 
 enabled Rome to make with each one of its members 
 
 (cf. p. 57) separate arrangements, in all of which the ius 
 
 St R. III. coinmercii was seriously restricted. From that time the 
 
 62'' f ■ 
 
 lierz. I. rights of these communities depended entirely on their 
 
 Madv i 8 f treaties with Rome and differed in different cases. The 
 
 Latin colonies which the Romans began to found in the 
 
 fourth century held nearly the same relation to Rome as 
 
 the communities just mentioned, and a statement of the 
 
 rights which the settlers in these colonies enjoyed will 
 
 apply also to the members of the Latin communities allied 
 
 with Rome. They had the ius cojnmenii and perhaps the 
 
 Liv. 25. 3. 16. ius cojiubii. In Rome they were allowed to vote in a tribe 
 
 determined by lot. Furthermore, a Latin could exercise 
 
 Liv. 41. 8. 9. the rights of Roman citizenship in Rome, provided he had 
 
 left a son at home. In the colonies founded after 268 this 
 
 Appian, B. C. privilege was restricted to those who had held a magistracy 
 
 Cic. pro ^""-^ f''^'^'' the year mentioned, the ius conuhii was no longer 
 
 Caec. 102. given to new colonies. The civitas Koinana was probably 
 
 granted to all communities in Latium in the early part of 
 
 the second century, and, as a result of the Social war, all 
 
 cities in Italy of the class under consideration acfjuired the 
 
 rights of Roman citizenship (cf. pj). loi f.).
 
 POLITICAL DIVISIONS 249 
 
 3. Gives sine suffragio. About 353 the Romans estab- iJv. 7. 20. 8 
 lished, in the case of Caere in Etruria, the first of a new ' ^' ' 
 
 class of communities known as jnunicipia sine suffragio. 
 The peoj^le in these communities had the private rights of 
 Roman citizens, but they could not be enrolled in a tribe, 
 and, therefore, could not vote. The lex lulia and the lex 
 Plautia Papiria of 90-89 did away with all communities 
 of this class in Italy. 
 
 (Ill) Peregrini, etc. In the eyes of the law every free- 
 man who was not a Roman citizen was d. peregrin us. Strictly 
 speaking, therefore, those who had only the ius Latii came 
 under this head, but the term peregri7ii was commonly 
 applied to the citizens of independent states or of depend- 
 ent communities which did not have the rights of Roman 
 citizenship in whole or in part. Such a freeman, when at 
 Rome, secured protection either through a treaty made by Will. Dr. 
 his state with Rome, through the offices of ih& praetor pere- clc. Div. in 
 grinus, who administered the ius gentium, or by an hospitium '^^^^- ^''■ 
 privatu7n arranged with a Roman citizen, who was thus put 
 under moral obligation to protect him to the extent of his 
 power. Furthermore, women, minors, and those of unsound 
 mind had no political rights, and secured their civil rights 
 only through the kindly offices of a representative who was a 
 citizen. Slaves were regarded simply as chattels, for whom 
 their masters were responsible. 
 
 (&) Divisions of the People for Political Purposes 
 
 292. The Curiae. The division of the people under the 
 monarchy into curiae, tribes, classes, and centuries has 
 already been considered (cf. pp. 18, 20-21). The curiae 
 were in their origin local subdivisions for political purposes. 
 The local character of their origin seems to be indicated by
 
 250 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 such names as Foriensis and Veliensis. Membership in a 
 curia was handed down from father to son without regard 
 to change of residence. 
 
 293. The Tribes. We have already had occasion to 
 notice (pp. 5 f., 21) that the term tribus has two, perhaps 
 three, different meanings. The four Servian tribes were 
 Suburana, Esquilina, Collina, and Palatina. The seventeen 
 tribes added in the early years of the republic (cf. p. 27) 
 were Aemilia, Camilia, Claudia, Cornelia, Crustumina, Fabia, 
 Galena, Horatia, Lemonia, Menenia, Papiria, PoUia, Pupinia, 
 Romilia, Sergia, Voltinia, and Voturia. All of these names 
 with the exception of Crustumina, which is of local origin, 
 are the names of patrician clans. To this number four new 
 tribes (Arnensis, Sabatina, Stellatina, and Tron\entina) were 
 added in 387, two (Pomptina and Poplilia) in 358, two 
 (Maecia and Scaptia) in 332, two (Falerna and Oufentina) 
 in 318, two (Aniensis and Teretina) in 300, and two (Qui- 
 rina and Velina) in 241. The number never passed beyond 
 this maximum of thirty-five. That no additions were made 
 subsequent to 241 is probably due to the fact that about 
 this time the tribal organization was adopted as the basis of 
 the reformed centuriate assembly (cf. p. 74). After the date 
 mentioned, newly made citizens were apportioned among 
 the old tribes. The importance of the tribe as a political 
 unit depended, of course, on the fact that the three great 
 popular assemblies were based on it. Membership in a 
 tribe was the mark of citizenship, and was indicated in the 
 legal name, e.g., C. Lucilius C. f. Pup{inia tribti) Hirrus. 
 We have already considered (pp. 247 f.) the restrictions laid 
 upon certain classes of citizens with reference to their tribal 
 relations. Membership was determined at first by residence 
 or the ownership of land. A change of residence did not 
 entail a change of tribe, but a citizen could pass into a new
 
 POPULAR ASSEMBLIES 2$ I 
 
 tribe in case he settled in a colony, or he could be assigned 
 to a new tribe by the censors. Mention is made of two 
 classes of tribal officials under the republic, the curatores 
 tribinim and the tribuni aerarii, but their functions are 
 obscure. Perhaps the former had to do with the elections 
 and the census. Possibly the office of tribuni aerarii was 
 established when Rome began to raise the tributum. At all 
 events, for some time these officials seem to have been finan- 
 cial officers representing the several tribes. After the tribu- 
 tui7i was given up, their position was one of honor only. 
 
 294. The Classes and Centuries. The basis on which the 
 people were divided into classes and centuries has already 
 been touched on (cf. pp. 20 f., 54 f., 74 f.), and will be con- 
 sidered further when we come to discuss the centuriate 
 comitia. A new assignment was made by each college of 
 censors. 
 
 (c) Popular Assemblies 
 
 295. Comitia. There were three classes of popular 
 assemblies among the Romans, viz., comitia, concilia, and 
 contiones. Cojnitia were assemblies of all the citizens, i.e., 
 of the populus Romamis, called for the purpose of taking 
 action on matters submitted to them by duly authorized 
 officials. There were three of these assemblies, the cofftitia 
 curiata, centuriata, and tributa, and they came into exist- 
 ence in the order indicated. 
 
 296. Concilia. Concilia, in the political sense of the 
 word, were formal assemblies of a part of the people. Thus a 
 concilium plebis was a legislative or electoral assembly of the 
 plebeians. The distinction between comitia and concilium 
 has been well indicated by Laelius Felix (Gell. N. A. XV. 
 27. 4) : is qui non universum populum, sed partem aliquam 
 adesse iubet, non " comitia,'' sed " concilium " edicere iubet.
 
 252 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 297. Contiones. Contiones differed from coinitia and 
 concilia mainly in three particulars. The people came 
 together as individuals, and not as members of certain 
 political organizations, like the curia, century, or tribe. 
 Hence a strict test of citizenship was not applied. In the 
 second place, these gatherings were solely for the purpose 
 of receiving communications, and no action could be taken. 
 Finally, private citizens, with the consent of the presiding 
 magistrate, could address the assembly. Contiones resem- 
 bled the comitia and the co7icilia in that they could be 
 called by magistrates only, and that the procedure in them 
 was directed by the presiding magistrate. A contio was 
 usually held before the comitia or concilium met, to hear a 
 statement and a discussion of the questions which were to 
 be acted on later in the more formal body. They were not 
 a necessary part of the machinery of state, but they exerted 
 an important political influence, especially since political 
 meetings could not be called by private individuals. 
 
 {d) The Comitia Curiata 
 
 298. Admission of Plebeians. The organization and 
 functions of the coinitia curiata under the monarchy have 
 been considered in another part of this book (cf. pp. 19 f.). 
 Whether the plebeians were admitted is a matter of great 
 doubt. The statements of ancient writers, the fact that 
 plebeians were eligible to the office of curio maximus and 
 took part in certain curial religious rites, seem to indicate 
 that they were admitted to the curiate assembly. They 
 probal)ly did not gain the right to vote, however, until 
 midway in the rei)ublican period. 
 
 299. Formalities attending a Meeting. After the passage 
 of the lex Caecilia Didia (p. 100), announcement probably
 
 THE COMITIA CENTURIATA 253 
 
 had to be made seventeen days before the assembly met. 
 The ordinary place of meeting was the comitium. The Varro, L 
 presiding officer, when the lex curiata de imperio was pre- 
 sented for action, was a magistrate. On other occasions 
 the pontifex 7naximus presided. Formal actions of the 
 assembly did not become valid until they had. received the 
 patrum aiutoritas. The importance of this body disap- Cic. de i 
 peared to such an extent that in the later years of the nv. a 4 
 republic the curiae were at times represented by thirty Ck. del 
 lictors and three augurs. The semi-political functions 
 which the curiate corfiitia had exercised under the mon- 
 archy (pp. 14, 19 f.) fell to the centuriate assembly, and the 
 older body kept its jurisdiction over clan affairs only. 
 
 (e) Hie Comitia Centuriata 
 
 300. Composition of the Comitia Centuriata. The compo- 
 sition of the centuriate comitia has already been sufficiently 
 described (pp. 20 f., 74 f.). In 88 B.C. Sulla restored the Appian, 
 Servian organization of the assembly, but the reformed ' 
 system was speedily reinstated again. 
 
 301. Presiding Officer. The centuriate comitia was in 
 its origin a military body. It could, therefore, be called 
 together only by magistrates who had the imperium, or by Varro, I 
 lower officials commissioned or allowed by higher magis- ' ' 
 trates to issue a summons. The right which the censor 
 exercised to call a meeting of the people by centuries in 
 taking the census was only an apparent exception to this 
 principle. No vote was taken in the assembly called by 
 
 him, so that the meeting was not properly a meeting of 
 the comitia centuriata. When the assembly met to elect 
 consuls, censors, or praetors, of the regular magistrates only 
 the consul could preside (p. 176).
 
 254 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 302. Dies Comitiales. The days on which the assembly 
 could meet (^dies comitiales) numbered one hundred and 
 ninety in the early imperial period, and were indicated in 
 the calendar by the letter C. Assemblies could not be held 
 on holidays {dies 7iefasti). nor on days set apart for meet- 
 ings of the courts (dies fasti). The regular place of meeting 
 was the Campus Martins. 
 
 303. Announcement of Meetings. After the passage of 
 the lex Caecilia Didia (p. 100), announcement had to be 
 made for a period of seventeen days before the date of 
 the proposed meeting. The announcement took the form 
 of a magisterial edict giving the date and purpose of the 
 meeting. This edict included the text of the proposed 
 bill, the list of candidates, or the names of persons accused, 
 with a statement of the charges made against them, accord- 
 ing as the ccmtitia met as a legislative, electoral, or judicial 
 assembly. 
 
 304. The Auspices. Shortly after midnight on the day 
 of the pro])Osed meeting the prospective presiding officer, 
 accompanied by an augur, took the auspices. If the inter- 
 pretation of them by the augur was unfavorable, the meet- 
 ing was postponed to another day. Even if the auspices 
 were favorable, two religious difficulties might lead to a 
 postponement, viz., the announcement of another magis- 
 trate that he had seen unfavorable omens, or the occur- 
 rence of dirae at the time of the meeting. The plan which 
 the Romans finally adopted in dealing with cases of this 
 sort, and the responsibility of the presiding magistrate, have 
 already been considered (cf. pp. 158-160). 
 
 305. Other Formalities. In case he found no obstacles 
 in the way of holding the meeting, on the spot where he 
 had taken the auspices, the magistrate, through an assistant, 
 proceeded to summon the citizens to a meeting {yocare
 
 THE COMITIA CENTURIATA 255 
 
 inliciutn Quirites) . The summons was repeated by a Varro, L. L. 
 trumpeter on the walls and on the Arx, and a red "flag was 5 ^3-95 • 
 raised on the Arx. Immediately before the holding of Liv.39. 15. n 
 the comitia, a contio was called at which the magistrate who Varro, L. L. 
 had summoned the comiiia presided. After a sacrifice 5] g^.' ' ' 
 had been made, and prayer had been offered, the busi- Liv.39 15. i 
 ness to come before the comitia was stated and discussed Mur.^i? 
 (cf. p. 252). After the contio the magistrate summoned 
 the people to assemble by centuries in the comitia with the 
 words impero qua convenit ad comitia centut'iata. There- 
 upon those who did not have the right to vote retired, and Liv. 2. 56. k 
 the citizens arranged themselves in centuries under their 
 respective centiiriones. 
 
 306. Method of Voting. Before the reform of 241 the 
 eighteen centuries of knights voted first, all the centuries 
 voting simultaneously, and the result of their vote was 
 announced ; then came the centuries of the first and of the Liv. i. 43. n 
 second class, and so on, until a majority of the centuries 
 had voted in favor of a certain proposition. In point of 
 fact the knights and the pedites of the first class usually 
 voted in the same way. If that proved to be the case, it 
 was not necessary to continue voting after the centuries of 
 the first class had cast their ballots, as their eighty centuries 
 with the eighteen equestrian centuries constituted a majority 
 of the assembly. Under the reform legislation of 241 the 
 knights lost their privilege of voting first. The order of 
 the classes was still observed, however, and a century was 
 chosen by lot {^centuria praerogativa) from the first class, Liv. 24. 7, 12 
 whose privilege it was to vote and have its vote announced ck. Phil, 
 before the ballots of the other centuries were cast. A large ^- ^^■ 
 enclosure, called the saepta or ovile, was set apart for the Herz. i. 
 voters, with small sections for the members of each century, "a^nge'^'ii.' 
 and as the voters went out of these enclosures through the 487 f-
 
 256 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 narrow passages {pontes), they cast their ballots. During 
 
 the early republican period, citizens gave their votes viva 
 
 voce, but after the passage of the leges tabellariae (cf. p. 71), 
 
 toward the end of the second century, balloting was secret. 
 
 At legislative meetings each voter received an affirmative 
 
 Cic. adAtt. ballot bearing the letters U. R. (i.e., uti rogas), and a 
 
 deLegg^-'.-?8. negative ballot marked A. (i.e., antiqiw^. At meetings to 
 
 Piut. Cat. elect magistrates each voter received a blank tabella, on 
 
 Min. 46. which he wrote the name of the candidate of his choice. 
 
 When the comitia met as a judicial assembly, he received 
 
 two tablets, one marked L. (i.e., iibero) and the other D. 
 
 (i.e., damno). The proper ballot was placed by the voter 
 
 Cic. in Pis. 36. in the cista, which was guarded by the rogatores or diribi- 
 
 tores. A majority of the votes in the century determined 
 
 the vote of the century, and a majority of the centuries 
 
 decided the vote of the whole assembly. Announcement 
 
 Lex Malaci- of the result {renuntiatio) was made by the presiding officer, 
 
 ana, c. 57. ^j^^ j^^^ ^ certain amount of discretionary power in the 
 
 case of the elections. It was necessary for the comitia to 
 
 adjourn before sunset. 
 
 307. The Centuriate Comitia as an Electoral Body. The 
 centuriate comitia met for three different purposes, viz., to 
 elect the higher magistrates, to enact laws, and to hear 
 appeals in cases involving the death penalty. Of the reg- 
 ular magistrates, it chose the consuls, the censors, and the 
 praetors ; of the extraordinary magistrates, the decemviri 
 legibus scrihimdis and the consular tribunes. At the outset 
 it probably had the right only to accept or reject a nomi- 
 nation made by the presiding officer, but, at a compara- 
 tively early period, it acquired the power of choosing 
 between several candidates, although the presiding magis- 
 trate could always exercise some discretion with reference 
 to the eligibility of the candidates (cf. pp. 169, 171).
 
 THE COMITIA CENTURIATA 257 
 
 Before the passage of the lex Maefiia in 2S7 (cf. p. 51) an 
 election needed the ratification of the patrician senators, 
 expressed in the patriun aicctoritas. After that date the 
 patruin mutoritas preceded the election and became a mere 
 matter of form. 
 
 308. The Centuriate Comitia as a Legislative Assembly. 
 At the outset, in the field of legislation, the centuriate 
 comitia exercised only the right to declare an offensive war, 
 a right which was transferred to it from the curiate assem- 
 bly. Soon after the republic was established, however, it 
 acquired the power of legislating, under certain conditions, 
 on any subject (cf. p. 27). After 449 it shared this privi- 
 lege with the conciliinn plebis (cL p. 32), and after 447 
 also with the patricio-plebeian tribal assembly (cf. p. 33). 
 The restrictions laid on both these bodies enabled it to 
 retain its supremacy, however, until 287. From that time 
 on, since they were as free as the centuriate comitia, or 
 freer than it, and since their method of procedure was 
 simpler than that of the centuriate comitia, their place of 
 meeting more convenient, and their composition more 
 democratic, the importance of the centuriate cojnitia de- 
 cHned rapidly. No sure line of distinction can be drawn 
 between the legislation which the centuriate comitia could 
 enact and that which the two tribal assemblies could pass, 
 except that the centuriate assembly retained its exclusive 
 right to declare an offensive war, and to pass an act, 
 modeled on the lex de impcrio of the curiate assembly, 
 conferring plenary power on the censor, an act known as 
 the lex de potestate censoria. The ordinary method of pro- 
 cedure in securing the passage of a lex in the centuriate 
 comitia was as follows : the consul laid a subject before 
 the senate for consideration ; its action, if not vetoed, was 
 known as a scnatus consultum, and took the form of advice,
 
 258 KErUBLlCAN PERIOD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 or of a request that the magistrate should lay a certain 
 proposition before the popular assembly for its favorable 
 consideration. Announcement of the bill (^promiilgatio 
 legis) had to be made by the magistrate seventeen days 
 before the assembly could vote on it. In this interval 
 probably the patriim auctoritas was secured. On the 
 appointed day the bill was read and discussed in a contio, 
 and the people voted on it immediately afterward in the 
 comitia. As we have already noticed (p. 177), the consul 
 was not required to consult the senate beforehand, nor 
 was he theoretically obliged to bring a proposition recom- 
 mended by the senate before the cotnitia, or if he did 
 propose the measure, he could oppose its passage, but, for 
 reasons already given, magistrates rarely exercised these 
 constitutional rights. 
 
 309. The Centuriate Comitia as a Court of Appeal. The 
 right to inflict capital punishment was included under the 
 hnperiuni, but, from an early period, citizens in the city 
 who were condemned to death by a magistrate were allowed 
 to appeal to the people. This privilege was extended and 
 confirmed by the lex Valeria, the lex Valeria Horatia 
 Liv. 10. 9. (p. 31), the leges Porciae, and the lex Sempronia. The 
 ^ic.'pro Rab. appeal was heard by the centuriate comitia. The quaestors, 
 // viri perduellionis, or tribunes in charge of the matter, 
 appointed a day (diem dicere) for the first hearing. This 
 was known as the prima accusatio. In this meeting the 
 charge and defense were heard, and arrangements were 
 made for another hearing, known as the secttnda accusatio, 
 when the investigation, with the taking of testimony, was 
 continued. After the third contio (iertia accusatio) the 
 magistrate gave his decision, and announced the penalty, 
 upon which the accused, if he wished, could appeal to the 
 centuriate assembly. That assembly voted on the simple
 
 THE COMITIA TRIBUTA 259 
 
 question of guilt or innocence. It could not modify in 
 any way the proposed sentence. After a date, which we 
 cannot fix, the accused was allowed to go into voluntary 
 exile at any time before the vote was taken in the amiitia. 
 The two classes of cases which were most commonly car- 
 ried before the centuriate assembly were those of murder 
 i^parricidmvi) and treason (^pcrduellid). The proceedings 
 in non-political cases were usually conducted by the quaes- 
 tor, in political cases by the tribune, under the presidency 
 of the praetor. The establishment of quaestiones extraor- 
 dinariae took many cases out of the hands of the quaestor 
 and the centuriate assembly. The lex Sejnpronia of the 
 year 123 (p. 98) was intended to correct this practice, 
 and in some measure it restored the importance of the 
 coviitia centuriata as a court of appeal. That body lost its 
 judicial functions entirely, however, after the establishment 
 by Sulla of a complete system of permanent courts. Crim- 
 inal trials were conducted in them in a simpler and more 
 satisfactory way, and since the severest penalty which they 
 imposed was that of banishment, there were no appeals to 
 be taken to the amiitia centuriata. 
 
 if) TJte Coniitia Trihuta 
 
 310. The Existence of a Patricio-Plebeian Tribal As- 
 sembly. No ancient historian mentions the establishment 
 of a tribal assembly including patricians as well as ple- 
 beians, nor is any distinction drawn between the comitia 
 tributa and the concilium plebis. In fact, in one case at Liv. 2. 56. 2. 
 least, the plebeian tribal assembly is spoken of as the comitia 
 tributa. This state of things has led some modern scholars 
 
 Madv. I. 235 ; 
 
 to mamtam that there was only one tribal assembly, from ihne, Rhein. 
 whose meetings the patricians were excluded, an assembly 28"-67 f.
 
 260 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 indifferently called the co7nitia trihuta or the cojicilium 
 plebis. However, the people meeting in the coviitia tributa 
 Herz. are designated by the term popiilus, which in the republican 
 
 ■ ^^~^' "■ ''■ period can properly be appHed only to a body made up of 
 all citizens, patricians as well as plebeians. Furthermore, 
 in a tribal assembly, presided over by a magistrate, as we 
 shall presently see, certain officials were elected to whom 
 the term magistratus in its technical sense (cf. pp. 151, 
 171) was applied. Their election and the fact that a 
 magistrate presided presuppose an assembly containing 
 both patricians and plebeians. On the whole, then, the 
 existence of a patricio-plebeian tribal assembly is highly 
 probable. The assembly came into existence in the middle 
 of the fifth century (cf. p. 33), immediately after the organi- 
 zation of the plebeian tribal assembly. 
 
 311. Composition. We have no direct evidence bearing 
 on the composition of the comitia tributa, but it may be 
 safely assumed that all patricians and plebeians belonging to 
 the thirty-five tribes voted in the assembly. 
 
 312. Meetings. The co?nitia tributa were presided over 
 by a magistrate. It was necessary to take the auspices 
 before a meeting was held. The usual place of meeting 
 was the forum. The method of voting was that followed 
 in the centuriate cofnitia. After the passage of the Hor- 
 tensian law the action of the assembly did not need the 
 patriim auctoritas to be valid. 
 
 313. The Comitia Tributa as an Electoral, Legislative, 
 and Judicial Body. When the quaestorship became an 
 elective office its incumbents were chosen in this assembly 
 (P- 33 )> ^''^*i this became the regular method of electing 
 them. Later the curule aediles were chosen in it, and in 
 fact all the lower magistrates, as well as the members of 
 certain special commissions (cf. pp. 204, 210, 216). The
 
 THE CONCILIUM PLEBIS 261 
 
 tribal comitia could legislate apparently on any subject, and, 
 as we have already seen (p. 257), it is impossible to dis- 
 tinguish between the three popular assemblies with respect 
 to the character of the subjects on which they took action. 
 Certain judicial cases, conducted by the curule aedile, were 
 heard before it (cf. p. 206), 
 
 314. The Modified Comitia Tributa. A modified fonn of 
 the comitia tributa was adopted at an unknown date for the 
 choice of the poJitifex maximus. Seventeen of the thirty- 
 five tribes were chosen by lot, and summoned to a meeting 
 for the election of this official from among the pontiffs. 
 The arrangement was a compromise. It gave a popular 
 character to the choice and yet retained in part the 
 religious principle of cooptation. In the same assembly, 
 and by a somewhat similar method, the pontifices, aiigures, 
 XVviri, and Vllviriepuhmes were chosen after the passage 
 of the lex Domitia in 104 (cf. p. 107). 
 
 {g) Tlie Conciliunt Plebis 
 
 315. Composition and Presiding Officer. We have had 
 occasion to notice the fact that the earliest plebeian, like the 
 patrician, assembly was probably organized on the curiate Will. Dr. 
 basis. The controUing influence which the patricians were ' 
 able to exercise over this assembly through their clients 
 
 (p. 29) may well have led to the adoption of the tribal 
 system in 471. Only plebeians could vote in this new Liv.2.56 2< 
 body, and no change was ever made in this regulation. ^' °' '^ 
 Down to 312 this privilege was enjoyed by plebeian land- 
 ovmers only. The right was extended to landless plebeians 
 in 312, but after the reaction of 304 they, as well as freed- 
 men, were restricted to the four city tribes (cf. pp. 54, 
 56, 247). The Latins had the right also to vote in one
 
 262 REPUBLICAN PERIOD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 tribe determined by lot (cf. j). 248). The meetings of 
 this body were technically concilia plebis (cf. p. 251), and 
 not comitia. Since the assembly was strictly plebeian, the 
 presiding officer was always a plebeian official — either a 
 tribune or an aedile. 
 
 316. Place and Time of Meeting. The authority of 
 the tribune did not extend beyond the pomoeriuj/i, so that 
 the concilium plebis met \vithin the city, usually in the 
 comitium, occasionally, however, on the Capitol. There 
 were no specified dies comitiales, as in the case of the 
 centuriate comitia (cf. p. 254). Meetings were commonly 
 held on market days, when large numbers of people were 
 likely to come into the city. The time and place and the 
 business which was to be taken up were announced some 
 days before the meeting was held. In fact, from a compara- 
 tively early period the practice grew up of announcing on 
 a market day a meeting to be held a trinum nundinum, or 
 seventeen days, later. On the first and second market 
 days, as well as on the market day when the voting took 
 place, there were usually contiones. 
 
 317. Auspices and Other Formalities. The lex Aelia 
 Fufia of the year 155 (cf. p. 160) seems to have subjected 
 the conciliutn plebis to the same religious regulations which 
 applied to the centuriate comitia. After its passage it was 
 necessary for the tribune to take the auspicia pullaria 
 before calling the assembly together, and the meeting was 
 liable to the same kind of interference on religious grounds 
 as the other popular assemblies. 
 
 Before the concilium a contio met in the cotnitiutn o\ forum, 
 and was addressed from the rostra by the presiding officer, 
 or by speakers whom he allowed to address the meeting. 
 
 318. Voting. At the close of the contio the people 
 assembled by tribes, fur the })urj)ose of voting, in sections
 
 TKE CONCILIUM PLEBIS 263 
 
 marked off for the reception of the several tribes. A lot 
 was first cast to decide in which tribe the Latins were to 
 vote ; then one of the thirty-five tribes was chosen by lot 
 to cast its vote first (^prmcipiuni), and as soon as its vote 
 was announced the others voted simultaneously. The 
 method of voting was the same as in the centuriate assem- 
 bly (cf. pp. 255 f.). The assembly was essentially a demo- 
 cratic body. Certain considerations, however, tended to 
 increase or diminish the value of an individual vote. The 
 larger the tribe was to which a citizen belonged, so much the 
 less influence his vote had. Now the four city tribes were 
 much larger than the country tribes created before 387, and 
 the tribes added after 387 were also larger than the early 
 country tribes, because of the additions which were made to 
 the list of citizens by conquest and by the grant of citizen- 
 ship. Those who belonged to the city tribes or to the new 
 rural tribes were, therefore, at a disadvantage when com- 
 pared with the members of the old rural tribes. One factor 
 tended to diminish still more the value of a vote in one of 
 the new country tribes, but to increase the importance of an 
 urban vote. It was easy for those who lived in the city to 
 attend a concilium, but difficult for those at a distance. 
 
 319. The Concilium Plebis as an Electoral Body. The 
 conciUiini plebis was established primarily for the purpose 
 of electing the tribunes, and those officials were always 
 chosen by it. The plebeian aediles were chosen in the 
 same assembly. An interesting extension of the electoral 
 rights of the body was made during the Gracchan period 
 when commissioners were elected in the concilium plebis for 
 the division of state land. This precedent proved to be of 
 great importance later, since the Gabinian and Manilian 
 laws, which conferred extraordinary powers on Pompey, 
 were passed in this body.
 
 264 RETUBLICAN TERIOD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 320. As a Legislative Body. The combined effect of 
 the Valerio-Horatian law of 449, the PubliUan of 339, and 
 the Hortensian of 287, was to make the co?ic'iIium plehis an 
 independent legislative body (pp. 49 ff.). After 287 the 
 approval of the patrician element in the senate became 
 unnecessary, but the senate was still able to control legis- 
 lation in large measure (cf. pp. 65 ff.). The plebeian assem- 
 bly seems to have been competent in Cicero's time to legis- 
 late on any subject, except the declaration of an offensive 
 war, and such administrative questions as the assignment of 
 state land to individuals, the appointment of commissions, 
 and the prorogatio imperii, were brought up in the tribal 
 assemblies, preferably in the co/iciliufn plebis, rather than in 
 the centuriate comitia. In the later period the plebeian 
 assembly even annulled contracts made by the censor and 
 in this way encroached on the rights of the magistrate and 
 the senate. Its enactments were called plebiscita. The 
 three laws just mentioned, however, gave such measures the 
 force of leges, so that the action of the assembly is not 
 infrequently termed lex plebeiiiescitum. 
 
 321. As a Judicial Body, The circumstances under 
 which the criminal jurisdiction of the tribune developed 
 have already been mentioned (pp 199 f.). One class of 
 cases, however, deserves special notice. The lex Aternia 
 Tarpeia of 454 would seem to have conferred on all magis- 
 trates the right of imposing a fine not to exceed two sheei) 
 and thirty oxen, or, according to the money valuation of a 
 later day, 3020 asses. An appeal taken from the decision 
 of a magistrate was carried to the comitia trihiita, but an 
 appeal from a fine imposed by a tribune or a plebeian aedile 
 was heard by the concilium plehis. The institution of the 
 quaestiones perpetiiae did away, however, with the judicial 
 functions of the latter body.
 
 THE CONCILIUM PLEBIS 265 
 
 Selected Bibliography^ 
 
 Citizens and their rights: M. Voigt, Ueber d. Klientel u. Liber- 
 tinitat, Ber. d. k. sachs. Ges. d. Wiss., Philol. hist. Kl., 1878, i Abt. 
 146-219 ; F, Lindet, De I'acquisition et de la perte du droit oi cite 
 romaine, Paris, 1880; L. Pinvert, Du droit de cite, Paris, ^885; 
 A. Josson, Condition juridique des affranchis en droit rom., Douai, 
 1879; L. Pardon, De aerariis, Berlin, 1853. — Division of the 
 people for political purposes: Pelham, The Roman curiae, Journ. 
 of Phil. IX. 266-279; Soltau, Entstehung der altromischen Volks- 
 versammlungen, Berlin, 1881; Kubitschek, De rom. trib. origine ac 
 propagatione, Vienna, 1882 ; Pliiss, Die Entwicklung d. Centurien- 
 verf., Leipzig, 1870. — Popular assemblies: Soltau, Altr. Volksver- 
 sammlungen ; Ullrich, Die Centuriatkomitien, Landshut, 1873 ; 
 Genz, Die Centuriatkomitien nach der Reform, Freienwalde, 1882; 
 C. Bems, De comitiorum tributorum et conciliorum plebis discri- 
 mine, Wetzlar, 1875; Soltau, Die Giiltigkeit der Plebiscite, Berlin, 
 1884; Ihne, Die Entwickelung d. Tributkomitien, Rhein. Mus. (N.F.), 
 XXVIII (1873), 353 ^- > Lange, Die promulgatio trinum nundinum, 
 Rhein. Mus. (N.F.), XXX (1875), 35° ^- 5 E. Morlot, Les cornices 
 electoraux sous la republique romaine, Paris, 1884; Ch. Borgeaud. 
 Histoire du plebiscite, Paris, 1887 ; K. W. Ruppel, Die Teilnahme 
 der Patricier an den Tributkomitien, Heidelberg, 18S7. 
 
 Supplementary Literature, 1901-1910 
 
 Botsford, The Roman Assemblies. New York, 1909. 
 
 Soltau, Giiltigkeit der Plebiscite. Berliner Studien, II (1885), 1-176. 
 
 Greenidge, The Authenticity of the Twelve Tables. Eng. Hist. 
 
 Review, XX (1905), 1-21. 
 Lambert, JL'histoire traditionelle des XII Tables. Melanges Ch. 
 
 Appleton. Paris, 1903. 
 
 * See also pp. 22, 173, 219, 243.
 
 Part III — Imperial Period 
 
 SECTION I — HISTORICAL 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE EMPIRE 
 
 322. Restoration of Order in Italy. When Octavius 
 returned to Italy in the summer of 29, he was confronted 
 by a state of things not unUke that which faced him after 
 the battle of Philippi (cf. p. 143). It was necessary to 
 relieve the poverty-stricken people of Italy at once, to 
 provide lands for the veterans, and to decide upon a 
 policy with reference to the soldiers of Antony. The 
 prudence and moderation which he had shown on the 
 previous occasion encouraged friend and foe alike to look 
 for a wise policy now. This expectation was not disap- 
 pointed. His very arrival in Italy inspired that confidence 
 in the future which is the precursor of ])ros])erity, while 
 immediate financial difficulties were relieved by a liberal 
 use of the treasures of Egypt. One hundred and twenty 
 thousand veterans were provided with land, not by con- 
 fiscation, but by purchase at a total cost of 600,000,000 
 sesterces, as Octavius himself tells us in the Monumentum 
 Ancyranum, and in pursuance of the same wise policy a 
 general amnesty was granted to the followers of Antony 
 and Sextus Pompeius. The beneficial results of this course 
 
 266
 
 ESTABLISHMENT OF THE EMPIRE 26/ 
 
 were apparent at once in the rise of the price of land and 
 in the revival of trade, and Octavius received immediate 
 recognition of his services in restoring prosperity in the 
 extraordinary popularity which he enjoyed, — a factor that 
 helped him in no small degree in making the great political 
 changes which he had in mind. 
 
 323. Constitutional Position of Octavius from 32 to 27. 
 It does not seem to be possible to make out with cer- 
 tainty the authority by virtue of which he made his pre- 
 liminary arrangements. In the year 32, when he deposed 
 Antony (cf. p. 146), he probably resigned his own posi- 
 tion as triumvir, but he would seem to have been vested 
 at once with extraordinary powers similar to those which 
 he gave up. This was the basis of his authority down to 
 29 B.C., when another change took place of which we know 
 as Uttle. It seems rather probable, however, that in the 
 year 29 the consular iniperium was conferred on him, 
 together with the control of the army and the provinces, 
 and the right to hold the census. 
 
 324. The Change made in 27 B.C. The problem which 
 he set himself to solve was to retain his position as master 
 of the state, yet at the same time to keep intact the old 
 forms of the constitution. Various methods of accom- 
 plishing this object seem to have occurred to him, and 
 to have been tried, before he estabhshed his authority on 
 the basis on which it finally rested. Two of these attempts 
 have been mentioned in the preceding paragraph. A third 
 essay was made in 27 B.C. At a meeting of the senate, 
 held on the 13th of January in that year, he transferred 
 the control of the state to the senate and people. As 
 he himself puts it in the Monumentum Ancyranum, rem 
 pitblicam ex mea potestate m senatSjis popuUqiie Ro7nani 
 a\rbitrium transtuli. This transfer of authority was only
 
 268 IMPERIAL PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 a temporary one, and ancient (e.g., Dio, LIII. 3-1 1) as 
 well as modern historians have not hesitated to characterize 
 it as a political manoeuvre, since he retained the consul- 
 ship and the tribunician power, and the senate immedi- 
 ately conferred on him the imperium proconsulare for a 
 period of ten years, and the title of Augustus. It, is quite 
 possible that he wished to make the Roman people feel 
 the need of his directing hand by bringing them face to 
 face with the possibiUty of his withdrawal from public Ufe, 
 and to make the extraordinary powers which he received 
 afresh from them seem their free gift to him. 
 
 Modern historians have called attention to the fact, 
 however, that there is an essential constitutional difference 
 between his new and his old powers. His old position 
 was monarchical in some respects. His new authority 
 was not essentially out of harmony with republican tradi- 
 tion, and this change was undoubtedly in his mind a great 
 gain. It was a step also in harmony with his carefully 
 observed policy. His proconsular jjower was not radically 
 different from that which had been exercised at various 
 times under the republic. Furthermore, it was granted for 
 a limited period, of ten years, and was exercised only over 
 the border provinces, where troops were still necessary. 
 The management of the older provinces was intrusted to 
 the senate, and the control of Italy was vested in the 
 senate and the magistrates, as it had been under the 
 republic. As consul, and in his exercise of the potestas 
 tribunicia, which had been conferred on him in the year 
 36, the principle of collegiality was observed, and his 
 incumbency of the consulshij), like that of his colleagues 
 in the office, depended upon an election in the popular 
 assembly. It is evident that the forms of the old consti- 
 tution had been preserved with great success. At the
 
 ESTABLISHMENT OF THE EMPIRE 269 
 
 same time Augustus had secured the supreme power which 
 he wished. The proconsular imperium over the unsettled 
 provinces gave him command of the army and navy, and 
 the power of appointing indirectly all the governors in the 
 provinces where legions were stationed. Henceforth, too, 
 he would have no occasion to fear a rival. In his exer- 
 cise of the tribunician or consular power he was associated 
 with colleagues of nominally equal rank, but he was raised 
 so far above them in the eyes of the people, that inde- 
 pendent action on their part was scarcely conceivable. 
 
 325. The Titles of Augustus and Princeps. The title 
 Augustus had no direct political meaning, but, like the 
 laurels which were placed on the doorposts of Octavius' 
 house on the Palatine, it distinguished him from other citi- 
 zens, and was a mark of the preeminence which was freely 
 conceded to him. This preeminence was also well expressed 
 in the title princeps. It has sometimes been maintained 
 that this title was first applied to Octavius in the senate 
 in the restrictive and traditional sense of princeps senatus, 
 and came in time to characterize him as the first citizen 
 in the commonwealth, the princeps civitatis ; but it is more 
 probable that the title never had this restricted meaning, 
 and that from the outset it indicated the relation which 
 the new ruler bore to the whole body of citizens ^ — ^that 
 it marked him out, in fact, as the foremost citizen of the 
 state. 
 
 326. Final Modifications of the Year 23. It is not per- 
 fectly clear why Augustus introduced into his system the 
 changes which he made in the year 23. Very likely the 
 four years' test which he had given to the new constitution 
 had brought out its weakness at certain points, and the 
 illness which threatened his life in the year mentioned 
 made him feel the necessity of strengthening it at once.
 
 2/0 IMPERIAL PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 His objection to the old system probably lay in two 
 facts. In the first place, he shared the administration of 
 Rome and Italy with his colleagues in the consulship, and, 
 although his prestige removed in large measure the dan- 
 ger of opposition from them, that danger existed in theory, 
 and might at a critical moment become a serious matter 
 in reality. At all events, the traditional etiquette existing 
 between the two members of the consular college may well 
 have hampered him in carrying out his plans. To have 
 himself made sole consul would have been too violent a 
 departure from tradition to be politic. He, therefore, gave 
 up his practice of holding the consulship every year, and 
 cast about him for a solution which would better meet the 
 needs of the case. Such a solution he found by modify- 
 ing and extending his proconsular imperimn, and by giving 
 importance to the tribunician power. Not all the points in 
 which the proconsular imperium was extended by Augustus 
 and his successors are clear. However, the extant fragment 
 of the lex de imperio Vespasiani, the statements of Dio 
 Cassius, and an examination of the functions actually exer- 
 cised by the emperor, make it plain that, although he held 
 his impermm as a proconsul, a series of measures passed 
 in the year 23 and in subsequent years allowed him to 
 retain it within the city, and gave him a position equal in 
 rank and authority to that of the consul. 
 
 In giving a prominent place to the tribunician power, 
 he hit upon a happy idea. The associations connected 
 with the tribunate made it a popular office. In its early 
 history it had been the organ of the plebeians in their 
 stniggle for civil and political rights. In its later history 
 it had protected the individual against the encroachments 
 of the state. Furthermore, the tribune had acquired posi- 
 tive and negative powers touching almost every field of
 
 ESTABLISHMENT OF THE EMPIRE 2/1 
 
 administrative activity. He could summon the senate or 
 the popular assemblies for the transaction of business, and 
 he could veto the action of almost any magistrate. We 
 •have seen one reason why Augustus turned from the con- 
 sulship to the tribunate. Another may perhaps be found 
 in the fact that the duties of the consul were exercised 
 within a certain sphere limited by tradition. The tribunate, 
 on the other hand, from its very nature and history, was 
 capable of indefinite extension in all directions. Poten- 
 tially Augustus had held the tribunician power ever since 
 the year 36. From this time, however, as an indication 
 of the new importance attaching to it, although he took 
 the title for Ufe, he assumed it anew each year, and, after 
 23 B.C., in official documents indicated the year by setting 
 down the number of times he had held the tribunician 
 power. This practice his successors followed. The signifi- 
 cance attaching to this power is also indicated by the fact 
 that the assignment of it was accepted as marking out a 
 successor in the principate. 
 
 The system of Augustus was now essentially complete. 
 He accepted no other permanent extraordinary office, even 
 at the solicitation of the people. The proconsular impe- 
 rium gave him command of the legions, and his supremacy 
 in civil administration rested securely on his right to exer- 
 cise the imperhwi within the city and on his possession of 
 the potestas tribunicia. The few emergencies of a later 
 date which required the exercise for a brief time of powers 
 which he did not have were provided for by special legis- 
 lation, or by the natural extension of his tribunician or pro- 
 consular authority ; and when the ten years of his procon- 
 sular imperium expired, he secured a formal renewal of the 
 power for another period. The position of Augustus in 
 religious matters was almost as preeminent as it was in
 
 2/2 IMPERIAL PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 political affairs. He was made a iiieinber of the four great 
 priesthoods, and in the year 12, after the death of Lepidus, 
 he was elected pivitifcx ntaximus. 
 
 327. The Question of the Succession. It remained for 
 Augustus to complete his work by securing the succession 
 to the man of his choice. The question presented itself in 
 a definite form at the time of his severe illness in the year 
 23. At that time he wisely i)assed over his only male rela- 
 tive, Marcellus, the son of his sister Octavia, because he felt 
 that the young man was not old enough for such a responsi- 
 ble ])osition, and, by giving his signet-ring to Agrippa, indi- 
 rectly designated him as his successor. Although he turned 
 to Marcellus on his recovery, the death of Marcellus caused 
 him to revert to his fonner plan, and in 2 1 B.C. he married 
 Agrippa to his daughter Julia, the widow of Marcellus, and 
 three years later had the tribunician power conferred on 
 him for a period of five years. The method which Augus- 
 tus had found for settling the question of the succession 
 was clear at once. His own powers were given to him for 
 a fixed term of years or for life. He could not transmit 
 them, therefore, to any one else at his death. He could, 
 however, during his own lifetime invest the man of his 
 choice with powers independent of his own and thus do 
 much toward securing the succession for him. This was 
 the plan which he adopted in the case of Agrippa. The 
 birth of two children to Julia from her marriage with Agrippa 
 involved a slight modification in the plan of Augustus. He 
 designated these two grandsons. Gains and Lucius Caesar, 
 as his heirs, and made Agrippa their guardian. Upon the 
 death of the latter in 12 b.c. this guardianship was trans- 
 ferred to Tiberius, the stepson of Augustus, and in 6 B.C. 
 the tribunician power was conferred on him for a period 
 of five years. But Tiberius was aggrieved at his failure to
 
 ESTABLISHMENT OF THE EMPIRE 2/3 
 
 be designated as the successor of Augustus, and retired to the 
 island of Rhodes. To the bitter disappointment of Augustus 
 both of his grandsons died, and he was at last forced to rec- 
 ognize the eminent ability of Tiberius, and his services to 
 the state, by adopting him as his heir and by conferring on 
 him again the tribunician power. The question of the suc- 
 cession was finally settled in a.d. 13 beyond the possibility 
 of change by the passage of a lex consularis associating 
 Tiberius with Augustus in the government of the prov- 
 inces. Henceforth his authority was independent of that 
 of Augustus, and also rested on a legal basis. Augustus 
 died the year after this arrangement was made. 
 
 328. Social Reforms. Nothing has been said up to this 
 point about the social and financial reforms of Augustus. 
 They were almost as far-reaching as his political changes. 
 His most important legislation on these matters was in- 
 tended to restore the integrity of the marriage relation and 
 to prevent a decrease of the native population. The influx 
 of foreigners, the development of luxurious tastes, the long- 
 continued civil wars, the public games, and a host of similar 
 influences had undermined public morality and subverted 
 the old idea of the family. Adultery and divorce were 
 not uncommon, and the number of the unmarried and of 
 childless married couples had increased in an alarming 
 way. A series of laws was directed against these evils. 
 The lex de adiilteriis imposed severe penalties on those 
 convicted of adultery, while, under the lex de maritandis 
 ordmibus, restrictions were put on divorce, and the unmar- 
 ried and childless married were placed under disabilities in 
 the matter of inheriting property and suing for ofiice. 
 
 This method of attacking the evil failing of effect, Augus- 
 tus approached the subject from the other direction. The 
 celebrated lex Papia Poppaea, instead of laying penalties
 
 274 IMPERIAL PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 on the unmarried and childless, encouraged child-bearing 
 by granting sums of money or privileges in canvassing for 
 office to the father, and certain exceptional property rights 
 to the mother of a family. An attempt was made to check 
 the growth of extravagant tastes, which kept many from 
 marriage, by the passage of sumptuary laws. The demor- 
 alizing influence of the public games was somewhat lessened 
 by placing restrictions on the attendance of women. In 
 particular the emperor strove to restore the Roman religion 
 to its old position of dignity by rebuilding the temples, by 
 celebrating religious festivals with great pomp, and by taking 
 certain priestly offices himself, and in no one of his social 
 reforms were the results of a more permanent character. 
 
 329. Financial Reforms. The restoration of peace, the 
 suppression of piracy, and a more equitable and intelligent 
 government of the provinces did much to restore prosperity 
 to Italy and the provinces. These beneficent reforms were, 
 however, supplemented by a systematic revision of the 
 financial system. The provinces profited in particular by 
 this change. The personal acquaintance which he made 
 with the condition of the provinces in the period from 27 
 to 24 B.C., and the census which he took in several of 
 them gave Augustus tnistworthy information on which to 
 base his financial reforms. In place of the extortionate 
 requisitions made by provincial governors and the taxes, 
 many in number and oppressive in character, of the repub- 
 lican regime, he substituted a land tax and a personal tax. 
 Trade was reUeved from harassing restrictions, and public 
 improvements were made. The burden of the provinces 
 was still further lightened by the imposition in Italy of a 
 legacy duty and a tax on the sale of slaves. 
 
 330. The Princeps and the Other Branches of Govern- 
 ment. In our discussion of the political institutions of
 
 ESTABLISHMENT OF THE EMPIRE 275 
 
 previous periods it has been found convenient to consider 
 them from the point of view of the magistracies, the senate, 
 and the people. That division of the subject will be 
 adopted now, although it has less significance for the period 
 under consideration, since, in consequence of the subordi- 
 nation of the magistrates, the senate, and the popular assem- 
 blies to the will of the princeps, their separate activities 
 become matters of less moment, and it is difficult to draw 
 a definite line between them. The constitutional basis on 
 which the authority of the princeps rested has already been 
 discussed. It is a more difficult matter to state the theo- 
 retical relation which his office bore to the other branches 
 of government. The care which Augustus took to cloak 
 his extraordinary powers in traditional terms, and to reserve 
 for the old institutions the nominal exercise of their old 
 functions, is, of course, the cause of this difficulty. Perhaps 
 it may be safe to say that the functions of the princeps were 
 thought of as filling a gap, as supplementing those of the 
 magistrates and senate, rather than as encroaching upon 
 them. 
 
 331. The Magistracies. In the readjustment of affairs 
 perhaps the executive suffered a greater loss of impor- 
 tance than any other branch of government. The method 
 of electing the magistrates, the prestige of Augustus, and 
 his encroachment on their traditional functions, all con- 
 tributed to bring about this result. It will be remembered 
 that candidates were required to notify the magistrate, who 
 was to preside at the electoral meeting, of their intention 
 to stand for office (p. 169). Augustus was consul from 27 
 to 23 B.C., and during this period the announcement was 
 properly made to him. Even after this period, when he 
 no longer held the consulship, candidates made their pro- 
 fessio to him as well as to the consul. We may feel sure
 
 276 IMPERIAL PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 that his acceptance of their candichu y practically settled 
 the question of their eligibility. Election to office was 
 made still more dependent on the favor of Augustus, after 
 he had adopted the practice of recommending certain can- 
 didates. His coinmemlatio must have insured an election. 
 This practice was not extended to the consulship, however, 
 by Augustus. After election, even in matters where the 
 legal ])owers of the two were equal, it was impossible for a 
 magistrate to maintain his position over against the princeps 
 whose prestige was so much greater, and whose long terms 
 of office relieved him from the danger of being held 
 responsible for his conduct. 
 
 There were few if any important executive functions 
 which the princeps was not authorized to perform. He, as 
 well as the consul, could convoke the senate and the pojnilar 
 assemblies, for instance, and the consul would hardly venture 
 to take this important step without his approval. In this 
 way the magistrates lost their right of initiative in almost 
 all important matters. Certain ])owers were also formally 
 taken from the magistrates and given to the princeps. 
 Thus, for instance, the consuls probably lost the super- 
 vision of the roads in Italy, the cura annonae was taken 
 from the aediles, and the ius intercessionis of the tribune did 
 not avail against the emperor. '^Fhe significance which the 
 magistracies still had was derived in fact from the social 
 distinction attaching to them, from the fact that magis- 
 trates were colleagues of the princeps, and that election to 
 a magistracy secured one admission to the senate and an 
 opportunity to hold an office in the j^rovinces. No impor- 
 tant changes were made in the number of the magistracies 
 or in the size of the colleges. 'l"he number of praetors 
 was, however, raised to sixteen, while the college of quaestors 
 was reduced to twenty. The censorship disappeared, and
 
 ESTABLISHMENT OF THE EMPIRE 2// 
 
 various new offices, whose incumbents were subordinates of 
 the princeps^ were established in the provinces. Certain 
 changes made in the functions of a few of the magis- 
 trates may be considered more conveniently in another 
 connection. 
 
 332. The Senate. The membership of the senate was 
 reduced from 900 to 600. Members were admitted, as 
 under the republic, by virtue of having filled certain magis- 
 tracies, but since the emperor's right of 7iomifiatio and 
 cojmnendatio gave him a great influence over the selection 
 of magistrates, the rolls of the senate were in large measure 
 indirectly under his control. As we have already had occa- 
 sion to notice, the senate was in its origin an advisory body ; 
 but it gradually acquired important powers, especially in the 
 matter of administrative legislation, and reduced the magis- 
 trate to the position of its minister (pp. 67 f., 233). All this 
 was changed by Augustus. The senate could not success- 
 fully assert, in dealing with him, the claims which it had 
 made good against an annually elected magistrate of much 
 less prestige and legal power. Furthermore, the republican 
 practice of submitting all important matters to the senate 
 for its consideration fell into comparative disuse. Finally, 
 the consilium which Augustus established in 27 B.C., and 
 reorganized in a.d. 12, must have taken from the impor- 
 tance of the senate. The consilium, as finally constituted, 
 contained the pri?iceps and certain members of his house- 
 hold, the consuls, the consuls-elect, and a committee of 
 senators. This body, which must be distinguished from 
 the judicial consilium of a later period (cf p. 331), was 
 allowed to pass measures, and these measures had the 
 validity of senatus constclta. In one respect the compe- 
 tence of the senate was extended. It was given jurisdiction 
 over important political cases.
 
 2/8 IMPERIAL PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 333. The Popular Assemblies. Under Augustus magis- 
 trates were still elected in the popular assemblies, but 
 the nominatio and commendatio of the princeps made the 
 elections largely a matter of form. Augustus called not 
 infrequent meetings of the popular assemblies to act on 
 important measures, but since almost all bills were drawn 
 up by the emperor, or with his approval, the meetings of 
 the comitia for legislative purposes did little more than 
 give the form of law to his wishes. This decadence of the 
 assemblies was not, however, a great loss to the cause of 
 po})ular government. An assembly made up of the rabble 
 of Rome, not only ignorant of the merits of the great 
 questions laid before them, but also ready to sell their 
 votes to the highest bidder, was as far from representing 
 the Roman empire as any assembly could be. It is sig- 
 nificant that the decline of the comitia, which represented 
 even more definitely than the senate the narrow conception 
 of the city-state, is coincident with the growth of the feel- 
 ing that there was a community of interests throughout the 
 Roman world, and the development of this idea brought 
 with it, of course, a more intelligent, uniform, and equitable 
 system of government for the provinces. The settlement 
 of important questions in secret was, however, a great loss 
 to the cause of popular government. Even when the sena- 
 torial regime was at the height of its power, all phases of 
 serious j)olitical questions were fully and freely discussed. 
 Now matters were settled by Augustus in private conference 
 with his ministers. The discussions in the senate were in 
 large measure ])erfunctory and superficial. 
 
 334. The New Senatorial Aristocracy. Augustus seems 
 to have consciously adopted the policy of creating social 
 classes, whose position depended upon his favor and whose 
 interests were, therefore, identical with his. At all events.
 
 ESTABLISHMENT OF THE EMPiRE 279 
 
 this was the result of certain social and political changes 
 which he made. Under the republic the prestige of having 
 held a curule office was so great that candidates for a magis- 
 tracy who did not have the ins imagiiium had little chance 
 of success (cf. pp. 47, 166). Election to any one of the 
 higher magistracies secured for one admission to the senate. 
 This was the basis on which the nobllitas rested. In the 
 new aristocracy, created by Augustus, the order was reversed. 
 Only those who had the latus davus were eligible to the 
 quaestorship, and since only those of senatorial rank had 
 the right to the lahis davus (p. 225), the sons of senators 
 and no others were eligible to the magistracies. It was 
 necessary to hold a magistracy before sitting in the senate. 
 Consequently, only the sons of senators and those whom 
 the emperor might honor with the latus dainis could 
 become magistrates, or members of the senate. Since 
 election to a magistracy depended largely on the favor of 
 Augustus, the new aristocracy owed its privileges entirely 
 to him, and he could count on it for support. 
 
 335. The Knights. The great middle class was attached 
 to his interests in a similar way. The legislation of C. Grac- 
 chus, which turned the juries over to the knights, first gave 
 legal recognition to this class ; but its social and political 
 privileges had never been so clearly defined as those of the 
 senatorial order had been. Augustus gave definiteness and 
 importance to this social class by having lists of its mem- 
 bers, which he revised, drawn up at regular intervals. With 
 the knights he filled the important financial and adminis- 
 trative offices in Italy and in the provinces which were 
 under his control. 
 
 336. The Augustales. An aristocracy was also created 
 among the freedmen. Each year the decurioties in the muni- 
 cipal towns chose six rich freedmen as seviri Augustales.
 
 28o IMI'KRIAh PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 This board contributed money for some local improvement 
 or for the proper maintenance of the public games. No 
 political functions attached to the position, but the social 
 prestige which it conferred and the privilege which went 
 with it of wearing the praetexta and of being attended by 
 lictors probably made it eagerly sought for. Inasmuch as 
 the order was in some way connected with the cult of the 
 emperor, he could rely upon its support. 
 
 337. The City of Rome. The legislation of Augustus 
 which affected the welfare of the whole people has been con- 
 sidered above. It may not be out of place here to consider 
 certain administrative changes which concerned the several 
 parts of the empire, in particular the city of Rome, Italy, 
 and the provinces. We have already had occasion to notice 
 the incapacity which the republic showed in governiiig the 
 provinces. That fact is not strange. It was a natural 
 result of the selfishness and indifference of the Romans 
 toward the provincials. However, the thoroughly unsat- 
 isfactory character of the government of the city of Rome 
 seems at first hard to account for. In point of fact, Rome 
 had rapidly grown out of a village into a great city, but 
 the development of public improvements and of muni- 
 cipal government had not kept pace with the growth of 
 its population. Augustus set himself to remedy this state 
 of things. 
 
 338. Public Improvements and Municipal Government. 
 The supplement to the Monumentum Ancyranum gives us 
 a long list of the new buildings which he cohstructed, and 
 of the old ones which he repaired or rebuilt. The gen- 
 eral supervision of public works was put in charge of two 
 ciiratores operum publicorum. Many new aqueducts were 
 brought into the city, and the care of the water supply 
 and of the Tiber was intnisted to imperial commissioners.
 
 ESTABLISHMENT OF THE EMPIRE 28 I 
 
 All of these ofificials were of senatorial rank, A still more 
 important matter was the cnra annonae, which was intrusted 
 to an imperial praefectus of equestrian rank. It was the 
 duty of this official to see that Rome was supplied with 
 grain, to superintend its distribution to poor people, and 
 to control the price of it. All these municipal affairs had 
 previously been managed by the aediles and censors, so 
 that the establishment of these imperial offices abridged 
 their powers correspondingly. 
 
 339. Improvements in Municipal Government. The city 
 was lamentably in need of suitable arrangements for extin- 
 guishing fires and maintaining order. A long step toward 
 the accomplishment of these two objects was taken by the 
 organization of a fire and police department of 7000 or 
 8000 men in a.d. 6. For convenience in administration 
 the city had been divided into fourteen regiones, and each 
 one of the seven detachments, into which this force was 
 divided, was called on to protect two of these. The bri- 
 gade was in charge of a praefectus, appointed by Augustus. 
 This official had a limited criminal jurisdiction somewhat 
 like that of the III viri capitales (cf. p. 210). To main- 
 tain order during his absences from the city, the emperor 
 appointed 2i praefectus urhi (cf. p. 212). It was left for 
 his successor, however, to make this office permanent. 
 
 340. Condition of Italy. One of the greatest blessings 
 which Augustus conferred on Italy consisted in the encour- 
 agement of local self-government along the lines laid down 
 by Julius Caesar in his lex Inlia 7iiJinicipaIis. The roads 
 were also kept in good condition, and order was main- 
 tained. Very few of the Italians from this time on served 
 in the army, but in a way they paid for their exemption 
 from military service by a five per cent tax on legacies and 
 a four per cent tax on the sale of slaves.
 
 282 IMPERIAL PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 341. The Frontier Policy of Augustus. In dealing with 
 Roman territory outside of Italy, Augustus directed his 
 attention to the settlement of two important questions — 
 the establishment of a natural and secure frontier and the 
 reorganization of provincial government. In both direc- 
 tions his efforts were crowned with success. In the East, 
 at the beginning of his reign, the Parthian question was 
 still unsettled. The Roman standards and the Roman cap- 
 tives, taken at Carrhae in 53 B.C., were still in the pos- 
 session of Parthia, while the failure of Antony's campaigns 
 in the years 40 to 36 (cf. p. 146) had increased the feeling 
 of insecurity in the eastern provinces. This situation was 
 very happily relieved by the development of a dynastic 
 quarrel in Parthia in 20 n.c. Augustus took advantage of 
 this ([uarrel to secure the return of the standards, and King 
 Phraates was even induced to send four of his sons to Rome 
 as hostages. At the same time the Euphrates was made the 
 eastern frontier of the empire. 
 
 To the south the great desert of Africa formed a natural 
 boundary, and the provinces in that quarter of the world 
 were safe, except from the occasional incursions of nomad 
 tribes. On the west was the Atlantic. To the north the 
 problem was a more comi)licated one, and the frontier 
 policy of Augustus was, at the outset, less clearly deter- 
 mined. For a time the Romans seem to have intended 
 making the Elbe the line between them and the Ciermans, 
 but after the defeat of Varus, in a.d. 9, they withdrew to 
 the west and south of the Rhine and adopted that river, 
 with the Danube, as the northern frontier of their terri- 
 tory. Raetia was organized as a province in 15 B.C., Nori- 
 cum in the same year, and Moesia in a.d. 6, so that by 
 the reduction of Pannonia to the form of a province in 
 A.D. 10, Rome controlled all the country bordered on the
 
 ESTABLISHMENT OF THE EMPIRE ■ 283 
 
 north by the rivers Rhine and Danube from the North sea 
 to the Black sea. 
 
 342. Imperial and Senatorial Provinces. As we have 
 already noticed (p. 268), in the division of provinces 
 between Augustus and the senate, those in which a mili- 
 tary force was needed were assigned to the emperor. 
 After the division in 27 B.C. some transfers were made, 
 but at the death of Augustus the Hst of imperial provinces 
 included Sardinia and Corsica, Hither Spain, Lusitania, 
 " the three Gauls " (Aquitania, Lugdunensis, Belgica), Pan- 
 nonia, Dalmatia, Moesia, Galatia and Pontus Polemoniacus, 
 Cilicia, Cyprus, Egypt, Syria, Raetia, and Noricum. The 
 senate controlled Baetica, Gallia Narbonensis, Macedonia, 
 Achaea and Epirus, Asia, Bithynia, Crete and Cyrene, Africa, 
 Sicily, and Cyprus. Cisalpine Gaul had ceased to be a prov- 
 ince in 42 B.C., when the limits of Italy had been extended 
 to the Alps. 
 
 343. Improvements in Provincial Government. To no 
 part of the Roman Empire did the reforms of x\ugustus 
 bring greater relief than to the provinces. The financial 
 improvement which they experienced has already been 
 noticed (p. 274). The gain which they made in other 
 respects was equally great. This was particularly true of 
 the imperial provinces, for the governors of these provinces 
 were chosen, not by lot, but on the score of honesty and fit- 
 ness, and were personally responsible to Augustus, who had 
 an intimate acquaintance with the condition of the several 
 provinces and kept a watchful eye on their progress. 
 
 One of the defects of the republican system lay in the 
 fact that a provincial governor held office usually for only 
 one year, so that he could scarcely learn the needs of his 
 province before he would be recalled. The evils of the 
 republican system are laid bare by Cicero's letters from
 
 284 IMPERIAL PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 Cilicia in 51-50 B.C. In the imperial provinces the term of 
 office was invariably of considerable length. Under the 
 republic governors filled their pockets by requisitions, which 
 demoralized the government and crippled the resources 
 of the provinces. Under Augustus provincial governors 
 received a generous fixed salary, and service in the prov- 
 inces became an honorable and attractive profession, with 
 prospect of steady advancement for those who showed them- 
 selves capable and honest. The senatorial provinces still 
 labored under many of the evils of the old system, but even 
 over them Augustus exercised some supervision, and the 
 excellence of the government in the imperial provinces 
 could not fail to exert a beneficial influence. 
 
 344. System of Provincial Government. Augustus 
 directed the government of the provinces by virtue of his 
 proconsular impa-iiwi, and governors in imperial provinces, 
 who were all appointed by him, acted pro praetore regardless 
 of the office which they had previously held in Rome, and 
 were called legati Augusti pro praetore. The governors of 
 senatorial provinces, on the other hand, all had a procon- 
 sular title without regard to the magistracy which they had 
 held in Rome. Only ex -consuls, however, were sent to 
 Asia and Africa. The higher title which the senatorial gov- 
 ernors had did not make their position equal in dignity to 
 that of the imperial governors, however, because the latter 
 had charge of an army, while the senatorial governors 
 did not. 
 
 Provincial governors supervised the administrative affairs 
 of their provinces, and had jurisdiction in civil cases, and in 
 criminal cases where pcregrini only were concerned. The 
 imperial governor had a military command also. In impe- 
 rial provinces an appeal could be taken from the governor's 
 sentence to the emperor ; in senatorial provinces, to the
 
 ESTABLISHMENT OF THE EMPIRE 285 
 
 senate or the emperor. The financial interests of an impe- 
 rial province were in the hands of an official called a 
 procurator, chosen by Augustus himself. Imperial pro- 
 curators also cooperated with the proconsuls in managing 
 the finances of senatorial provinces. In military and judi- 
 cial matters the imperial governor was assisted by legati 
 Augusti Icgiomitn and by legati Augicsti iuridici. In prov- 
 inces like Egypt or Judaea, where the emperor was regarded 
 as the legal successor of the previous ruler, a praefectus 
 or a procurator was placed in charge. Governors were 
 assigned to the senatorial provinces by lot, and held office 
 for a year. The law of 5 2 B.C., which required an interval 
 of five years between a magistracy at Rome and a governor- 
 ship in a province, was still in force. The senatorial gov- 
 ernors of consular rank were assisted by three legati and a 
 quaestor. Those of praetorian rank had one legatus and a 
 quaestor. The legati were appointed by the governor him- 
 self, but his appointments were subject to the approval of 
 the emperor. 
 
 345. Reforms in the Military System. The assignment 
 to Augustus of the provinces where troops were needed not 
 only gave to him the control of the army, but by implica- 
 tion took away from the senate the right of levying troops 
 for its own provinces. When disturbances arose in a sena- 
 torial province the emperor took charge of matters. The 
 necessity of protecting distant frontiers had made it impos- 
 sible even under the republic to adhere to the traditional 
 practice of discharging the soldiers each year and levying 
 and organizing a new force. However, the fiction was 
 conscientiously observed of reenlisting all the troops at the 
 end of the year. It was, therefore, a theoretical, not a 
 practical change in the military system which Augustus 
 made in 13 b.c, by enlisting troops for a fixed term of
 
 286 IMTEKIAL PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 years. The term was at first made one of sixteen years for 
 the legionaries and twelve years for the guards, but in 
 A.D. 5 it was lengthened to twenty and sixteen years 
 respectively. A second imjiortant change which he made 
 in the military system consisted in the larger use of auxiliary 
 troops. The use of these troops, and the resulting dis- 
 taste of the Italians for military service, led to a decline 
 of the martial spirit in Italy, and made the peninsula inca- 
 pable of resisting a possible invasion ; but the strong line 
 of border provinces which Augustus established prevented 
 this danger from becoming a real one for many years. 
 
 Selections from the Sources 
 
 Livy, Epp., CXXXIV-CXLII ; Res gestae divi Angusti (or the 
 Momimentum Ancyrantnn) \ Velleius Paterculus, II. 89-123; Sue- 
 tonius, Augustus; Dio Cassius, LI. 19-LVI ; Florus, II. 22-34; 
 Eutropius, VII. 8-10; Tacitus, Attn. I. 1-5. 
 
 Octavius returns to Rome in 29 B.C.: Dio, LI. 21 ; C. I. L. \y 
 p. 399. — Extraordinary powers granted to him in 29 B.C. : Dio, 
 LI I. 41; Suet. Atig. 27. — Gratuities to soldiers: Res gestae, ed. 
 Momm. III. 17. — Takes census: Res gest. II. 2-5 and pp. 36-8. — 
 Revises list of senators: Res gest. II. 1-2 and pp. 35-6; Dio, 
 LII. 42. — Princeps senatus : Dio, LIII. i. — Meeting of senate, 
 January 13, 27 B.C.: Dio, LIII. 3-1 1 ; /\Vj- gest. VI. 13-15 and 
 pp. 145-8. — Proconsular imperium for ten years : Dio, LIII. 13— 
 Division of the provinces : Dif), LIII. 12. — Title of Augustus and 
 other honors: Res gest. VI. 16 f.; Suet. Aug. 7 ; C. /. L. I.i p. 3S4 ; 
 Dio, LIII. 16. — Goes to Gaul and Spain for three years : Dio, LIII. 22. 
 — Praefectus urbi {25 u.c.) : Tac. ..-/////. W. 11. — Galatia, province : 
 Dio, LIII. 26. — Augustus returns to Rome : D;o, LIII. 28. — Signet 
 ring to Agrippa (23 B.C.): Dio, LIII. 30. — New powers granted in 
 23 B.C.: Dio, LIII. 32. — Marccllus's death : Dio, LIII. 30. — Ten 
 praetors: Dio, LIII. 32. — Augustus assumes cura annonae (22 B.C.) : 
 Res gest. I. 33-5 and pp. 24-7 ; Dio, LIV. i. — Refuses dictatorship, 
 censorship, and consulship for life {22 n.c.) : Res gest. I. 31-6; Dio, 
 LIV. 1-2. — Cura hidorum from aediles to praetors: Dio, LIV. 2. — •
 
 ESTABLISHMENT OF THE EMPIRE 28/ 
 
 Sumptuary law (22 b.c): Dio, LIV. 2. — Conspiracy of Murena and 
 Caepio {22 B.C.) : Dio, LIV. 3 ; Veil. II. 91. — Spends three years in 
 Oriental provinces (22 B.C.) : Dio, LIV. 6 ff . — Standards returned by 
 Parthia (20 B.C.) : Res gest. V. 40-43 and pp. 124-8 ; Dio, LIV. 8. — 
 Curatores viarum (20 B.C.): Dio, LIV. 8. — Names Q. Lucretius 
 consul (19 B.C.) : Dio, LIV. 10. — Returns to Rome {19 B.C.) : Dio, 
 LIV. ID. — Charge of provinces and armies ten years more (18 B.C.) : 
 Dio, LIV. 12. — Agrippa, tribunician power for five years : Dio, LIV. 
 12. — Senate, 600 members: Dio, LIV. 13-14. — Lex de adulteriis 
 (18 B.C.): Suet. Aug. 34. — Lex de maritandis ordinibus (iS B.C.): 
 ?,\i.&t. Attg. 34; Dio, LIV. 16; Gains, I. 178. — T. Statilius Taurus, 
 praefectus urbi : Dio, LIV. 19. — Defeat of Lollius by the Germans 
 (16 B.C.) : Dio, LIV. 20 ; Veil. II. 97; Suet. Aug. 23. ^Augustus 
 goes to Gaul (16 B.C.) : Dio, LIV. 19. — Returns from Gaul (13 B.C.) : 
 Dio, LIV. 25. — Reorganization of the XX viri (13 B.C.): Dio, 
 LIV. 26.- — Agrippa's tribunician power renewed for five years 
 (13 B.C.): Dio, LIV. 28. — Augustus, pontifex maximus (12 B.C.): 
 Dio, LIV. 27 ; Suet. Aug. 31 ; Res gest. II. 23 f. and p. 45. — Agrippa 
 dies (12 B.C.): Dio, LIV. 28; Plin. N. H. VII. 8.— Campaigns of 
 Drusus and Tiberius: Dio, LIV. 31 ff . ; LV. i, 29 £f. ; LVI. 12 ff. ; 
 Veil. II. 110-115 ; Suet. Tib. i6f. — Tiberius marries Julia (n B.C.) : 
 Dio, LIV. 35. — Cura aquarum (11 B.C.): Frontin. de Aquaed. 
 99 ff. — Quaestors take charge of archives (11 B.C.) : Dio, LIV. 36. — 
 Death of Drusus (9 B.C.): Dio, LV. i. Augustus's charge of armies 
 and provinces renewed for ten years (8 B.C.) : Dio, LV. 6. — Tiberius 
 receives tribunician power for five years (6 B.C.) : Dio, LV. 9. — 
 Augustus receives title of pater patriae (2 B.C.): Suet. Aug. 58. — 
 Lucius and Gaius Caesar receive title of princeps iuventutis (2 B.C.): 
 Res gest. III. 4-6 and pp. 52-8. — Tiberius returns from voluntary 
 exile (a.d. 2) : Veil. II. 103. i ; Suet. Tib. 13. — Augustus's charge 
 of armies and provinces renewed for ten years (a.d. 3) : Dio, LV. 12. — 
 C. Caesar dies (a.d. 4) : C. I. L. XI. 1421 (cf. Clinton, Fast. Hell. 
 III. p. 264). — Augustus adopts Tiberius (a.d. 4): Veil. II. 103; 
 Dio, LV. 13; Tac. Ann. I. 3, 10 ; IV. 57. — Tiberius receives tribu- 
 nician power for ten years (a.d. 4) : Dio, LV. 13; Veil. II. 103. — 
 Army reforms (a.d. 5): Dio, LV. 23; Tac. Ami. I. 17. — Praefectus 
 vigilum (a.d. 6): Dio, LV. 26. — Tax on sale of slaves (a.d. 7) : 
 Dio, LV. 31. — Modification of the commendatio (a.d. 8): Dio, 
 LV. 34. — Defeat of Varus (a.d. 9?): Veil. II. 117-120; Dio, 
 LVI. i8 ff. ; Suet. Aiig. 23; Tib. 17. — Lex Papia Poppaea
 
 288 IMTERIAL PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 (a.d. 9); Dio, LVI. 10. — Augustus receives armies and provinces 
 for ten years (a.d. 13): IMo, LVI. 28. — Tiberius receives tribuni- 
 cian power for indefinite period (a.d. 13) : Dio, LVI. 28. — Legislative 
 committee with powers (a.d. 13): Dio, LVI. 28. — Augustus dies 
 (a.d. 14) : Dio, LVI. 29 f. ; Suet. Aug. 99-100 ; Tac. Ann. 1. 5. 
 
 Selected Bibliography 
 
 A. The Empire in Geitcral 
 
 L. de Tillemont, Histoire des empereurs, etc., 5 vols. Venice, 1732. 
 Ch. Merivale, History of the Romans under the Empire, 7 vols. New 
 
 York, 1862. 
 H. Schiller, Geschichte der romischen Kaiserzeit, 2 vols. Gotha, 
 
 1882-7. 
 Edw. Gibbon, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman 
 
 Empire, revised by J. B. Bury. London, 1900. 
 L. Friedlander, Darstellungen aus der Sittengeschichte Roms, etc., 
 
 3 vols., 6th ed. Leipzig, 18S8. 
 Th. Mommsen, The Provinces of the Roman Empire, 2 vols. New 
 
 York, 1886. 
 Th. Mommsen, Romisches Staatsrecht (Vol. II). Leipzig, 18S7. 
 H. Peter, Die geschichtliche Litteratur Uber die romische Kaiserzeit, 
 
 etc., 2 vols. Leipzig, 1897. 
 G. Goyau, Chronologic de I'empire romain. Paris, 189 1. 
 Prosopographia imperii romani saec. I, II, III, 3 parts. Berlin, 
 
 1897- 
 
 B. The Reign of Augustus 
 V. Gardthausen, Augustus und seine Zeit (I. i, 2 ; II. i, 2). Leipzig, 
 
 1891-6. 
 W. \V. Capes, The Early Roman Empire. London, 1876. 
 
 Supplementary Literature, 190 1-19 10 
 
 Shuckburgh, Augustus. London, 1903. 
 
 Domaszewski, Geschichte d. romischen Kaiser, 2 vols. Leipzig, 
 1909.
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 FROM TIBERIUS TO NERO 
 
 346. Tiberius becomes Emperor. With the death of 
 Augustus the principate legally came to an end. He had 
 made Tiberius his associate in the government (cf. p. 273), 
 but he could not confer upon him nor bequeath to him 
 his powers as princeps. Tiberius was placed in such a 
 preeminent position, however, that it was difficult to thwart 
 his ambition, and he understood how to make good use of 
 his opportunity. He felt that the support of the army was 
 the essential thing, and that the acquiescence of the senate 
 and people would follow as a matter of course. He at 
 once, therefore, assumed charge of the praetorian guard, 
 and had the armies take the oath of allegiance. Their 
 example was quickly followed by the magistrates and the 
 senate. This method of procedure forestalled any possible 
 opposition. In fact, when the senate met to confer on him 
 the powers of his predecessor, Tiberius was able to make his 
 acceptance of them appear a concession to its. entreaties. 
 
 347. The two Periods of his Reign. The change which 
 took place in the character of Tiberius under the influence 
 of L. Aelius Sejanus is well known. The same influence 
 brought about a marked change in the character of his 
 government also. Sejanus became prefect of the praetorian 
 guard in the year 16, and greatly strengthened his influence 
 seven years later by bringing all the sections of that force 
 together into one station. However, even this exceptional 
 oosition did not count for so much as did the perfect 
 
 289
 
 290 IMPERIAL I'ERIOl): HISTORICAL 
 
 confidence which Tiberius placed in him, and the fact that 
 Sejanus became his sole confidant. It is unnecessary for 
 our purpose to estimate the character of Tiberius, which 
 assumes such different aspects in the historical works of 
 Tacitus and Velleius Paterculus. Each account probably 
 presents one side of the truth. In the same way the period 
 before Sejanus acquired his influence over Tiberius, and the 
 subsequent period, reflect respectively the good and the 
 evil elements in the character of the emperor. When he 
 ascended the throne there was much to inspire the Romans 
 with confidence in his wisdom and justice. He was a man 
 of affairs ; he was simple in his personal tastes ; he had a 
 respect for tradition and a peculiar reverence for the policy 
 of his predecessor. Furthermore, he had a wide knowledge 
 of the condition of the empire, acquired by numerous cam- 
 paigns and by years of residence in the provinces, and the 
 early years of his reign seemed to justify the hope w-hich 
 the possession of these qualities held out. But with the 
 ascendency of Sejanus, and the retirement of Tiberius from 
 Rome in the year 26, the aspect of things changed. The 
 results of the baneful influence of Sejanus were aggravated 
 by the death in a.d. 19 of Germanicus, the nephew of 
 Tiberius, and, in the year 23, of Drusus, his son. Both of 
 these young men enjoyed a popularity, perhaps undeser\'ed, 
 which made it important for the emj)eror to keep the good- 
 will of the people. With their death this incentive dis- 
 appeared. The death of these two men also stimulated 
 the ambitious designs of Agrippina, the widow of Ger- 
 manicus, in behalf of her sons, and Tiberius had some 
 reason to fear cabals among the senators in their behalf. 
 The two weapons which he used against these senators, 
 and against others whom he suspected of ambitious designs, 
 were the |)rocesses de maicstatc and de trpctimJis.
 
 TIBERIUS TO NERO 29 1 
 
 348. Trials for Treason and Misgovernment. The con- 
 ception of 7niiiHta maiestas was a development oi perdiiellio, 
 and in the late republic covered such offenses as attacks 
 on the freedom and sovereignty of the people or the safety 
 of the state, and neglect of important official duties. The 
 change involved in the actions brought during the second 
 part of Tiberius's reign lay in the substitution of the maie- 
 stas principis for the maiestas populi. Any acts which were 
 interpreted as prejudicial to the emperor's welfare or dig- 
 nity made the person committing them liable to the charge 
 of mi?iuta maiestas. Trivial charges also were taken into 
 consideration ; the ordinary rules governing criminal pro- 
 cedure were not observed, and the severity of the penalties 
 imposed was out of proportion to the offenses committed. 
 
 The equitable treatment of the provinces is one of the 
 things which may be set down to the credit of Tiberius. 
 The most effective means which he found to hold provin- 
 cial governors to their duty was the institution of actions 
 de repetiindis against them ; but it was very difficult for a 
 governor in the performance of duties which required the 
 exercise of discretion not to lay himself open to a technical 
 charge on this score. The evil features of the situation were 
 aggravated by the machinations of professional informers, 
 and by the fact that trials on both the above-mentioned 
 charges were held before the senate. Tiberius himself 
 would have hesitated to condemn on his own responsibility 
 men for whose condemnation this servile body, with its 
 divided responsibility and its dread of the emperor, cast 
 its vote. 
 
 349. Constitutional and Administrative Changes. The 
 most important constitutional change made by Tiberius 
 was the transfer of the elections from the people to the 
 senate. Henceforth the popular assemblies met in their
 
 292 IMPERIAL rKRIOl): HISTORICAL 
 
 electoral capacity only to hear an announcement of the 
 results of the elections in the senate. The change was 
 essentially only a formal one, since popular elections had 
 already lost their significance. This method of choosing 
 magistrates was in some respects a reversion to the system 
 in vogue under the monarchy (cf. p. 14), and, since ex-mag- 
 istrates were given seats in the senate, that body, nomi- 
 nally at least, chose its own members. It should be noticed, 
 too, that the new functions which Tiberius and his prede- 
 cessor assigned to the senate made it not only a legisla- 
 tive but also a judicial and an electoral body. The most 
 important changes in the magistracies consisted in making 
 the praefcctus urbi a permanent official, and in putting 
 a single prefect at the head of the praetorian cohorts, 
 although some of the successors of Tiberius reverted to 
 the Augustan system and appointed two pracfedi praetorio. 
 Some temporary importance was also given to the consul's 
 office by the prolonged absence of Tiberius from the city. 
 350. The Reign of Gaius. Upon the death of Tiberius 
 in A.D. 37 Gaius Caesar, the son of Germanicus, the adopted 
 son of Tiberius, who was sujiported by Macro, the praeto- 
 rian prefect, was proclaimed emperor by the senate. The 
 first measures of Gaius seemed to indicate that the enthu- 
 siasm with which the death of Tiberius and the accession 
 of a son of the popular leader Germanicus were greeted 
 was justified. Actions for inaiestas were suspended. Pro- 
 fessional informers were suppressed, and the elections were 
 turned over to the popular assemblies again ; but in each 
 one of these cases Gaius returned in a very short time to 
 the i)ractices of Tiberius. Throughout his reign, in fact, 
 he was the creature of caprice, the victim of megalomania, 
 and represented absolutism in its crudest form. In an in- 
 credibly short time he had spent ujjon extravagant projects
 
 TIBERIUS TO NERO 293 
 
 of all sorts the sum of 700,000,000 sesterces, which his 
 economical predecessor had saved, and proceeded to meet 
 the resulting deficit by confiscation and oppressive taxation. 
 The only constitutional change of any importance made 
 during his reign was the addition of a fifth decury of 
 jurymen, which brought the number of indices up to about 
 5000. The wrath of the people groaning under this tyran- 
 nous government found expression in one conspiracy after 
 another, until finally in the year 41 Gaius was murdered 
 by the officers of his own guard. 
 
 351. The Reign of Claudius. By his death the govern- 
 ment was left without a head once more, and for two 
 days the senate considered the advisability of restoring the 
 republic ; but the clamor of the populace and the interven- 
 tion of the soldiers decided the matter in favor of Claudius, 
 the nephew of Tiberius and uncle of Gaius. Claudius had 
 lived up to this time in retirement. In fact, the soldiers 
 found him hiding in the palace for fear of his life. A natu- 
 ral weakness of character and bodily defects had kept him 
 out of public life, and the contempt of those about him, 
 and the ill-treatment which he had received at their hands, 
 had made him distrustful of himself. His life had been 
 given up largely to antiquarian pursuits. These facts deter- 
 mined in large measure the character of his reign. His lack 
 of self-confidence made him lean helplessly on others, while 
 the interest which he had felt in the minutiae of gram- 
 matical study incapacitated him for developing compre- 
 hensive plans of government. As a result he was easily 
 managed by the members of his household, and the inner 
 history of his reign is a continuous story of intrigue by the 
 women and the freedmen about him, first by his freed- 
 man Narcissus and his wife MessaHna, and, after her death, 
 by Narcissus and his second wife Agrippina, with the
 
 294 IMPERIAL PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 support of Pallas, and of Burrus, whom she had elevated 
 to the position of prefect of the praetorian guard. This 
 transfer of the real authority to men who were virtually 
 imperial ministers — for this was what the new system really 
 amounted to — had its advantages as well as its disadvan- 
 tages. Narcissus in particular, who played so important 
 a role during the greater part of Claudius's reign, had a 
 decided talent for public affairs, and the administration of 
 the government profited accordingly. Thus, for instance, 
 not only were ])ublic finances placed on a sound basis once 
 more, but public improvements of great importance were 
 made, such as the extension of the aqueduct system, and 
 the improvement of the harbor at Ostia. The antiquarian 
 tastes of Claudius were not wholly detrimental to the public 
 interests. They encouraged a regard for tradition and for 
 old institutions ; the senate in particular was treated with 
 respect. It became once more a deliberative body, and 
 acquired some^part of its old-time independence. Although 
 the natural bent of Claudius and his early life had robbed 
 him in a measure of the power of taking the initiative in 
 important matters, it had developed in him an infinite 
 patience in perfecting a system already in existence. To 
 this characteristic is due largely the improvements in the 
 judicial system and in the police and water departments of 
 the city. 
 
 352. Accession of Nero. In her stniggle with Narcissus, 
 Agrippina's first object was to secure the succession for 
 Nero, her son by Cn. Domitius Ahenobarbus. She pre- 
 vailed at last upon Claudius to adopt him, and, taking 
 advantage of the illness and absence of Narcissus in the 
 year 54, cleared the way for her son by having Claudius 
 poisoned. Her faithful supporter, Burrus, brought Nero 
 before the troops, and he was saluted emperor.
 
 TIBERIUS TO NERO 295 
 
 353. Court Intrigue under Nero. His reign was like 
 that of his immediate predecessor in two respects. It was 
 full of intrigue, and the control of public affairs was left 
 largely in the hands of advisers and favorites. The char- 
 acter of the government depended on the character and 
 ability of those under whose influence Nero fell. When 
 Agrippina first formed her ambitious plans for her son, she 
 placed him under the tutelage of the philosopher Seneca 
 and the protection of the prefect Burrus. As soon as he 
 ascended the throne, the new emperor showed that he 
 cared only for the pleasures and the distinction which his 
 position gave him, and was content to leave the affairs of 
 state in the hands of his mother and her two advisers ; but 
 the outcome did not please Agrippina. She was by no 
 means satisfied with the small share in the government 
 which she soon found that Seneca and Burrus were wilUng 
 to allow her, and she cast about for means to force Nero to 
 recognize her authority. Her efforts were. fruitless, and it 
 is a remarkable illustration of the irony of fate that her 
 downfall was finally brought about by the same means which 
 had raised her to power. Just as her personal charms had 
 been used to encompass the ruin of Messalina, so the beauty 
 of Poppaea Sabina, the wife of M. Salvius Otho, caused the 
 downfall of Agrippina. Ultimately she, as well as Britannicus 
 and Octavia, Nero's wife, fell a victim to the jealous sus- 
 picions of the emperor. The death of Burrus three years 
 later, in 62, the appointment of TigeUinus as one of the 
 prefects of the praetorian guard, and the forced retirement 
 of Seneca, left Rome at the mercy of Nero's passions, stim- 
 ulated as they were by TigeUinus and the freedmen of the 
 court. 
 
 354. Administration of Public Affairs under Nero. The 
 character of Nero's administration differed greatly in these
 
 296 IMPERIAL I'KKIOI): HISTORICAL 
 
 two periods. Under the ministerial rule of Seneca the 
 senate was associated in the g()\ernment, as it had been in 
 the time of Claudius (cf. p. 294), and, thanks to the cre- 
 ative ability of Seneca and the patience and energy of 
 Burrus, many important administrative reforms were intro- 
 duced. The legislation of the years 56-62 touching wills, 
 adoption, and certain abuses in the courts, as praevariaxtio 
 and tergiTersatio, was esijecially salutary. The finances 
 were managed with such wisdom that 60,000,000 sesterces 
 were annually turned into the state treasury. The second 
 period of the reign shows a far different state of affairs. 
 Life and liberty were held in light esteem, and the finances 
 of the state fell into a deplorable condition. The financial 
 difficulties of the em[)ire were due in part to the great fire 
 of the year 64 and to the expenditure of large sums in 
 carrying on foreign campaigns ; but only in part, since the 
 extravagance of the court in building palaces and baths 
 and in giving public games was largely responsible for this 
 state of affairs ; and, to make matters worse, in meeting 
 this difficulty, the government resorted to the dangerous 
 expedient of debasing the coinage. 
 
 355. Galba, Otho, and Vitellius. The discontent to 
 which Nero's misgovernment gave rise found expression 
 in numerous conspiracies supported by the aristocracy and 
 members of the senate. But Nero had little to fear from 
 this source. The danger lay in another quarter. The 
 establishment of a standing army by Augustus, with a long, 
 fixed term of service (cf. pp. 285 f.), and the assignment of 
 legions for an indefinite period to a particular province, 
 where allegiance to the emperor was forgotten in devotion 
 to their commander, had divided the em])ire into a group 
 of inchoate ]jrincij)alities, in each of which the soldiers 
 and inhabitants had begun to feel the community of their
 
 TIBERIUS TO NERO 297 
 
 interests. In fact, the tendency which was developing in 
 the provinces in the middle of the first century of our era, 
 unless it had been summarily checked, might have led to 
 the immediate disintegration of the Roman Empire. The 
 first clear indication of this nationalist movement appeared 
 in Gaul in 68, but the defeat of the leader of the move- 
 ment, C. Julius Vindex, by L. Verginius Rufus, the gov- 
 ernor of Upper Germany, crushed it out. Rufus himself, 
 however, was proclaimed imperator by his troops. He 
 declined the offer, it is true, but not so much because 
 of his loyalty to Nero or the central government as on 
 account of his own low origin, which would probably have 
 frustrated any designs on the throne. No such difficulty 
 stood in the way of Ser. Sulpicius Galba, the governor of 
 Hispania Tarraconensis, who belonged to an old and influ- 
 ential family. He was proclaimed emperor by his own 
 troops, was supported by the German legions, when their 
 commander, Rufus, had positively refused to accept the 
 position, and through the efforts of Numpidius Sabinus, 
 the prefect of the praetorian guard, secured the adherence 
 of that force. Nero, finding himself deserted by every 
 one, took his own life June 9, 68. The policy of Galba 
 did not prove to be a wise one. He punished the dis- 
 affected soldiers of the German legions. He removed their 
 popular leader, Rufus, and estranged the praetorian guard 
 by not fulfilling the promises which Numpidius had made 
 in his name. The legions in Lower Germany retaliated by 
 naming their commander, A. Vitellius, emperor, while the 
 praetorian guard in Rome proclaimed M. Salvius Otho. 
 Galba was assassinated in January, 69 ; the senate con- 
 firmed the choice of Otho, and the new emperor set out 
 for the North to check the advance of his rival. Otho 
 was defeated at Cremona, and later at Bedriacum, and left
 
 298 IMPERIAL PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 Italy and his Italian supporters a prey to the wrath and 
 the greed of the (ierman legions by taking his own life in 
 April, 69. Vitellius was at once recognized as emperor by 
 the senate, and began his reign by adopting a conciliatory 
 policy toward the senate and the members of the opposite 
 faction. 
 
 356. Extinction of the Julian Line. Naturally very 
 little of constitutional or administrative significance was 
 done during this year of confusion. The most important 
 result of the death of Nero was the disappearance of the 
 partially recognized hereditary principle. The recognition 
 of this principle had tended to give continuity to the gov- 
 ernment. At least, the next of kin to a deceased emperor, 
 if supj)orted by the praetorian guard, was reasonably sure 
 of the succession. The extinction of the Julian line, how- 
 ever, opened the door to any successful commander, and 
 the armies in the provinces became the effective electoral 
 bodies. The necessity of securing the confirmation of the 
 senate was recognized, but the acquiescence of that body 
 was naturally a matter of form. 
 
 357. The Frontier Policy from a.d. 14 to 68. The 
 successors of Augustus from a.d. 14 to 68 followed out 
 the frontier policy which he had indicated. They strength- 
 ened the frontiers of the empire, but made no serious 
 efforts to push them forward, except in the case of Britain. 
 In the East, the reduction of Cappadocia to the form of a 
 province in a.d. 17 helped to protect Roman territory, and, 
 after a long dispute over Armenia, a modus vii'cndi with 
 Parthia was reached in the year 63, under which Tiridates, 
 the brother of the Parthian king, received the Armenian 
 crown in Rome from the hands of Nero. Under Claudius 
 the southern frontier was fortified, and the two Maure- 
 tanian provinces, which had been established in 40, were
 
 TIBERIUS TO NERO 299 
 
 completely pacified two years later. In the North no 
 determined effort was made to force the peoples beyond 
 the Rhine to recognize Roman authority, but the frontier 
 line along that river was protected, and the Germans were 
 encouraged to waste their strength in internecine warfare. 
 Disturbances in Thrace led to its annexation as a prov- 
 ince in 46, and thus the Danube continued the line of 
 the empire to the Black sea. In the West only an impor- 
 tant increase of territory was made by the conquest of 
 southern Britain and its erection into a province in the 
 year 43. 
 
 358. Municipal Government in Italy. One of the most 
 noteworthy constitutional changes under the early empire 
 consisted in the development of municipal government in 
 Italy and the provinces, and in the tendency to secure 
 uniformity, at least within a given area. The prevailing 
 system adopted for the miinicipia in Italy was similar to 
 that in force in Rome. It comprised magistrates, a senate, 
 and a popular assembly. The magistrates were known as 
 IV viri, formed two colleges, and were commonly called 
 // viri iiire diciindo and // viri aedilicia potestate. They 
 were chosen in the popular assembly, although elections 
 were later transferred to the senate. The // viri iure di- 
 cundo had the right to convoke and preside over the local 
 senate and popular assembly, to exercise jurisdiction in civil 
 and criminal cases under certain restrictions, and in coop- 
 eration with the senate they had charge of the finances 
 and of the local military contingent. The // viri aedilicia 
 potestate had charge primarily of the police and of the 
 public games. In some communities quaestors were also 
 chosen. Otherwise minor financial duties were performed 
 by the aediles. All these officials were chosen annually, 
 and had insignia not unlike those of the magistrates at
 
 300 IMPERIAL PKRIOI): HISTORICAL 
 
 Rome. Every five years // viri quinqueiinalcs censoria 
 potestate were elected to take the census. The senate 
 {ordo deairiomini or senatiis) usually comprised loo mem- 
 bers. A senator held his position for life, subject to the 
 discretion of the censors, who made out the Hst of senators 
 on the same principle which the censors at Rome followed. 
 The relations which a municipal senate bore to the local 
 magistrates and popular assemblies were almost exactly the 
 same as those which the Roman senate bore to the Roman 
 magistrates and to the comitia. The inhabitants of the 
 municipalities fell into two classes, cives and incolae. Gives 
 were those who had the rights of citizenship by birth or by 
 special concession. Incolae were those who had taken up 
 their domicile in a town without severing their relations 
 with the community from which they had come. Both 
 classes were liable to military service and to the other 
 munera imposed by the community, but the cives only, 
 under the early empire, were eligible to office. The unit 
 in the popular assembly was the curia or the tribus, and 
 the method of voting was identical with that in force at 
 Rome. 
 
 359. Local Government in the Provinces. The unit of 
 government in the newly acquired provinces of the West 
 was the municipality, and to most of these municipalities, 
 as they gave evidence of becoming Romanized, the ins 
 Lata was granted. Those who had held magistracies or 
 a seat in the local senate received the full rights of citizen- 
 ship, and the adoption of this policy did much toward 
 attaching the leading families to the Roman regime. In 
 Germany and the other less civilized provinces to the north, 
 the cantonal or some similar unit of government was 
 adopted. The policy which Rome followed in the older 
 provinces of the East has already been discussed (cf.
 
 TIBERIUS TO NP:R0 3OI 
 
 pp. 88 ff. )• Some modifications of it had been intro- 
 duced in the later republican period, but in most cases the 
 old systems of local government with the traditional titles 
 for the several offices were retained, except that the 
 financial system was reorganized. 
 
 360. Changes in Provincial Government. The govern- 
 ors of imperial provinces were appointed by the emperor, 
 administered their provinces under his supervision, and 
 looked to him for advancement, and one of the most 
 marked but natural changes of the provincial system, 
 during the period under consideration, is the tendency 
 to leave all important matters of administration to the 
 decision of the emperor. This practice comes out very 
 clearly some fifty years later in PHny's letters to Trajan, 
 where matters of almost a trivial character were referred 
 to the emperor for settlement. The senate theoretically 
 maintained its right to reverse the decisions of its own 
 governors, and on occasion actually exercised the right, 
 as we may infer from Phny's correspondence (X. 56; 
 X. 72) ; but the commanding influence of the emperor in 
 the senate, his exalted position as proconsul of a large part 
 of the Roman world, and the deference shown him by the 
 governors of imperial provinces could not fail to have an 
 effect on the governors of senatorial provinces also. We 
 are not surprised, therefore, to find them, too, appealing to 
 the emperor for advice in difficult matters of administration. 
 Governors in both the imperial and senatorial provinces 
 seem to have taken more and more into their own hands the 
 supervision of the administrative affairs of the communities 
 located in their provinces. In particular, as we see from 
 Pliny's letters, they concerned themselves with the economic 
 affairs of these communities and the questions involved in 
 the construction of public buildings and public works.
 
 302 IMPERIAL rEKIUD: HISTORICAL 
 
 361. The Provincial Assemblies. A new and most 
 interesting iK)liti( al institution of the imperial period is 
 the provincial asseml)ly, made uj) of representatives from 
 the communities lying within a given area. As early as the 
 time of \erres the commonwealth of Sicily {commune Sici- 
 liae, Cic. in Verr. ii, 2. 154) chose representatives to pay 
 certain honors to its governor. It was left for the im- 
 perial cult in the provinces, however, in its development 
 to direct this movement toward representative government. 
 The cult of the emi)eror appeared first in Augustus's own 
 lifetime in the (ireek cities of .Asia, and spread rapidly 
 through the western as well as the eastern provinces. The 
 imperial officials fostered it, because it knit the Roman 
 world together and developed a spirit of loyalty toward 
 the central government, as personified in the emi)eror. 
 To construct temples to him and to the Den Roma, 
 and to celebrate festivals in honor of the new deities, a 
 provincial assembly {concilium provinciac) met annually in 
 the principal city of the province under the presidency of 
 Xhe Jia?ncn proiinciac. Its main duties were of a religious 
 character. They consisted in arranging the details of the 
 imperial worship, and in imposing taxes for its proper main- 
 tenance on the cities of the province ; but these assemblies 
 also took it on themselves to discuss certain matters of 
 general interest to their respective provinces, and to send 
 deputations to the emperor to lay the results of their 
 deliberations before him. A large body of inscriptions 
 attests the activity of the concilia and shows the varied 
 character of the business which came before them. The 
 institution acquired in time some political importance (cf. 
 p. 372), and it is interesting because it is one of the 
 earliest attempts to establish on a large scale our modern 
 system of representative government.
 
 TIBERIUS TO NERO 303 
 
 Selections from the Sources 
 
 Tacitus, Anti. I. 5-VI ; XI-XVI ; Hist. I ; II. i i-ioi ; Suetonius, 
 Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, N^ero, Galba, Otho, Vitellius ; Dio 
 Cassius, LVII-LXV; Josephus, Antiq. hid. XVIII-XX; Strabo; 
 Velleius Paterculus, II. 124 ff. ; Plutarch, Galba, Otho; Eutropius, 
 VII. 11-18. 
 
 Recommendations of Augustus read in senate : Dio, LVI. t,^,. — 
 Elections given to senate (a.d. 14) : Tac. Ann. I. 15 ; Veil. II. 126. 2. 
 
 — Mutiny in Germany: A)in. I. 31 ff . ; Dio, LVII. 4 f. — Minuta 
 maiestas : Ann. I. 72. — Curatores riparum et alvei Tiberis : Dio, 
 LVII. 14. — Recall of Germanicus (a.d. 16): Antt. II. 26. — Cappa- 
 docia, Roman province (a.d. 17): Dio, LVII. 17. — Alliance with 
 Parthia (a.d. 18) : A)tn. II. 58. — Death of Germanicus (a.d. 19) : 
 Ann.W. 69-73. — Law governing price of grain (a.d. 19) : Ann. II. 
 87. — Death of Cn. Piso (a.d. 20) : Ann. III. 15. — Sumptuary laws: 
 Ann. II. iT^\ III. 52-5. — Drusus, the tribunicia potestas (a.d. 22) : 
 .^««. III. 56-7.-^ L.AeliusSejanus: Anti. IV. 1-2. — ^ Sejanus is refused 
 the hand of Livia (a.d. 25) : A)i}t. IV. 39-40. — Tiberius retires to 
 Capri (a.d. 27): Ajin. IV. 67. — Overthrow of Sejanus (a.d. 31): 
 Dio, LVIII. II; Suet. Tib. 65. — Prosecutions: Ann. VI. 3 ff. — 
 Financial legislation (a.d. ^■^•. Ann. VI. 17. — Death of Tiberius 
 (a.d. 37) : Ann. VI. 50 ; Suet. Tib. 73. — Gaius succeeds : Suet. 
 Cal. 14. — Elections restored to comitia (a.d. 38) : Dio, LIX. 9. — 
 Prosecutions: Dio, LIX. 13, 16, 18. — Cruelties of Gaius : Dio, LIX. 
 25-6. — Murder of Gaius (a.d. 41): Suet. Cal. 58; Dio, LIX. 29. 
 
 — Claudius succeeds: Suet. Claud. lo-ii; Dio, LX. i. — Charac- 
 ter: Suet. Claud. 2 f., 29 ff. ; Dio, LX. 2 ; Sen. Apoc. — Reforms: 
 Dio, LX. 6. — Provinces of Mauretania established (a.d. 42) : Dio, 
 LX. 9. — Conspiracy of Vinicianus (a.d. 42): Dio, LX. 15. — Cam- 
 paigns of Plautius and Ostorius in Britain (a.d. 43 and 50) : Dio, LX. 
 19-22, 30; Ann. XII. 31-40; Agr. 13 f. — Achaea and Macedonia 
 become senatorial provinces (a.d. 44) : Dio, LX. 24. — Treasury under 
 two quaestors: Dio, LX. 24. — Advocates' fees limited: Ann. XI. 
 5-7. — Census taken (a.d. 48): Ann. XL 25. — Messalina killed 
 (a.d. 48) : Ann. XL 26-38. — Agrippina : Ann. XII. 1-8: — Seneca, 
 tutor of Domitius, son of Agrippina: Ann. XII. 8. — Claudius adopts 
 Domitius with name of Claudius Nero (a.u. 50) : Ann. XII. 25 f. — 
 Lake Fucinus : Ann. XII. 56-7. — Aqua Claudia and Anio Novus : 
 Erontin. de Aquaed. 13. — Death of Claudius (a.d. 54): Ann. XII.
 
 304 IMPERIAL PKRIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 66-S. — Nero succeeds: .//;//. XII. 69; Hio, LXI. 3. — Burrus and 
 Seneca: Oio, LXI. 4; Ann. XIII. 2. — Nero poisons Britannicus 
 (A.D.55): ^;/«.XIH. 16-17. — Agrippina killed (59 A.n.) : ./;/;/. XIV. 
 3-S ; Suet. jVero, 34. — Death of Burrus (a.D. 62) : Ann. XIV. 51. — 
 Tiridates accepts crown from Nero (a.d. 63) : Ann. XV. 29 ff. ; Dio, 
 LXIII. 2-7. — Death of Seneca (a.d. 65) : Ann. XV. 60 ff. — Vindex : 
 Dio, LXIII. 22. — Galba proclaimed emperor by his troops: Dio, 
 LXIII. 23. — Vindex defeated: Dio, LXIII. 24. — Death of Nero 
 (a.d. 6S) : Suet. Nero, 47-9. — A. Vitellius proclaimed emperor by 
 his troops (a.d. 69): Hist. I. 56-7. — Galba adopts Piso : ///.r/. I. 
 14-19. — Otho declared emperor by praetorian guard: Nist. I. 27 f. — 
 Death of Galba : I/ist. I. 41. — Bedriacum: Hist. 11. 40-45. — Death 
 of Otho: I/ist. II. .|6 ff . ; Dio, LXIV. 15. — Vitellius recognized at 
 Rome: Hist. II. 55. — Character: ///.?/. II. 62, 73 ; Dio, LXV. 3. 
 
 Selected Bjbliography ^ 
 
 A. Stahr, Tiberius. Berlin, 1873. 
 
 G. Boissier, L'opposition sous les Cesars. Paris, 1S92. 
 
 H. Lehmann, Claudius und Nero und ihre Zeit, Vol. I. Gotha, 
 
 1877- 
 Sievers, Studien zur Geschichte der rtimisclien Kaiser. Berlin, 1S70. 
 R. Bompard, I.e crime de lese majcste. Paris, iSSS. 
 Guiraud, Les assemblees provinciales dans I'empire remain. Paris, 
 
 18S7. 
 Hirschfeld, Zur Geschichte des riim. Kaisurcultus, in Sitzungsb. d. 
 
 Akad. d. Wissensch. zu Berlin, iSSS, 2ter Halbb. pp. S33 ff. 
 
 SUPPLE.MENTARY LlTERATUKE, I9OI-I9IO 
 
 Henderson, The Life and Principale of the Emperor Nero. London, 
 
 1903. 
 Ferrero, Characters and Events of Roman History. From Caesar 
 
 to Nero. London, 1909. 
 Houdoy, Le droit municipal. Paris, 1876. 
 Tarver, Tiberius the Tyrant. London, 1902. 
 
 ' Sec also p. 288.
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 THE FLAVIAN EMPERORS 
 
 362. Vespasian proclaimed Emperor. When the news 
 of the battle of Bedriacum and of the death of Otho 
 reached Rome, the soldiers took the oath of allegiance 
 to Vitellius, and the senate accorded him imperial honors ; 
 but before he had reached the city a new aspirant for the 
 throne had arisen — this time in the East, in the person of 
 Vespasian. He was proclaimed emperor in Alexandria by 
 the prefect of Egypt, July i, 69, and from this date he sub- 
 sequently counted the years of his reign. The legions in 
 Judaea, Syria, Moesia, Pannonia, and Illyricum supported 
 him, and Mucianus, governor of Syria, and his principal 
 lieutenant was sent into Italy. Antonius Primus, who 
 commanded seven legions in Illyricum, reached Italy in 
 advance of Mucianus, however, defeated the army of 
 Vitellius at Cremona in a bloody battle, marched rapidly 
 toward Rome, and entered the city December 20. Vitel- 
 lius, in attempting to escape, was seized and put to death. 
 On the following day Vespasian was made consul, and 
 received from the senate the title of Augustus and the 
 tribunician power. 
 
 363. Precarious Position of Vespasian. The outlook 
 for Vespasian, however, seemed anything but promising. 
 He was a man of humble birth, and, therefore, apparently 
 hampered by the same drawbacks which had prevented 
 Verginius Rufus from yielding to the temptation held out 
 to him by his soldiers (p. 297). He was a mere soldier, 
 
 305
 
 3o6 imi]:kial rERiui): historical' 
 
 with no experienre in rivil affairs, and finally he followed 
 a series of pretenders, who had been set on the throne 
 by one army to be displaced by another. In fact, the 
 ui)rising of the troops in Germany under Claudius Civilis, 
 before he had ascended the throne, seemed to foreshadow 
 the same fate for him also. 
 
 364. The Character of Vespasian. His sterling tpialities, 
 however, saved him from all these dangers. Indeed, from 
 a knowledge of his antecedents and character, one could 
 almost forecast the outcome of his reign and the political 
 and social changes which he would strive to effect. We 
 have noticed that he was of humble birth. His family 
 came from the little town of Reate, in the Sabine terri- 
 tory. His grandfather had been engaged in collecting 
 small debts ; his father was a tax-collector. The family 
 stock was not unlike that of the poet Horace, and the 
 picture which Horace has drawn of his father may well 
 serve to give us a fair impression of the grandfather and 
 father of Vespasian. He was already advanced in life — 
 he was sixty years old at this time — and he had received 
 the hardy training of a soldier. Both of these facts must 
 have emphasized the traits of character which he inherited 
 from his immediate ancestors. Having been born outside 
 the city, he had none of the narrow municipal prejudice 
 of the native Roman. His humble surroundings in early 
 life, and his experience as a soldier, had made his tastes 
 simple and his methods direct. Then, too, if he had been 
 brought up in Rome, he would have felt himself bound 
 by the social and political traditions, which i)revented 
 several of his predecessors from aiming directly at the 
 object which they wished to accomplish. The fact that 
 he was born in a little country village left him free in this 
 respect. His obscure birth saved him also from paying
 
 THE FLAVIAN EMPERORS 307 
 
 undue deference to aristocratic prejudice. Finally, he 
 inherited from his immediate ancestors shrewdness in deal- 
 ing with the practical affairs of life, and especially in 
 managing financial transactions. 
 
 365. Administrative and Constitutional Reforms during 
 his Reign. These traits of Vespasian's character found 
 expression in the administrative and constitutional reforms 
 which he introduced. His methodical tendency and his 
 sense of order led him to take immediate measures to 
 suppress the insurrection under Civilis, to restore order in 
 Germany, and to perfect the system of frontier defenses 
 on the borders of Moesia, of Pannonia, and in the East. 
 Most of the principalities and free states in the Orient 
 were made provinces, and were governed as the adjoining 
 countries. His regard for system led to the formulation, 
 though possibly not for the first time, of the constitutional 
 powers and privileges of the emperor in the celebrated 
 lex de imperio Vespasiani (cf. p. 407). This trait in his 
 character led him also to make early arrangements to take 
 the census, and from the information which the census-lists 
 gave him he was able to reorganize the senate and the 
 equestrian order, to pick out men who were qualified to 
 fill administrative positions, and to decide how and where 
 to levy troops. He gained exact information with reference 
 to the resources of the state, information which was of ines- 
 timable value to him in determining the most equitable 
 and profitable form and rate of taxation. On the other 
 hand, he learned the needs of the empire, in the way 
 of public works and public buildings. According to the 
 emperor's own estimate, the reorganization of the financial 
 system and the material needs of the empire called for 
 forty billions of sesterces. This enormous sum was raised 
 without apparently crippling industry or exciting serious
 
 308 IMI'KKIAL PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 opposition. In some cases the rate of taxation was in- 
 creased, new taxes were levied, or larger contributions from 
 the provinces were required ; but the greatest gain was 
 made by doing away with the exemption of favored classes, 
 and by insisting on honesty and economy in raising the 
 levy. Here Vespasian's clear insight into financial matters 
 helped him greatly. 
 
 His freedom from native Roman and aristocratic preju- 
 dice allowed him to make important changes in the character 
 of the senate and the senatorial order. Some of his prede- 
 cessors had aimed at creating a new senatorial aristocracy 
 dependent on the emperor for its position and honors, and 
 Claudius had gone so far as to admit men from the provinces 
 who had distinguished themselves, but in most cases those 
 who received seats in the senate were natives of the city 
 of Rome and ex-magistrates. Vespasian, however, freely 
 gave the senatorial rank to provincials, and, with that 
 directness of purpose which characterized him, he did not 
 in all cases require a candidate for senatorial honors to 
 hold a magistracy, but he conferred the dignity upon him 
 directly. Vespasian's practice in this respect was followed 
 by his successors, and from the time of Domitian this 
 imi)crial i)rerogative was freely exercised. The senatorial 
 order thus ceased to be a Roman aristocracy ; it was no 
 longer based, even formally, on republican tradition. It 
 was an aristocracy of the empire, whose privileges were 
 within the gift of the emperor. This policy of conferring 
 privileges and honors upon deserving persons throughout 
 the Roman world was carried down into the lower strata 
 of society also. The rights of Latin citizenship were given 
 to all the hitherto subject communities in Spain, and to 
 some among the Helvctii. The practice of bestowing the 
 rights of citizenship and the privileges of senatorial rank
 
 THE FLAVIAN EMPERORS 309 
 
 on provincials is a definite part of the Flavian policy, and 
 perhaps nothing did more to develop throughout the empire 
 a unity of interests and a loyalty to the central government. 
 Those who had received these honors were proud of them, 
 and grateful to the ruler who gave them. Those who had 
 not attained them were anxious to prove their fitness to 
 receive them. The fruits of this generous policy toward 
 the provincials are seen in the Spanish origin of Trajan, 
 Hadrian, and M. Aurelius, and in the Gallic origin of 
 Antoninus. 
 
 The power which Vespasian exercised in raising private 
 citizens to senatorial rank took from the magistracies the 
 greater part of the importance which they had had under 
 the early emperors. It was no longer necessary to hold 
 a magistracy in order to be admitted to the senate. The 
 practice of holding the consulship for only two months 
 also materially lessened the dignity of that office, which 
 was still further diminished by the encroachment of various 
 imperial offices. 
 
 366. The Reign of Titus. With all his care in defining 
 the powers of the emperor, and in introducing system into 
 the affairs of government, Vespasian had not settled the 
 principle of the succession. At his death, however, in the 
 summer of the year 79, it was rather a theoretical than a 
 practical question. He had secured for his son Titus a 
 point of vantage, by making him prefect of the praetorian 
 guard, by granting him the tribunician power in the year 
 71, by allowing him to receive the title of imperator after 
 his success in Judaea, and by making him his colleague in 
 the censorship and the consulship. The reign of Titus, 
 which extends through a period of only about two years, 
 was scarcely long enough to enable us to estimate the 
 character of his administration. He seems to have been
 
 3IO IMPERIAL I'KKIUI): HISTORICAL 
 
 an amiable and mild ruler. His kindness to the people of 
 Campania after the eruption of Vesuvius shows this ]jlainly 
 enough. But this amiability of nature had its unfortunate 
 side. It led him to si)end large sums of money to amuse 
 the people, without counting the cost or considering the 
 unfortunate precedent which he set for the future. He 
 held the power firmly in his own hands, however, neither 
 recognizing the historic claims of the senate nor admitting 
 his brother Domitian to a share in the government. 
 
 367. The Drift toward Monarchy under Domitian. The 
 theory upon which the government of Augustus was based, 
 that the Roman world was under the joint control of the 
 princeps and the senate, had been seriously undermined by 
 the reorganization of the senate under Vespasian, and the 
 subordination of that body and of the whole senatorial 
 order to him. Domitian, who ascended the throne in 
 September, 81, rejected completely the theory that the 
 princeps and the senate jointly ruled the state, that the 
 government was a dyarchy, as it has been called, and took 
 a long step toward the establishment of the monarchy. 
 He was an autocrat by instinct, and consistently followed 
 the policy of keeping the supreme power entirely in his 
 own hands. In the fourth year of his reign he had himself 
 made censor for life. He did not take this office, as his 
 father had done, for the sake of reorganizing the finances of 
 the state, but solely, or mainly, for the purpose of control- 
 ling the appointment of senators. In this way he was able 
 to degrade his enemies and to fill the senate with his sup- 
 porters. He also formally claimed the right of sitting in 
 judgment on senators charged with capital offenses. In the 
 year 84, in which he took the censorship for life, he had 
 himself made consul for a period of ten years, a step which 
 indicated his intention of taking from his colleagues in that
 
 THE FLAVIAN EMPERORS 31I 
 
 office even an apparent equality with him. The same 
 intention is obvious in his decision to reserve for himself 
 the laurel wreath, and in his assumption of certain unusual 
 insignia of office. His autocratic attitude shows itself also 
 in the fact that he tolerated no favorites, and that he did 
 not rule through ministers. In fact, constant changes were 
 made in the personnel of the imperial household. In this 
 respect his course is in contrast to the policy of the tyrants 
 who had preceded him, Hke Tiberius and Nero. This 
 theory of government puts on the ruler's shoulders the 
 responsibility for the mistakes which may be made, as well 
 as for the wise measures which may be taken, and Domitian 
 seems to have felt the responsibility and to have tried in 
 many respects to do his duty conscientiously. The same 
 deliberate purpose to rule alone, reinforced perhaps by the 
 dread of a mihtary uprising, led him to divide the pro- 
 vincial armies in such a way that not more than one or two 
 legions should be under the command of a single general. 
 It was probably a desire to maintain his prestige in all fields 
 of activity, and his knowledge of the fact that success in 
 arms still offered the surest road to popularity, which led him 
 to take charge in person of the military operations against 
 the Chatti in 83, and in Moesia in 86, and to celebrate a 
 triumph on his return from the first expedition. 
 
 368. Social and Economic Reforms. As has been said, 
 Domitian accepted conscientiously the responsibiUty which 
 his attempt to hold all the power in his own hands laid 
 upon him. He worked faithfully, though not always wisely, 
 to improve the moral, religious, and economic condition of 
 the people in Italy and the provinces. The Julian laws, 
 passed to protect the purity and integrity of family Hfe, 
 were vigorously enforced, and, like Augustus and Tiberius, 
 Domitian strove to stimulate the religious life of the people
 
 312 IMPERIAL PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 by building temples and by restoring the dignity of the 
 priesthoods. To combat the tendency towards luxurious 
 living he adopted the eccentric policy of discouraging and, 
 in some cases, of forbidding the cultivation of the vine. 
 All these measures for the moral and religious improve- 
 ment of the people naturally met with little success, but his 
 reforms in the judicial system and in the army were of 
 more importance. In particular, the administration of 
 justice profited greatly by his watchful supervision of the 
 courts. His management of the finances of the state, 
 which seems to have been in the main wise and econom- 
 ical, enabled him to construct many important buildings 
 and public works and to restore others which needed 
 repair. The jealous watch which he kept on provincial 
 governors in most cases fostered justice and economy in 
 the government of the empire outside of Italy. 
 
 369. Domitian's Jealousy and Tyranny. In spite of all 
 this, however, Domitian was a tyrant, and a tyrant with cer- 
 tain traits of character which always make autocracy odious. 
 His inordinate ambition and unscrupulous selfishness, which 
 had prevented his father and his brother from conferring on 
 him the honors that he would otherwise have had, took the 
 form, after he had ascended the throne, of a jealous sus- 
 picion of any one who opposed him or won any distinction. 
 As in the case of several of the Julian emperors (cf. pp. 
 289 f., 295 f.), his life foils into two periods. Before the 
 uprising under Saturninus in 88 his policy was reasonably 
 mild. After that event he pursued those who opposed 
 him, or excited his suspicion, with a vindictiveness which 
 knew no bounds. The fact that he was childless, and 
 hence that the way to the throne seemed open to any ambi- 
 tious aspirant, ])robably increased still more his suspicion of 
 any one whose ability raised him above the common level.
 
 THE FLAVIAN EMPERORS 313 
 
 He fell by the hand of members of his own household in 
 September of the year 96. 
 
 370. Military Operations of the Flavian Period. The 
 disorder which had prevailed throughout the Roman world 
 in the year preceding the accession of the Flavian em- 
 perors was repressed within a year or more after Vespasian 
 ascended the throne. This spirit of unrest showed itself 
 in Pontus, Britain, Moesia, and on the banks of the Rhine, 
 and both native peoples and legionaries joined in several 
 of the movements. The most serious of these uprisings 
 was that of various German and Gallic tribes under Julius 
 Civilis, which was also supported by the Roman legions in 
 the vicinity. It seems to have been an expression of the 
 nationalist feeling (cf pp. 296-7), for the Remi, who were 
 concerned in the movement, tried to convoke a Gallic 
 national assembly to lay plans for the future ; but at the 
 approach of Petilius Cerialis, one of Vespasian's lieutenants, 
 toward the close of the year 70, the various rebellious 
 peoples submitted one after another, and the Roman troops 
 returned to their allegiance. At about the same time the 
 war in Judaea was brought to an end by Titus, and the city 
 of Jerusalem was taken. For years religious teachers had 
 been going up and down in the land prophesying the 
 approaching triumph of the Jew over the Gentile, and the 
 fierce religious and racial hostility which resulted found 
 expression in wholesale massacres of Jews and their ene- 
 mies in Judaea and outside of it. The Roman officials 
 were incapable of dealing with the secret organizations 
 which the Jews formed, and the supine governor of Syria, 
 Cestius Gallus, allowed matters to drift until open war 
 broke out in 66. Thereupon Nero intrusted the conduct 
 of affairs in Judaea to Vespasian. For four years more the 
 Jews held out against the Roman legions, but in 70 Titus
 
 314 IMPERIAL PERIOD: IIISTORRAL 
 
 took Jerusalem, and Judaea for the second time was made 
 a separate province. Perhaps the greatest extension of 
 Roman territory was made in Britain, as a resuh of the 
 successful campaigns of Cerialis, Frontinus, and Agricola. 
 At the close of Nero's reign, Roman authority was recog- 
 nized as far north as Lincoln and Chester. Agricola 
 pushed his conquests to a point considerably farther north 
 and even carried on a successful campaign in Scotland. 
 The most serious danger from without, which threatened 
 the empire during the Flavian period, came from the 
 Dacians, who crossed over into lower Moesia, under their 
 leader, Decebalus, and defeated the governor, Oppius Sabi- 
 nus, as well as the i)refect of the guard, Cornelius Fuscus. 
 The Romans seem at first to have underestimated the 
 fighting (jualities of the enemy and the size of the coalition 
 formed against them, for they suffered repeated disasters. 
 The result was that, after the Dacians had been joined by 
 the Quadi, Sarmatians, Marcomanni, and other peoples in 
 that region, Domitian was forced to make peace on the 
 basis of certain annual gifts to the Dacian king, although 
 the latter, on his side, probably acknowledged in some 
 measure the suzerainty of the Roman emperor. The revolt 
 in the year 88 of L. Antonius Saturninus, the governor of 
 Upper Germany, excited a greater alarm in Domitian's 
 mind than the more serious difficulty on the Danube, and 
 although it was suppressed within a few months, it per- 
 manently affected the character of Domitian's reign (cf. 
 P- 312). 
 
 371. General Changes in Provincial Government. The 
 most important changes made in the di\ ision of the prov- 
 inces between the emperor and the senate in the Flavian 
 period were the assignment of Sardinia and Corsica to 
 Vespasian, and the union of Achaea and Epirus, which
 
 THE FLAVIAN EMPERORS 315 
 
 Nero had declared independent states, into a senatorial 
 province. Moesia was divided into two provinces, Upper 
 and Lower Moesia, by Domitian. Galatia was added to 
 Cappadocia by Vespasian and put under a consular legate. 
 But the most noteworthy administrative change in the prov- 
 inces consisted in the movement to introduce a uniform sys- 
 tem of government, by the reduction of principalities and 
 suzerain states to the form of provinces. This change was 
 made especially in the Orient, where several principalities, 
 like Commagene and Judaea, were placed directly under 
 a Roman governor. Egypt, however, still maintained its 
 anomalous position as the personal domain of the emperor. 
 It was ruled by a prefect of equestrian rank, and the admin- 
 istrative system of the Ptolemies was still retained. 
 
 372. Improvement in the Condition of the Provincials. 
 Vespasian's skill as an organizer, and Domitian's jealous 
 supervision of provincial governors, alike contributed to 
 the prosperity of the provinces. By the elevation of their 
 most distinguished citizens to the senatorial order (cf. 
 pp. 308-9), and by the grant of Latin rights to native 
 communities, they were made to feel themselves integral 
 parts of the empire and not dependencies, and their mate- 
 rial prosperity was promoted by the judicious construction 
 of public roads and public works and the improved man- 
 agement of local finances. In Baetica alone 120 cities 
 received the ius Latii under the Flavian emperors. The 
 extant charters of Salpensa and Malaca, in this province, 
 give us a clear idea of the nature of the government estab- 
 lished in these communities. Paradoxical as it may seem, 
 hand in hand with this extension of self-government there 
 seems to have developed a tendency on the part of pro- 
 vincial governors to concern themselves more and more 
 with local affairs (cf. p. 301).
 
 3l6 IMI'KKIAL PEKIUI): IIISTUKICJAL 
 
 Sf,li:ctioxs from tmk Sources 
 
 Tacitus, Hist. II. i-io ; III-V, and Agricola ; Josephus, i^e-//. 
 lud. Ill ff. ; Uio Cassius, LXVI-LXVII ; Suetonius, I'espasianus, 
 Titus, and Domitiantis. 
 
 Vespasian proclaimed emperor in the Orient (69): Tac. Hist. II. 
 8o-8r. — Battle of Cremona (Oct. 69): Hist. III. 22-33. — Disorders in 
 Rome (Dec. 69): Hist. III. 69-74. — Vespasian made emperor (Dec. 
 21, 69) : Hist. IV. 3; Dio, LXVI. i. — Revolt under Civilis (69-70): 
 Hist. IV. 14-37; 54-79; V. 14-26. — Titus takes Jerusalem (70): 
 Jos. Bell. lud. VI. 8. 4-5. — Vespasian enters Rome (70) : Hist. IV. 
 53. — Improvements in Rome : C /. Z. V'l. 931 ; VI. 1238; \'I. 1257. 
 
 — Latin rights to Spain (74): Plin. TV. //. III. 30. — Death of Ves- 
 pasian and accession of Titus (79): Suet. Vc-sp. 24; Dio, LX\'I. 17. 
 
 — Eruption of Vesuvius (79): I'lin. Kp. \I. 16 and 20; Dio, LX\I. 
 21-3. — Relief for Campania: Dio, LXVI. 24. — Campaigns in 
 Britain: Tac. Agr. — DQa-fb. of Titus: Suet. Tit. 11 ; Dio, LX\I. 
 26. — Charters of Salpensa and Malaca (82-4): C. I. L. II. 1963-4. 
 
 — Domitian consul for ro yrs. (84): Dio, LXVII. 4. — War against 
 Dacians, etc. : Dio, LXVII. 6, 7, 10. — Death of Domitian (96) : Dio, 
 LXVII. 15-17. 
 
 Sklected Bibliography^ 
 
 J. Asbach, Romisclies Kaisertum u. Verfassung bis auf Traian. 
 
 KiUn, 1896. 
 Chambalu, De magistratibus Flaviorum. Bonn, 18S2. 
 Chambalu, Flaviana, Philol. XLIV (1S85), pp. 106 ff.; 502 ff., and 
 
 XLV (1 886). pp. 100 ff. 
 nirschfeld, Untersuchungen auf dem Gebiete der romischen \'er- 
 
 waltungsgeschiciite, Bd. I. Berlin, 1876. 
 Frz. I'ichlmayr, T. Flavins Domitianus. Erlangen, 18S9. 
 Gsell, Essai sur le regne de I'empereur Domitien. Paris, 1894. 
 
 ' Sec also pp. 288, 304.
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 FROM NERVA TO SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS 
 
 373. Nerva. It is not clear what influences led to the 
 choice of M. Cocceius Nerva as emperor, but he was prob- 
 ably supported by the conspirators who had overthrown 
 Domitian. His reign lasted only two years, and there 
 were no important constitutional or administrative changes 
 in it. He was able, however, to right many of the abuses 
 which had grown up under his predecessor. Prosecutions 
 for Vese-majeste were forbidden, and the impoverished con- 
 dition of the people in Italy was somewhat relieved by 
 loaning money to needy farmers, at a low rate of interest, 
 for the purchase of land. 
 
 374. Trajan. On the death of Nerva in January, 98, 
 M. Ulpius Trajanus, the governor of Upper Germany, whom 
 Nerva had adopted the year before, succeeded to the throne 
 without opposition. Trajan, like his predecessor, was punc- 
 tilious in his treatment of the senate. He renounced the 
 right to try senators on capital charges. He encouraged 
 freedom of speech at the meetings of the senate, and in 
 general carefully observed the fiction of the dual control 
 of affairs by the emperor and the senate. In fact, during 
 his prolonged absences from Rome, the senate acquired 
 some importance as a legislative body in administrative 
 matters. In his dealings with the magistrates he showed a 
 similar regard for republican traditions by accepting the 
 consulship only four times during the nineteen years of his 
 
 317
 
 3lS IMPERIAL PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 reign, whereas Domitian had been consul ten times during 
 his reign of fifteen years. He checked delation, as Nerva 
 had done, and reformed the laws governing prosecution for 
 treason. The result of his attempts to carry out Nerva's 
 plans to imj)rove the condition of the farmers, and to in- 
 crease the free population of Italy and the outcome of his 
 policy, and that of his successor, of remitting taxes, and of 
 encouraging the construction of public buildings in the small 
 towns, will be considered in another connection. 
 
 375. Hadrian. By far the most important administrative 
 change which Hadrian made consisted in the introduction 
 of a bureaucratic system into the civil service, with its fixed 
 gradation of offices and corresponding order of promotion. 
 The functions of each official were carefully marked out, 
 and the government took into its own hands certain mat- 
 ters, like the collection of taxes, which before had been 
 wholly or in part managed under private contract. Hadrian 
 made some important changes in the judicial system also. 
 He chose eminent jurists as members of his consilium, made 
 it a permanent body, and increased its judicial functions. 
 He took away from the republican magistrates the jurisdic- 
 tion in civil cases which they had exercised throughout 
 Italy and gave it to four imperial officials, later known as 
 iuridici. In this connection may be mentioned the codifi- 
 cation in a single edict by the jurist Salvius Julianus of the 
 principles and forms published by praetors and curule 
 aediles, in so far as such principles were still in force. The 
 provinces received as careful attention from him as Italy 
 did, and his long journeys, covering ten years of his reign, 
 into all parts of the empire made him familiar with their 
 condition and their needs. Having no children, he adopted 
 in 136 L. Ceionius Commodus Verus, giving him the title 
 of L. Aelius Verus. In 138, on the death of Aelius, Hadrian
 
 NERVA TO SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS 319 
 
 named as his successor T. Aurelius Fulvus Boionius Arrius 
 Antoninus, who was known after his adoption as T. Aelius 
 Hadrianus Antoninus. Hadrian died the same year. 
 
 376. Antoninus Pius. Antoninus, or Antoninus Pius, 
 as he is commonly called, does not seem to have lacked 
 strength of character. The energy with which he checked 
 the plans of the senate to pass certain measures reflecting 
 on the reign of his adoptive father would disprove such a 
 theory. But he lacked the restless spirit of his predeces- 
 sor, his breadth of view, and his power of initiative. He 
 had no ambition to extend the limits of the empire, nor to 
 introduce important administrative reforms. To insure the 
 succession he had been required to adopt M. Annius Verus, 
 known later as M. Aurelius Antoninus, and also the son of 
 L. Aelius Verus, who was given the title of L. Aelius Aurelius 
 Commodus. It does not seem to have been the purpose 
 of Hadrian to grant equal powers to the two heirs of Anto- 
 ninus, but rather to insure a peaceful succession in case 
 M. Aurelius should die. At all events, Antoninus Pius 
 chose the latter as his associate in the government, and, 
 just before his death in 161, plainly indicated him as his 
 successor. 
 
 377. M. Aurelius. But, immediately after his acces- 
 sion to the throne, M. Aurelius raised L. Aelius to a 
 position of like power with himself, and the equal authority 
 of the latter was recognized up to the death of Aelius in 
 169. Seven years later M. Aurehus made his own son, 
 L. Aurelius Commodus, his colleague, and father and son 
 held the imperial authority together until M. Aurelius died, 
 in 180. This interesting reversion to the republican prin- 
 ciple of collegiality had its administrative advantages. The 
 Roman empire extended over so wide an area that a divi- 
 sion of the territory between two rulers, acting in harmony,
 
 320 IMI'KRIAI, PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 would be to the advantage of both sections, and this was 
 what the joint rule of M. Aurelius and L. Aelius amounted 
 to. The supervision of M. Aurelius was largely confined to 
 the West, that of his brother to the East. One may well 
 question whether such an exercise of autocratic power by two 
 emperojs would be workable in ordinary cases, but in the 
 two cases mentioned the family relations existing between 
 the joint rulers made rivalry improbable and prevented a 
 serious conflict of authority. The amiable disposition and 
 the philosophic tastes of M. Aurelius had a good and a bad 
 influence on the character of his reign. On the one hand, 
 they made him strive to ameliorate the condition of the 
 slaves, to interpret the law in accordance with its spirit 
 rather than its letter, and to treat the senate with consid- 
 eration. On the other hand, he showed an unwise gen- 
 erosity in giving largesses, in increasing the number of 
 those who received help from the state, and in remitting 
 taxes. His peaceful tastes also prevented him from giving 
 necessary attention to the needs of the army and to the 
 loyalty of his generals. The unwisdom of this neglect was 
 made clear before his death by the uprising under Avidius 
 Cassius, the governor of Syria. 
 
 378. Commodus. Commodus revived the evil memo- 
 ries of the later Julian emperors. During the greater part 
 of his reign, which extended from 180 to 192, he was under 
 the influence of favorites. The prefect Perennis held the 
 reins of government from 180 to 185, and the freedman 
 Oleander from the downfall of Perennis to 189. The 
 overthrow of Perennis was due to the discontent which was 
 excited in the army by his attempt to substitute knights 
 for senators in important military commands. Oleander 
 owed his downfall to his general unpopularity and to 
 the machinations of his political enemies. Perennis had
 
 NERVA TO SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS 32 1 
 
 executive ability and was in the main patriotic, but the loose 
 delegation of almost autocratic power to a single individual, 
 whose position was determined neither by law nor by tradi- 
 tion, and the encroachment of court favorites on the func- 
 tions which belonged to estabhshed officials, could not fail 
 to result in disorder and maladministration and to under- 
 mine the official system which Hadrian and his successors 
 had so carefully elaborated. In the end Commodus, who 
 had given himself up completely to the pursuit of pleasure, 
 fell by the hands of the court favorites, to whom he had 
 intrusted the government. 
 
 379. Pertinax and Didius Julianus. P. Helvius Perti- 
 nax, whom the conspirators placed on the throne, was like 
 Vespasian a man of humble birth, and had Vespasian's 
 shrewd knowledge of affairs and his ability as an organizer. 
 Although he was emperor for only three months, his success 
 in reforming the finances was remarkable, but his economi- 
 cal and upright m:iiiagement of affairs displeased the court 
 officials and the soldiers in the city, who had been accus- 
 tomed to the gratuities of Commodus, and he was murdered. 
 A senator named Didius Julianus, who surpassed all other 
 aspirants for the throne in his promises to the praetorian 
 guard, was invested with the purple. But the break in the 
 succession, and the unpopularity of Didius Julianus in 
 Rome, encouraged L. Septimius Severus in Pannonia, Pes- 
 cennius Niger in Syria, and Clodius Albinus in Britain, to 
 lay claim to the throne. Septimius Severus was nearer Italy 
 than his rivals, and, without meeting serious resistance, made 
 himself master of the peninsula and of Rome. The fright- 
 ened senate condemned JuHanus to death, and Septimius 
 Severus was proclaimed emperor in the summer of 193. 
 
 380. The Senate during the Second Century. The con- 
 stitutional relations which the senate bore to the emperor
 
 322 IMPERIAL PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 at the beginning of this period when Nen'a ascended the 
 throne were unchanged at the accession of Septimius 
 Severus. All of the emperors of the second century, with 
 the possible exception of Commodus, treated the senate, 
 however, with consideration. They encouraged also the 
 free discussion of matters brought before it, so that the 
 senate practically reverted to the position which it had 
 held under the monarchy and the early republic, and 
 became the consilhwi of the chief-magistrate. Its failure 
 to assert its independence seems to have been due in part 
 to the fact that it was overawed by the comprehensive 
 powers of the emperor, and in part to the bitter experiences 
 which many of its members had suffered under some of the 
 earlier emperors, — experiences which made individual 
 senators more anxious to protect their lives and their per- 
 sonal privileges than to uphold the traditional powers of 
 the senate as an independent branch of the government. 
 The passage of the formal act creating a new emperor was 
 still the prerogative of the senate, but there is no case 
 during this period in which the selection of the emperor 
 was left to its free choice. 
 
 381. The Equestrian Order. The members of the eques- 
 trian order gained greatly by Hadrian's reorganization of 
 the civil service, since many of the important positions 
 closely connected with the emperor's person were put into 
 their hands. Hadrian also freely made knights members 
 of his cojisilium, and Perennis, the fa\orite of Commodus, 
 even tried the unsuccessful experiment of giving them 
 important military commands. The senatorial order was 
 deeply offended at these encroachments on its preroga- 
 tives. It is important to notice that all of these changes 
 indicate the drift toward a le\cling of the classes and 
 foreshadow the coming absolutism.
 
 NERVA TO SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS 323 
 
 382. The People. The people counted for little polit- 
 ically during this period, except so far as the popular 
 dislike of an emperor might encourage some rival to at- 
 tempt his overthrow, as happened in the case of Didius 
 Julianus. The interest of the Italians in municipal poli- 
 tics was also dying out, and it was difficult to find candi- 
 dates for the municipal offices. This state of things was 
 partly due to the heavy financial burdens imposed on 
 municipal magistrates and partly to the encroachment of 
 imperial officials on the traditional functions of the local 
 magistrates. Furthermore, the people of Italy were so dis- 
 inclined to military service that little attempt was made to 
 recruit the army from this quarter. As a consequence, the 
 great mass of the Italians had no share whatever in civil 
 or military affairs. They became incapable of governing 
 or of defending themselves, and their horizon was limited 
 by their own personal interests. This period is character- 
 ized, however, by an improvement in the condition of 
 freedmen, slaves, orphans, and the aged poor. Freedmen 
 were given a much larger share in municipal life, and the 
 position of slaves before the law was greatly ameliorated. 
 Slaves, for instance, could no longer be put to death with- 
 out due process of law, nor could they be sold to a gladia- 
 torial trainer or a procurer at the pleasure of their owners. 
 These changes were largely due to the spread of the doc- 
 trine of the brotherhood of man, or to the recognition of 
 the ius 7iahirale, as the Roman jurist styled it. The tend- 
 ency toward a leveling of all classes, which was a social 
 and political result of the exalted position of the emperor, 
 also had something to do with the movement. The sup- 
 port which the government gave to orphans and to needy 
 parents was inspired, partly by humane considerations, and 
 partly by a desire to keep up the population of Italy. At
 
 324 IMI'KKIAI. I'EKIOl): HISTORICAL 
 
 all events, the alimcntatio became an important function of 
 the government from the time of Trajan. 
 
 383. The Provinces. The military operations of the 
 period under consideration fall mainly in the reigns of 
 Trajan and M. Aurelius. The former was a soldier by 
 nature. The latter had war forced on him. The most 
 important accession of territory during the period was 
 that of Dacia. The Romans must have chafed under the 
 humiliating peace which Domitian had made with the 
 Dacians (cf. p. 314), and the existence of a strong power 
 across the Danube under an able leader like Decebalus 
 certainly threatened Roman territory to the south. The 
 raids of the Dacians gave Trajan a reasonable pretext for 
 declaring war against them in the year loi. After two 
 campaigns the country was subdued, and in 107 it was 
 reduced to the form of a province. Colonies were planted 
 in the new territory, the frontier along the Danube was 
 strengthened, military roads were built, and Pannonia jjnd 
 Moesia were provided with numerous camps and walled 
 towns. This whole section was so well protected that for 
 sixty years perfect quiet prevailed there. But in the reign 
 of M. Aurelius, the Marcomanni, Quadi, and other tribes 
 to the north, ])ushcd southward by the pressure of the 
 peoples beyond them, crossed the Danube, and even 
 entered Italy, carrying back with them on their return thou- 
 sands of captives. This incursion came at a most inoji- 
 portune moment for the Romans. The empire was in 
 great financial straits ; a plague had made a serious reduc- 
 tion in the population, and many of the troops were 
 engaged in the Parthian war. M. Aurelius and his col- 
 league, L. \'enis, took charge in person of the military 
 operations, but it required thirteen years to restore perfect 
 order on the Danube.
 
 NERVA TO SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS 325 
 
 In the East the only permanent acquisition of this period 
 was Arabia, which was made a province in 106. Of the 
 two provinces which Trajan acquired in his briUiant cam- 
 paign against the Parthians in 114-5, Mesopotamia was 
 given up by Hadrian, and Armenia was allowed to become 
 a suzerain state. 
 
 In no period of imperial history did Roman civiliza- 
 tion spread so rapidly and take such deep root as in 
 the second century. The rapidity with which Dacia, for 
 instance, adopted Roman ideas is almost incredible. Much 
 of this improvement was due to the knowledge and admin- 
 istrative skill which Hadrian applied to provincial questions. 
 The great civilizing agencies which he used with such effect 
 were roads, colonies, public buildings, and the concession 
 of Roman or Latin rights. In fact, the whole tendency 
 of the period was to place the provinces on the same plane 
 as Italy. 
 
 384. Signs of Weakness in the Empire. Signs of 
 weakness, however, were visible in the empire, especially 
 in Italy. Some of them have already been noticed. The 
 loss of political interest and the disappearance of civic life 
 in the peninsula, and the unwillingness of the Italians to 
 serve in the army are symptoms of decline. An equally 
 serious matter was the wretched financial condition of 
 Italy during a great part of the period. Both Hadrian 
 and M. Aurelius, when they ascended the throne, found 
 it necessary to cancel large sums which were due the 
 state in the form of taxes. In Hadrian's case the taxes 
 which were remitted amounted to the enormous sum of 
 900,000,000 sesterces. The large amounts which were 
 spent by Trajan and his successors in helping the needy 
 also offer a striking proof of the widespread poverty. An 
 explanation of the impoverished state of the people may
 
 326 IMPERIAL PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 be found in a variety of reasons. Perhaps a faulty 
 system of taxation and an unfortunate industrial organ- 
 ization are partly responsible for it, but the real diffi- 
 culty undoubtedly lay in the lack of energy and the 
 incapacity of the people themselves, and in their tendency 
 during times of prosperity to assume financial responsi- 
 bilities which they could not maintain when unexpected 
 demands were made on their resources. The first factor 
 we have already had occasion to notice. The emperor 
 Hadrian was largely responsible for the second evil. Under 
 his encouragement, and following his example, the small 
 towns all through Italy and the provinces during the 
 period of peace, which lasted through his reign and that 
 of his successor, erected costly baths, theatres, and other 
 public buildings and works, whose construction exhausted 
 their resources at the time, and whose maintenance became 
 an intolerable burden, when supplemented by the financial 
 demands made by the wars of the next two reigns. A 
 clear indication of the way in which things were going 
 is furnished by the debasement of the coinage under 
 M. Aurelius. Thus, at the moment when Rome needed 
 all of her resources to stem the tide of invasion, the state 
 was almost bankrupt. The condition of affairs outside the 
 empire also grew more and more threatening as the period 
 drew to a close. The peoples from the north were press- 
 ing down toward Italy, and the pressure was so strong 
 that many barbarian communities were allowed to settle in 
 Roman territory, even in the peninsula itself. Yet the 
 Roman army was not in a good condition to withstand this 
 pressure, because Antoninus Pius and M. Aurelius, during 
 the early part of his reign at least, gave little attention to 
 its needs, and the questionable policy was adopted of filling 
 its ranks with the newly c-on(iuercd barbarians.
 
 NERVA TO SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS 327 
 
 385. The Drift toward Monarchy. The formal courtesy 
 with which almost all the emperors of this period treated 
 the senate tends to conceal the fact that the theory of the 
 joint control of the state had almost entirely lost its mean- 
 ing. The contempt which Commodus showed for the sen- 
 ate, however, brought out clearly the true state of affairs. 
 It showed plainly that the independent cooperation of the 
 senate with the emperor was a fiction, which could take on 
 the semblance of reality only under emperors like Anto- 
 ninus Pius or M. Aurelius. The whole drift of the period 
 was toward the elimination of the senate from the control 
 of affairs. Neither in the choice of an emperor, nor in the 
 management of affairs after he had ascended the throne, 
 could it play an effective part. The theory of the suc- 
 cession rested on two irreconcilable things — heredity, or 
 adoption, and the free choice of the senate. These two 
 methods of selecting an emperor could not be followed at 
 the same time. As a consequence, the weaker power, the 
 senate, yielded, and accepted the candidate thrust on it. 
 As for the control of the state during the reign of an 
 emperor, Hadrian's bureaucratic system made such thor- 
 ough and systematic provision for the administration of 
 affairs that little or no place was left for the senate or for 
 the old republican magistracies. 
 
 Selections from the Sources 
 
 Scriptores Historiae Augustae; Marius Maximus ; Eutropius; 
 Orosius; Herodianus; Sextus Aurelius Victor. 
 
 Reforms of Nerva : Dio, LX VIII. 2. — Indigent children succored : 
 Aur. Victor, Ep. 12; Plin. Panegyr. 28. — Election of magistrates 
 in senate made secret (100): Plin. Ep. III. 20. — The capital of 
 Dacia taken by Trajan (102): Dio, LXVIII. 9. — Second Dacian 
 campaign (105-7): Dio, LXVIII. 10 ff. — Parthian war (114-117):
 
 328 IMI'KKIAL rKRlol): HISTORICAL 
 
 Dio, LXVIII. 17-33; Kutr. VIII. 3. — Accession of Hadrian: Dio, 
 LXIX. I; Kiitr. VIII. 6; Ael. Spart. vita Iladr. 4. — Territorial 
 acquisitions of Trajan given up: Eiitr. VIII. 6; vita Ha Jr. t; ; Tac. 
 Ann. II. 61. — Hadrian's travels: z'ita Hadr. 11-14; I''"- I-XIX. 
 9-1 1. — His severity: vita Ihuir. 22-3. — Antoninus Pius adopted: 
 lul. Capit. vita PH., 4. — Antoninus adopts M. Aurelius and 
 L. Verus : ibid. 4. — Faustina called Augusta: ibid. 5. — Parthian 
 war (162-6): lul. Capit. W-rus Imp. 7. — War against Marcomanni, 
 etc. (167-1S0): Dio, LXXI. 3; ibid. 7-21; lul. Capit. Aut. Phil. 
 12-17; -1-7- — Reign of Commodus : Dio, LXXII; Herod. I ; l>atn- 
 prid. z'/Vrt Comm. — Pertinax : Dio, LXXIII. i-io; Herod. II. 1-5; 
 lul. Capit. vita Pert. — Didius Julianus : Dio, LXXIII. 11-17; 
 Herod. II. 6-12; Ael. Spart. vita Jul. — Septimius Severus : Dio, 
 LXXIV-LXXVI; Herod. II. 13-III; Ael. Spart. vita Sev. 
 
 Selected Bibliography ' 
 
 M. Pelisson, Rome sous Trajan. Paris, 1886. 
 
 De la Berge, Essai sur le regne de Trajan. Paris, 1877. 
 
 H. F. Ilitzig, Die Stellung Kaiser Hadrians in der romischen 
 Rechtsgeschichte. Ziirich, 1892. 
 
 Ferd. V. Gregorovius, Der Kaiser Hadrian. 310 Aufl. Stuttgart, 1SS4. 
 
 Julius Diirr, Die Reisen des Kaisers Hadrian. Wien, 18S1. 
 
 Biidinger, Untersuchungen zur romischen Kaisergeschichte. Leip- 
 zig, 1 868. 
 
 E. C. Bryant, The Reign of Antoninus Pius. (Cambridge Historical 
 Essays, VIII.) 
 
 G. Lacour-Gayet, Antonin le Pieux et son temps (Diss.). Paris, 18S8. 
 
 VV. W. Capes, The Age of the Antonines. London, 1876. 
 
 G. Hassebrauk, Kaiser Septimius Severus. Holzminden, 1890-91. 
 
 A. Wirth, Quaestiones Severianae. Leipzig, 1SS8. 
 
 A. v. Brinz, Alimentenstiftungen der rom. Kaiser (Sitzungsber. 
 d. k. bayr. Akad. d. Wiss., 1887, Hist. Klasse, pp. 209 ff.). 
 
 * See also pp. 288 and 304.
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 THE EMPIRE OF THE THIRD CENTURY AND THE 
 REFORMS OF DIOCLETIAN 
 
 386. The Third Century. During the century which 
 elapsed between the accession of Septimius Severus and 
 the transformation of the government into a monarchy by 
 Diocletian, there was no continuous forward movement in 
 constitutional development, and no new political institu- 
 tions of great importance were created, so that the con- 
 dition of the empire may be described very briefly. 
 
 387. The Emperor and the Senate. The history of the 
 period brings out clearly the fact that the position of the 
 senate was what the emperor chose to make it. It is true 
 that, during the reigns of Severus Alexander, Pupienus and 
 Balbinus, Tacitus, and Probus, the prestige of the senate 
 recalled the palmy days of that body under the republic, 
 and at times during these periods it showed some of its 
 former dignity and administrative capacity. The motives 
 which led these emperors to grant to it some of its tradi- 
 tional powers were various. Thus, for instance, it was 
 apparently the conservative policy of his mother, Julia 
 Mamaea, and of Ulpian, his chief adviser, strengthened 
 by a feeling that the influence of the senate might be used 
 to offset that of the praetorian guard, which led Severus 
 Alexander to delegate real power to that body. Pupienus 
 and Balbinus and Tacitus were ex-consuls, who represented 
 the free choice of the senate, and the consideration which 
 they showed for that body was a natural result of the 
 
 329
 
 330 IMPEKIAJ. rKKlUD: HISTORICAL 
 
 gratitude which they felt for their advancement. The case 
 of Probus is different still. Under no emi)eror of the third 
 century did the senate exercise so much real power as it 
 did under him. The administration of civil affairs was 
 left almost entirely to it. This arrangement, however, 
 was not due to his resjject for republican or Augustan 
 tradition, but rather to the fact that he was a soldier, and 
 was engaged in campaigns against the barbarians during 
 his entire reign, and had no time to give to civil affairs. 
 These apparent excej^tions, therefore, merely confirm the 
 truth of the statement that, during the third century, 
 the emjieror was master of the Roman world, and that the 
 senate exercised only such powers as he chose to delegate to 
 it. This fact comes out clearly enough, if we examine the 
 ])olicy of the better emperors, like Septimius Sevenis or 
 Aurelian, or of the worse ones, like Caracalla and Gallienus, 
 under all of whom the senate failed to secure any recogni- 
 tion of its authority. 
 
 388. The Army as a Political Factor. The real powers 
 which made and unmade most of the emperors of this 
 period, and largely influenced their policy, were the army 
 and the praetorian guard, so that the condition of things 
 during the three months' reign of Didius Julianus, when, 
 besides the recognized emperor at Rome, there were 
 claimants to the throne in Pannonia, Britain, and Syria, is 
 a fair illustration of the course of events from the death of 
 Septimius Severus in 211 to the accession of Diocletian 
 in 284. During this period of seventy-three years there 
 were twenty-three different emperors, almost all of whom 
 owed their elevation to the throne to the force of arms, 
 and kept their position only so long as they kept the favor 
 of their amied supporters, or prevented some military rival 
 from acquiring too much power.
 
 THE THIRD CENTURY 33 I 
 
 389. Administrative and Constitutional Changes. Per- 
 haps the most important administrative or constitutional 
 changes of the third century were the transformation 
 which the functions of the prefect of the praetorian guard 
 underwent, the development of the consilium, and the 
 separation of the civil and military administrations. The 
 judicial cofisilium, which had been organized on a perma- 
 nent basis by Hadrian (p. 318), became the most im- 
 portant civil and criminal court of the period. The 
 emperor presided in person and associated with him his 
 most eminent jurists. The members of this court even 
 accompanied him when he left the city. The most influ- 
 ential member of it was the praefecins praetorio. The fact 
 that the prefect of the praetorian guard held this impor- 
 tant judicial position is indicative of a great change in his 
 functions. Under the early empire the office was a purely 
 military position. Even in the first century, however, as we 
 noticed in the case of Burrus, the influence of this prefect, 
 as commander of the strongest military force in the city, led 
 the emperor to consult him in judicial and administrative 
 affairs. It was natural for Hadrian, therefore, in organizing 
 his consilium, to give the foremost position in it to the 
 prefect, and for Severus Alexander to make the same 
 official his minister also. Henceforth military experience 
 was not so important a prerequisite for the prefect of the 
 guard as administrative ability and knowledge of the law. 
 The mihtary duties of the position were largely delegated 
 to subordinate officials. This change is in harmony with 
 the tendency, which is noticeable under Severus Alexander 
 and Gallienus especially, to separate the civil and military 
 administrations in the provinces where large armies were 
 required. The last-mentioned change is an anticipation 
 of one of the reforms of Diocletian.
 
 332 I.MI'KKIAL PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 390. The Incursions of the Barbarians during the Reign 
 of Gallienus. During the century which we are consider- 
 ing, the provinces were thrown into confusion by the 
 incursions of the barbarians, and by the appearance of 
 usurpers, who maintained for a longer or shorter time their 
 sovereignty over one part or another of the empire. It 
 is unnecessary for our purpose to follow the fortunes of 
 these tyrants, or even of the em])erors at Rome, through 
 the century. The reign of Ciallienus from 260 to 268 
 is in some respects typical, and a sketch of it will give 
 one a clear, though })erha])s an exaggerated, picture of 
 the state of affairs during the entire period which is under 
 consideration. 
 
 In these eight years no part of the Roman world, with the 
 possible exception of Africa and the islands, escaped the dev- 
 astating raids of the barbarians. In the East the Persians 
 had made a prisoner of Valerian, the fether of (iallienus, and 
 his former colleague, and had overrun the ])rovince of Syria. 
 On the Danube the Goths entered Roman territory from 
 the north by land, and sui)plemented their land campaign 
 by an attack from the sea on the east, ultimately pushing 
 down as far as Achaea, and jjlundered Corinth and Athens. 
 In the North the Alemanni broke through the barriers 
 along the Rhine, and penetrated as far as Ravenna with- 
 out meeting serious o])position. The Franks entered Oaul, 
 pressed down into Spain, and even made their way across 
 the Mediterranean to Africa. These incursions were essen- 
 tially marauding expeditions, and when the lust for booty 
 had been satisfied, the barbarians usually withdrew as 
 speedily as they had come. No serious loss of territory, 
 therefore, resulted from them, but cities were destroyed, 
 the country was laid waste, and commerce in many cases 
 was ruined. The result was that the resources of the
 
 THE THIRD CENTURY 333 
 
 people, already scarcely sufficient to support the burden 
 of taxation laid upon them, were still further impaired. 
 
 391. Usurpers during the Reign of Gallienus. The 
 appearance of usurpers both in the East and the West 
 during the reign of Gallienus, and the recognition of then- 
 authority for a term of years over a well-defined territory, 
 seemed to portend the speedy dismemberment of the 
 empire. These nationalist movements, if we may so term 
 them, were a very natural result of the existing situation. 
 In their origin and character they were not unlike the suc- 
 cessful attempt which Sertorius made in the first century 
 B.C. to set up an independent government in Spain. The 
 interests of the people within a given province or group 
 of provinces were the same ; their foes were the same, 
 viz., the barbarians along their frontiers, and, since the 
 central government could not ])rotect them effectually, 
 they felt it necessary to organize for their own defense. 
 The provincials and soldiers, too, looked to the governors 
 of the respective provinces for leadership. The sense of 
 loyalty toward the emperor, far off in Rome, was seriously 
 impaired. It was a very easy thing, therefore, for ambi- 
 tious generals to usurp powers and titles which did not 
 legitimately belong to them. 
 
 The most notable cases of the sort are those of Postumus 
 in Gaul and Odaenathus in Palmyra. Postumus, after driv- 
 ing back the Franks, was saluted as emperor by his troops ; 
 but instead of marching against Rome, as other aspirants 
 for imperial honors had done, he set up an independent 
 government in Craul, established a court, appointed his own 
 generals, and took the titles of consul and pontifex niaxi- 
 mus, Hke the emperors at Rome. He maintained his 
 position from 258 to 268, and Tetricus, the governor of 
 Aquitania, who succeeded him after a brief interval of
 
 334 IMPERIAL PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 confusion, seems to have added Spain to his empire. The 
 \igoroiis measures of Aurelian, however, and the mutinous 
 conduct of his own troops, forced him to resign his authority 
 to the central government in the year 273. 
 
 Postumus and Tetricus were never formally recognized 
 . by Gallienus, but this cannot be said of Odaenathus in the 
 East. The entire charge of Asia, with the power to appoint 
 governors and generals, was given to him, and the titles of 
 king and queen of Palmyra, which he and his widow 
 Zenobia respectively took, do not seem to have been dis- 
 puted in Rome. Odaenathus had recognized the authority 
 of Gallienus, but Zenobia threw off Roman authority and 
 invaded and subdued Egypt in 269. She took the title of 
 Augusta, and her son that of Augustus. Her triumph, how- 
 ever, was of short duration. Her troops were driven out of 
 Egypt by Probus, the future emperor, in 271, and the city 
 of Palmyra was taken in the following year. 
 
 392. The Restoration of Order. The weakness of the 
 central government and the state of confusion in the 
 empire were at their worst during the reign of Gallienus. 
 With the accession of Claudius in 268 an improvement set 
 in. Although the raids of the barbarians continued inter- 
 mittently for many years, they were more quickly checked 
 than they had been before, so that when Diocletian ascended 
 the throne in 284, the continuance of the empire and its 
 unity were assured, at least for a time. The province of 
 Dacia, however, was given up, and the Rhine and the 
 Danube were henceforth taken as the limits of the empire 
 to the north. 
 
 393. The System of Diocletian. With the accession of 
 Diocletian in 284 a new epoch begins. He frankly broke 
 away from repul)lican tradition, substituted a monarchy for 
 the nominal dyarchy of the three preceding centuries, and
 
 THE THIRD CENTURY 335 
 
 reorganized completely the civil and military administrative 
 systems of the empire. 
 
 394. The Augusti. His scheme of government involved 
 the appointment of two emperors who bore the title of 
 Augusti. The republican principle of collegiality was fully 
 recognized in the relations which they bore to each other. 
 All laws and edicts were issued in the name of both, and 
 all appointments to office were thought of as coming from 
 them conjointly. In point of fact, however, Diocletian 
 made Nicomedia his capital, or rather his headquarters, 
 and confined his attention to the East, while his colleague, 
 Maximian, ruled in the West, with Milan for his seat 
 of government. This arrangement, therefore, involved 
 a virtual division of the empire, although its unity was 
 assumed in styling the territory of Diocletian /fl;r/^i- Oricntis, 
 and that of Maximian partes Occidcntis. Under the old 
 regime the princeps exercised the right to issue edicts 
 whose binding force was recognized during his reign, just 
 as the proclamations of a republican magistrate were valid 
 during his term of office. The theory of the monarchy 
 was essentially different. The formally expressed will of the 
 Augusti became the law of the land, and, like the actions 
 of the senate and popular assemblies in the earlier period, 
 continued in force unless it was annulled by a later emperor. 
 The logical corollary of this principle was also unhesitatingly 
 accepted, that the emperor could not be legally controlled 
 or restrained by the action of any magistrate or legislative 
 body. The exalted position of the Augusti was indicated 
 to the eye by their imperial robes trimmed with precious 
 stones, by the imperial diadem, and by the elaborate cere- 
 monial required of all who approached them. Under the 
 influence of the Oriental environment, within which the 
 seat of Diocletian's government lay, the emperor was looked
 
 336 IMPIIKIAL rKKIOI): HISTORICAL 
 
 upon as more than mortal, and received during his lifetime 
 many of the honors paid to the gods. 
 
 395. The Caesares. Nine years after the accession 
 of Diocletian he and his colleague, Maximian, chose two 
 Caesares, who stood just below the Augusti in point of 
 dignity. Their position was, however, a dependent one. 
 They had no authority except that which was conferred on 
 them by the Augusti. The fact that they received a fixed 
 salary indicates clearly enough that their powers were dele- 
 gated to them. These powers consisted mainly in the right 
 to hear appeals, and to exercise a general supervision over 
 the governors whose provinces lay within their jurisdiction. 
 After the appointment of the two Caesars, the Roman world 
 was divided between them and the Augusti on the following 
 basis : Diocletian took Thrace, Egypt, Syria, and Asia Minor, 
 and assigned to Galerius, the Caesar whom he had person- 
 ally nominated, the Danubian provinces, Illyricum, Greece, 
 and Crete, while Maximian governed Italy and Africa, 
 assigning Gaul, Spain, and Britain to Constantius. 
 
 The main purpose of the institution of the Caesars was 
 to provide for the succession, and it was a part of Diocle- 
 tian's plan that, when one of the Augusti died or resigned, 
 his position should be filled at once by the advancement of 
 one of the Caesars, who, at the time of their elevation to 
 office, were adopted by the Augusti. In fact, Diocletian 
 intended to have the Augusti resign in favor of the Caesares 
 after a specified time, whereui)on the latter were expected 
 to adopt two new Caesares. 
 
 396. The Senate. When Rome ceased to be the seat 
 of the central government, the Roman senate lost its 
 character as an imperial body. It became essentially an 
 organization with local powers. This state of things was 
 bluntly recognized by Constantine when he established a
 
 THE THIRD CENTURY 337 
 
 senate with like functions at Constantinople. Further- 
 more, Diocletian did not ask the senate to confirm his 
 imperial powers, nor to approve his action in making Max- 
 imian his colleague. Now from the earliest times the senate 
 had maintained that the control of the state returned to it 
 whenever the chief-magistracy became vacant, and even 
 under the empire the choice of an emperor needed the 
 confirmation of the senate to be constitutional. Diocle- 
 tian's neglect to secure its approval was, therefore, in 
 violation of the theory that the senate was the ultimate 
 depositary of supreme power (cf. pp. 13 f.), or that it repre- 
 sented the continuity of the government. It, of course, lost 
 its power to legislate for the empire, and, since under the 
 new bureaucratic system the old magistracies had been 
 robbed of almost all their functions, its electoral rights had 
 Httle meaning. Its duties consisted mainly in electing the 
 consiiles suffecti, the praetors, and the quaestors, in legislat- 
 ing with reference to the public games and matters affect- 
 ing the senatorial order, and in sitting as a court on cases, 
 especially those of treason, referred to it by the emperor. 
 
 397. The Republican Magistracies. Under the later 
 empire the old magistrates had become in reality muni- 
 cipal officials. Their true political position was recognized 
 openly in Diocletian's constitution. The consul had no 
 other duty of importance than to preside at the meetings 
 of the senate ; the functions of the praetor and quaes- 
 tor were confined to the superintendence of the public 
 games, except that certain praetors exercised limited judi- 
 cial powers. The other magistracies disappeared. The 
 consules ordiiiarii, whose term of office expired April 21, 
 were ai)pointed by the emperor, while the consules suffedi, 
 the praetors, and the quaestors were chosen by the senate, 
 subject to the approval of the emperor.
 
 338 IMPERIAL rERlOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 398. The Administrative System. The system of Dio- 
 cletian, as elaborated by Constantine, was based upon a 
 complete separation of the civil and military administra- 
 tions and a carefully graded hierarchy of officials in each. 
 At the head of the civil administration were the four 
 praefecti praetorio, one of whom resided at Constantinople, 
 the second at Sirmium, the third at Milan, and the fourth 
 at Treves. They were styled, xt%^QC\.\ve\y, prae/ectus prae- 
 torio Oricntis, Illyrici^ Italiae, and Galliarum. The civil 
 governors of Rome and Constantinople were outside the gen- 
 eral scheme, inasmuch as they were directly responsible to 
 the emperor and not to the praefecti within whose jurisdic- 
 tion the cities in question lay. The powers of the pracfcctus 
 praetorio were varied and far-reaching. It was his privilege 
 to nominate the provincial governors to the emperor, to 
 supervise their conduct, and to suspend them from office, if 
 he thought it best to do so. He had the right to interpret 
 the law and to hear cases of appeal, and after 331 his judg- 
 ment was accepted as final. In particular he had complete 
 control of imperial finances within the territory assigned to 
 him. Up to the reign of Constantine he exercised certain 
 military functions, but from that time on these functions 
 were lost altogether. The prefects had such extensive 
 powers that, as a rule, they were allowed to hold office for 
 a short time only. 
 
 The prefectures were divided into dioceses, and these 
 again into i)rovinces. In the fifth century there were 
 twelve dioceses, and some of them were made up of as 
 many as seventeen provinces, so that the unit of govern- 
 ment became a very small one. The governor of a diocese, 
 who bore the title of vicarius, and was named directly by 
 the emperor, exercised with the prefect a general supervi- 
 sion over the governors of the i)rovinces and the financial
 
 THE THIRD CENTURY 339 
 
 officers of his district. The governor of a province 
 [praeses, consiilat'is, or corrector), Hke his superiors, the 
 vicarius and the praefectus praetorio, had charge of civil 
 administration only. At the head of the military admin- 
 istration there were from five to ten officials who bore such 
 titles as magistri militiim per Orientejn and per Illyriciim, 
 and under them came the territorial commanders, who 
 were styled duces or coniites. The ducatiis, or unit of 
 military administration, did not in all cases correspond 
 exactly with the provmcia. 
 
 399. The Relation between the Old and the New. In 
 discussing the history of the empire the gradual drift 
 toward monarchy has been mentioned (cf. pp. 310 f., 
 327). In the first 150 years of our era the movement is 
 especially noticeable under Domitian and Hadrian. Per- 
 haps the most important changes which prepared the way 
 for the reforms of Diocletian were the exercise of the cen- 
 sorial power by Domitian (cf. p. 310), the establishment 
 of a bureaucratic system of government by Hadrian (cf. 
 p. 318), and the gradual separation of the civil and mili- 
 tary administrations. These are not, however, the only 
 distinctive features of the new system which are to be found 
 in the old one. In fact, almost all the important institu- 
 tions of Diocletian's government existed in an undeveloped 
 or in a fully developed form in the empire of the third cen- 
 tury. The principle of collegiality, carrying along with it 
 the practical division of the empire between two rulers, was 
 tried during the reign of M. Aurelius (cf. pp. 319 f.). The 
 practice of conferring the title of Caesar on the intended 
 successor to the throne goes back to the reign of Hadrian, 
 although it is true that under the empire a Caesar needed 
 the confirmation of the senate. The process of reducing 
 Italy to a level with the provinces, which became an
 
 340 IMPERIAL PERIOD: HISTORICAL 
 
 accomplished fact under the new regime and was an essen- 
 tial part of Diocletian's system, had been going on for cen- 
 turies. The division of the larger provinces into smaller 
 units of government, which is a noticeable feature of Dio- 
 cletian's system, was carried out in many cases as early as 
 the time of Domitian, and many of the honorary titles and 
 insignia of office which Diocletian and his successors took 
 go back to the reigns of Domitian or Aurelian. 
 
 It is clear, therefore, that many of the features of his 
 system are to be found in the empire, so that, aside from 
 reorganizing the administration, the most important changes 
 which Diocletian effected consisted in breaking away from 
 the theory of the dyarchy, in securing formal recognition 
 thereby of the fact that the emperor was the sole source of 
 authority, and in putting the succession on a new basis. 
 
 Selections from the Sources 
 
 All freemen become citizens (212): Dio, LXXVII. 9. — Diocletian: 
 Eutr. IX. 19-28 ; Aur. Vict. Caes. 39 ; Lactant. de Mort. Pers. 7 ff. ; 
 Zonaras, XII. 31-2 ; Orosius, VII. 25. 
 
 Selected Bibliography ' 
 
 Th. Preuss, Kaiser Diocletian. Leipzig, 1S68. 
 
 Biidinger, Untersuchungen, etc. 
 
 A. W. Ilunziiiger, Die diocletiaiiische Staats-Reform. Rostock, 
 
 190Q. 
 Karlowa, Rcimische Rechtsgeschichte, Vol. I. Leipzig, 18S5. 
 Walter, Geschichte d. rumischen Rechts, Vol. I. Bonn, 1845. 
 
 ' See also pp. 2S8 and 304.
 
 SECTION II — DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 
 THE EMPEROR 
 
 (a) T7te Succession; conferring Imperial Powers, Titles, 
 Insignia; Term of Office 
 
 400. Eligibility and the Succession. In the case of 
 the emperor there were no specified general conditions 
 governing eUgibihty, as there were for the higher repubUcan 
 magistracies, but the principle was tacitly recognized that 
 an emperor must be a patrician and a senator, and the 
 successful candidates for the imperial purple, who did not 
 
 satisfy these two traditional requirements, were made patri- Spart. Did. 
 cians or senators, as the case might be, at the time of their yl^^^_ 7. ^^' 
 election. The senate was theoretically the ultimate source 
 of authority in the state, so that, on the death of an 
 emperor, the selection of his successor rested with it. 
 However, most of the emperors indicated their choice for 
 the succession by making certain persons heirs to their 
 private fortunes, and by conferring on the chosen candi- 
 dates the proconsular imperium and the tribunician power, 
 and the nomination thus indirectly made by the emperor 
 was invariably ratified by the senate. From the time of 
 Hadrian the title of Caesar was given to the person 
 designated by an emperor as his successor. 
 
 401. Method of granting Imperial Powers. The essen- 
 tial acts in conferring the imperial power were the passage 
 
 341
 
 342 IMPERIAL PERIOD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 Append. I. of the hx dc imperio and of the lex de tribimicia potestate. 
 Tac. Hist. I. These measures were the joint action of the senate and the 
 Act Fr^Arv poi^'il-'ir assembly. The cooperation of the popular assem- 
 pp. 65 ff. ])iy^ however, was from the outset a mere matter of form. 
 
 402. Imperial Titles. At the election of an emperor, 
 or shortly after his accession, various titles were conferred 
 upon him, some of which were purely honorary, while others 
 implied the grant of new powers. An inscription from the 
 early part of the reign of Augustus {C. I. L. III. 6070), and 
 another from the reign of Hadrian {C. I. L. VI. 967), may 
 illustrate the names and titles of the emperors during the 
 two periods in (juestion. The first one reads Imperator 
 Caesar Dhi Filiiis Augustus Consul XII Tribunicia Potes- 
 tate XVIII Pontifex Maximus. In the other Hadrian is 
 styled Imperator Caesar Divi Traia/ii Parthici Filius 
 Divi Nervae Nepos Traianus Hadrian us Augustus Pon- 
 tifex Maxivius Tribunicia Potestate II Consul II. With 
 few exceptions, the emperors, at the time of their election, 
 substituted the title Imperator for their former praenomina. 
 The same word also appears again, in many cases as an 
 honorary title, in the latter part of the name. Caesar was 
 the cognomen of the Julian house, and was transferred to 
 the members of the Claudian family. From the time of 
 Hadrian its use was restricted to the emperor and his candi- 
 date for the succession. In the first century it stood after 
 the praenomen or the nomen ; but later it was usually 
 placed between Imperator and the praenomen or nomeji. 
 After the indication of descent from the emperor's prede- 
 cessor or predecessors, and the nomina or cognomina, came 
 the title Augustus. This title was granted to Octavius in 
 Tac. Hist. 27 B.C. (cf. p. 269), and was conferred by the senate on 
 Aiig.V. "'^ all his successors when they ascended the throne. The 
 position of pontifex maximus was held by all the emperors,
 
 IMPERIAL SUCCESSION AND TITLES 343 
 
 as well as membership in the colleges of the augurs, the 
 epulones, and the quindecemvirs. The tribunician power was 
 granted for life, but it was renewed from year to year. It St. R. IL 
 is, therefore, the surest indication in any document con- '^^'" 
 taining the emperor's name of the year to which the 
 document belongs. The consulship was held from time to 
 time by the emperor, at least for a part of the year, and 
 during these periods consul appears among his titles, with 
 an indication of the number of times he has taken the 
 ofifice. After Trajan's reign the title proconsul was assumed St. R. ii. 
 outside of Italy, while, from the time of Septimius Severus, " ' ' ' 
 it was borne even in Rome. Other titles \^q. pater patriae, 
 or epithets of distinction like pins felix, were conferred 
 on some of the emperors. Special titles like Farthicus or 
 Germanicus were taken after successful campaigns. 
 
 403. Insignia of Office. On formal occasions the emperor 
 
 sat on the siibsellium of the tribunes, or on a curule chair Dio, 50.2; 
 between the consuls. His robe of ofifice in Italy was the ciaud. 2-.^''' 
 toga praetexta ; outside of Italy t\\Q paludamentum. From Lampr. He- 
 the time of Septimius Severus the latter was worn even in '°^ ' ^^' 
 Italy. Up to Domitian's reign the emperor was attended 
 by twelve lictors ; later by twenty-four. 
 
 404. Induction into Office. When the emperor ascended 
 the throne, a sacrifice was made on the Capitol, and on the 
 
 first of January of each year the senate, the magistrates, Tac. Ann. 
 and the soldiers took the oath of allegiance. Augustus \ ^.' "'^*' 
 accepted his extraordinary powers for a Hmited period, 
 but his successors held theirs without such limitation. 
 
 405. The Memory of a Dead Emperor. The ofifice became 
 vacant when the emperor died a natural death, or resigned, 
 or was overthrown. In the last instance an act was usually 
 passed, known as the davinafio mejnoriae, or a declaration 
 was made by the newly chosen emperor, in accordance
 
 344 IMPERIAL PERIOD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 with which the wearing of mourning garments was for- 
 bidden, the statues of the deceased were destroyed, his 
 name was erased from public monuments, and his acta 
 were annulled. In case the judgment of the senate on a 
 dead em]:)eror was favorable, he received the title of divus 
 and a flamen was appointed in his honor. 
 
 (6) The Powers of the Emperor 
 
 406. Legal Basis of the Emperor's Power. The powers 
 
 of the emperor, so far as they had a purely legal basis, rested 
 on the imperiiim and the tribioiicia potestas. After the 
 year 23 n.c. Augustus ceased to hold the consulship regu- 
 larly, and the impcriian which he exercised he held pro con- 
 siile. By special enactments, however, he was allowed to 
 retain this impcrium within the city, and to rank with the 
 consul in the exercise of its powers. The measures which 
 thus interpreted and extended the imperium of the priti- 
 ceps and freed him from certain restrictions ordinarily put 
 on magistrates, were reenacted at the beginning of each 
 reign, and have come down to us in a fragmentary form in 
 the celebrated lex de itnpcrio Vcspasiatii. To fiicilitate a 
 comparison of the position of the emperor with that of the 
 republican chief-magistrate, it will be convenient to restate 
 here the powers covered by the itnperiutn under the repub- 
 lic, and to discuss the several functions of the emperor in 
 the same order in which the similar powers of the republican 
 magistrate were taken up (cf. pp. 157 ff.). The if?iperium 
 under the republic covered the right to supervise certain 
 matters of a politico-religious character, to represent the 
 state in its dealings with individuals and with other commu- 
 nities, to command the army and navy, to punish, to exer- 
 cise civil and criminal jurisdiction, to issue proclamations
 
 POWERS OF THE EMPEROR 345 
 
 or edicts, to call and preside over the senate and the 
 popular assemblies, and to supervise certain administrative 
 matters. 
 
 407. Authority in Politico-Religious Matters. The em- 
 peror's magisterial right to supervise such religious matters 
 as had a political side was strengthened by his election to the 
 four great priesthoods and by his elevation to the position 
 o{ pontifex maximus (cf. pp. 342 f.), and was formulated in 
 the lex de iiiiperio^ which empowered him to do qiiaecnmque 
 ex . . . tnaiestate divinarum . . . rerum esse censebit. By 
 virtue of this authority he had the right to name a certain 
 number of priests, to control the temples, and to exercise a 
 general supervision over religious affairs. 
 
 408. Foreign Affairs. In the management of foreign 
 affairs the princeps was supreme. The senate, which under 
 the later republic had taken such matters almost entirely 
 into its own hands, became purely an advisory body. 
 This change was merely a return to the early republican 
 theory, under which only the people or their authorized 
 representative, the magistrate, could carry on negotiations 
 with a foreign power. The senate had usurped the func- 
 tions which it exercised in such matters. The powers of 
 the republican magistrate in this field were, however, lim- 
 ited by the rights of the popular assembly ; those of the 
 princeps were unlimited. This extension of the wiperiiwi 
 was in all probability granted to him specifically by law. 
 
 He was empowered on his own authority to declare war, Append. 
 to make peace, or to carry on negotiations with foreign 
 nations. This did not, of course, prevent him from asking 
 the senate for advice on such matters, or from compli- 
 menting it by allowing it to discuss them occasionally. 
 
 409. Command of the Army and Navy. Closely con- 
 nected with the power just mentioned was the right of the
 
 346 IMrKKIAL PERIOD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 17. princeps to command the army and navy. He had the 
 exclusive right to levy and organize troops, and to direct 
 the movements of troops in the imperial provinces, and, 
 since the unsettled provinces were made imperial (cf. pp. 
 268, 283), practically the entire army and navy of the 
 state were under his control. The officers were appointed 
 by him ; the soldiers took the oath of allegiance to him, 
 and were paid by him. The senate retained the power to 
 grant a triumph, or the ortiajtienta triumphalia. Even in 
 
 m. the senatorial provinces the pri'nceps had the mains impe- 
 rium over the proconsuls, and they looked rather to him 
 than to the senate for instructions. In this whole matter 
 again the princeps resumed the })ower which the king and 
 the chief-magistrate of the early republic had exercised, 
 but which the senate, during the j^eriod of its r.5cendency, 
 had in large part usurped. 
 
 410. Judicial Powers of the Emperor as an Appellate 
 Judge. Perhaps the most important change which the 
 empire made in the judicial powers of the executive was 
 to introduce the principle of appeal. Under the republic 
 this right was unknown. The nearest approach to it lay in 
 the veto power which the tribune seems to have exercised 
 
 ^'^' on rare occasions even in judicial matters. The appellate 
 power which the princeps freely used seems to have devel- 
 oped out of his magisterial right to exercise jurisdiction and 
 his tribunician power. 
 
 411. The Emperor's Jurisdiction in Civil Cases. In this 
 way he heard appeals in civil cases from the governors of 
 provinces, and from Roman or Italian magistrates. Such 
 appeals were sometimes heard by him in person. Some- 
 times they were heard before persons delegated by him for 
 the purpose ; in certain cases, before the consul or praetor 
 at Rome, or the governor in a province. Appeals from the
 
 POWERS OF THE EMPEROR 347 
 
 decision of a magistrate in the city of Rome were usually 
 
 turned over to the praetor iirbanus, or later to the prae- Suet. Aug. 
 
 fechis tcrbi. Ajopeals from the provinces were usually taken ^^ ' '°' ^^ 
 
 before ex-consuls appointed to hear such cases, but later 
 
 they came to the praefectus praetorio. A final appeal to 
 
 the emperor from the decision of his representative was 
 
 not forbidden, but in all probabihty was rarely taken. Dio, 52. y^. 
 
 Appeals were ordinarily not allowed in jury trials except 
 
 when there was evidence of bribery, or when there was a 
 
 fundamental legal defect in the constitution of the court • 
 
 or in the conduct of the suit. The princeps could, of 
 
 course, hear a case in the first instance also. He was Suet. Dom.8. 
 
 assisted by a consiUum of jurists from the equestrian 
 
 and senatorial orders (cf. p. 331). The members of this 
 
 body received salaries ranging from 60,000 to 100,000 
 
 sesterces. The princeps presided ; the consilia?-ii gave Suet. Aug. 
 
 their opinions in writing, and the prmceps rendered his Tac.^A^n.'^' 
 
 decision. 3- 1°; Dig. 
 
 36. 1. 76. 
 412. The Emperor's Jurisdiction in Criminal Cases. The 
 
 most interesting developments in the organization of the 
 system of criminal courts were the recognition of the right 
 of appeal, the gradual disappearance of the jury system, 
 and the assignment of judicial powers to the senate, and to Dio, 52. 31 ; 
 the emperor or imperial officials. The first point has been Suet.'cat. 5^ 
 discussed in a preceding paragraph. As for the senate, it 
 seems to have acquired its judicial functions first in the 
 case of senators charged with capital offenses. This was a 
 very natural development. It was the aristocratic inter- 
 pretation of the principle that a man has a right to be 
 tried by his peers. The recognition of the principle was a 
 matter of mUch dispute, however, between the senate and 010,67.2; 
 various emperors. The senate in criminal trials bore the '^^' ^' 
 same theoretical relation to the presiding consul as a jury to
 
 348 IMPERIAL PERIOD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 the presiding judge, and the consul in conducting a court 
 which exercised the right to inflict capital punishment with- 
 out appeal was merely calling into existence again a pre- 
 rogative which the king and the early consuls had enjoyed 
 (p. 1 6). Hence the assumption of criminal jurisdiction in 
 capital cases by the consul and senate was merely another 
 case of reversion to the early theory of the constitution. 
 Inasmuch as cases in which senators were concerned often 
 involved men belonging to other classes, especially if the 
 offense in question was political, the criminal jurisdiction 
 of the senate was exercised over a greater number of per- 
 sons than would appear at first thought. The consul 
 presided, but of course the emperor exercised a controlling 
 influence. The senate seems to have lost its judicial powers 
 in the third or fourth century. From that time charges 
 against senators were heard before the praefedus iiibi, the 
 praefectus praetorio, or the provincial governors. 
 
 The emperor himself heard only cases in which the per- 
 sons concerned were prominent, or the matter at issue was 
 important. The decision rested with him alone, but he 
 consulted his consiliarii. Gradually the practice grew up 
 of conferring on imperial officials the same right to exercise 
 criminal jurisdiction which the emperor himself enjoyed. 
 In this way persons charged with the commission of crimes 
 in Rome or its vicinity were tried before the praefectus 
 urbi, or in the case of minor offenses, or those of a special 
 character, before the praefectus vigilum or the praefectus 
 annonae. The praefectus praetorio heard such cases for 
 Italy, and the governors in the provinces exercised the 
 same right for the territory under their control. Appeal 
 could be taken, in capital cases at least, to the emperor, but 
 he usually delegated the praefectus praetorio to act in his 
 ^l<:i(l, from whose decision ajjpeal could indeed be taken,
 
 POWERS OF THE EMPEROR 349 
 
 but rarely was taken, to the emperor. Thus the tribunal of 
 the praetorian prefect became the court of last resort. In 
 this way the quaestiones perpetiiae were gradually crowded 
 out, and disappeared, probably toward the close of the 
 second century of our era. The emperor and the imperial 
 officials reached their decisions without the help of a jury, 
 so that the substitution of the new system for the old 
 involved the disappearance of trial by jury. 
 
 413. Edicta, Decreta, Rescripta, etc. The emperor could 
 influence legislation direcdy or indirectly. He seems to 
 have had the power, for instance, to grant the rights of 
 Roman or of Latin citizenship on his own authority to 
 individuals or to communities (cf. pp. 308, 315), but his 
 greatest influence over legislation lay in an interpretation 
 and amplification of existing law by issuing edicta, decreta, 
 or rescripta, which were not only applicable to the cases 
 immediately concerned, but furnished precedents for similar 
 cases in the future. The edicta were imperial proclamations Dig. 28. 2. 26; 
 addressed to citizens or peregrini, and dealt particularly c'l! L. x. 
 with matters affecting the army, the treasury, or the food ^^"^^ 
 supply. The ^1?^^,?/^ were judicial decisions of the emperor. 1016; ' 
 The rescripta, of which we hear frequently from the time Eph.'Eplgr.' 
 of Trajan, were repHes made by the emperor to important ^^- 7^7- 
 questions submitted to him for decision by imperial officers 781 \ piin. ad 
 or private individuals. ^''^- 7i' 8°- 
 
 Mandata and epistulae contained official instructions 
 from the emperor. To all these classes of official docu- 
 ments the generic term cojtstitntiofies pri?icipis was applied, 
 although the same term was used in a more restricted 
 sense of documents in which a general legal principle was 
 stated. In this way, by interpreting authoritatively exist- 
 ing laws, and by supplementing them when necessary, the 
 emperors preceding Diocletian, although they did not have
 
 350 IMI'ERIAL PERIOD: DESCRIl'TIVE 
 
 the general i)o\ver to legislate directly, exerted a rontrolling 
 influence on the development of the law. 
 
 414. The lus cum Patribus Agendi. The priticeps had 
 the right to convoke the senate, to preside over it, to lay 
 matters before it for consideration, or to take part in its 
 deliberations, when it met under the presidency of another 
 magistrate. Even when the princeps did not preside, the 
 business brought up by him took precedence of all other 
 matters. In the second century of our era, in such cases, 
 as many as five propositions could be submitted by him 
 before the senate took up other business. Toward the end 
 of his reign, when Augustus was unable to attend all the 
 meetings of the senate, he sent propositions to it in written 
 form. Propositions of this sort, whether presented orally 
 or in writing, were out of courtesy adopted without change, 
 so that in the course of time these orationes principis, 
 as they were called, were thought of as forming an essen- 
 tial part of the law of the empire. When the emperor 
 presided over the senate, his practice differed in one impor- 
 tant particular from that of the republican presiding oflficer, 
 in that he could propose, and ordinarily did propose, a 
 definite motion for adoption, whereas in important matters 
 the consul was expected merely to make a statement of the 
 business in hand (cf. p. 228) ; but whether he presided or 
 merely exercised the rights of a senator, whether he was 
 present or absent, the influence of the princeps controlled 
 the decisions of the senate. The authority which Augustus 
 received in his later years to establish a political consilium 
 has already (p. 277) been mentioned. 
 
 415. The lus cum Populo Agendi. Augustus took into his 
 own hands the control of foreign affairs. Tiberius trans- 
 ferred the election of magistrates to the senate (p. 291), 
 and there was a tendency to submit matters for legislation
 
 POWERS OF THE EMPEROR 351 
 
 to the same body, so that the meetings of the popular 
 assembhes were few in number, and of Httle importance. 
 Thus the emperor's his cum populo agendi did not amount 
 to much. 
 
 416. The Nomination of Magistrates and the Appointment 
 of Officials. In this connection it is convenient to mention 
 the emperor's practice of passing on the eUgibility of candi- 
 dates for the magistracies, and of recommending certain 
 names to the electors (cf. pp. 275 f.). This privilege of 
 commending candidates was legally recognized by the lex dc 
 ifnperio Vespasia?ii in these words : utiqiie qiios magistratum Append I 
 potestatem imperium curationemve cuius rei petentes senatui 
 populoque Ro7na7io commendaverit, quibusque suffragationeiii 
 
 suam deder-it promiserit, eorufn cotnitis quibusque extra ordi- 
 nevi ratio habeatur. Under Augustus the recommendation 
 was made to the popular assemblies ; under later emperors, 
 to the senate. The number of candidates recommended 
 under this law seems to have varied from reign to reign, 
 according to the degree of respect which the priticeps 
 showed for the senate. The men thus recommended for 
 office were known as candidati Caesaris or Augusti. When 
 the prificeps himself wished the consulship he could inform 
 the senate of that fact. The emperor, of course, had the 
 right to appoint imperial officials without even consulting 
 the senate. Such officials were, for instance, the various 
 procurators in the department of finance, the prefects in 
 the city, and the legati in the provinces. 
 
 417. The Finances. Under the republic the effective 
 control of the finances rested with the senate. In the 
 early period that body exercised the right to impose a 
 tributum or special taxes on citizens. It fixed the contri- Liv. 23. 31. i; 
 butions to be made by the provinces, and although the ^^' "' '^~^' 
 control of the ager publicus was often a matter of dispute
 
 352 IMPERIAL PERIOD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 between the senate and the popular assemblies, the former, 
 during the period of its ascendency, legislated with reference 
 to its rental or sale, as the case might be. In the matter 
 of expenditure it adopted a budget every five years 
 covering the amount to be expended by the censor on 
 public works, and annual appropriations were made by it 
 Cic. in Pis. 5; for the provinces. 
 
 418. Division of the Treasury. Under the dyarchy these 
 functions were divided between iht princeps and the senate. 
 This fact was recognized by the organization of three sep- 
 arate treasuries, known as the aerarium Saturni, ihejisais 
 Caesan's, and the aerarium militare. 
 
 419. The Aerarium Saturni. The control of the funds 
 in the aerariu^n Sahirfii rested with the senate, but when 
 in the year 44 Claudius took from that body the right to 
 appoint the officials in charge of this treasury, its authority 
 in the matter became purely nominal. An appropriation 
 bill was necessary before money could be paid out, but the 
 passage of such a measure was merely a matter of form. 
 Little by little the revenues paid into the aerarium Saturni 
 were diverted to the Jiscus, and although the distinction 
 between these two departments was kept up until the reign 
 of Diocletian, the funds in the former grew smaller steadily, 
 and in the third century it became simply a municipal 
 treasury. After 44 the administrative officers in charge of 
 it were regularly appointed by the emperor. 
 
 420. The Fiscus Caesaris. The revenues of the Jiscus 
 Caesaris came mainly from the rental or sale of the ager 
 publicus in the provinces, from mines, from the vectigalia 
 or stipendia paid by the imperial provinces and in some 
 measure by the senatorial provinces, from legacies left to 
 the emperor, from the atirum eorotiarium, and from customs 
 duties and other indirect taxes. The funds in the Jiscus
 
 POWERS OF THE EMPEROR 353 
 
 were used to support the army and navy, to meet the 
 expenses of provincial administration, to build roads and 
 maintain a post system, to cover the expenditure of the 
 emperor for charitable purposes, and to provide the city 
 of Rome with grain and water. 
 
 421. The Emperor's Private Fortune. Out of the pri- 
 vate fortune of the emperor his personal expenses and the 
 outlay necessary in maintaining the imperial household were 
 probably met, although a careful distinction does not seem 
 to have been made between the res privata and the^scus. 
 
 422. The Aerarium Militate. The aerariuni militarc 
 
 was established by Augustus in a.d. 6. It continued in Suet. Aug. 
 existence up to the third century of our era. He assigned Ancyr.°".-6f 
 to it a large sum from his private fortune, and gave it a 
 permanent income from the tax on inheritances {vicesima 
 hereditatiu77i et legatorum) and on auction sales {centesima 
 reriwi vejialiiini). Its funds were not expected to cover 
 the main expenses for military purposes, but were used 
 especially to provide for the veterans. 
 
 423. Taxation and Adjudication. It is doubtful if the 
 princeps had the right to impose new taxes. He could, 
 however, rate the property of citizens, and in the later 
 
 period at least he could raise or lower the rate of taxation. Suet. Dom 9 
 In the collection of taxes the contract system was gradually '°' ''^' ^' 
 given up. In some cases collections were made by sub- 
 ordinate officials attached to the office of i\\e procuratores ; 
 in other cases, where communities were required to pay a 
 fixed sum, the local officials made their payments directly 
 into the treasury. Similarly, the construction of public 
 works was no longer let out by private contract. Ques- 
 tions arising between the aerarium Satiirni and citizens 
 were heard by the officials in charge of the aerarium, with 
 the right of appeal to the senate. Matters at issue between
 
 354 IMPERIAL PERIOD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 the Jiscus and individuals, after some variation in the 
 method of procedure, were also adjudicated by the treasury 
 officials. 
 
 424. Coinage. Under the republic the senate had the 
 entire control of the coinage of money. By legislation of 
 the year 15 B.C., however, the minting of gold and silver 
 coins was intrusted to the emperor ; that of copper coins 
 was retainetl by the senate. 
 
 425. The Censorial Power and Adlectio. Much of the 
 financial business of which the emperor took charge, such 
 as the collection of the taxes and the construction of public 
 works, had been managed in the earlier period by the cen- 
 sor. Another function also of the censor, that of drawing 
 up the list of senators, was exercised by many of the 
 emperors. In the first century Augustus, Claudius, Vespa- 
 sian, and Domitian held the censorship, the latter taking 
 it for life. By virtue of this office they not only drew up 
 a formal list of senators, but men who had held no magis- 
 tracy they advanced to senatorial rank by the adlectio 
 infer quacstorios or inter tribunicios, inter praetorios, inter 
 
 i8i2-, consulares, as the case might be. By a somewhat similar 
 
 viA'^sg. exercise of power senators of quaestorian rank were pro- 
 
 C. I. L. VIII. moted inter tribunicios, and so on. The earlier emperors 
 
 Tac'.Ann. who took the censorial power, and after Domitian all the 
 2.32. 
 
 Tac. Ann 
 
 II. 25. the senate 
 
 C. I. L.V. 
 
 emperors, exercised the right of removing members from 
 
 426. The Government of Rome. The management of the 
 city of Rome passed o\er in time entirely into the hands 
 of the emperor. The principal branches of the municipal 
 government were the police and fire departments, the 
 eura an/ionae, and the bureaus which had charge of the 
 aqueducts, of the construction of jiublic buildings, and of 
 the banks of the Tiber and the city sewers. Augustus,
 
 POWERS OF THE EMPEROR 355 
 
 early in his reign, took to himself the right to maintain 
 
 public order in Rome, the cura urbis, and delegated this 
 
 power to his representative, the praefectus urbi, during his Tac. Ann. 
 
 absence from the city. The organization of the praefectiira suet. Aug. -7 
 
 vigilum, to put out fires and protect the city at night, 010,55.26; 
 
 1 • ^ A r ■ • Suet. Aug. 30 
 
 was effected m .a.d. 6. A famuie ni 22 b.c. led the same p,-, ,^ ^. 
 
 uio, 54' * ) 
 
 emperor to make extraordinary arrangements for keeping Tac. Ann. 
 Rome supplied with grain, but he did not organize an 
 imperial bureau to take charge of the grain supply until late 
 in his reign. Augustus took the cura aquaruni in 1 1 B.C., Frontin. de 
 and at about the same time the cura opcrum tuendorum. " ^- 99 • 
 In the first year of his reign Tiberius assigned the duty of 
 protecting the city against inundations to commissioners, Dio, 57. 14; 
 
 T^jic Ann 
 
 who after Trajan took charge of the sewers also, and were j. 75. 
 
 known as ciiratores alvei et ripartim Tiberis ct cloacaruin C. I. L. V. 
 
 5262; 
 urbis. The details of the organization of these bureaus will vi. 1242. 
 
 be considered in another connection. Only the emperor, 
 from the time of Claudius, had the right to extend the 
 pomerium. 
 
 427. The Government of Italy. The process of reduc- 
 ing Italy to the level of the provinces, and of making it, 
 like the rest of the empire, subject to the will of the 
 emperor, was completed in the third century of our era, 
 when a governor called a corrector was placed over it. The 
 movement in this direction had been continuous from the 
 beginning. Augustus had stationed a fleet at Ravenna, and Suet. Aug. 49. 
 another at Misenum, under officers of his own appointment. 
 Troops for the maintenance of public order were also Suet. .4ug. 
 
 . . '?2 1 Tib. X] . 
 
 quartered by him at various convenient pomts. His com- 
 missioners, the curatores viartim, took charge of the public 
 roads. In the reigns of Trajan and Hadrian the adminis- 
 trative supervision of the emperor over Italy was extended 
 still further by the establishment of the praefecturae
 
 356 IMI'KKIAL rEKlOU: DESCRirTlVE 
 
 alimentonan (cf. pp. 323 f.), and by the usurpation, on the 
 part of the emperor, of the right to exercise a control over 
 the finances of Italian municipalities. The civil jurisdiction 
 Spart. Hadr. of the officials in these towns was restricted by Hadrian, 
 and in the third century criminal jurisdiction throughout 
 Italy was divided between the praefcdus praetorio and the 
 praefcctus urln (cf. p. 364). 
 
 428. The Government of the Provinces. The ins pro- 
 consulare of the emperor made him master of the imperial 
 provinces, and the fnaius iinperium gave him control over 
 the governors of senatorial provinces. In the imperial 
 provinces not only the governors but the officers in com- 
 mand of the legions were appointed by him. The close 
 surveillance which he exercised over the details of admin- 
 istration in his own provinces, and the tendency which 
 senatorial governors showed to defer to his judgment and 
 wishes and to follow the precedents established by him in 
 imperial i)rovinces, have been noted in another connection 
 (p. 301). Roman citizens could appeal from the judicial 
 decisions of imperial governors in criminal cases to the 
 emperor or to his representative at Rome (cf. p. 348). 
 Appeals from the governors of senatorial provinces were 
 heard by the emperor or senate, and of course in these 
 cases the judgment of the emperor, or of his counsellors, 
 was the decisive foctor. 
 
 429. The Tribunician Power. The possession of the 
 tribunician power had for the emperor more of a senti- 
 mental or traditional than legal value. Many of the con- 
 stitutional powers which it conferred, like the right to 
 convoke the senate, came to him in another way, but it did 
 invest his person with a sacrosanct character, and made him 
 the recognized champion of popular rights (cf. pp. 201 f.). 
 Since the sanctity of the tribune's person could be violated
 
 POWERS OF THE EMPEROR 35/ 
 
 by offensive or threatening language, as well as by deeds of 
 violence, it is easy to see how prosecutions for Diinuta 
 maiestas under the empire (cf. p. 291) could be legally 
 based on this interpretation of the sacrosanct character of 
 the tribune's office. It is not probable that the emperor 
 found it necessary to use the ins aiixilii or the ins iiiter- 
 cessionis directly in legislative or executive matters. The 
 prestige which his position gave him was so great that a 
 failure to conform to his wishes on the part of the senate or 
 of a magistrate is hardly conceivable. We have had occa- 
 sion to notice (pp. 346-7), however, that certain impor- 
 tant judicial functions of the emperor perhaps rested on 
 the ius intercessionis. There is a subtle distinction under 
 the imperial constitution between holding the position of 
 tribune and having the tribunician power. The emperor, 
 by virtue of his tribunician power, could veto the action of St. R. ii. 
 a tribune, but he was not himself a tribune, and his action °' "' ^' 
 could not be vetoed by a tribune. This distinction was 
 probably of little practical importance, however, since no 
 tribune would dare to oppose him. The tribunician power 
 was given to the emperor for Hfe. Augustus received it in 
 36 B.C., Tiberius in 6 B.C., the other emperors from the time 
 when they were associated in the government by their pre- 
 decessois, or, if they were not so associated, on the day of 
 their accession, or shortly after it. 
 
 430. Exemption from Certain Laws. In connection 
 with the tribunician power the fact may be mentioned that 
 the emperor was exempted from observing certain laws. 
 Although the laws in question are not specified in the lex 
 de imperio Vespasiani, the principle is distinctly stated : Append. I. 
 utique quibus legibus plebeive scitis scriptum fuit, lie divus 
 Aug., Tiberiusve Julius Caesar Aug., Tiberiusque Claudius 
 Caesar Aug, Gcr?nanicus tenerentur, iis legibus plebisque
 
 358 IMPERIAL I'KRIOD: DESCRIPTIVK 
 
 Self is Imp. Caesar Vespasiamis soliitus si/, quacqtie ex qiiaque 
 lege rogatione dii'uyn Aug., Tiberiiinn'e, Gic.,facere oportuit, 
 ea omnia Imp. Caesari Vespasiano Aug. facere lieeat. 
 
 Selectkd IjIhliogkai'hy ' 
 
 Y. B. R. Hellems, The lex de imperio Vespasiani. Chicago (in 
 
 press). 
 J. Kromayer, Die rechtliche Begriindung des I'rinzipats. Strassburg, 
 
 i88S. 
 H. Pelham, On some disputed points connected with tlie imperium 
 
 of Augustus and his successors, Journ. of Philol. XVII (iS8S), 
 
 pp. 27-52. 
 H. Pelham, Princeps or princej^s senatus, ilnd. \'III (1S79), pp. 
 
 Supplementary Literature, 1901-1910 
 
 Hardy, Studies in Roman History: Second Series. London, 1909. 
 Homo, Le domaine imperial a Rome. Melanges d'arch. et d'hist. 
 
 XIX (1899), 101-129. 
 Stobbe, Die Candidati Caesaris. Philologus, XXVII. 
 
 * • See also bibliography on pp. 173, 288, 304, 316, 32S.
 
 CHAPTER XVni 
 
 IMPERIAL OFFICIALS 
 
 (a) Officials Attached to the Imperial Household 
 
 431. Imperial Officials. The organization of the differ- 
 ent bureaus of civil administration under the empire was 
 effected gradually, and the functions of many officials 
 changed somewhat from one period to another, so that a 
 description of the powers and duties of an imperial officer 
 in one reign may not be strictly accurate for another reign. 
 Some officials even pass over from the military to the civil 
 side of the administration, as happens in the case of the 
 praefectus praetorio ; or the opposite change takes place. In 
 view of this development and these changes, it will be con- 
 venient to have in mind especially the imperial system in 
 the period subsequent to Hadrian, since that emperor did 
 so much to organize the several bureaus of administration 
 (cf. p. 318). No classification of imperial officials seems 
 satisfactory in all respects, but it will serve our purpose 
 best to group them as follows : (a) tJiose attacJied to the 
 imperial hoicsehold, (b) judges^ (c) financial ofificials ; those 
 charged with the governifient (d) 0/ Rome, (e) of Italy, and 
 {i) of the provinces. 
 
 432. The Imperial Family and the Caesar, Most closely 
 attached to the person of the emperor were the members 
 of his own family. Since the principate was not an heredi- 
 tary office, they had no extraordinary powers, titles, or 
 honors, except as these were conferred on them by the 
 
 359
 
 360 IMPERIAL PERIOD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 senate at the request, or with the approval, of the emperor. 
 Tac. Ann. The empress usually received the title of Augusta, and the 
 princes of the imperial household bore the title of Caesar 
 until the time of Hadrian, who restricted it to the person 
 whom the emperor had picked out as his successor (cf. 
 Tac. Ann. p. 34i)- Upon the person selected for the succession the 
 - c6 ' '^' imperhim proconsulare and the potestas tribunicia were 
 conferred. He was thus made in a sense a colleague of 
 the emperor, and is designated by Tacitus {Anti. I. 3) as 
 collega imperii, consors tribuniciae potestatis. The relation 
 was one of imperfect collegiality, however, for, although 
 the prospective successor had the maius iniperium over all 
 magistrates and imperial officials, in the exercise of both 
 his iniperium and his tribunician power he must have been 
 subject to the emperor. The significance of the title of 
 Caesar and the passage of the two acts above mentioned 
 lay in the fact that they designated a certain person for 
 the succession (cf. p. 341). To the Caesar such honors 
 were ordinarily granted as the title of impcrator, and the 
 right to participate in a triumph and to have his likeness 
 stamped on coins. He usually held the magistracies also 
 with the emperor. In the relation existing between Marcus 
 Aurelius and Lucius Aelius (cf. pp. 319 f.), the collegiate 
 principle in an almost pure form was recognized, the title 
 of pontifex maximus being the only one reserved by Marcus 
 Aurelius. 
 
 433. The Praefectus Praetorio. To the pracfedus prae- 
 torio was committed the protection of the emperor's person, 
 so that, although in time his authority extended far beyond 
 the limits of the court, he may properly be considered as a 
 member of the emperor's household. Intrusted at first 
 only with the charge of the three praetorian cohorts at 
 Rome, he acquired the command in the course of time
 
 COURT OFFICIALS 36 1 
 
 of all the troops stationed in Italy, with the exception of Dio. 52. 24. 
 the cohortes urbmiae and one legion outside the city. The 
 control of this armed force in and near Rome, and the 
 power which it gave him to influence the succession, gave 
 the praetorian prefect the position which he held next in 
 importance to the emperor. The execution of imperial 
 decrees and a general supervision of imperial officials were, 
 therefore, naturally turned over to him. 
 
 His jurisdiction in civil and criminal cases has already 
 been noticed (cf. pp. 347 ff.). These functions were a 
 natural development of the original powers of his office. 
 His position as commander-in-chief of the forces in Italy 
 carried along with it the right to exercise military jurisdic- 
 tion over the troops under his command. This duty called 
 for judicial qualities, and when the principle of appeal was 
 introduced it was a not unnatural thing to place him in 
 charge of the appellate court. In this way the office of 
 praetorian prefect became in the later empire more of a 
 judicial than of a military position, and was held by the 
 most distinguished jurists of the period. The legal attain- 
 ments of the prefect naturally gave him also the leading 
 place in the judicial consilium of the emperor (p. 331). 
 The office was restricted to knights under the early empire. 
 
 434. The Amici and Comites Augusti. The amici Augusti 
 held a semi-official position at court. They enjoyed the 
 personal favor of the emperor, and were employed by him 
 in various administrative matters. From their number he 
 made up in large measure his consilium, and by men chosen 
 from among them he was accompanied on his journeys to wilm. Ex 
 the provinces. In fact, comes Augusti was essentially an p^j^j. 
 official title, and those who were honored with it were 
 steadily employed on imperial business. Only senators 
 became comites.
 
 362 IMI'KRIAL I'KRIOI): DESCRITTIVE 
 
 435. The Officials a Rationibus. The ])rincipal bureaus 
 attached to the imi)erial household were those a rationibus, 
 ab episttilis, a libt'Uis, a cognitionibi/s, and a inemoria. The 
 imperial fiscus (cL p. 352) was managed at first by a t'reed- 
 man, but after Hadrian by a procurator Augusti a rationi- 
 bus, or a rationalis, chosen from the equestrian order. 
 The tabu/aril and other assistants in this department were 
 freedmcn or sla\es. 
 
 436. The Officials ab Epistulis. The ofificials designated 
 as ab epistulis had charge of the official correspondence of 
 the emperor. They received despatches from governors, 
 generals, towns, and embassies, and put into final form the 
 emperor's replies. Documents intended for Greek-speaking 
 peoples were written in Greek, so that the bureau was 
 divided into the two sections, ab epistulis Latinis and ab 
 epistulis Graecis. 
 
 437. The Officials a Libellis. The bureau a libellis 
 received the petitions and memorials addressed by indi- 
 viduals to the emperor, and drew up decisions or replies 
 for the emperor's signature. 
 
 438. The Officials a Cognitionibus. The officials a cog- 
 nitionibus were charged with collecting information and 
 preparing opinions for the emperor on judicial questions 
 submitted to him for settlement. A legal training was very 
 imj)ortant for those who held this office. In the early 
 period its incumbents were freedmen ; later it was filled 
 by members of the equestrian order. 
 
 439. The Officials a Memoria. Those who held the 
 office a memoria, which was established in the second 
 century, were employed in collecting materials for the 
 emperor's public utterances, or in putting the emperor's 
 decisions 'in a suitable fomi for public i)resentation.
 
 JUDICIAL OFFICERS 363 
 
 (ft) Imperial Judicial Officers 
 
 440. Criminal Jurisdiction of the Senate and the Quaes- 
 tiones Perpetuae. A few words must be said about the 
 different criminal courts before the judicial functions of 
 certain imperial officers will be understood. By the close 
 of the republican period the popular assembhes were no 
 longer called together as judicial bodies, so that all criminal 
 cases came before the quaestiones perpetuae (cf. pp. 74, 
 105 f.). From 70 to 46 B.C. the juries in these courts were 
 composed of senators, knights, and trilnuii aerarii. The 
 trihuni aerarii were not represented on them after 46, and 
 Augustus excused the senators from jury duty, but he added 
 a certain number of men having property amounting to 
 200,000 sesterces ijiucenarii'). They served, however, only 
 on juries in civil cases of minor importance. The quaes- 
 tiones perpetuae disappeared in the third century. The 
 criminal jurisdiction of the senate, which came in with the 
 empire (cf. p. 277), was exercised over serious political 
 offenses, especially if senators were concerned (cf. pp. 347 f.). 
 The penalties of banishment, deportation, or death could be 
 imposed. No appeal could be taken to the emperor, but 
 he could interpose his veto, if he wished. The senate lost 
 its judicial powers in the third or fourth century. 
 
 441. Criminal Jurisdiction of Imperial Officials. The 
 emperor exercised his criminal jurisdiction in person, or 
 delegated it. When he sat in person he generally observed 
 the procedure of the criminal law, and was assisted by the 
 members of the bureau a cogniticmibus (cf. p. 362), and by 
 such members of his C07isilium (cf. p. 347) as he had chosen 
 for the case in hand. For special cases he delegated his 
 power to a iudex datus, but for cases belonging to certain 
 categories the praefedus praetorio, the praefectus urbi, the
 
 364 IMl'F.RIAL PERIOD: DKSCRII'T1\ i: 
 
 prae/ixtus Tigilum, and the praeft-ctiis annotiae were com- 
 petent without special authorization from him. The praeto- 
 rian prefect exercised criminal jurisdiction over the soldiers 
 in Italy, and in capital cases over civilians in Italy outside 
 of a radius of one hundred miles from Rome, and in the 
 later period on appeal from the governors of jjrovinces (cf. 
 pp. 348 f., 361). In a similar way the city prefect tried 
 persons charged with capital offenses committed in Rome 
 or within one hundred miles of the city. He could even 
 delegate his judicial power to others. The praefedtis vigi- 
 /iim exercised jurisdiction over minor crimes. An ai)peal 
 could be taken from his decision to the emperor or the 
 praetorian prefect. The praefedus annotiae heard criminal 
 cases coming within his special jjrovince, such as attempts 
 to create a corner in grain. The governors of provinces 
 had criminal jurisdiction, even in capital cases, over all 
 Roman citizens in their provinces, except that senators, 
 officers of a certain rank, and members of the municipal 
 senates had a right to be tried in Rome. 
 
 442. Civil Jurisdiction of Republican Courts. For the 
 adjudication of civil cases the empire inherited from the 
 republic the courts of the praetors (cf. p. 189), the cunile 
 aediles, the X viri stiitibus itidicandis (cf. p. 210), and the 
 centum viri. The judicial functions of the cumle aediles 
 were of little importance (cf. p. 206). The centumviral 
 court was increased in membership from 105 to 180. 
 Sometimes it sat as a unit, but more freciuently it was 
 Quint. 5.2.1. divided into four sections. Under the empire its members 
 were probably chosen from among the regular iudices. 
 From the time of Augustus the X viri silitibus iudi- 
 candis acted as presiding officers in the several sections of 
 the centumviral court. The business which came before 
 the court was essentially the same as under the republic.
 
 FINANCIAL OFFICERS 365 
 
 The civil jurisdiction of the praetors was somewhat extended 
 by the assignment to them of new classes of cases, notably 
 those arising between the fiscus and individuals. 
 
 443. Civil Jurisdiction of Imperial Officials. To the 
 several civil courts mentioned above we must add for the 
 empire the court presided over by the emperor or by some 
 one exercising authority delegated by him. The emperor 
 himself heard cases in the first instance or on appeal. 
 Special cases were assigned to a index. Cases falling within 
 certain categories were heard in the emperor's name by 
 praetors, consuls, or provincial governors, while questions 
 of appeal came before the praefectus icrbi or the prarfcctus 
 praetorio (cf. p. 347). Civil and criminal jurisdiction in 
 the municipalities will be considered in another connection. 
 
 (c) Imperial Financial Officers 
 
 444. Census Officials. The valuation of property and 
 the levying of taxes were based on the census books {^libri 
 censuales) prepared under the supervision of the censitores wiim. Ex. 
 appointed by the emperor, one for each province or smaller J'^^r- 1249 b, 
 unit of territory. The method of procedure which they 
 adopted was similar to that followed by the censor at Rome 
 
 (cf. pp. 192 f.). 
 
 445. Officials of the Aerarium Saturni. At the begin- 
 ning of the imperial period the aerarium Saturni was in 
 charge of the city quaestors (cf. p. 208), but Augustus trans- 
 ferred it to two praefecti aerarii elected by the senate from Tac. Ann. 
 the list of praetorian senators. Later it was placed in charge au|.^'6.^"^*' 
 of praetors, and still later it was restored to the quaestors, 
 
 but the system finally established by Nero in 56, in accord- 
 ance with which prefects appointed by the emperor had Wilm. Ex. 
 
 ir- -11 !• ^T^-, Inscr. 1 1 CO, 
 
 control of it, w-as retamed down to the tune of Diocletian. 1152, 1188.
 
 366 IMTKRIAL I'KKIOI): DESC KU'TIVE 
 
 446. Officials of the Fiscus. The management of the 
 fisius was intrusted to an official known successively as the 
 patroHus or procurator fisci, the procurator a rationibus, 
 and, toward the close of the second century, as the ratio- 
 nalis. From the time of Hadrian this position was filled by 
 a knight. A subordinate officer, called a procurator, was 
 appointed to collect the taxes in each province, or to take 
 charge of taxes of a particular sort, so that one hears, for 
 instance, of a procurator Asiae and a procurator viccsiniae 
 hcreditatiutn. 'I'he procurators sat in judgment on ques- 
 tions arising between the state and an individual, just as 
 the censors had done under the republic (p. 194). 
 
 447. Officials of the Aerarium Militare. The aerariurn 
 militare was managed by three praefecti acrarii militaris 
 chosen for a period of three years from senators of prae- 
 torian rank. Under Augustus they were selected by lot, 
 but later the emperor appointed them, and this change 
 constitutes one of the earliest instances of the encroach- 
 ment of the emperor on the traditional rights of the senate 
 in financial matters. 
 
 448. Officials of the Res Privata. To the res privata 
 or patrifuoniufn of the emperor belonged the estates of 
 the imperial family and the additions made by legacies, 
 presents, or by confiscation. This property was in charge 
 of officials appointed by the emperor, and we hear, for 
 instance, of a procurator saltus Domitiani. A sharp dis- 
 tinction between the fiscus and the res privata of the 
 emperor was not made until the reign of Sejitimius Sevents, 
 when we find mention of a procurator rcruvi privata- 
 rum, under whom in the various parts of the empire 
 were officials who bore such titles as procurator pro'i'incia- 
 rum Bithyniae Ponti Paphlagoiiiac tain patriinoni qitam 
 rat ion urn privataruni.
 
 OFFICIALS FOR ROME 367 
 
 (d) Imperial Officers Otarged with the Government of 
 
 Rome 
 
 449. The Praefectus Urbi. The praefectura urbis was 
 established by Augustus to provide for the government of 
 the city during his absence. The creation of this office 
 involved an open recognition by him of the fact that he 
 was at the head of the state, and that when he left the city 
 it was without a chief-magistrate, because under the con- 
 stitutional republic the praefectura urbis was only called 
 into existence when both the consuls were absent (cf. 
 p. 212). Tiberius went a step farther than his predecessor, 
 by appointing a praefectus urbi to hold office whether he 
 himself was in Rome or not. The incumbent of the office 
 was named by the emperor for an undetermined period 
 from the senators of consular rank. He was intnisted with 
 the maintenance of order in the city, and his duties 
 required him to take charge in particular of public gather- 
 ings at the markets, in the theatres, or the circus. For 
 this purpose he had under his command at the outset 
 three, and later as many as six, cohortes iirbanae, comprising 
 from 1000 to 1500 men each. Along with his functions 
 as a police official in preventing disorder, he naturally 
 acquired criminal jurisdiction, at first in cases where the 
 lower classes only were concerned ; but in time these judicial 
 functions developed to such an extent that his court became 
 the most important criminal court in Rome, and even 
 extended its jurisdiction far beyond the limits of the city. 
 
 450. The Praefectus Vigilum. The provision which 
 had been made under the republic for the extinction of 
 fires having proved utterly inadequate, in a.d. 6 Augustus 
 organized seven cohorts of 1000 to 1200 men each, charged 
 with this duty. This body of men was also used as a police
 
 36S IMli;klAl. I'KKIUIJ; DKSCKH'TIVE 
 
 force to i)rotccl the city al night, and, therefore, cooperated 
 with the cohortcs urbanac in maintaining order. It was in 
 charge of the pracfectus vigilitni, who, Hke the city prefect, 
 acqnired criminal jurisdiction, but in his judicial capacity 
 he was subordinate to the praefcctiis urbi. Since the 
 vigiles were usually freedmen, and were commanded by 
 an officer who held only the etjuestrian rank, they exer- 
 cised for less ])olitical influence than the praetorian or urban 
 cohorts. 
 
 451. The Praefectus Annonae. To supply grain to the 
 city without interruption was a matter of so great econom- 
 ical and political importance that a special department of 
 the government with numerous officials was established to 
 arrange for it (cf. p. 355). Upon this bureau, which was 
 in charge of an official known as the praefectus annonae^ 
 devolved the duty of maintaining a general supervision of 
 the sources of supply in the provinces, of the transpor- 
 tation of grain to Rome, and of its distribution to the 
 needy. Incidental to its duties also were the maintenance 
 of suitable ports of entry and the control of the provision 
 markets in Rome. The prefect in charge had civil and 
 criminal jurisdiction over certain cases arising in commercial 
 transactions. 
 
 452. The Commissioners Having Charge of Aqueducts, 
 Buildings, and Sewers. The three boards which supcrviscil 
 the aqueducts, public buildings, and sewers formed, with 
 the commission to which Italian roads were intrusted, a 
 college whose members were of senatorial rank and were 
 appointed by the emperor for an indefinite period. The 
 ciiratores at/uanim were three in number, and took over 
 the aqueduct system as Agrippa left it at his death. From 
 the time of Claudius they were assisted by a freedman or 
 knight appointed by the emjieror and bearing the title of
 
 OFFICIALS FOR ITALY 369 
 
 procurator aquarum. The curatorcs operiim puhlicoruvi 
 
 had nothing to do with the construction of new buildings. 
 
 The emperor took charge of that matter himself, and met 
 
 the attendant expenses from the spoils of war, from private Mon. Ancyr 
 
 contributions, and from sums appropriated by the senate '*' ' '^^^' 
 
 for the purpose. The commissioners mentioned above 
 
 took upon themselves only the function, which the aediles 
 
 had formerly exercised, of keeping public buildings in 
 
 repair. The duties of the curatores alvei et riparum 
 
 Tibe?'is et doacarum iirbis have been mentioned already 
 
 (cf. p. 355). 
 
 (e) Imperial Officers in Italy 
 
 453. Imperial Administration of Italy. The system of 
 local government adopted in the municipia throughout 
 Italy has been briefly discussed in another connection 
 (cf. pp. 299 f.), so that we are concerned here only 
 with the administrative officials appointed to represent 
 the central government. Augustus divided Italy outside 
 of Rome into eleven regiones, although these territorial 
 sections do not seem to have been the units adopted for 
 administrative purposes in all cases, as we should expect 
 them to have been. The principal matters of business of 
 which the central government took partial or complete 
 charge were the management of the roads, the control of 
 the alimentatio, the supervision of local finances and of 
 the civil and criminal courts. 
 
 454- The Cura Viarum. The cura viariim came into 
 the hands of imperial officers in 20 B.C. Each of the great 
 roads was put in charge for an indefinite period of a 
 curator of senatorial rank, selected by the emperor. It 
 was his duty to keep the road in good condition and Tac. Ann. 
 to protect public property connected with it from the 59. 15; 60. 17
 
 370 IMl'KKIAL I'KRIOD: DKSCRIl'TIVE 
 
 encToachiiK'iU of individuals. Branch roads were in the 
 care of procuratorcs of eciueslrian rank. 
 
 455. The Cura Alimentorum. Possibly Domitian estab- 
 lished the cura alimentorum, but more ])robably it dates 
 from the reigns of Ner\a and Trajan (cf. pp. 323 f.), 
 who established foundations, from the interest of which 
 gratuities in the form of money or grain were given each 
 month to a selected number of children of free birth. The 
 immediate management of the funds set aside for the pur- 
 pose, and the distribution of the monthly allowance, were 
 in the hands of municipal officials ; but a general super- 
 vision of the matter was confided to ^ pracfcctus ox ^ procu- 
 rator for each district, with perha])s a single praefcctus 
 alimentorum in charge of the whole department. The 
 money which the state appropriated was in many cases 
 supplemented by the gifts of public-spirited citizens. 
 
 456. Supervision of Municipal Finances. It was Trajan 
 also who introduced the practice of bringing municipal 
 finances under imperial supervision. He and his successors 
 appointed for the municipaUties curatores of senatorial or 
 equestrian rank, whose duty it was to audit the town 
 accounts, and whose consent must be obtained before a 
 town could contract a new debt or sell public property. 
 It is not clear whether one of these officials was appointed 
 for each Italian town or only when imperial supervision 
 seemed desirable. 
 
 457. luridici. The establishment of ilistrict courts, to 
 use a modern term, dates from the reign of Hadrian (cf. 
 p. 318). The institution was not kept up by Antoninus 
 Pius, but was restored by M. Aurelius. The judges were of 
 senatorial rank and bore the title of iuriilici. Ultimately, 
 as we have already seen (p. 355), Italy lost entirely its 
 exceptional jjosition and sank to the level of the provinces.
 
 OFFICIALS FOR THE PROVINCES 3/1 
 
 (/) Imperial Officers in the Provinces 
 
 458. Imperial Control of the Provinces. The control 
 which the emperor exercised over imperial provinces was 
 supreme. The senate nominally supervised the govern- 
 ment of senatorial provinces, but the mams imperiiun of 
 the emperor, and his exalted position, led senatorial gov- 
 ernors to turn to him for advice and instructions. Further- 
 more, even in the senatorial provinces certain administrative 
 departments, for instance those which had to do with public 
 roads, the post, and some branches of the financial system, 
 were managed in the name of the emperor. Only in the 
 case of the finances, however, did the emperor have a per- 
 sonal representative, styled a procurator, in the senatorial Uio, 53. 15 
 provinces. 
 
 459. Limitations and Extensions of the Power of Imperial 
 Officers. The general system of government in the prov- 
 inces, and the limits put on the jurisdiction of governors 
 in civil and criminal cases, have been discussed elsewhere 
 (cf. pp. 284 f., 346 f., 348 f.), so that it only remains for us 
 to mention certain factors which tended to curtail in some 
 respects, and to extend in other ways, the power of the 
 emperor's representatives. In general it may be said that, 
 as time went on, the cause of local self-government lost, 
 while the rights of a province as a province increased. 
 The towns and cities lost their independence in some 
 measure, because they, like the municipalities in Italy 
 (cf. p. 370), were required from an early period to submit 
 to the supervision of imperial curatores in financial matters. 
 On the other hand, the autocratic power of the governor 
 was lessened, and the province gained to some extent, by 
 the more direct control which the emperor assumed, and 
 by the development of provincial assemblies. The strict
 
 372 IMrKKlAI. PKRIUI): DESCRII'TI VE 
 
 accountaliility to which governors were heltl naturally made 
 them hesitate about taking responsibility in important mat- 
 ters, and, when the practice of referring ([uestions to the 
 emperor was once adopted (cf. p. 301), it must have devel- 
 oped rapidly. The inevitable result of it, however, was to 
 take from a governor the right of initiative in important 
 matters. The development of the provincial assemblies 
 (cf. p. 302) must have restricted the power of governors 
 Marq. St. still further. All, or almost all, the provinces had concilia 
 
 Verw. I. ... , , . . , 
 
 503 ff. whose right to send deputations or petitions to the emperor, 
 
 Tac. Ann. without consulting the governor, came to be freely recog- 
 Ep. 3. '4. 2. nized. The independent existence of the assembly was 
 Dig. 47. 14. 1, recognized by the emperor in the fact also that his reply 
 was sent directly to it. The possibility which every gov- 
 ernor had to face, of seeing a document criticising his con- 
 duct sent to the emperor at the close of his term of office, 
 must have exercised a wholesome restraining influence on 
 his administration. 
 
 Selected Bibliography' 
 
 W. T. Arnold, The Roman System of Provincial Administration. 
 
 London, 1879. 
 Cagnat, Les impots indirects. Paris, 18S2. 
 Carette, Les assemblees provinciales de la Gaule romaine. Paris, 
 
 1895- 
 E. Cuq, Le conseil des empereurs d'Auguste a Diocletian. Paris, 
 
 1884. 
 P. Guiraud, Les assemblees prov. dans I'empire rom. Paris, 1887. 
 Cyprian Halgan, Essai sur I'administration des provinces senato- 
 
 rialas. Paris, 1898. 
 O. Hirschfeld, Untarsuchungen auf dem Gebiete d. riim. Verwal- 
 
 tungsgeschichte, Kd. L Berlin, 1877. 
 O. Hirschfeld, Das aerarium militare, N. Jahrb. f. Philol. XCVII 
 
 (1868), pp. 683-697. 
 
 ' See also bibliography on pp. 173, 288, 304, 316, 328, 358.
 
 OFFICIALS FOR THE PROVINCES 373 
 
 O. Hirschfeld, Die Getreideverwaltung der rom. Kaiserzeit, Philol. 
 
 XXIX, pp. 1-96. 
 E. Klebs, Zur Entwicklung d. kaiserl. Stadtprafektur, Rhein. Mus. 
 
 (N.F.), XLII, pp. 164-17S. 
 Klein, Die Verwaltungsbeamten der Provinzen des rom. Reichs bis 
 
 auf Diocletian. Bonn, 1878. 
 G. Kretschmar, Das Beamtentum der rom. Kaiserzeit. Giessen, 
 
 1879. 
 
 W. Liebenam, Forschungen zur Verwaltungsgeschichte des rom. 
 Kaiserreichs, Bd. I. Leipzig, 1888. 
 
 W. Liebenam, Die Laufbahn der Prokuratoren. Jena, 1886. 
 
 W. Liebenam, Beitriige zur Verwaltungsgeschichte d. rom. Kaiser- 
 reichs. Jena, 1886. 
 
 W. Liebenam, Stadteverwaltung im romischen Kaiserreiche. Leip- 
 zig, 1900. 
 
 J. Marquardt, Romische Staatsverwaltung, 2te Aufl., 3 vols. Leipzig, 
 1881-5. 
 
 Th. Mommsen, Die diocletianische Reichspriifectur, Hermes, XXXVI 
 (1901), pp. 201-218. 
 
 W. Schurz, De mutationibus in imp. Rom. ordinando ab imp. Hadr. 
 factis. Bonn, 1883. 
 
 Supplementary Literature, 1901-1910 
 
 Arnold-Shuckburgh, The Roman System of Provincial Administra- 
 tion. Oxford, 1906. 
 
 Hirschfeld, Die kaiserlichen Vei"waltungsbeamten bis auf Diocletian. 
 Berlin, 1905. 
 
 Borghesi, CEuvres completes, Tome dixieme : Les prefets du pre- 
 toire. Paris, 1897. 
 
 Heisterbergk, Provincia. Philologus, LI (1890), 629-644. 
 
 Arnold, Studies of Roman Imperialism. London, 1906. 
 
 Rostowzew, Geschichte der Staatspacht in der romischen Kaiserzeit 
 bis Diocletian. Leipzig, 1902. 
 
 Vigneaux, Essai sur I'histoire de la praefectura urbis a Rome. Paris, 
 1896. 
 
 Graham, Roman Africa. London, 1902. 
 
 Chapot, La province romaine proconsulaire d'Asie. Paris, 1904.
 
 Tac. Ann. 
 
 3. 29; 1 
 Quint. 
 
 15-28; 
 
 12. h. I 
 
 J 
 
 Oio, 52 
 
 . 20. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 
 THE MAGISTRACIES 
 
 (a) Tltc Magistracies itt General 
 
 460. The Cursus Honorum. In the election and ap- 
 pointment of citizens to official positions under the empire, 
 the division of society into the senatorial order, the eques- 
 trian order, and the plebs was strictly obser\'ed, and corre- 
 sponding to these three classes there were three careers of 
 official service, known as the cursus honorum. To citizens 
 of senatorial rank were assigned, along with certain impor- 
 tant imperial offices, all the old republican magistracies. 
 The full cursus hotiorum for men of this class, leaving out 
 of consideration the appointive offices, comprised member- 
 ship in the college of the XX viri, the position of tribunus 
 inilitmn, the quaestorship, the aedileship, the tribunate of 
 the plebs, the praetorship, and the consulship. Before the 
 Flavian period the military tribunate could be held before 
 or after the vigintivirate, but after that time it took invari- 
 ably the second place. 
 
 461. Conditions of Eligibility. The conditions of eligi- 
 bility to the vigintivirate were senatorial rank and the 
 attainment of manhood, as indicated by the assumption 
 of the toga virilis. The office was, therefore, open to the 
 sons of senators, and to those whom the emperor had raised 
 to the senatorial rank. The senatorial census (cf. p. 381) 
 was of course recpiired in both cases. For the quaestor- 
 ship a candidate was required to have completed his 
 
 374
 
 CONDITION OF THE MAGISTRACIES 3/5 
 
 twenty-fourth year and to have held the offices mentioned. 
 An interval of a year must elapse between the quaestor- 
 ship and the tribunate of the plebs or the aedileship, and St. R. I. 535. 
 another year before the praetorship could be held. Patri- 
 cians could pass directly from the quaestorship to the prae- St. R. 1. 555, 
 torship, although the minimum age requirement of thirty ' ^' 
 years for the praetorship took away the advantage which Dio, 52. 20. 
 they would otherwise have had over the plebeians. An inter- 
 val of two years was required between the praetorship and 
 the consulship, which practically fixed the age requirement St. R. i. 528, 
 for the consulship at thirty-three. Candidates were eligible 
 to the same office again after a short interval, and it was 
 not illegal to hold a magistracy and an imperial office at the 
 same time. From the restrictions mentioned above candi- 
 dates for office could be relieved by the emperor, and fathers Piin. Ep. 
 of families were regularly given precedence over others. ^' ^ 
 
 462. Nomination ; Election ; Term of Office. The formaH- 
 ties attending nomination were like those under the republic, 
 except that the emperor exercised the right of nomination 
 (cf. pp. 275 f., 351). From the reign of Tiberius magis- 
 trates were elected in the senate. The term of office con- 
 tinued to be a year, except in the case of the consulship. 
 
 463. Loss of Dignity and Power. The magistracies 
 suffered, of course, a serious loss of dignity and real power. 
 Since the emperor's power to nominate candidates for office 
 counted for so much, a citizen's poHtical future depended 
 on imperial favor, and when he was elected he could not 
 hope to exercise freely the traditional functions of his office 
 with the emperor, or an appointee of the emperor, as his 
 colleague. Furthermore, the powers of the several magis- 
 trates were seriously curtailed by law, as we have already 
 seen, and by the assignment of magisterial functions to 
 imperial procurators and prefects.
 
 376 IMPERIAL PERIOD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 (/;) Tlie Several Magistracies 
 
 464. The Consul. 'I'he most significant formal change 
 which the consulship exjjerienced under the empire was 
 the shortening of the term of office. Up to the death of 
 
 Herz. II. Nero the term was usually one of six months ; after that 
 
 ^ ' "■ -^^ date ordinarily of two or four months. The purpose of 
 
 the change was to lessen the importance of the office. 
 
 St. R.I. 588 f. The election of the first pair of consuls for a given year, 
 known as consules ordinarii, usually took place in the 
 autumn of the preceding year. The consules suffedi were 
 commonly chosen at the beginning of the year during 
 which they were to serve. Official documents were still 
 dated by mentioning the consuls of the year in question, 
 but the names of the consules ordinarii were usually selected 
 for the purpose. This gave them a certain prestige over 
 the consules suffedi. 
 
 The principal functions of the consul consisted in pre- 
 siding over the senate, in exercising judicial powers in 
 certain cases, and in taking charge of the ludi circenses and 
 other public games. The senate under the early empire 
 had nominal charge of Rome, Italy, and the senatorial 
 provinces, and the importance of the consulship depended 
 largely on the success which the senate had in making 
 good its constitutional rights within these limits — and its 
 success in this matter varied from reign to reign. The 
 criminal jurisdiction and, to some extent, the civil juris- 
 diction of the consul were exercised by him in conjunction 
 with the senate. Apart from that body, however, he heard 
 
 Suet. Claud, certain important classes of civil cases, assigned to him by 
 
 2\\ Instit. .1 
 
 lust. 2. 23. I. the emperor. 
 
 465. The Praetor. Julius Caesar had raised the number 
 of praetors to si.\teen (rf. p. 137). Augustus reduced it to
 
 THE SEVERAL MAGISTRACIES 377 
 
 twelve, but under succeeding emperors it was raised until 
 it reached its maximum, eighteen, under Claudius. The 
 praetor urbanus still took precedence over his colleagues. 
 Next him came the praetor peregrinns. The encroach- 
 ment of the emperor and of his officials, however, on the 
 prerogatives of the city praetor greatly diminished the 
 importance of his position. The significance of the office 
 of the praetor peregrinus was taken away in large measure 
 by Caracalla's edict. The powers of the whole college of 
 praetors were seriously abridged also by the pubHcation of 
 Hadrian's edictimi perpetimm (cf. p. 318), which robbed 
 them of the right to issue their annual edicts, by the assign- 
 ment of certain civil cases to the consuls (cf. p. 376), and 
 by the appointment of district judges for Italy (cf. p. 318). 
 A partial compensation for these losses may be found in 
 the fact that the supervision of certain public games was Dio, i;4. 2; 
 given to them, and, for a time, the administration of the j.jj. 1.77, 
 aerarium Saturni {ci. p. 365). Their principal function, 
 that of presiding 'over the quaestio perpetua, was lost when 
 that court disappeared in the second or third century 
 (cf. p. 349). 
 
 466. The Censor. The censorship, as a republican insti- 
 tution, came to an end in 22 B.C. In that year the office 
 was held by P. Aemihus Lepidus and L. Munatius Plancus, veil. 2. 95. 
 although the census was not completed. Claudius, with 
 his fondness for tradition, attempted to revive the office by 
 having himself and L. Vitellius made censors in the year 47 ; Nipperdey on 
 but the precedent was not followed. This seems to have u^'^i -'.""' 
 been the last effort made to treat the office as a separate 
 magistracy. In all other cases its functions were apparently 
 exercised by the emperor alone, or by the emperor in con- 
 junction with some other member of the imperial family. 
 Thus, in 8 B.C. Augustus took the census alone, in a.d. 14
 
 378 IMl'KKIAl. PERIOD: DKSC'Rl ITl VK 
 
 with Tiberius, while in a.d. 73-4 Vespasian and Titus 
 cooperated in taking it. In the year 84 Domitian took 
 the censorial power for life (p. 310). 'I'he duties of the 
 office (cf. pp. 191 f.), as exercised by the emperors, consisted 
 in the assessment of property and in drawing uj) the lists of 
 senators and knights. The management of finances was, in 
 large measure, assigned to certain commissions and imperial 
 officers, as we ha\c already seen (cf. pj). 354, 365 f., 369). 
 
 467. The Aedile. Julius Caesar had increased the 
 number of aediles to six, assigning to the new members 
 of the college supervision of the grain supply (cf. p. 137), 
 but during the reign of Augustus this function was turned 
 over to a board of commissioners (cf. pp. 355, 368). The 
 aediles lost the aira ludorutn also (cf. p. 377), and their 
 right to maintain order in the city was in large measure 
 relinquished in favor of the praefectus vigi/um and the 
 praifcctus iirhi (cf. pp. 367-8). There is no mention of 
 the office later than the middle of the third century. 
 
 468. The Tribune. The tribune retained under the 
 emjjire his sacrosanct character, his ins auxilii and ins 
 intcrcessionis, his right to summon the senate and ])robably 
 the i)opular assem])ly also. But these were formal powers 
 with little meaning. Thus, for instance, his action could 
 be vetoed by the emperor, but he could not interfere with 
 the emperor (cf. p. 357). Mis right to summon the i)Opulai 
 assembly was of little importance because of the decadence 
 of that body. What little significance the office had lay 
 in the fact that the tribune ( ould veto the action of the 
 senate, protect citizens in the courts, and impose fines in 
 certain cases. 
 
 469. The Quaestor. Augustus seems to have reduced the 
 ntunber of cjuaestors from forty to twenty. The college was 
 divided into two sections, one consisting of the jjrovincial
 
 THE SEVERAL MAGISTRACIES 379 
 
 quaestors, and the other of those whose functions kept 
 them in Rome. A quaestor Avas assigned to each one of 
 the eleven senatorial provinces, except that two were sent 
 to Sicily. Of the eight remaining members of the college, 
 two were quaestores urbafii and two were assigned to each 
 of the consuls and to the emperor. In the provinces the 
 quaestor, who bore the title quaestor pro praetore, repre- 
 sented the aerarium Satiirni^ and exercised the juris- 
 diction which had traditionally belonged to his office 
 (pp. 208-209). The quaestores urbani ha.^ charge of the 
 aerarium for a time, but this was taken from them in the 
 year 56 (cf. p. 365). Thereafter their principal duty con- 
 sisted in caring for the decrees of the senate. The two Dio, 54. 36. 
 quaestors selected by the emperor acted as his secretaries Tac. Ann. 
 in laying matters before the senate. The four quaestors ' ' ^^' 
 assigned to the consuls were subordinates in the service of 
 those officials. 
 
 470. The XX Viri and Extraordinary Magistrates. The 
 college of IIII praefecti Capuam Cumas (cf. p. 210), and 
 that made up of the // viri viis extra urbem purgandis, 
 were abolished under the empire, and the four remaining 
 groups were consolidated into a single college known as 
 the vigintivirate. The X viri stUtibus iudicandis, from the 
 time of Augustus, presided in the centumviral court (cf. 
 p. 364). The /// viri monetales had charge of senatorial 
 coinage only (cf. p. 354). The functions of the /// viri 
 capitales were seriously abridged by the establishment of 
 the praefectura vigilum. Otherwise the duties of the 
 members of these groups of officials were unchanged. 
 Some significance was given to these offices, however, by 
 the fact that they were made the first step in the cursus „ . 
 hofwrum (cf. p. 374). Of the extraordinary republican 6. n; Wilm. 
 
 / r rr \ t r , ,- Ex. Inscr. 
 
 magistracies (cf. pp. 211 ft.), we hear of the praefectus 1122.
 
 3S0 IMPERIAL PERIOD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 nrbi feriarum Latinarum, of pracfccti fntmcnti dandi 
 ex s. c, and occasionally of special commissioners sent out 
 by the senate. 
 
 Selected Bihliograi'hv ' 
 
 Julius Asbach, Zur Geschichte des Konsulats in d. rom. Kaiserzeit, 
 
 Ilistor. Untersuchungen, etc., pp. 190-217. Bonn, 1SS2. 
 J. Centerwall, Quae publica officia ante quaesturam geri solita sint 
 
 temporiljus imperatorum. Upsala, 1874. 
 Chambalu, De magistratibus Flaviorum. Bonn, 1882. 
 GoU, Ueber d. rom. Censur zur Zeit ihres Untergangs. Schleiz, 1S59. 
 GoU, Das Volkstribunat in d. Kaiserzeit, Rhein. Mus. (N.?'.), 
 
 XIII. Ill ff. 
 Henzen, De nundinis consularibus aetatis imperatoria;-, Ephem. 
 
 Epig. I. 1S7-199. 
 Lenel, Das Edictum perpetuum. Leipzig, 1883. 
 
 ' See also bibliography on pp. 173, 219, 288, 304, 316, 32S, 358.
 
 CHAPTER XX 
 
 THE SENATE 
 
 (fl) Composition of the Senate 
 
 471. Size of the Senate. On at least three different 
 occasions, as he himself tells us {Mon. Ancyr. II, 1. 2), 
 Augustus revised the list of senators. As a result of these 
 revisions, the membership was reduced from 900 (cf. 
 
 p. 137) to 600, which was accepted as the normal number Dio, 54. 131 
 under the empire. In drawing up his lists Augustus also 
 took occasion to exclude many men of low birth, whom suet. Aug. 3. 
 Julius Caesar had admitted. In this way he restored the '''' ^^' '^'^' 
 aristocratic character of the senate. 
 
 472. Admission to the Senate. The conditions of eligi- 
 bility to membership in the senate included citizenship and 
 
 free birth, an acceptable reputation, and property rated at 010,54. 17; 
 1,000,000 sesterces. By those who fulfilled these condi- ,7. 'suet. 
 tions admission to the senate could be had by securing ^"S- 4i- 
 election to the quaestorship. Inasmuch as the magistracies 
 were open only to those of senatorial rank, that is, to the 
 sons of senators (cf. p. 374), the senate became a close 
 corporation. The emperor could, however, at his discretion 
 grant to men not of senatorial rank, who had the necessary 
 property, the right to wear the latus clavus, or broad 
 purple stripe on the tunic. This entitled them to become 
 candidates for a magistracy with the prospect later of 
 entering the senate. Furthermore, citizens with a fortune 
 of 1,000,000 sesterces, who had not held a magistracy, 
 
 3S1
 
 382 IMPERIAL PERIOD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 were from time to time admitted to the senate by adledio 
 (cf. p. 354). 
 
 473. The Album Senatorium. From 9 n.c. on, the album 
 senatorium, or official list of senators, was revised each year. 
 The names of those who had held a magistracy since the 
 last revision, and of those chosen by the method of adkctio, 
 were added to the old list, while those whose property had 
 fallen below the required minimum, and those who had 
 been convicted of an offense against the laws, were excluded 
 from the senate. In the list the names were arranged in 
 the order of official rank. After the emperor's name came 
 those of the consulares, then the praetorii, etc. Those who 
 had held a given magistracy more than once ranked higher 
 in dignity than those who had held it once only. No 
 distinction was made between ex-consuls who had been 
 consules ordinarii and those who had been suffecti. Up to 
 the time of Pertinax those who were assigned to a given 
 group by adlcctio were of equal rank with those who had 
 attained the position in question by virtue of having held a 
 magistracy. 
 
 (6) Meetings of the Senate 
 
 474. The Presidency of the Senate. The magistrates 
 who had the ius cum patribus agcndi imder the republic 
 (cf. p. 225) exercised that right under the empire also. 
 Of course the offices of dictator, master of the horse, and 
 interrex had disappeared, so that they do not come into 
 consideration. Whether the city prefect had the theoret- 
 ical right to convoke the senate or not is a matter of no 
 moment. He would scarcely have exercised it, except 
 during the absence of the other qualified officials, and such 
 a contingency could not arise. It is also probably true 
 that the tribune rarely made use of this privilege. The
 
 MEETINGS OP^ THE SENATE 383 
 
 prhiceps took precedence of all the magistrates in calling 
 the senate together, and even when that body had been 
 convoked by a magistrate, a place of honor was given to 
 him between the two consuls, or on the tribunes' bench. 
 
 475. The Place and Time of Meeting. The ordinary 
 place of meeting was the curia lulia. Except during the 
 months of September and October, stated meetings were 
 
 held on the Kalends and Ides of each month. Otherwise Suet. Aug. 
 the senate met at the call of the qualified official. cc.'^. '°' 
 
 476. A Quorum. The attendance of senators was 
 required, but the efforts made to enforce this regulation 
 
 were not effective. In the early part of the reign of Dio, 54. iS; 
 
 Augustus- a quorum was fixed at 400 members, but later it i6!'^2. "" 
 
 was found necessary to reduce this number and not to Dio, 54. 35 ; 
 
 require a quorum for action on unimportant matters. ^^' ^' 
 
 477. The Transaction of Business. The purpose for 
 
 which the senate was convoked was indicated only in a Tac. Ann. 
 general way in the call which was issued. The subjects ^' ^' 
 to be considered were laid before the meeting by the pre- 
 siding officer. Individual senators still lacked theoretically 
 the right to introduce new business, but in discussing a 
 matter laid before them they were allowed, as under the 
 republic, to introduce extraneous questions, and to ask for Tac. Ann. 
 action by the senate. Senators were asked their opinions ^' '^' 
 in the traditional order (cf. p. 224), except that the Tac. Ann. 
 emperor gave his views first, or, if he chose, last. During '' '''^' 
 some reigns at least, when the emperor presided, the 
 magistrates in office were also called upon in the group Tac. Ann 
 to which they belonged. As we have already had occasion ^' '''" 
 to notice (p. 350), the business of the emperor, whether 
 he was present or not, took precedence, within certain 
 limits, of all other matters. In any case the prmceps con- 
 trolled the discussion and the action of the senate, and a
 
 384 IMPERIAL PERIOD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 senator could indicate his disai)proval of a measure only 
 by staying away from the meeting when the bill in question 
 was to be presented. The discessio was the accepted 
 method of voting, even upon candidates for the magis- 
 tracies. Trajan introduced the secret ballot for the latter 
 purpose, but the new arrangement did not become perma- 
 nent. It was the duty of the presiding officer to appoint a 
 committee for the formulation of each motion, and decrees 
 which were intended for the public eye were engraved on 
 bronze tablets. One of the quaestors, appointed for the 
 purpose by the emperor, and known as ab actis scnatus, 
 l)repared for the archives the acta senatus, or proceedings 
 of the senate, which comprised the senatus consnlta, official 
 documents submitted to the senate, and the speeches made 
 by leading senators. From these records such extracts as 
 Fiin. Pan. 75. the Senate selected were published in the acta diurna. 
 
 {c) The Powers of the Senate 
 
 478. The Senate and the Princeps. In the last years 
 of the republic, and in the period of transition from the 
 republic to the dyarchy, the senate had been reduced to 
 the position which it theoretically held under the consti- 
 tution, viz., that of an advisory body. Under the new 
 regime its formal powers were much greater and more 
 explicitly recognized. It became a legislative, a judicial, 
 and an electoral body. Its real influence over affairs had 
 always depended, however, not on the powers which it 
 had received when the state was organized, but on the 
 measure of control which it was able to exercise over the 
 magistrates and over the resources of the commonwealth. 
 This was still the case under the empire. Bearing this fact 
 in mind, it is easy to understand how a formal extension
 
 POWERS OF THE SENATE 385 
 
 of the powers of the senate by Augustus and Tiberius could 
 take place simultaneously with a real loss of influence. 
 The fact that the pr-inceps held his position for life freed 
 him from the influences which had made the consul amen- 
 able to it (cf. pp. 67 f.). Furthermore, it lost outright the 
 management of foreign affairs, the control of the army and 
 navy (pp. 237 ff., 345 f.), the government of the important 
 provinces (pp. 283 ff.), and consequently in large measure 
 the management of the finances. 
 
 479. The Senate as a Legislative Body. The decadence 
 of the comitia made the senate the sole legislative body in 
 the state. Senatus consulta had the force of law, and 
 touched every field of public activity, subject to the limita- Suet. Tib. 
 tions mentioned in the preceding paragraph. The business 
 
 which required the greatest share of its attention was the 
 financial management and the administration of Rome, 
 Italy, and the senatorial provinces. Upon all these matters 
 it heard reports, and took the necessary action. It exer- 
 cised the right to raise or lower the rate of ta.xation, but 010,55.25 
 only on the imperial initiative. The control of the agcr 
 publicus was, however, transferred to the emperor. It 
 took action with reference to the introduction of foreign 
 cults, managed the temples, and provided for extraordinary 
 festivals ; but in all religious matters its action must have 
 been perfunctory, since the emperor was ponfi/ex maximus 
 and a member of all the important priesthoods. Further- 
 more, it passed measures imposing penalties on those con- 
 victed of certain offenses, and granting honors, privileges, piin. Ep 
 and dispensation from certain laws to favored individuals ^' '^' ^' 
 or classes. 
 
 480. The Senate as a Judicial Body. The criminal 
 jurisdiction of the senate was exercised mainly in the case 
 of serious offenses, particularly those of a pohtical nature
 
 386 IMPERIAL I'ERIOD: DESCRIITIVE 
 
 (cf. p. 347), where senators were concerned. Perhaps 
 those charged with such offenses were at the outset 
 allowed to have their cases heard either before a quaestio 
 or before the senate. Senators would naturally choose the 
 latter tribunal. When the practice was once established it 
 developed rapidly. The procedure, as can be seen from 
 the well-known case of Piso, seems to have been modeled 
 on that followed in the quacstiones. The consul presided, 
 and the senate delivered its verdict in the form of a scnatiis 
 consiiltum. Even the penalty of death could be imposed, 
 and no appeal could be taken from the senate's decision, 
 although the emperor could virtually grant a pardon by 
 using his veto power. Appeals could also be taken to the 
 senate by senators and members of certain other favored 
 classes from the decisions of senatorial governors in capital 
 cases. In civil cases also appeals came to the senate from 
 the senatorial provinces, but they were usually referred by 
 it to the consuls. 
 
 481. The Senate as an Electoral Body. The most 
 important function of the senate as an electoral body 
 consisted in choosing the emperor (cf. p. 341), and in 
 joining with the popular assembly in conferring on him his 
 constitutional powers (cf. pp. 341 f.). The right to deify a 
 deceased emperor, or to pass the act known as the damna- 
 tio ffiemoriae, was its exclusive prerogative (cf. pp. 343 f.). 
 Tiberius transferred the election of magistrates to the 
 senate, but its freedom of choice was in large measure 
 restricted by the emperor's right to name candidates for 
 the several offices (p. 351). Notwithstanding this fact, 
 there was a lively competition for the several magistracies, 
 and candidates for office gave costly presents and elabo- 
 rate dinners to their senatorial colleagues in the hope of 
 winning their suffrages.
 
 POWERS OF THE SENATE 38/ 
 
 Selected Bibliography ^ 
 
 Caduzac, Decadence du senat rom. depuis Cesar jusqu'a Constantin. 
 
 Limoges, 1847. 
 E. Cuq, Le conseil des empereurs, d'Auguste a Diocletien. Paris, 
 
 1884. 
 Dumeril, De senatu romano sub imp. Augusto Tiberioque. Paris, 
 
 1856. 
 Diirr, Die Majestatsprozesse unter dem Kaiser Tiberius. Heilbronn 
 
 Progr., 1880. 
 Rotter, Ueber d. Verhiiltniss zwischen Kaisertum u. Senat unter 
 
 Aug. u. Tib. Prague, 1875. 
 
 Supplementary Literature, 1901-1910 
 
 Abele, Der Senat unter Augustus. Paderborn, 1907. 
 
 1 See also bibliography on pp. 243, 2.'SS, 304, 316, 328, 358.
 
 CHAPTER XXI 
 THE PEOPLE 
 (a) Citizens/tip 
 
 482. The Methods of Acquiring Citizenship. Citizenshij) 
 could be acquired, as under the republic, by birth, by adop- 
 tion, by manumission, and by a special grant. The son of 
 a Roman citizen inherited the rights of citizenship. The 
 son of a Latin acciuired them when he was adopted by a 
 Roman citizen. The other two methods of acquiring them 
 call for a fuller statement. 
 
 483. Citizenship Acquired by Special Grant or by Manu- 
 mission. Various classes of persons acquired the rights of 
 citizenship by virtue of having conformed to certain speci- 
 fied conditions. Thus, for instance, those who received an 
 honorable discharge, after having served twenty-five years 
 in the auxiliary force, or twenty-six years in the navy, 
 became Roman citizens. Latins gained the same privilege 
 when they were enrolled in the legions, and magistrates in 
 
 C. I. L. II. towns -enjoying the Latin rights were honored with Roman 
 
 1945; ^ • 532- citizenship. Freedmen also, after serving a certain number 
 
 of years as vigiles, gained full civic rights. The conditions 
 
 on which citizenship was granted to indi\iduals or i)articular 
 
 communities cannot be so exactly stated. Personal favor, 
 
 or political considerations, or a desire to reward those 
 
 Suet. Aug. yf,\^Q i^ad rendered a noteworthy ser^dce to the community, 
 40. 47 • 
 
 Dio, 60. 17; were usually the deciding factors in these cases. Augustus 
 
 tiz€ 
 
 j.T '^ g-'^^'G the rights of Roman citizenship to few conuiumities,
 
 CITIZENSHIP 389 
 
 but his successors bestowed them upon towns in all parts 
 of the empire. The imperiiim proconsulare of the emperor 
 entitled him to make these grants in the imperial provinces 
 (cf. p. 245), but, although Augustus may have consulted 
 the senate and popular assembly in cases outside the 
 imperial provinces, it is plain that his successors felt free, on 
 their own authority, to grant Roman citizenship to any indi- 
 vidual or community. The greatest addition to the number Dio, 57. 17; 
 of citizens, however, came by way of manumission, and ^"^*Galb2° 
 the rapid increase in the number of freedmen which resulted h; iac. 
 
 \ Ann. 1 .-8. 
 
 seemed so serious a matter to Augustus that he caused a 
 series of laws to be passed to restrict it (cf. p. 390). 
 
 484. The Loss of Citizenship. As under the republic 
 (cf. p. 245), those who had been captured in war, turned 
 over to the enemy, or sold into slavery suffered capitis 
 deminutio ?naxijna. The third provision just mentioned 
 underwent a strange interpretation or extension in the case 
 of those known as servi poe?iae. The legal fiction involved 
 in the matter is clearly indicated by Pliny (ad Traianiim, 
 XXXI, 2) : /// plerisque civitatibiis, maxime Nicomediae et 
 Nicaeae, quidam vel in opus damnati vel in liidum si7niliaque 
 his getiera pocnarutn publicoruni servoricm officio ministerio- 
 que fungimtur atque etiajn ut pnblici servi annua accipiunt. 
 Those became semi poenae, qui ad ferrum aut ad bestias 
 aut in 7netallum damnantur (Dig. XXVIII. i. 8. 4). Capitis 
 deminutio media was visited on those who suffered deportatio, 
 or transportation to an island. Rclegatio, or the penalty of 
 being obliged to live within a certain section of the empire, 
 did not bring with it a loss of citizenship. 
 
 485. The Rights of Roman Citizens. All Roman citi- 
 zens, except freedmen, had the full enjoyment of the tra- 
 ditional iiira conwiercii, conubii, proTOcationis, legis actionis, 
 suffragii, and the ius houorum. In respect to their private
 
 390 IMPERIAL PERIOD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 rights freedmen stood essentially on the same plane as 
 freemen, except that they were forbidden to marry with 
 members of the senatorial order and were liable to the 
 punishment of being obliged to live at least one hundred 
 miles from Rome for certain offenses against their patrons. 
 Freedmen thus jnmished were known di?> pcregrini dediticii. 
 All freedmen were still restricted to four of the city tribes 
 (p. 247), but this restriction was of little moment because 
 of the decadence of the ])opular assemblies. The most 
 important limitations put on them were in the matter of the 
 ius ho/iorufn, and of admission to the equestrian order. 
 Not only freedmen, but their sons and grandsons, were 
 Plin. N. H. excluded from the ecjuestrian order and from the magis- 
 ''''■ ■' ■ tracies, and consequently from the senatorial order. It was 
 
 within the power of the emperor, however, by a natalium 
 restitutio to remove this disability. Reference has been 
 made above to the attemi)t which Augustus made to restrict 
 indiscriminate manumission. The most important step 
 which he took in this direction consisted in securing the 
 Herz. II. passage in a.d. 4 of the lex Aelia Sentia, which provided, 
 
 ^'^ ■ among other things, that slaves under thirty years of age 
 
 who were declared free, and those who were declared free 
 in the will of a deceased owner, did not become technically 
 free. Their legal status was more clearly defined by the 
 lex lunia Norbatia of a.d. 19, which rendered them incapa- 
 ble of making a will, and gave them the rights, with certain 
 Nipperdey limitations, of Lafi/ii Iiiiiiani. 
 
 2" -9 an/""' 4^^- T^^ Obligations of Citizenship. The two principal 
 '3- 27- obligations resting on Roman citizens were the payment of 
 
 taxes and service in the army. Roman citizens in Italy 
 paid no direct taxes. Those in the provinces were subject 
 St. R. III. to the tributuDi soli and the tribuiuin capitis. This exemp- 
 ^°^ *■ tion of Roman citizens in Italy was the peculiar privilege
 
 THE PLEBEIANS 391 
 
 going with the ius Italicum. Military service was incum- 
 bent on every freeman, but, since a suiftcient number of 
 soldiers was usually to be had by voluntary enlistment, it 
 was rarely necessary to resort to a draft. In fact, after 
 the time of the Flavian emperors, the legions were never Herz. ii. 
 recruited from Italy. The legions and the praetorian ^ 
 guard were made up exclusively of free-born Roman citi- 
 zens and of Latins or peregrini belonging to oppida. 
 Freedmen served in the navy and in the cohortes vigilum. 
 
 {b) Tlte Plebeians 
 
 487. The Legal Status of the Plebeians. The old dis- 
 tinction between the plebeians and patricians is lost sight 
 of under the empire, but by a strange turn of the wheel of 
 fortune the term plebs came to indicate, just as it had 
 done in the early republic, those who were outside the 
 privileged classes. It comprised, in fact, all those who were 
 below the senatorial and equestrian orders. And just as 
 had been the case under the early republic, the plebeians 
 vmder the empire were essentially without poUtical rights, 
 and were shut out of the classes above them by legal 
 restrictions. There was, however, this important difference 
 between the two cases. The barrier was not an insur- 
 mountable one. By acquiring the fortune required of a 
 knight or senator a plebeian freeman could rise into one of 
 the higher orders. The most important legal difference, 
 then, between the plebeians on the one hand and the 
 members of the equestrian and senatorial orders on the 
 other, was in the matter of pohtical rights. In one respect 
 their private rights were less, since for a given offense they 
 were liable to a severer punishment than were those who Dig. 48. 
 
 g , r 
 
 belonged to the two upper classes.
 
 392 IMI'ERIAL PERIOD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 488. The Plebs Urbana. The massing of property in 
 the hands of the few had practically blotted out the 
 independent middle class, and the great body of freemen 
 outside the two orders were partly or entirely dependent 
 on the state for support. The term plebs urbana was 
 practically applied to the 200,000 or more whose names 
 made up the list of recipients of grain. 
 
 489. The Plebeians outside Rome. The population in 
 the Italian municipal towns reproduced in miniature the 
 state of things in Rome. A freeman who had a rating of 
 100,000 sesterces, and was eligible in other respects, could 
 by election to one of the local offices secure admission to 
 the munici])al senate. Those who did not have the requi- 
 site property were not eligible, so that these small towns 
 also had their senatorial order and their plebeians, although 
 the minimum sum which made one eligible to the senatorial 
 order in the municipalities was so small that the members 
 of that order constituted a middle class in Italy. 
 
 (c) Tiie Equestrian Order 
 
 490. Admission to the Equestrian Order. The conditions 
 of eligibility to the equestrian order w-ere the i)ossession of 
 property valued at 400,000 sesterces, free birth, and a 
 respectable standing in the community. It was, however, 
 in the power of the emperor to pass over the condition of 
 free birth, and to elevate freedmen to the equestrian rank. 
 Admission to the order rested with the emperor, who estab- 
 lished a bureau, known as a ccnsibui equestribus, to receive 
 applications and collect the necessary information. If the 
 property of a member of the order fell below the required 
 minimum, or if his mode of life was objectionable, his name 
 was dropped from the list.
 
 THE EQUESTRIAN ORDER 
 
 393 
 
 491. Limits put on the Order. Although up to the 
 reign of Tiberius the term ordo equester technically included 
 only the equites equo publico, it seems probable, while still 
 a matter of dispute, that there was a body of men, who 
 perhaps may be called equites equo privato, who satisfied 
 the requirements of the equestrian order, but had not tech- 
 nically been admitted to it. The members of this group 
 did not have certain privileges conceded to the equites equo 
 publico, but they received some official recognition until 
 they were formally excluded from the order by the legislation 
 of Tiberius. 
 
 492. Seviri Equitum Romanorum. The way in which 
 the equites were organized into tunnae is not clear. Men- 
 tion is made of six turmae of thirty men each under seviri. 
 Possibly only six of the turmae had special leaders. The 
 seviri were usually the sons of senators or the younger 
 members of the imperial family. 
 
 493. Insignia and Titles. The members of the eques- 
 trian order were distinguished by the anulus aureus, the 
 tunica angusticlavia, and by the right to reserved seats in 
 the theatre and at the circus. From the time of M. Aurelius 
 the members of the order who were procurators bore the 
 title of viri egregii, the equestrian prefects were styled viri 
 perfectisshni, with the exception of the prefect of the prae- 
 torian guard, who was called vir eviitientissimus. The title 
 vir splendidus was probably applied to the knights living 
 outside Rome who had held no office. 
 
 494. The Equestrian Cursus Honorum. The members 
 of the equestrian order were especially employed by the 
 emperor as his representatives in the imperial service, and 
 in the first century of our era a fixed equestrian cursus 
 ho7ioruvi developed. At the bottom of the series were the 
 militiae equestres, including the praefectura cohortis, the 
 
 St. R. HI. 
 481 ff. ; Herz. 
 II. q6i, n. I ; 
 II. c)66, n. 3; 
 Will. Dr. -585. 
 
 Tac. Hist. 
 
 I- 13; 
 
 Suet. Galba, 
 14; Plin. 
 N. H. 33. 29; 
 Liv. Ep. 99. 
 
 Wilm. Ex. 
 Inscr. 132, 
 1058, 1639, 
 2857. 
 
 C. I. L. V. 
 
 8659; 
 
 VI. 1625 b; 
 
 IX. 5439.
 
 394 IMPERIAL PERIOD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 trihtinatiis iegionis, the irilninatus cohortis Tigilinn^ or 
 cohortis urbanae or cohortis practoriae, the pracfcctura 
 alae, and the praefcciura castroruvi. An aspirant for 
 higher honors served in the curly period in three, later 
 in four of these positions. After the bureaucratic system 
 of government had been fully developed by Hadrian, a 
 preliminary civil career could be substituted for the military 
 service just mentioned. After these ])reliminary military or 
 civil positions came the various procuratorships, which may 
 be classified according to the salaries received as sexa- 
 genarii {i.e., recipients of 60,000 sesterces), centefiarii 
 (100,000 sesterces), ducetiarii (200,000 sesterces), and 
 trecenarii (300,000 sesterces). The highest official posi- 
 tions of the ecjuestrian career were the ])refectures, such, 
 for instance, as the pracfcctura vigilinn or the pracfcctura 
 annonae. The knights gained in prestige under Gallienus, 
 who transferred to the efjuestrian order all the important 
 military positions. Membership in certain priesthoods was 
 also reserved for the knights, and the most distinguished 
 equites were from time to time admitted to the senate. 
 In the nature of things, the ordo equester could not be an 
 hereditary aristocracy, but the sons of knights who satisfied 
 the conditions governing admission to the order were 
 naturally preferred to others. 
 
 (rf) TJie Senatorial Order 
 
 495. Admission to the Senatorial Order. The privileges 
 of the jwbilitas under the republic had depended on the 
 organization of society (cf. pp. 47 f.). The exclusive rights 
 of the senatorial order under the empire had a legal basis. 
 The conditions governing admission to the order were the 
 same as in the case of the knights (cf. p. 392), except that
 
 THE SENATORIAL ORDER 395 
 
 the property requirement was 1,000,000 sesterces. For 
 those who satisfied these conditions admission was to be had 
 by birth, or through an imperial grant of the latus davits 
 to those who were not the sons of senators. Exclusion 
 from the senatorial order was governed by the same prin- 
 ciples as those which led to exclusion from the equestrian 
 order (p. 392). 
 
 496. Insignia and Titles. The insignia of the order 
 
 were the aiii/his aureus, the cakeus seiiatoritis, and the Suet. Aug. 
 latus claviis. Like the knights, members of the senatorial 5. 2.27 f.; 
 order were entitled to reserved seats at the theatre and at ^' • ^' '35- 
 the circus. From the close of the first century of our era 
 they bore the title virl clarissimi, and even the younger 
 members of a senator's family were styled clarissimi pueri 
 or clarissimae puellae. 
 
 497. The Senatorial Cursus Honorum. The mam privi- 
 lege which they enjoyed, however, was the exclusive right 
 to become candidates for the republican magistracies (cf. 
 p. 374), and thereby to gain admission to the senate. 
 Certain important imperial offices also were open only to 
 members of the order. The republican magistracies and 
 the imperial offices open only to senators constituted the 
 senatorial cursus honorum, which is illustrated in so many c. I. L. V. 
 inscriptions. X. 6006. 
 
 {e) Latinitas and Peregrinitas 
 
 498. Latinitas. As a result of the Social war the rights 
 of Roman citizenship had been granted to the people of 
 Italy living south of the river Po (cf. p. 102). Julius 
 Caesar extended the same rights to the communities of 
 Transpadane Gaul (p. 122), so that there were no com- 
 munities with Latin rights in the peninsula at the begin- 
 ning of the imperial period. The ius Latii was, however^
 
 396 IMl'EKIAL I'KRIOD: DESCKIITIVE 
 
 conferred by Vespasian, Domitian, and other emperors 
 upon many cities in the provinces (p. 315). The citizens 
 of the niunicipia or oppiiia civiiim Latinorum or coloniae 
 civium Latinorum, as these Latin communities were vari- 
 ously called, had the ius commcrcii, and the prospect of 
 acquiring the rights of Roman citizenship, in case they 
 were elected to a local magistracy or admitted to the 
 local senate. They acquired Roman citizenship also if 
 they were enrolled in a legion, and individuals who had 
 rendered a noteworthy sen^ice to the state were rewarded 
 in the same way. Their right to vote in one of the 
 tribes at Rome (cf. p. 248) amounted to little under the 
 empire. In general they were subject to taxes and to mili- 
 tary service. Mention has already been made (p. 390) of 
 the Latini Iiiniaui. 
 
 499. The Peregrini. Facu those with Latin rights are 
 sometimes spoken of as peregrini, but the term is usually 
 applied only to freemen who had neither Roman nor Latin 
 citizenship. Into this category fell citizens of independent 
 states, and members of communities which Rome had con- 
 quered. Such legal rights as Xhe peregrini had they gained 
 by treaties between their own states and Rome, or in the 
 court of the praetor, or through the charter of the province 
 in which they lived. 
 
 They were allowed to actjuire i)roperty, to buy and to 
 sell, but they did not have the ius conubii, nor the right 
 to wear the toga, except as a specially granted privilege. 
 The peregrini dediticii (cf. p. 390) belonged to a si)ecial 
 category. A large addition was made by Marcus Aurelius 
 and some of his successors (p. 326) to the number of 
 the peregrini dediticii by the settlement of barbarian 
 colonists, especially on the banks of the Rhine and the 
 I )anube.
 
 POPULAR ASSEMBLIES 397 
 
 500. The Edict of Caracalla. The edict of Caracalla in 
 the year 212 granted Roman citizenship to all freemen 
 living in the Roman empire. This measure did not affect 
 the Latini luniani or the peregritii dediticii, nor did it 
 preclude the possibility of establishing new colonies of 
 peregritii. In point of fact, the first two classes are found 
 after Caracalla's time, but probably no new colonies of 
 peregritii were established. 
 
 (/") Political Divisions and Popular Assemblies 
 
 501. Tribes, Centuries, and Classes. The division of the 
 people into thirty-five tribes continued under the empire, 
 but, since citizens were no longer subject to the tributum 
 or to military service, it served no other political purpose 
 than to indicate the citizenship of those whose names 
 appeared in the list. The one practical purpose which 
 the tribal list did serve was to give the names of those 
 who were entitled to gratuities of "grain, or to such other 
 largesses as the state saw fit to dispense. Membership in 
 a tribe was usually hereditary. Almost all freemen were 
 assigned to the thirty-one country tribes ; freedmen to the St. R. ill. 
 four urban tribes. Up to a late period the tribes were still 
 divided into centuries of setiiores and iuniores. Even the C. I. L. vi. 
 division of the people into classes continued for a time, 
 
 but it ultimately disappeared before the new property 
 rating on which the equestrian and senatorial orders were 
 based. 
 
 502. The Comitia Curiata. After the fall of the republic 
 we hear nothing of the lex curiata de imperio (p. 14), the 
 one political measure upon which the comitia curiata had 
 
 the right to act. That body still met, however, to pass on Suet.Aug.65. 
 family affairs which required formal action.
 
 398 IMPERIAL PERIOD: DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 503. The Comitia Centuriata. 'The machinery of the 
 comitia centuriata was still in existence, and the external 
 forms were still observed, such as the taking of auspices 
 and the displaying of a red flag on the Janiculum while 
 the assembly was in session ; but the centuriate comitia had 
 lost its meaning, and for the sake of convenience almost 
 all the measures which were submitted to a popular assem- 
 bly were brought before the comitia tributa. The one 
 legislative matter over which it had held exclusive control 
 under the republic, viz., the declaration of an offensive war, 
 was now within the competence of the emperor ; the elec- 
 tions were transferred to the senate by Tiberius, and, 
 although the assembly was called together a few days after 
 the senate had elect.ed the magistrates, to hear the rcnun- 
 tiatio, that ceremony was a simple act of confirmation by 
 the multitude. The quaestiojies had already supplanted 
 the centuriate comitia in judicial matters. 
 
 504. The Comitia Tributa. The comitia tributa assem- 
 bled for the renuntiatb in the case of the curule aediles, 
 the quaestors, and the XX viri, just as the centuriate 
 assembly met to hear the announcement made of the newly 
 elected consuls and praetors. In the field of legislation it 
 l)layed a more important part for a time than the centuriate 
 cotnitia. Several of the important laws of Augustus w^ere 
 passed in this body, and ever in the reign of Domitian 
 there is evidence of its activity, although, since most of the 
 bills brought before it were probably drawn up by the 
 princeps, its action can hardly have been free. 
 
 505. The Concilium Plebis. A similar state of things 
 robbed the concilium plebis of all significance. It was still 
 in existence under the early empire, but the measures 
 which it passed were submitted to it by the princcps by 
 virtue of his tribunician power.
 
 POPULAR ASSEMBLIES 399 
 
 Selected Bibliography ^ 
 
 A. V. Brinz, Alimentenstiftungen d. rom. Kaiser, Sitzungsber. d. k. 
 
 bayr. Akad. d. Wiss. 1887, Hist. Klasse, pp. 209 ff. 
 L. Cantarelli, I latini luniani. Bologna, 18S3. 
 G. Cothenet, De la condition des peregrins. Dijon, 1885. 
 L. M. Hartmann, De exilio apud Romanes usque ad Severi Alexandri 
 
 principatum. Berlin, 1887. 
 H. Lemonnier, fitude hist, sur la condition privee des affranchis, 
 
 etc. Paris, 1887. 
 F. Lindet, De I'acquisition et de la perte du droit de cite rom. 
 
 Paris, 18S0. 
 N. H. Michel, Droit de cite rom. 'Paris, 1885. 
 Stobbe, Ueber die Komitien unter den Kaisern, Philol. XXXI. 
 
 288-295. 
 
 1 See also bibliography on pp. 265, 288, 304, 316, 328, 358.
 
 SUPPLEMENT 
 
 THE ROMAN JUDICIAL SYSTEM 
 
 506. Administration of Justice by the State. Among 
 primitive peoples the individual who has suffered an injuty 
 at the hands of another relies largely upon his own efforts, 
 or those of his kindred, to regain his rights or to punish the 
 offender. But this method of securing justice disturbs the 
 peace, and often leads to excesses. Many offenses too, like 
 theft or dishonesty, are a menace to the community. It is 
 in the interest of the community, therefore, to compose 
 differences between citizens, and to assist them in securing 
 their rights. These considerations lead the state to take 
 upon itself the administration of justice. 
 
 507. The Roman Judicial System under the King. The 
 function is of course exercised by some official or officials 
 representing the state. Since in the earliest period of Rome 
 of which we have any positive knowledge the supreme power 
 lay in the hands of the king, it was he, or some one dele- 
 gated by him, who acted as judge in both civil and criminal 
 cases. He was assisted by the quacstojrs parricidi (sec. 18), 
 the diiuviviri prrdiicllioiiis, and the i)ontiffs, and a decision 
 was rendered in accordance with the ancestral customs. 
 The pontiffs played an important part in such matters, 
 because they alone knew the exact methods of procedure, 
 and they were more familiar than any one else with the mores 
 uiaioritm. They held this exceptional position until the 
 Twelve Tables were jniblished in 450 li.c, and the " forms 
 of action " in 304 n.c. (cf. sec. 51). So far as j^rocedure in 
 
 400
 
 CRIMINAL COURTS 4OI 
 
 the regal period was concerned, probably the case was insti- 
 tuted before the king, and the finding of facts delegated to 
 the duumvirs or the quaestors. If a capital sentence was 
 imposed, an appeal to the people could be asked, but a 
 citizen does not seem to have had the right to it. 
 
 508 . Division into Civil and Criminal Actions. All civilized 
 peoples think of wrongful acts as directed primarily either 
 against the state or against the individual. Acts of the first 
 kind constitute crimes ; those of the second kind give rise 
 to civil cases. Under the republic they were carefully dis- 
 tinguished, and courts were established for both classes of 
 cases. In discussing the Roman judicial system, therefore, 
 it will be our object to find out how these civil and crimi- 
 nal courts were organized and to study their method of 
 procedure. 
 
 {a) Criminal Cotirts 
 
 509. Jurisdiction of the Family, the Church, and the 
 State. In the early period there were three classes of crimi- 
 
 ' nal offenses, of which the family, the church, and the state 
 respectively took cognizance. The father of a family had 
 the right to inflict a punishment, even that of death, upon 
 any member of his household ; the pontiff sat in judgment 
 on such offenses against the gods as the lapse from chastity 
 of a vestal virgin, and these two kinds of jurisdiction con- 
 tinued throughout republican history. But we are concerned 
 here only with the administration of justice by the state. 
 
 510. Officials who had Criminal Jurisdiction. In its de- 
 velopment the history of the Roman criminal courts of the 
 republic falls into two periods, that of the early and middle 
 republic, and that of the late republic. The dividing line 
 is 149 B.C., when the first standing court, or quaestio per- 
 petua, was established. The right to sit in judgment was
 
 402 SUPPLEMENT 
 
 inherent in the imperium, and consequently all the repub- 
 lican magistrates with the imperium enjoyed it. Besides 
 officials who had the imperium, quaestors, aediles, tribunes, 
 and triumviri capitales had criminal jurisdiction in certain 
 classes of cases. In the early period the conduct of criminal 
 cases which would have been heard by the consul was usually 
 delegated by him to the quaestor. The aediles prosecuted 
 for usury and similar offenses. The tribunes brought charges 
 against those who had violated the rights of the plebeians 
 or had committed political offenses. The triumviri capitales 
 were police magistrates, and especially heard charges of dis- 
 orderly conduct. They also inquired into serious offenses 
 committed by slaves or foreigners. 
 
 511. The Popular Assemblies acquire Judicial Power. The 
 laws which gave citizens the right of appealing to a popular 
 assembly in case the death sentence or a fine of 3020 asses 
 was involved (cf. sees. 27, 30) brought about a great change 
 in the conduct of criminal cases. These measures made 
 the popular assemblies judicial bodies, and persons sen- 
 tenced to either of the penalties mentioned were brought 
 before them for trial. After the passage of the laws of the 
 Twelve Tables all cases involving the death penalty were 
 heard by the centuriate comitia ; but this penalty was rarely 
 inflicted because an accused person could avoid the imposi- 
 tion of it by going into exile before the final vote was taken. 
 Cases involving fines above the maximum mentioned were 
 brought before the tribal assemblies. On occasions the 
 assembly, at the request of the senate, passed a measure 
 establishing a special court, or quaestio extraordinaria, to 
 hear a given case. 
 
 512. The Quaestiones perpetuae and their Composition. It 
 was probably the advantage which such a small judicial body 
 of picked men had over a large assembly, which led the
 
 CRIMINAL COURTS 403 
 
 Romans in 149 B.C. to establish a permanent court, or 
 qiiacstio pcrpetita {tic rcpctiiiuiis). This court, as its title 
 indicates, was intended to try magistrates charged with extor- 
 tion. On the analogy of it seven or eight others were estab- 
 lished, each by a special law, to investigate such charges as 
 those of treason {inaiestas), corrupt practices at elections 
 {ambitus), and peculation in office {peci/iati/s). The system 
 was rounded out by Sulla (cf. sec. 96), and after his day it 
 was only in exceptional cases that criminal prosecutions were 
 brought before a popular assembly or a qiiaestio extra- 
 ordinaria. The presidency of these courts was held by 
 praetors and ex-aediles, who bore the title of indices quaesti- 
 onis. Each year a list of several hundred jurors was drawn 
 up by the praetor and the quaestor, and from this list 
 {album iudicum) the panel for a particular trial was chosen 
 by lot. From this panel both the prosecution and the 
 defense could reject a certain number of unacceptable 
 jurors, and the remaining number constituted the jury, 
 whose size was fixed within certain hmits by the laws estab- 
 lishing the several courts. The smallest jury of which we 
 have any record numbered thirty-two, the largest seventy- 
 five. Down to 123 B.C. the jurors were taken from the 
 senatorial order ; from that date to 70 B.C. they were all 
 knights, but the icx Aurelia of 70 B.C. introduced a com- 
 promise under which juries were composed of senators, 
 knights, and tribuni acrarii. 
 
 513. Procedure in Criminal Courts. We do not know 
 how criminal cases were conducted before a magistrate 
 or in a special court, but probably the magistrate com- 
 pelled the attendance of the accused person and exam- 
 ined him, although before the special tribunals the 
 practice of allowing private citizens to prosecute doubtless 
 developed.
 
 404 SUPPLEMENT 
 
 The method of procedure before a pojjular assembly has 
 already been described (cf. sec. 309). The meetings of the 
 standing courts were held in the Forum, with the praetor 
 on his raised tribunal and the jurors seated on benches. 
 The principal prosecutor {accusator), who was always a pri- 
 vate citizen, might be supported by others {stibscriptorcs). 
 The accused (triis) was commonly represented by advo- 
 cates i^patroni) and attended by prominent friends {advo- 
 cati), who assisted him by their presence and advice. The 
 personnel of the court also included messengers, heralds, 
 clerks (viatores, pj-aecones, scribae), lictors, and a consilium 
 of three or more jurists to give legal advice to the praetor. 
 If several persons claimed the right to prosecute the accused 
 man, as was not infrequently the case, the praetor selected 
 the prosecutor in a preliminary proceeding {divinatid). The 
 charge and the names of the accuser and the accused were 
 then made a matter of record, and ten days or more were 
 allowed the prosecutor to prejiare his case. In the mean- 
 time the accused person was imprisoned or given his freedom 
 on bail. At the next meeting the jury was constituted, and 
 speeches were made by counsel for the prosecution and the 
 defense. After the pleadings came the evidence, followed 
 by brief questions and answers {altercatid) by patroni of 
 the two parties to the case. The proceedings up to this 
 point were ifi ii/re ; with the active participation of the 
 indices they became in iudicio. An oath was administered 
 to the jurors, and they retired to deliberate on their verdict. 
 Each member of the jury was jirovided with a wooden tablet, 
 covered on both sides with wax. In the wax on one side 
 stood c {ondcmno), on the other a i^/>so/vo). The juror erased 
 the one or the other of these letters and deposited the 
 tablet in an urn, or he could erase both letters, if the evi- 
 dence had not convinced him of the guilt or the innocence
 
 CRIMINAL COURTS 405 
 
 of the accused person, and scratch the two letters n(^oii) 
 /(piquet) on his tablet. A majority of the votes decided the 
 case. Probably in the later period the tablets upon which 
 ;/. /. had been written by jurors were counted for acquittal, 
 but if these tablets were in the majority, the case could be 
 instituted anew by a new prosecutor. The vote was counted 
 and the verdict announced by the presiding magistrate, who 
 also fixed the penalty rmder the law. The severest penalty was 
 aquae et ignis interdictio. This meant that no one in Italy, 
 for instance, was allowed to offer fire or water to a person 
 upon whom this sentence had been passed, and was there- 
 fore equivalent to a decree of exile. From the decision of 
 a quaestio perpetiia there was no appeal. In case of acquittal 
 the prosecutor was liable to the charge of calumnia, i.e. of 
 having made a groundless accusation; or oi pracvaricatio, 
 i.e. of having conspired with the defense to secure an 
 acquittal. In case of conviction he received a pracmiitm, 
 fixed by the magistrate and jury. The decisions of the civil 
 as well as the criminal courts were based on statutes and 
 judge -made laws. The Twelve Tables and the actions of the 
 senate and of the popular assemblies made up the forrrier ; 
 the edicts of the magistrates, notably of the praetor (cf. 
 sec. 204), gave rise to the latter. 
 
 514. Ancient and Modern Procedure. There are some 
 interesting points of resemblance and of difference between 
 the procedure adopted in the Roman court and that fol- 
 lowed in our own criminal trials. The law in both cases is 
 the secular law, uninfluenced by any ecclesiastical principles 
 or religious observances save the administration of an oath. 
 The case is adjudicated by a magistrate, who confines him- 
 self in the main to an interpretation of the law, and a jury 
 which considers the facts and renders a verdict. The panel 
 is chosen by lot and unacceptable jurors may be challenged.
 
 406 SUPPLEMENT 
 
 Both oral and written testimony is admissible. The differ- 
 ences between the ancient and modern practices are of a 
 comparatively minor character, but still they are important. 
 A magistrate in modern times has no board of legal advisers, 
 but the advice of such a body was necessary to a praetor 
 who held office for a year only, and had no extended legal 
 experience. The bringing of the action by a private citi- 
 zen is not in accordance with our practice. A Roman trial 
 was much shorter than one in modern times, being often 
 concluded within a day. Under Anglo-Saxon law a majority 
 vote of the jury does not settle a case as it did in Rome. 
 The Romans, under the republic, had no graded series of 
 courts from one to another of which an appeal could be 
 taken. The point in the Roman procedure most remarkable 
 to us lay in the presentation of the main arguments by 
 counsel before the evidence had been heard, although, of 
 course, use was made, by anticipation, of the testimony to be 
 given. The same looseness of procedure which charac- 
 terized the meetings of Roman legislative bodies (cf. sec. 
 276) is noticeable in the courts. Thus, for instance, the 
 jury was not under careful surveillance ; prominent political 
 friends of the accused occupied conspicuous places in the 
 court, demonstrations of approval or disapproval occurred, 
 and the rules of evidence were less strict than with us, so 
 that even hearsay evidence was admitted. 
 
 515. Criminal Trials under the Empire. Under the empire 
 the popular assemblies ceased to exercise their criminal 
 jurisdiction. The qiiaestiones perpetuae continued to exist 
 up to the third century of our era, but their importance was 
 lessened even under the early empire by the establishment 
 of the criminal jurisdiction of the senate and of the emperor. 
 Under Augustus the album iiiJiciim contained about four 
 thousand names, under ('aligula five thousand. Jurors
 
 CIVIL COURTS 407 
 
 were chosen for life from the knights and the ducenarii, or 
 citizens who had a fortune of 200,000 sesterces. The pro- 
 cedure in the quaestiones continued without essential change, 
 except that in case there was a majority of one only for con- 
 viction, the emperor, if he were present in court, could 
 deposit the calculus Minervae and secure the acquittal of 
 the accused person. 
 
 The criminal jurisdiction of the senate and the emperor 
 has already been discussed (cf. sees. 412, 480). Of the 
 more severe penalties the commonest were relegatio, which 
 involved exile for life, often to a specified place, and deporta- 
 tio, which included relegatio as well as the loss of citizenship 
 and confiscation of property. The sources of criminal and 
 of civil law under the empire were in part senatus consulta, 
 but more particularly the edicts of magistrates and the 
 co7istitutiones prijicipis (cf. sec. 413). 
 
 (6) Civil Courts 
 
 516. Officials who had Civil Jurisdiction. Since the 
 quaestor had general supervision of the state treasury (cf. 
 sec. 239), and since the censor had charge of farming the 
 taxes and constructing public works (cf. sec. 213), almost all 
 civil cases to which the state was a party came under the 
 jurisdiction of these two officials. Such cases would include 
 particularly the collection of money due the state and the 
 enforcement of state contracts. The aediles had charge of 
 the markets (cf. sec. 234), and consequently disputes with 
 reference to mercantile transactions were naturally referred 
 to them. Civil cases other than those mentioned came 
 before the praetor. 
 
 517. Organization of Civil Courts under the Republic. 
 Under the developed judicial system of the republic the
 
 408 SUPPLEMKNT 
 
 division of the procedure in civil cases into the -proceed- 
 ings /// inrc and in indicia was 'carefully observed. The 
 magistrate conducted the former in person ; the latter were 
 referred by him to a index or to indices. The reference 
 was made either to indices, to reci/perai(>?rs, to arbitri, to 
 the dccenn'iri stlitihiis indicandis, or to the ccnttimviri. 
 The method of making out the album iudicum, and of choos- 
 ing a jury for a particular case has already been discussed 
 (cf. sec. 5 12). The recuperatorcs wcxq chosen, in accordance 
 with treaties with foreign nations, for the trial of civil cases 
 in which both citizens a.n6. peregrini were concerned. They 
 made their appearance, therefore, in the court of the prae- 
 tor percgriniis, but the procedure before them w^as so much 
 more simple than that in other courts that they were not 
 infrequently employed when citizens only were concerned. 
 Such a number was selected by lot that after the prosecu- 
 tion and defense had exhausted their right of challenging, 
 the board still numbered three or five. When it was neces- 
 sary to use a large measure of discretion arbiti'i were called 
 in. The difference between cases assigned to indices and 
 to arbitri has been clearly illustrated by Cicero (^prc Rose. 
 Com. 4) : alind est indicium, aliud arbitriu7)t. Indicium est 
 pecuniae certae ; arbitrium incertae. Ad indicium hoc modo 
 renimns, ut totam litem ant obtineamns, ant amittamus ; ad 
 arbitrium hoc animo adimus, ut neque nihil, neque tantum 
 quantum postulavimns, consequamnr. The decemviral 
 and centumviral courts were permanent courts of great 
 antiquity. The members were chosen for a year, those of 
 the former court being elected in the tribal comitia, those 
 of the latter being appointed by the praetor. Under the 
 republic the centumviral court contained three representa- 
 tives from each tribe, which gave it a total of one hun- 
 dred and five members. The decemvirs considered cases
 
 CIVIL COURTS 409 
 
 affecting the civil status of citizens ; the centumvirs dealt 
 with . such questions of ownership as those involved in 
 inheritances and the transfer of land. 
 
 518. Procedure by the Legis Actiones. In the early 
 period of the republic a claim was prosecuted in a civil 
 court by one of the five kgis actiones. These bore the 
 following technical names : per sacramentum, per iudicis 
 postidationeni, per condictionem, per mantis iniectionejn, 
 and per pignoris capionem. It will be sufficient for our 
 purpose to consider the method per sacramentum, which 
 was the commonest and is the one best known to us. 
 Under it each party to the action deposited a guarantee, 
 which was forfeited to the state by the losing party. The 
 exact words of the^ law had to be followed, and any devia- 
 tion from them caused the loss of the case. After this pre- 
 liminary step had been taken before the magistrate, the 
 case was usually referred to a index, who followed the pro- 
 cedure, borrowed by the quaestiones, which has already 
 been described (cf. sec. 513). 
 
 519. Procedure by the Formulary Method. The technical 
 difficulties of the old system and its failure to meet the 
 needs of a more complex civilization led to the gradual 
 introduction, in the second and first centuries before our 
 era, of the formulary method, although the old system was 
 retained in the decemviral and centumviral courts. The 
 necessary flexibility to meet the growing industrial needs of 
 the community was obtained through the use of the praetor's 
 edict. In this document each praetor, at the beginning of 
 the year, incorporated those maxims of law and forms of 
 procediire which he would follow during his term of office 
 (cf. sec. 204). It represented the edict of his predecessor 
 with such modifications and additions as his own judgment 
 and the needs of the times required. The growth of legal
 
 4IO SUPPLEMENT 
 
 principles and foi-miilac which were thus embodied in the 
 praetor's edict kept pace with the development of society, 
 and the formiilae of the praetor gradually supplanted the 
 legis actiones in the civil courts. When the formulary 
 method was followed the plaintiflF summoned the defend- 
 ant to appear before the magistrate on a certain day, 
 when the case at issue was presented by the two parties, 
 and the plaintiff requested the praetor to instruct the index 
 under a certain formula of the edict w'hich he (the plaintiff) 
 had already picked out. The praetor either refused to 
 allow the suit to proceed, or he instructed the index under 
 the desired formula. A formula was made up of three 
 important parts : (i) the demonstratio, or grounds of action 
 on the part of the plaintiff; (2) the intentio, or claim of the 
 plaintiff ; and (3) the sentence, which took the form of a 
 condemnatio or an adiudicatio. These three parts are well 
 illustrated by a typical case in Gaius (IV. 40 ff.) : (i) quod 
 Auliis Ageriiis Numcrio Negidio hominem vendidit, (2) si 
 paret Niimerium Negidium Aulo Agerio sestertimn X milia 
 dare oporterc, (3) index Nninerinm Negidinm Aulo Agerio 
 sestertimn X milia condemna ; si non paret, absolve. The 
 third part of the formula just given applies to a sum already 
 fixed, and is a eondemnatio. If the sum was to be fixed by 
 a index, as when property was to be divided between 
 several litigants, the third part of the formula was an adin- 
 dieatio, and took some such form as this : qnantum adindi- 
 cari oportet, index Titio adindieato. The essential portion of 
 the formula was the intentio, and it could even stand alone 
 when the ii/dex was called upon to pass judgment on the. 
 truth or falsity of the statement embodied in it. The for- 
 mula was presented to the index by the two parties to the 
 action. He fixed a day for the hearing, and with that the 
 proceedings /// indicio began. After the jjleas of both sides
 
 CIVIL COURTS 41 I 
 
 had been made, the evidence heard, and the altercatio fin- 
 ished, the iiidtx with his legal advisers, or with the jurors, 
 retired to consider the verdict. The plaintiff was assisted 
 by the magistrates in recovering from the defendant the 
 "ward of the court. Under the legis actiones the plaintiff 
 must plead his own cause, but under the formulary method 
 advocates could be employed. 
 
 520. Civil Courts under the Empire. Under the empire 
 the praetors and curule aediles and the decemviri and cen- 
 iiimvii'i retained their functions, and to these ofiticials and 
 bodies are to be added the consul, who heard certain cases of 
 appeal assigned to him by the senate, and the emperor, who 
 in person or through a delegate heard cases in the first in- 
 stance and on appeal. The centumviral court, which still kept 
 the procedure by legis actiones, now numbered one hundred 
 and eighty members and was divided into four chambers. 
 Some cases in this court were heard successively before 
 two chambers, others before the four chambers sitting to- 
 gether. The decemvirs acted as presidents of the chambers, 
 with a praetor as first president. (Upon the judicial func- 
 tions of the consul and emperor cf. sees. 464, 410, 411.) 
 The formulary procedure continued in common use, except 
 that decisions of the emperor and his delegates were made 
 without calling in indices. The practice of having a small 
 board of legal advisers sit with the magistrate continued in 
 force, and in course of time these assessores, as they were 
 called, received a salary from the state. The parties to a 
 civil case could also consult certain designated jurists; the 
 advice of these specialists was binding on the index, and 
 thus the responsa prudentinm furnished a new and impor- 
 tant source of law. 
 
 521. Courts in the Provinces. The governor of a prov- 
 ince held court at convenient points, to which cases from
 
 412 SUrPLP:MENT 
 
 the surrounding country were brought. In course of time 
 regular " circuits " were established. From his jurisdiction 
 free towns were exempt, and probably in other communi- 
 ties also the less important civil and criminal cases were 
 settled in the local courts in accordance with local law. In 
 the courts held by the governor or his delegate the Roman 
 official conducted the proceedings /// iiirc, but the exami- 
 nation into facts was made by indices. Under the empire 
 civil cases heard by the legati in senatorial provinces could 
 be appealed to the ])roconsul and to the senate or emperor ; 
 those which arose in imperial ])rovinces could be appealed 
 to the emperor. A governor had the right of life and death 
 over peregri?ii, but capital cases where Roman citizens were 
 concerned were referred to Rome. 
 
 General Bibliography 
 
 Girard, Histoire de I'organisation judiciaire des Remains, I. Paris, 
 
 1901. 
 Cuq, Les institutions juridiques des Remains, etc. Paris, 1902. 
 Roby, Roman Private Law in the Times of Cicero and of the Anto- 
 
 nines, 2 vols. Cambridge (England), 1902. 
 Lenel, Essai de reconstitution de I'edit perpetuel. Paris, 1901. 
 Greenidge, Legal Procedure of Cicero's Time. New York, 1901.
 
 APPENDIX I 
 
 SENTENTIAE, SENATUS CONSULTA, AND OTHER 
 DOCUMENTS 
 
 ( a ) Senatorial Documents 
 
 1. Motion made by Caesar with reference to the Cati- 
 linarian conspirators (Sail. Cat. 51. 43). Cf. pp. 228 f. 
 
 Sed ita censeo, publicandas eorum pecunias, ipsos in vinculis 
 habendos per municipia, quae maxume opibus valent, neu quis 
 de eis postea ad senatum referat neve cum populo agat ; qui 
 aliter fecerit, senatum existumare eum contra rem publicam et 
 salutem omnium facturum. 
 
 2. Motion made by Cicero in 43 B.C. with reference to 
 Antony's soldiers (Cic. Phil. 8. ^^2)). 
 
 Quas ob res ita censeo : eorum, qui cum M. Antonio sunt, 
 qui ab armis discesserint et aut ad C. Pansam aut ad A. Hir- 
 tium consules aut ad Decimum Brutum imperatorem, consulem 
 designatum, aut ad C. Caesarem pro praetore ante Idus Martias 
 primas adierint, eis fraudi ne sit, quod cum M. Antonio fuerint. 
 Si qui^ eorum, qui cum M. Antonio sunt, fecerit quod honore 
 praemiove dignum esse videatur, uti C. Pansa, A. Hirtius 
 consules, alter ambove, si eis videbitur, de eius honore prae- 
 miove primo quoque die ad senatum referant. Si quis post 
 hoc senatus consultum ad Antonium profectus esset praeter 
 L. Varium, senatum existimaturum eum contra rem publicam 
 fecisse. 
 
 3. The senatus cofisiiltum de Bacchanalibus, so-called, 
 of the year 186 B.C. {C. I. L. I. 196 = X. 104).^ In reality 
 
 1 In most of the epigraphical documents which follow, the text of Bruns, Forties 
 luris Romani A ntiqui (6th edition, 1893), has been adopted.
 
 4T4 APPENDIX I 
 
 it is a letter from the consuls embodying the decree, and 
 addressed to certain niunici])al magistrates. 
 
 [(7.] Marcius L. f., S(p.) Postumius L. f. cos. senatum con- 
 soluerunt n(onis) Octob. apud aedem Duelonai. 
 
 Sc(riljendo) arf(ucrunt) M. Claudi(us) i\I. f., L. Valcri(us) 
 P. f., Q. Minuci(us) C. f. 
 
 De Bacanalibus quei foideratci esent ita exdeiccndum 
 censuere : 
 
 Neiquis eorum .5acanal lKil)uise velet; sei ques esent, 
 quei sibei deicerent necesus ese Bacanal habere, eeis utei ad 
 pr(aitorem) urbanum Romam venirent, deque eeis rebus, ubei 
 eorum v^r^a audita esent, utei senatus noster decemeret, dum 
 ne minus senatorbus C adesent [(/uom ^]a res cosoleretur. 
 
 Bacas vir nequis adiesc velet ceivis Romanus neve nominus 
 Latini neve socium quisquam. nisei pr. urbanum adiesent, isque 
 [<-/]e senatuos sententiad, dum ne minus senaloribus C adesent 
 quom ea res cosoloretur, iousi.s^t. Ce[;/]suere. 
 
 Sacerdos nequis vir eset ; magister neque vir neque mulicr 
 quisquam eset. Neve pecuniam quisquani eorum comoinc[7;/ 
 //jahuise ve[/]et ; neve magistratum, neve pro magistratu^/, 
 neque virum \neque wz//]ierem quiquam fecise velet. Neve 
 post hac inter sed conioura[j'^r «^7']e comvovise neve conspon- 
 dise neve conpromesise velet, neve quisquam fidem inter sed 
 dedise velet. Sacra in d?quoltod ne quisquam fecise velet ; neve 
 in poplicod neve in preivatod neve exstrad urbem sacra quis- 
 quam fecise velet, nisei pr. urbanum adieset. isque de senatuos 
 sententiad, dum ne minus senatoribus C adesent quom ea res 
 cosoleretur, iou.sisi?t. Censuere. 
 
 Homines pious V oinvorsei virei atque mulieres sacra ne 
 quisquam fecise velet, neve interibei virei pious duobus, mulicri 
 bus pious tribus arfuise vclent, nisei de pr. urbani senatuosque 
 sententiad, utei suprad scriptum est. 
 
 Haice utei in covcntionid exdeicat'ks ne minus trinum noun- 
 dinum, senatuosque sententiam utei scientes esetis eorum sen- 
 ten tia ita fuit : ' sei ques esent, quei avorsum ead fecisent, quam
 
 SENATORIAL DOCUMENTS 415 
 
 suprad scriptum est, eeis rem caputalem faciendam censuere ' 
 atque utci lioce in tabolam ahenam inceideretis, ita senatus 
 aiquom censuit, uteique earn figier ioubeatis, ubei facilumed 
 gnoscier potisit; atque utei ea Bacanaiia, sei qua sunt, exstrad 
 quam sei quid ibei sacri est, ita utei suprad scriptum est, in 
 diebus X, quibus vobeis tabelai datai erunt, faciatis utei dismota 
 sient.— IN AGRO TEURANO. 
 
 4. An extract from the senatus consultum de Thisbaeis, 
 of the year 170 B.C., preserved on a marble tablet found in 
 Boeotia (Eph. Epigr. I, p. 278). 
 
 {a) KdtvTos Mamos TtVou uios crTparr/yos rr]i avvKX^Twi avv€- 
 
 povXevcraTO iv KO/aeTtwt Trpo T^/xep^aJjv eTrro. €lSvu>v OKTw/xfipLoyv. 
 
 rpa<f>oiJ.ev(OL Traprjaav Mavtos A/ctAios Mai/tov vios OATcrivtla, 
 
 TtTOS No/XtO"lO? TlTOV Vt09. 
 
 Ilept (DV ©io-[/?Jets Aoyous i-TroLrjaavro irepX twv KaG' av^r'^ov'i 
 Trpay/AttTwv, otrive? €v ttji ^tAtat ttjl r/fjLeTepai ivifxeivav, oVcos 
 avTOis ooOwcTLV, [ojts TO. KaO avTOv<i TTpa.yp.aTa i $ rjy ■>] a uivt at. 
 
 TTtpi TOVTOv Tov TTpdyp.aTO'i ovTw<; tBo^ev 07rw5 Kdii/ro? 
 Maivtos crrparr^yo? tCjv ek t^? (rvvKXyrov [Trjevre dTrord^rji, dt 
 av avrHii ek toiv orjpLoaiwv Trpa^y/AJarwv Kat r^s tSi'as Trt'crTeojs 
 cf>aLvu>vTaL. *E8o^€. 
 
 (<5) Q. Maenius T. f. praetor senatum consuluit in comitio 
 a. d. VII idus Octobres. 
 
 Scribendo adfuerunt M'. Acilius M'. f. Vol(tinia), T. Numi- 
 sius T. f. 
 
 Quod Thisbaei verba fecerunt de rebus ad se pertinentibus 
 ii qui in amicitia nostra permanserunt, ut sibi darentur, quibus 
 res ad se pertinentes exponerent, 
 
 de ea re ita censuerunt: ut Q. Maenius praetor ex senatu 
 quinque delegaret, qui sibi e re publica fideque sua viderentur. 
 Censuere. 
 
 5. A senatus consulttim, passed in 5 i B.C. with reference 
 to Caesar's provinces (Cic. ad Fam. 8. 8. 5).
 
 4l6 APPENDIX I 
 
 Pr. Kal. Octobris in aede Apollinis scrib. adfuerunt L. 
 Domitius Cn. f. Fab. Ahenobarbus, Q. Caecilius Q. f. Fab. 
 Metellus Pius Scipio, L. Villius L. f. Pom. Annalis, C. Sep- 
 timius T. f. Quir., C. Lucilius C. f. Pup. Hirrus, C. Scri- 
 bonius C. f. Pop. Curio, L. Ateius L. f. An. Capito, M. Eppius 
 M. f. Ten Quod M. Marcellus cos. v(erba) f(ecit) de pro- 
 vinciis consularibus, d(e) e(a) r(e) i(ta) c(ensuere), uti L. 
 Paulus, C. Marcellus coss.," cum magistratum inissent, ex Kal. 
 Mart., quae in suo magistratu futurae essent, de consularibus 
 provinciis ad senatum referrent, neve quid prius ex Kal. Mart, 
 ad senatum referrent, neve quid coniunctim, utique eius rei 
 causa per dies comitialis senatum haberent senatique consul- 
 tum facerent, et, cum de ea re ad senatum referretur, a con- 
 siliis, qui eorum in CCC. iudicibus essent, s(ine) f(raude) 
 s(ua) adducere liceret ; si quid de ea re ad populum plebemve 
 lato opus esset, uti Ser. Sulpicius, M. Marcellus coss., praetores 
 tribunique pi., quibus eorum videretur, ad populum plebemve 
 ferrent; quod si ii non tulissent, uti, quicumque deinceps essent, 
 ad populum plebemve ferrent. C(ensuere). 
 
 6. A scnatus auctoritas (of. pp. 198 f., 229 f.) of the 
 year 51. Four tribunes interposed their vetoes (Cic. ad 
 Fam. 8. 8. 6). 
 
 Pr. Kal. Octobris in aede Apollinis scrib. adfuerunt L. 
 Domitius Cn. f. Fab. Ahenobarbus, Q. Caecilius Q. f. Fab. 
 Metellus Pius Scipio, L. Villius L. f. Pom. Annalis, C. Septi- 
 mius T. f. Quir., C. Lucilius C. f. Pup. Hirrus, C. Scribonius 
 C. f. Pop. Curio, L. Ateius L. f. An. Capito, M. Eppius M. f. 
 Ter. Quod M. Marcellus cos. v(erba) f(ecit) de provinciis, 
 d(e) e(a) r(e) i(ta) c(ensuere), senatum existimare neminem 
 eorum, qui potestatem habent intercedendi, impediendi, moram 
 adferre oportere, quo minus de r(e) p(ublica) p(opuli) 
 R(omani) q(uam) p(rimum) ad senatum referri senatique con- 
 sultum fieri possit : qui impedierit, prohibuerit, eum senatum 
 existimare contra rem publicam fecisse. Si quis huic s. c. 
 intercesserit, senatui placere auctoritatem prescribi et de ea
 
 SENATORIAL DOCUMENTS 417 
 
 re ad senatum p(rimo) q(uoque) t(empore) referri. Huic s. c. 
 intercessit C. Caelius, L. Vinicius, P. Cornelius, C. Vibius 
 Pansa, tribuni pi. 
 
 7. The senatus co7isultutn de fiundinis saltus Beguensis, 
 found at Henschir Begar in Africa. Its date is a.d. 138 
 (C I. L. VIII. 270 and Suppl. 11451). 
 
 SC. de nundinis saltus Beguensis in t(erritorio) Casensi, 
 descriptum et recognitum ex libro sententiarum in senatu 
 dic[/«]rum k(apite) VI T. luni Nigri, C. Pomponi Camerini 
 co(n)s(ulum), in quo scripta erant A[/rzVa]ni iura et id quod 
 i(nfra) s(criptum) est. 
 
 In comitio in curia 
 
 [6'(:r]ibundo adfuerunt Q. Sa[/]ontus Q. f. Ouf. [X^]ngus, 
 . . . [^]ni Quar[/]inus, C. Oppius C. f. Vel. Severus, C. 
 For(?) . . C. f. . . . {^Sex. £'r;/]ciu[j-], M. f. Quir. Clarus, P. 
 Cassius L. f. Aem. Dexter q(uaestor), P. Nonius M. f. Ou[/]. 
 Macrinus q(uaestor). In senatu fuerunt C. 
 
 SC. per discessionem factum. 
 
 Quod P. Cassius Secundus, P. Delphius Peregrinus Aleius 
 Alennius Maximus Curtius Valerianus Proculus M. Nonius 
 Mucianus coss. verba fecerunt de desiderio amicorum Lucili 
 African! c(larissimi) v(iri), qui petunt : ut ei permittatur in 
 provincia Afric(a), regione I^guensi, territorio Musulamiorum, 
 ad Casas, nundinas II II nonas Novemb. et XII k. Dec, ex eo 
 omnibus mensibus IIII non. et XII k. sui cuiusq(ue) mensis 
 instituere habere, quid fieri placeret, 
 
 de ea re ita censuerunt : permittendum Lucilio Africano, 
 c. v., in provincia Afric(a), regione Beguensi, territorio Musu- 
 lamiorum, ad Casas, nundinas IIII non. Novemb. et XII k. 
 Decembr. et ex eo omnibus mensibus IIII non. et XII k. sui 
 cuiusq(ue) mensis instituere et habere, eoque vicinis adve- 
 nisq(ue) nundinandi dumtaxat causa coire convenire sine iniuria 
 et incommodo cuiusquam liceat. 
 
 Actum idibus Octobr. P. Cassio Secundo, M. Nonio Muci- 
 ano. Eodem exemplo de eadem re duae tabellae signatae
 
 41 8 APPENDIX I 
 
 sunt. Signatores: T. Fl. Comini scril)(ae), C. luli Fortunati 
 scrib(ae), M. Caesi Helvi Euhelpisti, O. Metili Onesimi, 
 C. luli Periblepti, L. Verani Philerotis, T. Flavi Crescentis. 
 
 ( b ) Actions of the Poptilar Assemblies 
 
 8, Selections from the fragments preserved in literature 
 of the Laws of the Twelve Tables, dating from 451-450 B.C. 
 Cf. pp. 30 f. 
 
 Tabula I 
 
 1. Si in ius vocat, ito. Ni it, antestamino : igitur em 
 capito. Si calvitur pedemve struit, manum endo iacito. Si 
 morbus aevitasve vitium cscit, iumcntum dato. Si nolet, 
 arceram ne sternito. 
 
 2. Assiduo vindex assiduus esto ; proletario iam civi quis 
 volet vindex esto. 
 
 3. Rem ubi pacunt, orato. Ni pacunt, in comitio aut in 
 fore ante meridiem caussam coiciunto. Com peroranto ambo 
 praesentes. Post meridiem praesenti litem addicito. Si ambo 
 praesentes, solis occasus suprema tempestas esto. 
 
 Tabula II 
 
 1 . ... Morbus sonticus . . aut status dies cum hoste . . quid 
 horum fuit unum iudici arbitrove reove, eo dies diffissus esto. 
 
 2. Cui testimonium defuerit, is tertiis diebus ob portum 
 obvagulatum ito. 
 
 Tabula III 
 
 I. Aeris confessi rebusque iure iudicatis xxx dies iusti sunto. 
 Post deinde manus iniectio esto. In ius ducito. Ni iudicatum 
 facit aut quis endo eo in iure vindicit, secum ducito, vincito aut 
 nervo aut compedibus xv pondo, ne minore, aut si volet maiore 
 vincito. Si volet suo vivito. Ni suo vivit, qui eum vinctum 
 hai)ebit, libras farris endo dies dato. Si volet, plus dato,
 
 LEGES 419 
 
 2. Tertiis nundinis partis secanto. Si plus minusve secue- 
 runt, se fraude esto. 
 
 3. AdversLis hostem aeterna auctoritas [esto]. 
 
 9. The first paragraph of the lex Quinctia de aquaeduc- 
 tibiis of 9 B.C. (Frontin. de Aq. 129). This is z. plebisci- 
 tum. On the method of voting in the two tribal assembUes, 
 cf. pp. 262 f. 
 
 T. Quinctius Crispinus consul populum iure rogavit popu- 
 lusque iure scivit in foro pro rostris aedis divi lulii pr(idie) 
 
 [k.] lulias. Tribus Sergia principium fuit, pro tribu Sex 
 
 L. f. Virro [primus scivit]. 
 
 10. The lex de imperio Vespasiani (cf. pp. 270, 307, 
 341 f., 345). It is of the year 69, and was found on a 
 bronze tablet at Rome (C /. L. VI. 930). 
 
 .... foedusve cum quibus volet facere liceat ita, uti licuit 
 divo Aug(usto), Ti. lulio Caesari Aug(usto), Tiberioque 
 Claudio Caesari Aug(usto) Germanico ; 
 
 utique ei senatum habere, relationem facere, remittere, sena- 
 tus consulta per relationem discessionemque facere liceat ita, 
 uti licuit divo Aug(usto), Ti. Julio Caesari Aug(usto), Ti. 
 Claudio Caesari Augusto Germanico ; 
 
 utique cum ex voluntate auctoritateve iussu mandatuve eius 
 praesenteve eo senatus habebitur, omnium rerum ius perinde 
 habeatur servetur, ac si e lege senatus edictus esset habe- 
 returque ; 
 
 utique quos magistratum potestatem imperium curationemve 
 cuius rei petentes senatui populoque Romano commendaverit 
 quibusque suffragationem suam dederit promiserit, eorum 
 comitis quibusque extra ordinem ratio habeatur ; 
 
 utique ei fines pomerii proferre promovere cum ex re 
 publica censebit esse, liceat ita, uti licuit Ti. Claudio Caesari 
 Aug(usto) Germanico; 
 
 utique quaecunque ex usu rei publicae maiestate^z/<? divina- 
 rum huma«(2rum publicarum privatarumque rerum esse censebit.
 
 420 APPENDIX 1 
 
 ei agere facere ius potestasque sit, ita uti divo Aug(usto), 
 Tiberioque lulio Caesari Aug(usto), Tiberioque Claudio 
 Caesari Aug(usto) Germanico fuit; 
 
 utique quibus legibus plelDcive scitis scriptum fuit, ne divus 
 Aug(ustus), Tibcriusve lulius Caesar Aug(ustus), Tiberiusque 
 Claudius Caesar Aug(ustus) (iermanicus tenerentur, iis legibus 
 plebisque scitis imp(erator) Caesar Vespasianus solutus sit ; 
 quaeque ex quaque lege rogatione divum Aug(ustum), Tibe- 
 riumve lulium Caesarem Aug(ustum), Tiberiumve Claudium 
 Caesarem Aug(ustum) Germanicum facere oportuit, ea omnia 
 imp(eratori) Caesari Vespasiano Aug(usto) facere liceat; — 
 
 utique quae ante hanc legem rogatam acta gesta decreta 
 imperata ab imperatore Cacsare Vespasiano Aug(usto) iussu 
 mandatuve eius a quoque sunt ea perinde iusta rataq(ue) sint, 
 ac si populi plcbisve iussu acta essent. 
 Sanctio. 
 
 Si quis huiusce legis ergo adversus leges rogationes plebisve 
 scita senatusve consulta fecit fecerit, sive quod eum ex lege 
 rogatione plebisve scito s(enatus)ve c(onsulto) facere oportebit, 
 non fecerit huius legis ergo, id ei ne fraudi esto, neve quit ob 
 earn rem populo dare debeto, neve cui de ea re actio neve 
 iudicatio esto, neve quis de ea re apud [j]e agi sinito. 
 
 (c) Edicts 
 
 II. Two sections from the edict um perpetuum praetoris 
 urbani, entitled respectively (A) Dc vi tiirba incendio rel., 
 and (B) De iniuriis. Cf. pp. 190, 318. 
 
 A. De vi turba incendio rel. 
 
 I. Vi bonorum rap to rum et de turl)a. Si cui dolo 
 malo hominibus coactis damni quid factum esse dicetur sive 
 cuius bona rapta esse dicentur, in eum, qui id fecisse dicetur, 
 iudicium dabo. Item si servus fecisse dicetur, in dominum 
 iudicium noxale dabo. Cuius dolo malo in turba damn/ 
 quid factum esse dicetur, in eum in anno, quo primum de ea
 
 EDICTS 
 
 421 
 
 re experiundi potestas fuerit, in diiplum, post annum in sim- 
 plum iudicium dabo. 
 
 2. De incendio ruina naufragio rate nave expugnata. In 
 eum, qui ex incendio ruina naufragio rate nave expugnata 
 quid rapuisse recepisse dolo malo damnive quid in his rebus 
 dedisse dicetur : in quadruplum in anno, quo primum de ea re 
 experiundi potestas fuerit, post annum in simplum iudicium 
 dabo. Item in servum et in familiam iudicium dabo. 
 
 B. Deiniuriis. i Qui autem iniuriarum agit, 
 
 certum dicat, quid iniuriae factum sit, et taxationem ponat non 
 m^/orem quam quanti vadimonium fuerit. 
 
 2. Qui adversus bonos mores convicium cui fecisse cuiusve 
 opera factum esse dicetur, quo adversus bonos mores convicium 
 fieret ; in eum iudicium dabo. 
 
 3. Ne quid infamandi causa fiat. Si quis adversus ea fece- 
 rit, prout quaeque res erit, animadvertam. 
 
 4. Qui servum alienum adversus bonos mores verberavisse 
 deve eo iniussu domini quaestionem habuisse dicetur, in eum 
 iudicium dabo. Item si quid aliud factum esse dicetur, causa 
 cognita iudicium dabo. 
 
 5. Si ei, qui in alterius potestate erit, iniuria facta esse 
 dicetur et neque is, cuius in potestate est, praesens erit neque 
 procurator quisquam existat, qui eo nomine agat : causa cognita 
 ipsi, qui iniuriam accepisse dicetur, iudicium dabo. 
 
 12. An extract from an edict of the curule aediles. Cf, 
 pp. 204 if. 
 
 I. De mancipiis vendundis. Qui mancipia vendunt, 
 certiores faciant emptores, quid morbi vitiive cuique sit, quis 
 fugitivus errove sit noxave solutus non sit : eademque omnia, 
 cum ea mancipia venibunt, palam recte pronuntianto. Quod si 
 mancipiun> adversus ea venisset sive adversus quod dictum 
 promissumve fuerit, cum veniret, fuisset, quod eius praestari 
 oportere dicetur : emptori omnibusque, ad quos ea res pertinet, 
 (z;/ sex mensibiis^ qtiibus pritniim de ea re experiundi potestas 
 fuerit) iudicium dabimus, ut id mancipium redhibeatur, si
 
 422 APPENDIX I 
 
 quid autem post venditionem traditionemque deterius emptoris 
 opera familiae procuratorisve eius factum erit, sive quid ex eo 
 post venditionem natum adquisitum fuerit, et si quid aliud in 
 venditione ei accesserit, sive quid ex ea re fructus pervenerit 
 ad emptorem, ut ea omnia restituat, item, si quas accessiones 
 ipse praestiterit, ut recipiat. Item si quod mancipium capi- 
 talem fraudem admiserit, mortis consciscendae sibi causa quid 
 fecerit, inve harenam depugnandi causa ad bestias intromissus 
 fuerit, ea omnia in venditione pronuntianto : ex his enim causis 
 iudicium dabimus. Hoc amplius, si quis adversus ea sciens 
 dolo malo vendidisse dicetur, iudicium dabimus. 
 
 13. An edict of the censors of the year 92 B.C. 
 (Gell. 15. 11). Cf. pp. 192 ff. 
 
 Renuntiatum est nobis esse homines, qui novum genus 
 disciplinae instituerunt, ad quos inventus in ludum conveniat ; 
 eos sibi nomen imposuisse Latinos rhetoras ; ibi homines adu- 
 lescentulos dies totos desidere. Maiores nostri, quae Hberos 
 suos discere et quos in ludos itare vellent, instituerunt. Haec 
 nova, quae praeter consuetudinem ac morum maiorum fiunt, 
 neque placent neque recta videntur. Quapropter et iis, qui eos 
 ludos habent, et iis, qui eo venire consuerunt, videtur faciundum, 
 ut ostenderemus nostram sententiam, nobis non placere. 
 
 14. A proclamation of the proconsul of Farther Spain 
 of the year 189 B.C. (C. I. L. II. 5041). 
 
 L. Aimilius L. f. inpeirator decreivit, utei quei Hastensium 
 servei in turri Lascutana habitarent, leiberei essent; agrum 
 oppidumqu(e), quod ea tempestate posedisent, item possidere 
 habereque iousit, dum poplus senatusque Romanus vellet. 
 Act(um) in castreis a. d. XII k. Febr. 
 
 15. The praescriptio of a j^roclamation of the proconsul 
 of Sardinia of the year 69 (C. /. Z. X. 7852). 
 
 Imp. Othone Caesare Aug. cos. XV k. Apriles descriptum 
 et recognitum ex codice ansato L. Helvi Agrippae procons(ulis).
 
 EDICTS 423 
 
 quern protulit Cn. Egnatius Fuscus scriba quaestorius, in quo 
 
 scriptum fuit it quod infra scriptum est tabula V c VIII 
 
 et Villi et X, etc. 
 
 16. An extract from an edict of the Emperor Claudius 
 of the year 46, bearing the title de civitatc Aiiaunoriim 
 (C /. Z. V. 5050). Cf. p. 349- 
 
 M. lunio Silano Q. Sulpicio Camerino cos. idibus Martis 
 Bais in praetorio edictum Ti. Claudi Caesaris Augusti Ger- 
 manici propositum fuit id quod infra scriptum est : 
 
 Ti. Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, pont(ifex) maxi- 
 m(us), trib(unicia) potest(ate) VI, imp(erator) XI, p(ater) 
 p(atriae), co(n)s(ul) designatus IIII, dicit: 
 
 Cum ex veteribus controversis pe;z^entibus aliquamdiu 
 etiam temporibus Ti. Caesaris patrui mei, ad quas ordinandas 
 Pinarium Apollinarem miserat, quae tantum modo inter 
 Comenses essent, quantum memoria refero, et Bergaleos, 
 isque primum apsentia pertinaci patrui mei, deinde etiam 
 Gai principatu quod ab eo non exigebatur referre, non stulte 
 quidem, neglexserit, et posteac detulerit Camurius Statutus ad 
 me, agros plerosque et saltus mei iuris esse : in rem praesentem 
 misi Plantam lulium amicum et comitem meum, qui cum 
 adhibitis procuratoribus meis quzque in alia regione quique in 
 vicinia erant, summa cura inquisierit et cognoverit, cetera 
 quidem, ut mihi demonstrata commentario facto ab ipso sunt, 
 statuat pronuntietque ipsi permitto. 
 
 17. An oath of allegiance to the Emperor Gaius, on a 
 bronze tablet found in Lusitania (C /. L. II. 172). 
 
 C. Ummidio Durmio Quadrato, leg(ato) C. Caesaris Ger- 
 manici imp(eratoris) pro pr(aetore). 
 
 lus iurandum Aritiensium. 
 
 Ex mei animi sententia, ut ego iis inimicus ero, quos 
 C. Caesari Germanico inimicos esse cognovero, et si quis 
 periculum ei salutiq(ue) eius in/er/ in/er^tque armis bello 
 internicivo terra mariq(ue) persequi non desinam, quoad
 
 424 APPENDIX 1 
 
 poenas ei persolverit: neq(ue) me ^negue'] liberos meos eius 
 salute cariores habebo, eosq(ue), qui in eum hostili animo 
 fuerint, mihi hostes esse ducam : si sciens fallo fefellerove, 
 turn me liberosq(ue) meos luppiter optimus maximus ac divus 
 Augustus ceteriq(ue) omnes di immortales expertem patria 
 incolumitate fortunisque omnibus faxint. 
 
 [^A. d.'\ V idus Mai[«j] in Aritiense oppido veteri Cn. Acer- 
 ronio Proculo, C. Petronio Pontio Nigrino cos., mag(istris) 
 Vegeto Tallici, . . . ibio . . . arioni. 
 
 i8. A tabnhi patronatus by which the pagus Gurzeii- 
 siitm in Africa makes L. Domitius Ahenobarbus, the grand- 
 father of Nero, its patron (C /. L. VIII. 68). 
 
 P. Sulpicio Quirinio, C. Valgio cos. senatus populusque 
 civitatium stipendiariorum pago Gurzenses hospitium fecerunt 
 quom L. Domitio Cn. f. L. n. Ahenobarbo procos., eumque et 
 postereis eius sibi posterisque sueis patronum coptaverunt, 
 isque eos posterosque eorum in fidem clientelamque suam 
 recepit. 
 
 Faciundum coeraverunt: Ammicar Milchatonis f., Cynasyn- 
 (ensis) ; Boncar Azzrubalis f., Aethogursensis, Muthunbal 
 Saphonis f., Cui. Nas. Uzitensis. 
 
 {d) Inscriptions illustrating the Curstis Honortim 
 
 iQ. Two inscriptions illustrating the ciirsus honorum 
 of a member of the senatorial order under the empire 
 (C /. Z. VI. 1333 and VI. 332). Cf. pp. 374, 395- 
 L. Aemilio L. f. Cam. Karo cos., leg. Aug. pr. pr. provinciae 
 Cappadociae, leg. Aug. pr. pr. censitori provinciae Lugdunen- 
 sis, leg. Aug. pr. jDr. provinciae Arabiae, curatori viae Flami- 
 niae, leg. leg. XXX U. V., praet., trib. pleb., quaest. Aug., 
 trib. militum leg. VIII Aug., trib. militum leg. Villi His- 
 panae, X viro stlitib. iudic, sodali Flaviali, XV viro s. f., 
 C. lulius Erucianus Crispus pracf. ahie primae Ulpiae Uaco- 
 rum amico optimo.
 
 THE CURSUS HONORUM 425 
 
 [//<?r]cul[i] Victori P. Plotius Romanus cos., sod. Aug. CI., 
 leg. Aug. pr. pr. prov. Arab, item Gal., praef. aer. Sat., leg. 
 Aug. cens. ace. Hisp. Cit., iur. per Aem. Lig., cur. viae Labic, 
 cur. Verc, pr. urb., trib. pi., q. kand., VI vir eq. R. tur. II, 
 trib. mil. legg. I Min. et II Adiut., IIII v. v. cur., aedem cum 
 omni cultu consecravit. 
 
 20. An inscription illustrating the cursus honorum of a 
 member of the equestrian order under the empire {C. I. L. 
 VIII. 9990). Cf. pp. 393 f. 
 
 P. Besio P. f. Quir. Betuiniano C. Mario Memmio Sabino 
 praef. coh. I Raetorum, trib. leg. X G. p. f., praef. alae 
 Dardanorum, procuratori imp. Caesaris Nervae Traiani Aug. 
 Germ. Dacici monetae, proc. provinc. Baeticae, proc. XX 
 hered., proc. pro leg. provinc. Mauretaniae Tingitanae, donis 
 donato ab imp. Traiano Aug. bello Dacico corona murali 
 vallari hastis pur. vexillo argent., exacti exercitus. 
 
 21. An inscription illustrating the official career of a 
 member of the third class {C. I. L. VI. 1808). Cf. pp. 
 391 f- 
 
 Sex. Caecilio Epagatho scrib. libr. tribunicio, apparitori 
 Caesarum, scrib. libr. q. Ill decur., viat. Ill vir. et IIII vir., 
 scrib. libr. aed. cur., patri optimo. Sex. Caecilius Sex. f. Quir. 
 Birronianus et M. Caecilius Sex. f. Quir. Statianus.
 
 APPENDIX II 
 
 SOME PASSAGES, DEALING WITH POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS, 
 FOUND IN LATIN WRITERS 
 
 (a) The Magistracies 
 
 1. The aediles, censors, praetors, and consuls. 
 
 Sunto aediles curatores urbis, annonae ludorumque sollem- 
 nium ; ollisque ad honoris amplioiis gradum is primus ascensus 
 esto. — Censores populi aevitates, suboles, familias pecuniasque 
 censento ; urbis tecla templa, vias, aquas, aerarium, vectigalia 
 tuento ; populique partes in tribus discribunto ; exin pecunias, 
 aevitates, ordines partiunto ; equitum peditumque prolem descri- 
 bunto ; caelibes esse prohibento ; mores populi regunto ; probrum 
 in senatu ne relinquunto. Bini sunto ; magistratum quinquen- 
 nium habento [reliqui magistratus annui sunto] eaque potestas 
 semper esto. — luris disceptator, qui privata iudicet iudicarive 
 iubeat, praetor esto. Is iuris civilis custos esto. Huic pote- 
 state pari quotcumque senatus creverit populusve iusserit, tot 
 sunto. — Regio imperio duo sunto ; iique praeeundo, iudicando, 
 consulendo praetores, indices, consules appellamino ; militiae 
 summum ius habento : nemini parento ; ollis salus populi 
 suprema lex esto. Eumdem magistratum, ni interfuerint decern 
 anni, ne quis capito. Cic. de Lei^i^- 3. 7-9. 
 
 2. Collegiality ; magistratus maiores and minores. Cf. 
 
 pp. 1 54 ff . 
 
 In edicto consulum, quo edicunt, quis dies comitiis cen- 
 turiatis futurus sit, scribitur ex vetere forma perpetua : ne quis 
 magistratus minor de caelo servasse velit. Quaeri igitur solet, 
 qui sint magistratus minores. Super hac re meis verbis nil 
 
 426
 
 THE MAGISTRACIES 427 
 
 opus fuit, quoniam liber M. Messalae auguris de auspiciis 
 primus, cum hoc scriberemus, forte adfuit. Propterea ex eo 
 libro verba ipsius Messalae subscripsimus : Patriciorum auspi- 
 cia in duas sunt divisa potestates. Maxima sunt consulum, 
 praetorum, censorum. Neque tamen eorum omnium inter se 
 eadem aut eiusdem potestatis, ideo quod conlegae non sunt 
 censores consulum aut praetorum, praetores consulum sunt. 
 Ideo neque consules aut praetores censoribus neque censores 
 consulibus aut praetoribus turbant aut retinent auspicia; at 
 censores inter se, rursus praetores consulesque inter se et vitiant 
 et obtinent. Praetor, etsi conlega consulis est, neque prae- 
 torem neque consulem iure rogare potest, ut quidem nos a 
 superioribus accepimus aut ante haec tempora servatum est et ut 
 in Commentario tertio decimo C. Tuditani patet, quia imperium 
 minus praetor, mains habet consul, et a minore imperio mains 
 aut maior [a minore] conlega rogari iure non potest. Nos 
 his temporibus praetore praetores creante veterum auctoritatem 
 sumus secuti neque his comitiis in auspicio fuimus. Censores 
 aeque non eodem rogantur auspicio atque consules et praetores. 
 Reliquorum magistratuum minora sunt auspicia. Ideo illi 
 ' minores,' hi ' maiores ' magistratus appellantur. Minoribus 
 creatis magistratibus tributis comitiis magistratus, sed iustus 
 curiata datur lege ; maiores centuriatis comitiis fiunt. 
 
 Ex his omnibus verbis Messalae manifestum fit, et qui sint 
 magistratus minores et quamobrem ' minores ' appellentur. Sed 
 et conlegam esse praetorem consuli docet, quod eodem auspicio 
 creantur. Maiora autem dicuntur auspicia habere, quia eorum 
 auspicia magis rata sunt quam aliorum. Cell. N. A. 13. 15. 
 
 3. The right of appeal. C£. pp. 27, 31, 98, 240 £f. 
 
 (P. Valerius Publicola) legem ad populum tulit eam, quae 
 centuriatis comitiis prima lata est, ne quis magistratus civem 
 Romanum adversus provocationem necaret neve verberaret. 
 Provocationem autem etiam a regibus fuisse declarant ponti- 
 ficii libri, significant nostri etiam augurales, itemque ab 
 omni iudicio poenaque provocari licere indicant XII Tabulae
 
 428 APPENDIX II 
 
 coinplurilnis legibus, et,quod proditum memoria est, decern viros, 
 qui leges scripserint, sine provocatione creates, satis oslenderit 
 reliquos sine provocatione magistratus non fuisse ; Luciique 
 Valerii Potiti et M. Horatii Barbati, hominum concordiae 
 causa sapientcr popularium, consularis lex sanxit ne quis 
 magistratus sine provocatione crearetur. Neque vero leges 
 Porciae, quae tres sunt triuni Porciorum, ut scitis, quidquam 
 praeter sanctionem attulerunt novi. Itaque Publicola, lege 
 ilia de provocatione perlata, statim secures de fascibus demi 
 iussit postridieque sibi collegam Sp. Lucretium subrogavit, 
 suosque ad eum, quod erat maior natu, lictores transire iussit, 
 instituitque primus ut singulis consulibus alternis mensibus 
 lictores praeirent, ne plura insignia assent imperii in libero 
 populo quam in regno fuissent. Cic. de Re Publ. 2. 53-5. 
 
 4. History of the quaestorship. Cf. pp. 206 f. 
 
 P. Dolabella censuit spectaculum gladiatorum per omnes 
 annos celebrandum pecunia eorum qui quaesturam adipisce- 
 rentur. Apud maiores virtutis id praemium fuerat, cunctisque 
 civium, si bonis artibus fiderent, licitum petere magistratus ; ac 
 ne aetas quidem distinguebatur, quin prima iuventa consulatum 
 et dictaturas inirent. Sed quaestores regibus etiam tum impe- 
 rantibus instituti sunt: quod lex curiata ostendit, a L. Bruto 
 repetita. Mansitque consulibus potestas deligendi, donee eum 
 quoque honorem populus mandaret. Creatique primum Vale- 
 rius Potitus et Aemilius Mamercus, sexagesimo tertio anno post 
 Tarquinios exactos, ut rem militarem comitarentur. Dein, 
 gliscentibus negotiis, duo additi, qui Romae curarent. Mox 
 duplicatus numerus, stipendiaria iam Italia, et accedentibus 
 provinciarum vectigalibus. Post lege Sullae viginti creati 
 supplendo senatui, cui iudicia tradiderat. Et, quamquam 
 equites iudicia recuperavissent, quaestura tamen ex dignitate 
 candidatorum aut facilitate tribuentium gratuito concedebatur, 
 donee sententia Dolabellae velut venundaretur. Tac. Ann.
 
 THE SENATE 429 
 
 (b) The Senate 
 
 5. Rules governing meetings of the senate. Cf. pp. 
 
 225 ff. 
 
 Gnaeo Pompeio consulatus primus cum M. Crasso desi- 
 gnatus est. Eum magistratum Pompeius cum initurus foret, 
 quoniam per militiae tempora' senatus habendi consulendique, 
 rerum expers urbanarum fuit, M. Varronem, familiarem suum 
 rogavit, uti commentarium faceret eio-aycoyiKov — ■ sic enim 
 Varro ipse appellat — , ex quo disceret, quid facere dicereque 
 deberet, cum senatum consuleret. Eum librum commentarium, 
 quem super ea re Pompeio fecerat, perisse Varro ait in litteris, 
 quas ad Oppianum dedit, quae sunt in libro Epistolicarum 
 Quaestionum quarto, in quibus litteris, quoniam quae ante 
 scripserat non comparebant, docet rursum multa ad eam rem 
 ducentia. 
 
 Primum ibi ponit, qui fuerint, per quos more maiorum sena- 
 tus haberi soleret eosque nominat : ' dictatorem, consules, prae- 
 tores, tribunos plebi, interregem, praefectum urbi,' neque alii 
 praeter hos ius fuisse dixit facere senatusconsultum, quoti- 
 ensque usus venisset, ut omnes isti magistratus eodem tempore 
 Romae essent, tum quo supra ordine scripti essent, qui eorum 
 prior aliis esset, ei potissimum senatus consulendi ius fuisse 
 ait, deinde extraordinario iure tribunos quoque militares, qui 
 pro consulibus fuissent, item decemviros, quibus imperium 
 consulare tum esset, item triumviros rei publicae constituendae 
 causa creatos ius consulendi senatum habuisse. 
 
 Postea scripsit de intercessionibus dixitque, intercedendi, ne 
 senatusconsultum fieret, ius fuisse iis solis, qui eadem potestate, 
 qua ii, qui senatusconsultum facere vellent, maioreve essent. 
 
 Tum adscripsit de locis, in quibus senatusconsultum fieri 
 iure posset, docuitque confirmavitque, nisi in loco per augurem 
 constituto, quod ' templum ' appellaretur, senatusconsultum 
 factum esset, iustum id non fuisse. Propterea et in curia 
 Hostilia et in Pompeia et post in lulia, cum profana ea loca
 
 430 APPENDIX II 
 
 fuissent, templa esse per augurcs constituta, ut in iis senatus- 
 consulta more maiorum iusta fieri possent. Inter quae id 
 quoque scriptum reliquit, non omnes aedes sacras templa esse 
 ac ne aedem quidem Vestae templum esse. 
 
 Post iiaec deinceps dicit, senatusconsultum ante exortum 
 aut post occasuni solem factum ratuni non fuisse, opus etiam 
 censorium fecisse existimatos, per quos eo tempore senatus- 
 consultum factum esset. 
 
 Docet deinde inibi multa : quibus diebus habere senatum 
 ius non sit; immolareque hostiam prius auspicarique debere, 
 qui senatum luil)iturus esset, de rebusque divinis prius quam 
 humanis ad senatum referendum esse ; turn porro referri opor- 
 tere aut infinite de re pul)lica aut de singulis rebus finite; sena- 
 tusque consultum fieri duol)us modis : aut per discessionem, si 
 conscntiretur, aut, si res dubia esset, per singulorum sententias 
 cxquisitas ; singulos autem debere consuli gradatim incipique 
 a consulari gradu. Ex quo gradu semper quidem antea primum 
 rogari solitum, qui princeps in senatum lectus esset; turn 
 autem, cum haec scriberet, novum morem institutum refert 
 per ambitionem gratiamque, ut is primus rogaretur, quern 
 rogai'e vellet qui haberet senatum, dum is tamen ex gradu 
 consulari esset. Praeter haec de pignore quoque capiendo 
 disserit deque multa dicenda senatori, qui, cum in senatum 
 venire deberet, non adesset. Haec et alia quaedam id genus 
 in Hbro, quo supra dixi, M. Varro epistula ad Oppianum scripta 
 executus est. 
 
 Sed quod ait, senatusconsultum duobus modis fieri .solere, 
 aut conquisitis sententiis aut per discessionem, parum convenire 
 videtur cum eo, quod Ateius Capito in Coniectaneis scriptum 
 reliquit. Nam in libro IX. Tuberonem dicere ait, nullum 
 senatusconsultum fieri posse non disce.ssione facta, quia in 
 omnibus senatusconsultis, etiam in iis, quae per relationem 
 fierent, discessio esset necessaria, idque ipse Capito verum esse 
 adfirmat. Sed de hac omni re alio in loco plenius accuratius- 
 que nos memini scribere. Cell. N. A. 14. 7.
 
 THE SENATE 431 
 
 6. The expression of opinion and obstructive methods in 
 the senate. Cf. pp. 227 ff. 
 
 Ante legem, quae nunc de senatu habendo observatur, ordo 
 rogandi sententias varius fuit. Alias primus rogabatur qui 
 princeps a censoribus in senatum lectus fuerat, alias qui desi- 
 gnati consules erant ; quidam e consulibus, studio aut necessi- 
 tudine aliqua adducti, quern is visum erat honoris gratia extra 
 ordinem sententiam primum rogabant. Observatum tamen est, 
 cum extra ordinem fieret, ne quis quemquam ex alio quam ex 
 consulari loco sententiam primum rogaret. C. Caesar in con- 
 sulatu, quem cum M. Bibulo gessit, quattuor solos extra ordi- 
 nem rogasse sententiam dicitur. Ex his quattuor principem 
 rogabat M. Crassum ; sed, postquam filiam Cn. Pompeio 
 desponderat, primum coeperat Pompeium rogare. 
 
 Eius rei rationem reddidisse eum senatui Tiro Tullius, 
 M. Ciceronis libertus, refert, itaque se ex patrono suo audisse 
 scribit. Id ipsum Capito Ateius in libro, quem De Officio 
 Senatorio composuit, scriptum reliquit. 
 
 In eodem libro Capitonis id quoque scriptum est : C, inquit, 
 Caesar consul M. Catonem sententiam rogavit. Cato rem, 
 quae consulebatur, quoniam non e re publica videbatur, perfici 
 nolebat. Eius rei ducendae gratia longa oratione utebatur 
 eximebatque dicendo diem. Erat enim ius senatori, ut sen- 
 tentiam rogatus diceret ante quicquid vellet aliae rei et quoad 
 vellet. Caesar consul viatorem vocavit eumque, cum finem 
 non faceret, prendi loquentem et in carcerem duci iussit. 
 Senatus consurrexit et prosequebatur Catonem in carcerem. 
 Hac, inquit, invidia facta Caesar destitit et mitti Catonem 
 iussit. Cell. N. A. ^. lo. 
 
 7. Pedarii senatores. Cf. pp. 223 f. 
 
 Non pauci sunt, qui opinantur, ' pedarios senatores ' appel- 
 latos, qui sententiam in senatu non verbis dicerent, sed in 
 alienam sententiam pedibus irent. Quid igitur? cum senatus- 
 consultum per discessionem fiebat, nonne universi .senatores
 
 432 APPENDIX II 
 
 sententiam pedibus ferebant? Atque haec etiam vocabuli istius 
 ratio dicitur, quam Gavius Bassus in Commentariis suis scriptam 
 reliquit. Senatores enim dicit in veterum aetate, qui curulem 
 magistratum gessissent, curru solitos honoris gratia in curiam 
 velii, in quo curru sella esset, super quam considerent, quae 
 ob earn causam ' curulis ' appellaretur ; sed eos senatores, qui 
 magistratum curulem nondum ceperant, pedibus itavisse in 
 curiam ; propterea senatores nondum maioribus honoribus 
 ' l)cdarios ''nominatos. M. autem Varro in satira Menippea, 
 quae 'Ittttokuwv inscripta est, equites quosdam dicit ' pedarios ' 
 appellatos, videturque eos significare, qui nondum a censoribus 
 in senatum lecti senatores quidem non erant, sed, quia honori- 
 bus populi usi erant, in senatum veniebant et sententiae ius 
 habebant. Nam et curulibus magistratibus functi, si nondum 
 a censoribus in senatum lecti erant, senatores non erant et, quia 
 in postremis scripti erant, non rogabantur sententias, sed, quas 
 principes dixerant, in eas discedebant. Gell. N.A. 3. 18. 1-6. 
 
 8. The praef actus urbi and the tribune as presiding officers 
 in the senate. Cf. pp. 225 f. 
 
 Praefectum urbi Latinarum causa relictum senatum habere 
 posse Junius negat, quoniam ne senator quidem sit neque ius 
 habeat sententiae dicendae, cum ex ea aetate praefectus fiat, 
 quae non sit senatoria. M. autem Varro in quarto Epistoli- 
 carum Ouaestionum et Ateius Capito in Coniectaneorum IX., 
 ius esse praefecto scnatus habendi dicunt ; deque ea re adsen- 
 sum esse Capito [Varrojnem Tuberoni contra sententiam lunii 
 refert: Nam et tribunis, inquit, plebis senatus habendi ius erat, 
 quamquam senatores non essent, ante Atinium plebiscitum. 
 Gell. N. A. 14. 8. 
 
 9. Secret voting in the senate. Cf. p. 384. 
 
 Excesseramus sane manifestis illis apertisque suffragiis 
 licentiam contionum. Non tempus loquendi, non tacendi 
 modestia, non denique sedendi dignitas custodiebatur. Magni 
 undique dissonique clamores, procurrebant omnes cum suis
 
 THE SENATE 433 
 
 candidatis, multa agmina in medio, multique circuli ct indecora 
 confusio : adeo desciveramus a consuetudine parentum, apud 
 quos omnia disposita, moderata, tranquilla, maiestatem loci 
 pudoremque retinebant ! Supersunt senes, ex quibus audire 
 soleo hunc ordinem comitiorum. Citato nomine candidati 
 silentium summum. Dicebat ipse pro se, explicabat vitam 
 suam, testes et laudatores dabat, vel eum sub quo militaverat, 
 vel eum cui quaestor fuerat, vel utrumque, si poterat ; addebat 
 quosdam ex suffragatoribus ; illi graviter et paucis loquebantur. 
 Plus hoc quam preces proderat. Nonnumquam candidatus aut 
 natales competitoris, aut annos, aut etiam mores arguebat. 
 Audiebat senatus gravitate censoria. Ita saepius digni quam 
 gratiosi praevalebant. Quae nunc immodico favore corrupta, 
 ad tacita suffragia quasi ad remedium decucurrerunt. Plin. 
 Ep. 3. 20. 3-7. 
 
 10. The frivolity of certain senators. 
 
 Scripseram tibi verendum esse ne ex tacitis suffrages vitium 
 aliquod exsisteret. Factum est. Proximis comitiis in qui- 
 busdam tabellis multa iocularia atque etiam foeda dictu, in 
 una vero pro candidatorum nominibus suffragatorum nomina 
 inventa sunt. Excanduit senatus, magnoque clamore ei qui 
 scripsisset iratum principem est comprecatus. Ille tamen 
 fefellit et latuit, forta^se etiam inter indignantes fuit. Quid 
 hunc putamus domi facere, qui in tanta re, tam serio tempore, 
 tam scurriliter ludat? qui denique omnino in senatu dicax et 
 urbanus et bellus est? Tantum licentiae pravis ingeniis adicit 
 ilia liducia : " Quis enim sciet?" Poposcit tabellam, stilum 
 accepit, demisit caput : neminem veretur, se contemnit. Inde 
 ista ludibria, scaena et pulpito digna. Quo te vertas? quae 
 remedia conquiras? Ubique vitia remediis fortiora. 'AAAo. 
 TaCra rw xnrkp y]\x.a.<i jxtkricru, cui multum cotidie vigiliarum, 
 multum laboris adicit haec nostra iners et tamen effrenata petu- 
 lantia. Plin. Ep. 4. 25.
 
 434 APPENDIX II 
 
 (c) Popular Assemblies 
 
 11. Popular assemblies in Athens and Rome. 
 
 O morem j)raeclarum, disciplinamquc, quam a maioribus 
 accepimus, si quidem teneremus ! sed nescio quo pacto iam 
 de manibus elabitur. NuUam enim illi nostri sapicntissimi et 
 sanctissimi viri vim contionis esse voluerunt. Quae scisceret 
 plebes, aut quae populus iuberet, summota contione, distributis 
 partibus, tributim et centuriatim discriptis ordinibus, classibus, 
 aetatibus, auditis auctoribus, re multos dies promulgata et 
 cognita, iuberi vetarique voluerunt. Graecorum autem totae 
 res publicae sedentis contionis temeritate administrantur. 
 Itaque, ut banc Graeciam, quae iam diu suis consiliis perculsa 
 et adflicta est, omittam, ilia vetus, quae quondam opibus, 
 imperio, gloria floruit, hoc uno malo concidit, libertate immo- 
 derata ac licentia contionum. Cum in theatre imperiti homines, 
 rerum omnium rudes ignarique, consederant, turn bella inutilia 
 suscipiebant, turn seditiosos homines rei publicae praeficiebant, 
 turn optime meritos cives e civitate eiciebant. C\c. pro Flacco^ 
 15 f. 
 
 12. The ius cum populo agendi. Cf. p. 164. 
 
 Idem Messala in eodem libro de minoribus magistratibus ita 
 scripsit : Consul ab omnibus magistra'tibus et comitiatum et 
 contionem avocare potest. Praetor et comitiatum et contionem 
 usquequaque avocare potest, nisi a consule. Minores magi- 
 stratus nusquam nee comitiatum nee contionem avocare possunt. 
 Ea re, qui eorum primus vocat ad comitiatum, is recte agit, 
 quia bifariam cum populo agi non potest nee avocare alius alii 
 potest. Set, si contionem habere volunt, uti ne cum populo 
 agant, quamvis multi magistratus simul contionem habere 
 possunt. Ex his verbis Messalae manifestum est, aliud esse 
 ' cum populo agere,' aliud ' contionem habere.' Nam ' cum 
 populo agere' est rogare quid populum, quod suffragiis suis aut 
 iubeat aut vetet, ' contionem ' autem ' habere ' est verba facere 
 ad populum sine ulla rogatione. Gell. N. A. 13. 16.
 
 POPULAR ASSEMBLIES 435 
 
 13. Some points concerning the comitia and the concilium. 
 Cf. pp. 251 ff. 
 
 In libro Laelii Felicis ad Q. Mucium primo scriptum est, 
 Labeonem scribere, ' calata ' comitia esse, quae pro conlegio 
 pontificum habentur aut regis aut flaminum inaugurandorum 
 causa. Eorum autem alia esse ' curiata,' alia ' centuriata ' ; 
 ' curiata ' per lictorem curiatum ' calari,' id est ' convocari,' 
 ' centuriata ' per cornicinem. 
 
 Isdem comitiis, quae ' calata ' appellari diximus, et sacrorum 
 detestatio et testamenta fieri solebant. Tria enim genera testa- 
 mentorum fuisse accepimus : unum, quod calatis comitiis in 
 populi contione fieret, alteram in procinctu, cum viri ad proe- 
 lium faciendum in aciem vocabantur, tertium per familiae 
 emancipationem, cui aes et libra adhiberetur. 
 
 In eodem Laelii Felicis libro haec scripta sunt: Is qui non 
 ut universum populum, sed partem aliquam adesse iubet, non 
 ' comitia,' sed ' concilium ' edicere debet. Tribuni autem 
 neque advocant patricios neque ad eos referre ulla de re 
 possunt. Ita ne 'leges' quidem proprie, sed ' plebiscita ' 
 appellantur, quae tribunis plebis ferentibus accepta sunt, qui- 
 bus rogationibus ante patricii non tenebantur, donee Q. Horten- 
 sius dictator legem tulit, ut eo iure, quod plebs statuisset, 
 omnes Quirites tenerentur. Item in eodem libro hoc scriptum 
 est: Cum ex generibus hominum suffragium feratur, 'curiata' 
 comitia esse, cum ex censu et aetate 'centuriata,' cum ex regio- 
 nibus et locis, ' tributa ' ; centuriata autem comitia intra 
 pomerium fieri nefas esse, quia exercitum extra urbem imperari 
 oporteat, intra urbem imperari ius non sit. Propterea centu- 
 riata in campo Martio haberi exercitumque imperari praesidii 
 causa solitum, quoniam populus esset in suffrages ferendis 
 occupatus. Gall. N. A. 15. 27. 
 
 14. Definition of a rogatio, a lex, and similar technical 
 terms. Cf. pp. 255 ff. 
 
 Quaeri audio, quid ' lex ' sit, quid ' plebiscitum,' quid 
 'rogatio,' quid 'privilegium.' Ateius Capito, publici privatique
 
 43^ APPENDIX II 
 
 iuris peritissimus, quid 'lex' esset, hisce verbis definivit : 
 Lex, inquit, est generale iussum populi aut plebis, rogante 
 magistratu. Ea definitio si probe facta est, neque de imperio 
 Cn. Pompei neque de reditu M. Ciceronis neque de caede 
 P. Clodi quaestio neque alia id genus populi plebisve iussa 
 •leges' vocari possunt. Non sunt enim generalia iussa neque 
 de universis civibus, sed de singulis concepta ; quocirca 'privi- 
 legia' potius vocari debent, quia veteres 'priva' dixerunt, quae 
 nos 'singula' dicimus. Quo verbo Lucilius in primo Satira- 
 rum libro usus est : 
 
 abdomina thynni 
 Advenientibus priva dabo cephalafeaque acarnae. 
 
 ' Plebem ' autem Capito in eadem definitione seorsum a 
 populo divisit, quoniam in populo omnis pars civitatis omnes- 
 que eius ordines contineantur, 'plebes' vero ea dicatur, in qua 
 gentes civium patriciae non insunt. ' Plebiscitum' igitur est 
 secundum eum Capitonem lex, quam plebes, non populus, 
 accipit. 
 
 Sed totius huius rei iurisque, sive cum populus sive cum 
 plebs rogatur, sive quod ad [singulos sive quod ad] universes 
 pertinet, caput ipsum et origo ct quasi frons ' rogatio ' est. Ista 
 enim omnia vocabula censentur continenturque 'rogationis' 
 principali genere et nomine ; nam, nisi populus aut plcbs 
 rogetur, nullum plebis aut populi iussum fieri potest. 
 
 Sed quamquam hacc ita sunt, in vcteribus tamen scriptis 
 non magnam vocabulorum istorum differentiam esse animad- 
 vertimus. Nam et 'plebiscita' et ' privilcgia ' translaticio 
 nomine 'legis' appellaverunt eademque omnia confuso et 
 indistincto vocabulo ' rogationes ' dixerunt. Sallustius quo- 
 que, proprietatum in verbis retincntissimus, consuetudini con- 
 cessit et privilcgium, quod de Cn. Pompei reditu ferebatur, 
 'legem' appellavit. Verba ex secunda eius Ilistoria liaecsunt: 
 Nam Sullam consulem de reditu eius legem ferentem ex con- 
 posito tr. pi. C. Herennius prohibuerat. Gell. N. A. lo. 20.
 
 MISCELLANEOUS 437 
 
 id) Miscellaneotis 
 
 15. Origin of Roman law. 
 
 Necessarium nobis videtur ipsius iuris originem atque pro- 
 cessum demonstrare. Et quidem initio civitatis nostrae populus 
 sine lege certa, sine lure certo primum agere instituit, omnia- 
 que manu a regibus gubernabantur. Postea, aucta ad aliquem 
 modum civitate, ipsum Romulum traditur populum in triginta 
 partes divisisse, quas partes curias appellavit propterea, quod 
 tunc rei publicae curam per sententias partium earum expedie- 
 bat, et ita leges quasdam et ipse curiatas ad populum tulit ; 
 tulerunt et sequentes reges, quae omnes conscriptae exstant in 
 libro Sexti Papirii. ... Is liber appellatur lus Civile Papiri- 
 anum, non quia Papirius de suo quidquam ibi adiecit, sed quod 
 leges sine ordine latas in unum composuit. Exactis deinde 
 regibus lege tribunicia omnes leges hae exoleverunt iterumque 
 coepit populus Romanus incerto magis iure et consuetudine 
 aliqua uti quam per latam legem, idque prope viginti annis 
 passus est. Postea, ne diutius hoc fieret, placuit publica 
 auctoritate decern constitui viros per quos peterentur leges a 
 Graecis civitatibus et civitas fundaretur legibus ; quas in 
 tabulas eboreas perscriptas pro rostris composuerunt. Digest, 
 I. 2. 2. 
 
 16. The laws of the twelve tables. Cf. pp. 30 f. 
 
 Fremant omnes licet, dicam quod sentio : bibliothecas meher- 
 cule omnium philosophorum unus mihi videtur XII Tabularum 
 libellus, si quis legum fontes et capita viderit, et auctoritatis 
 pondere et utilitatis ubertate superare. Ac si nos, id quod 
 maxime debet, nostra patria delectat, cuius rei tanta est vis ac 
 tanta natura ut Ithacam illam in asperrimis saxulis, tamquam 
 nidulum affixam, sapientissimus vir immortalitati anteponeret ; 
 quo amore tandem inflammati esse debemus in eius modi 
 patriam, quae una in omnibus terris domus est virtutis, imperii, 
 dignitatis. Cuius primum nobis mens, mos, disciplina nota
 
 438 APPENDIX II 
 
 esse debet, vel quia est patria parens omnium nostrum, vel quia 
 tanta sapientia fuisse in iure constituendo putanda est, quanta 
 fuit in his tantis opibus imperii comparandis. Percipietis etiam 
 illani ex co>;nitione iuris laetitiam et voluptatem, quod quantum 
 praestiterint nostri maiores prudentia ceteris gentibus turn 
 facillime intellegetis, si cum illorum nostras leges confene 
 volueritis. Incredibile est enim quam sit omne ius civile, 
 praeter hoc nostrum, inconditum ac paene ridiculum; de quo 
 multa soleo in sermonibus cotidianis dicere, cum hominum 
 nostrorum prudentiam ceteris omnibus et maxime Graecis 
 antepono. Cic. de Or. i. 195-7- 
 
 17. The optimates and the populates. 
 
 Duo genera semper in hac civitate fuerunt eorum qui versari 
 in re publica atque in ea se excellentius gerere studuerunt ; 
 quibus ex generibus alteri se populares, alteri optimates et 
 haberi et esse voluerunt. Qui ea quae faciebant quaeque 
 dicebant multitudini iucunda volebant esse, populares ; qui 
 autem ita se gerebant, ut sua consilia optimo cuique pro- 
 barent, optimates habebantur. Quis ergo iste optimus quis- 
 que? Numero si quaeris, innumerabiles : neque enim aliter 
 stare possemus. Sunt principes consilii publici ; sunt qui 
 eorum sectani sequuntur ; sunt maximorum ordinum homines, 
 quibus patet curia ; sunt municipales rusticique Romani ; sunt 
 negotia gerentes, sunt etiam libertini optimates. Numerus, ut 
 dixi, huius generis late et varie diffusus est ; sed genus univer- 
 sum, ut tollatur error, brevi circumscribi et definiri potest. 
 Omnes optimates sunt, qui neque nocentes sunt, nee natura 
 improbi, nee furiosi, nee malis domesticis impediti. Est igitur 
 ut ei sint, quam tu nationem appellasti, qui integri sunt, et 
 sani, et bene de rebus domesticis constituti. Horum qui 
 voluntati, commodis, opinionibus in gubernanda re publica 
 serviunt, defensores optimatium ipsique optimates gravissimi 
 et clarissimi cives numerantur, et principes civitatis. Cic. pro 
 Sest. 96.
 
 MISCELLANEOUS 439 
 
 i8. Municipia and coloniae. Cf. pp. 59 f., 90 f., 281 f., 
 299 f . 
 
 'Municipes' et 'municipia' verba sunt dictu facilia et usu 
 obvia, et neutiquam reperias qui haec dicit, quin scire se plane 
 putet, quid dicat. Sed profecto aliud est, atque aliter dicitur. 
 Quotus enim fere nostrum est, qui, cum ex colonia populi 
 Romani sit, non se ' municipem ' esse et populares suos ' muni- 
 cipes ' esse dicat, quod est a ratione et a veritate longe aver- 
 sum? Sic adeo et 'municipia' quid et quo iure sint quantum- 
 que a 'colonia' differant, ignoramus existimamusque meliore 
 condicione esse ' colonias' quam ' municipia.' 
 
 De cuius opinationis tam promiscae erroribus divus Hadri- 
 anus in oratione, quam de Italicensibus, unde ipse ortus fuit, 
 in senatu habuit, peritissime disseruit mirarique se ostendit, 
 quod et ipsi Italicenses et quaedam item alia municipia antiqua, 
 in quibus Vticenses nominat, cum suis moribus legibusque uti 
 possent, in ius coloniarum mutari gestiverint. Praenestinos 
 autem refert maximo opere a Tiberio imperatore petisse orasse- 
 que, ut ex colonia in municipii statum redigerentur, idque illis 
 Tiberium pro ferenda gratia tribuisse, quod in eorum finibus 
 sub ipso oppido ex capitali morbo revaluisset. 
 
 ' Municipes ' ergo sunt cives Romani ex municipiis, legibus 
 suis et suo iure utentes, muneris tantum cum populo Romano 
 honorari participes, a quo munere capessendo appellati viden- 
 tur, nullis aliis necessitatibus neque ulla populi Romani lege 
 adstricti, nisi in quam populus eorum fundus factus est. Pri- 
 mos autem municipes sine suffragii iure Caerites esse factos 
 accepimus concessumque illis, ut civitatis Romanae honorem 
 quidem caperent, sed negotiis tamen atque oneribus vacarent 
 pro sacris bello Gallico receptis custoditisque. Hinc ' tabu- 
 lae Caerites' appellatae versa vice, in quas censores referri 
 iubebant, quos notae causa suffrages privabant. 
 
 Sed 'coloniarum' alia necessitudo est; non enim veniunt 
 extrinsecus in civitatem nee suis radicibus nituntur, sed ex 
 civitate quasi propagatae sunt et iura institutaque omnia populi
 
 440 APPENDIX IT 
 
 Romaiii, non sui arbitrii, habent. Quae tanien condicio, cum 
 sit maijis obnoxia et minus libera, potior tamen et praesta- 
 bilior existimatur propter amplitudinem maiestatemque populi 
 Romani, cuius istae coloniae quasi effigies parvae simulacraque 
 esse quaedam videntur, et simul quia obscura oblitterataque 
 sunt municipiorum iura, quibus uti iam per innotitiam non 
 queunt. Cell. A', ^i. i6. i"^.
 
 INDEX^ 
 
 Ab actis senatus 477 
 
 Ab epistulis 436 
 
 Accensus 170 
 
 A censibus equestribus 490 
 
 A cognitionibus 438 
 
 Acta diurna 477 
 
 Acta senatus 477 
 
 Actium 142 
 
 Adiudicatio, the 519 
 
 Adlectio 22, 425, 473 
 
 Adrogatio 22 
 
 Advocati 513 
 
 Aediles ceriales, instituted 127 
 
 Aediles curules, instituted 38, 
 230 ; plebeians eligible 43 ; re- 
 lation to plebeian aediles 231 ; 
 powers 232-236 ; division of 
 duties 237 ; under th* empire 
 467 
 
 Aediles plebei, instituted 27 ; 
 early functions 228; develop- 
 ment of office 229 ; relation to 
 curule aediles 231 ; powers 
 232-236 ; division of duties 
 237 ; under the empire 467 
 
 Aelius, L., emperor 377 
 
 Aelius Sejanus, L. 347 
 
 Aemilius Lepidus, M. 135, 139 
 
 Aerarium militare, the 422, 447 
 
 Aerarium Saturni, the 419, 445 
 
 Agar publicus, the 9, 29, 36, 85- 
 86 ; control of 184 
 
 Agrippina, the younger 351-352 
 
 Album iudicum, the 512, 515 
 
 Album senatorium, the 473 
 
 A libellis 437 
 
 A memoria 439 
 
 Amici Augusti, the 434 
 
 Antiochus 77 
 
 Antoninus Pius 376 
 
 Antonius, M., Caesar's lieutenant 
 109; consul in 44 B.C. 131; 
 relations with Octavius 134- 
 142 
 
 Apparitores 170 
 
 Appeals, under king 507 ; under 
 the republic 27, 30, 31, 87, 159, 
 287, 511, 513; under the em- 
 pire 515, 520, 521 
 
 A rationibus 435 
 
 Arbitri 517 
 
 Army, the, reformed by Servius 
 Tullius 23; its officers 159, 
 186; as a political factor 117, 
 388 ; reformed by Augustus 
 345 ; under the empire 388, 
 409 
 
 Asia 77, 110-112, 114 
 
 Assemblies, the popular, as crim- 
 inal courts 511; procedure 513. 
 See also ccnnitia cenUiriata and 
 tributa, and concilhtm plebis 
 
 Assessores 520 
 
 Auctoritas patrum, the, and legis- 
 lation 50, 94. See also the 
 senate 
 
 Augusti, the, of the system of 
 Diocletian 394 
 
 1 The numbers refer to the sections. 
 441
 
 442 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Augustus, restoration of order 
 by 3:12 ; legal position from 32 
 to 27 B.C. 323 ; receives con- 
 sular imperium in 29 B.C. 323 ; 
 Jan. 13, 27 B.C. 324; receives 
 proconsular imperium 324 ; 
 controls provinces 324 ; his 
 tribunician power 324, 326 ; 
 titles of Augustus and prin- 
 ceps 325 ; his proconsular im- 
 perium extended 326 ; his 
 perfected system 326; his 
 settlement of the succession 
 327; social reforms328; financial 
 reforms 329 ; frontier policy 34 1 ; 
 government of the provinces 
 342-344 ; military reforms 345. 
 See also emperor and Octavius 
 Aurelius, M., emperor 377 
 Auspices 155-157. 304. 3'7 
 
 Barbarians, the, enter the empire 
 
 390 
 
 Bibliography : {a) historical, pp. 
 22-2 J, 40,62, 93, 127-12S, 149, 
 288, 304, 316, 328, 340; {b) 
 descriptive, pp. 173-174, 219, 
 243-244. 265, 358. 372-373. 
 380, 387, 399 
 
 Bibulus, M. 105 
 
 Brutus, D. 134 
 
 Brutus, M. 133, 136 
 
 Caesar. See Julius 
 Caesars, the 395, 400, 432 
 Calculus Minervae, the 515 
 Calumnia 513 
 Candidati Caesaris 416 
 Capitis deminutio 289, 4S4 
 Caracalla, edict of 500 
 Carthage, first war with 72 ; sec- 
 ond 74 ; third So 
 
 Cassius Longinus, C. 133 
 
 Catiline. See Seri^/us 
 
 Censitores 444 
 
 Censorship, the, established 38 ; 
 open to plebeians 43 ; develop- 
 ment of 64 ; collegiate prin- 
 ciple 206; election 207; term 
 of office 207 ; powers 208-213 ; 
 the nota 210, 216; the recog- 
 nitio equitum 211 ; the lectio 
 senatus2i2; the lustrum 214 ; 
 the census outside Rome 215; 
 decline of the censorship 216; 
 under the empire 331, 365, 
 367, 425, 466 
 
 Census, the. See censorship 
 
 Centenarii, etc. 494 
 
 Centum viri, the 442, 517, 519, 
 520 
 
 Centuria praerogativa 306 
 
 Centuries, cunstitulion of the 23 
 51, 66, 501 ; the centuria prae- 
 rogativa 306 
 
 Cicero. See Tullius 
 
 Cimbri, the 88 
 
 Cinna. See Cornelius 
 
 Citizenship, number having it 
 57 ; how acquired under the 
 republic 288 ; how lost 289 ; 
 content 291 ; restricted citizen- 
 ship 291 ; how acquired under 
 the empire 482-4S3 ; how lost 
 484; content 4S5-486. See also 
 plebeians, and J.alins 
 
 Civil and criminal cases distin- 
 guished 508 
 
 Civitates, sine suffragio 53, 291 ; 
 foederatae 53 ; liberae 84 ; sti- 
 pendiariae 84 ; decumanae 84 ; 
 censoriae 84. See also citizen- 
 ship 
 
 Classes, the 23, 51, 66, 501 
 
 The- numl)crs refer to the sections.
 
 INDEX 
 
 443 
 
 Claudius, emperor, character 351; 
 reforms 351 
 
 Claudius Caecus, Appius 51 
 
 Cleopatra, and Caesar 121; and 
 Antony 140-142 
 
 Clients i, 9, 20 
 
 Clodius Pulcher, P. 106-108 
 
 Cohortes urbanae, the 449 
 
 Coinage, right of 424 
 
 Collegiality. See par potestas 
 
 Colonies, 49, 53, 68, 85, 115; 
 status of 54 ; maritime 55 
 
 Comites Augusti, the 434 
 
 Comitia, the 295 ; under Augus- 
 tus 333. See also comitia centu- 
 riata, curiata, tributa 
 
 Comitia centuriata, the, Servian 
 organization of 23 ; becomes 
 poUtical 27 ; the com. cent, 
 and the auctoritas patrum 50 ; 
 reformed 66; composition 300; 
 presiding officer 301 ; dies 
 comitiales 302 ; formalities 
 303-305 ; method of voting 
 306 ; powers 307-309 ; as an 
 electoral body 307 ; as a legis- 
 lative body 308 ; as a court of 
 appeal 309 ; relation to other 
 assemblies 308 ; under the em- 
 pire 333, 349. 503- See also 
 courts, criminal 
 
 Comitia curiata, the, under the 
 monarchy 22 ; admission of 
 plebeians 298; formalities 299; 
 the plebeian com. cur. 28 ; the 
 com. cur. under the empire 502 
 
 Comitia tributa, the, origin of 
 32, 310; become independent 
 50; composition 311 ; meetings 
 312 ; powers 313 ; for election 
 of priests 314 ; under the em- 
 pire 333, 349, 504 
 
 Commendatio, the 331, 416 
 
 Commissioners 254, 255. See also 
 legati 
 
 Commodus, emperor 377-378 
 
 Concilia, the 296 
 
 Concilia provinciarum, the 361,459 
 
 Concilium plebis, the, established 
 28 ; acquires legislative powers 
 31 ; becomes independent 50; 
 judicial functions 178; com- 
 position 315; presiding officer 
 315; place and time of meeting 
 316; formalities 317 ; method 
 of voting 318 ; as an electoral 
 body 319 ; as a legislative body 
 321 ; under the empire t^^iZi 
 349, 505. See also courts, 
 crit?iiual 
 
 Condemnatio, the 519 
 
 Consilium, the 166, the legis- 
 lative consilium 332 ; the judi- 
 cial consilium 375, 389, 411 
 
 Constitutiones principis, the 413 
 
 Consularis, the, under Diocle- 
 tian 398 
 
 Consulship, the, established 25 ; 
 open to plebeians 37, 43 ; 
 titles 179; collegiate principle 
 180 ; consul maior 180 ; powers 
 181-189; position under the 
 empire 464 ; consules suffecti 
 and ordinarii 128, 365, 397, 464 
 
 Contiones 164, 175, 297 
 
 Cornelius Cinna, L. 93 
 
 Cornelius Sulla, L., and Mithri- 
 dates 92, III; his legislation 
 
 94-97 
 
 Corrector, the 398 
 
 Courts, civil, under the republic 
 182; under the empire 375, 
 411,442-443, 520; officialswith 
 jurisdiction 516; organization 
 
 The numbers refer to the sections.
 
 444 
 
 INDEX 
 
 under the republic 517; pro- 
 cedure by legis actiones 51S; 
 procedure by tlie formulary 
 method 519, 520; in the prov- 
 inces 521 
 Courts, criminal, under the king 
 507 ; under the republic 96, 
 182, 236, 238, 251, 309, 321 ; 
 under the empire 350, 412, 
 440-441, 480; criminal juris- 
 diction of magistrates 510, 521; 
 popular assemblies as courts 
 511; procedure 513; trials 
 under the empire 515 ; in the 
 provinces 521. See also quaes- 
 tiones extraordinariae^ per- 
 petnae 
 Crassus. See Licinitis 
 Cura alimentorum, the 455 
 Cura alvei et riparum Tiberis et 
 
 cloacarum urbis, the 426, 452 
 Cura annonae, the 234, 331, 426, 
 
 451 
 Cura aquarum, the 426, 452 
 Cura ludorum, the 235 
 Cura operum tuendorum, the 426 
 Cura urbis, the 233, 337-339 
 Curatores aquarum, the 452 
 Curatores viarum, the 427, 454 
 Curiae, the 21, 292 
 Curio. See Scriboitius 
 Cursus honorum, the, under the 
 republic 60, 95, 172; under 
 the empire 460 ; the eques- 
 trian cursus honorum 494 ; the 
 senatorial 497 
 
 Damnatio memoriae, the 405 
 [Decem viri] agris dandia adsig- 
 
 nandis 252 
 Decem viri legibus scribundis, the 
 
 30, 256 
 
 Decem viri stlitibus iudicandis, 
 the 343, 442, 470, 517, 519, 520 
 
 Decreta 163, 413 
 
 Decuriones 358 
 
 Demonstratio, the 519 
 
 Deportatio 4S4, 515 
 
 Detestatio sacrorum 22 
 
 Dictatorship, the 25, 31, 63; ap- 
 pointment 190; the dictator's 
 powers 191 ; term of othce 
 192 ; Sulla's dictatorship 94, 
 257; Caesar's 125-126, 257 
 
 Dies comitiales 302, 316 
 
 Dioceses, the, under Diocletian 
 
 Diocletian 393-399 
 
 Diribitores 306 
 
 Domitian, autocratic attitude 367; 
 
 reforms 36S ; character 369 
 Ducatus, the, under Diocletian 398 
 Duces 39S 
 
 Duo viri aedilicia potestate 35S 
 Duo viri iure dicundo 358 
 Duo viri navales 55, 250 
 Duo viri perduellionis iS, 253, 507 
 Duo viri viis, etc. 243 
 
 Edicta 163, 204,375, 413 
 Edictum perpetuum, the 465, 519 
 Emperor, the, position strength- 
 ened 367, 385 ; succession 
 400-401; imperial titles 402; 
 insignia 403 ; powers 406-430, 
 515, 520 ; exemption from cer- 
 tain laws 430 ; the emperor 
 and the senate 332, 367, 385, 
 387, 472-473. 477-479- See 
 also Aui^iistus 
 Epistulae 413 
 
 Equites, the, placed on juries 87; 
 removed 96; restored 100; the 
 recognitio equitum 211; the 
 
 The numbers refer to the sections.
 
 INDEX 
 
 445 
 
 equites under the empire 335, 
 381, 490-494; insignia 493; 
 equites equo publico and 
 privato 491 ; seviri equitum 
 Romanorum 492 
 
 Etruria 12, 41 
 
 Expansion. See imperialism 
 
 Fasces, the 169 
 
 Finances, the 184, 213, 239, 280, 
 
 3-9. 365. 384. 417-425 
 
 Fiscus Caesaris, the 420, 446 
 
 Flamen provinciae, the 361 
 
 Flavius, Cn. 51 
 
 Foreign affairs, control of 57, 59, 
 83, 117, 186, 188,281,283-284, 
 341-344, 357, 370, 383, 390, 
 408—409. See also /rcOTwc^j 
 
 Formulae, the 519 
 
 Freedmen, admitted to the tribes 
 51 ; ineligible to office 171 ; 
 ineligible to senate 263 ; re- 
 stricted rights 291 ; under the 
 empire 484-486. See also 
 Seviri Aiignstales 
 
 Freemen, classes of 290 
 
 Gains, emperor 350 
 
 Galba. See Siilpiciiis 
 
 Gallienus 390 
 
 Gaul conquered 115 
 
 Gentes, the, government of i, 8; 
 
 increased in number 9. See 
 
 also patricians 
 Gentiles i 
 Germanicus 347 
 Gracchus. See Semproniiis 
 Graecostasis, the 284 
 
 Hadrian 375 
 Hannibal 74 
 Helvius Pertinax, P. 379 
 
 The numbers refer to the sections. 
 
 Imperator, the title of 159, 402 
 
 Imperial officials classified 431 
 
 Imperialism under the kings 9; 
 under the republic 41, 42, 52, 
 55, 71-81, 88, 111-115, 117, 
 341-345. 357. 359-361, 370- 
 372, 383-384, 390-392, 428, 
 458-459- 
 
 Imperium, definition of the 149, 
 154, 159; maius imperium 191, 
 197 ; delegation of 244 ; pri- 
 vati cum imperio 247 
 
 Incolae 358 
 
 Intentio, the 519 
 
 Intercessio, the 151, 221, 274 
 
 Interrex, the 16, 245 
 
 Italians, the, and Drusus 90 ; 
 the Social war 91 ; the Italians 
 gain citizenship 91. See also 
 itts Italiciim 
 
 Italy, government of, 187, 282, 
 
 340, 357, 427, 453 
 ludex datus, the 441 
 Indices, method of choosing the 
 
 512; challenging 512; polling 
 
 jury 513; under the empire 
 
 515; in the civil courts 517. 
 
 See also courts 
 luniores, the 23 
 luridici 457 
 lus auxilii, the 218 
 lus coercitionis, the 160, 222 
 lus commercii, the 20 
 lus conubii, the 20, t,t, 
 lus cum patribus agendi, the 164, 
 
 181, 224, 414 
 lus cum plebe agendi, the 164, 
 
 223 
 lus cum populo agendi, the 164, 
 
 181, 415 
 lus gentilitatis, the 20 
 lus bonorum, the 20
 
 446 
 
 INDEX 
 
 lus imaginum, the l6S 
 
 lus intercedendi, the 221, 331 
 
 lus Italicum, the 486 
 
 lus Latii, the. See Latin cilizcii- 
 
 sltip 
 lus referendi, the 269 
 lus suffragii, the 20 
 lustitium, the 189, 286 
 
 Jugurtha SS 
 
 Julianus, Didius 379 
 
 Julius Caesar, C, and Catiline 
 102; consul in 59 B.C. 105; 
 the le.x Vatinia 105 ; the le.x 
 Pompeia Licinia 109; crosses 
 the Rubicon 109; conquest of 
 Gaul 115; campaigns against 
 the Pompeians 1 19-122 ; cam- 
 paigns in Egypt and Asia 
 Minor 121; assassination 123; 
 Caesar's policy 124; offices 
 and titles 125; events after 
 his assassination 131 
 
 Jurors. See indices 
 
 Kelts, the 41, 52, 73 
 
 King, the 4, 8; becomes heredi- 
 tary 13; method of choice 16; 
 powers 17; insignia 18 
 
 Latin citizenship 365, 372 ; under 
 the empire 498 
 
 Latins, the 41 ; made dependent 
 52-54 ; contest for Roman citi- 
 zenship 87 ; political- rights 
 291 ; under the empire 483. 
 See also Latin citizenship 
 
 Law, sources of Roman 513, 515 
 
 Legati, 255. See also commis- 
 sioners 
 
 Legati Augusti pro praetore 344 
 
 Legatio libera, tlie 255 
 
 Leges (named after proposer), 
 1. Aelia Fufia (155) '57. 317; 
 1. Aelia Sentia (a.o. 4) 485; 1. 
 Aternia Tarpeia (454) 30, 160, 
 321 ; plebiscitum Atinium 
 (2d century) 264 ; 1. Caecilia 
 Didia (98) 89, 303 ; 1. Calpur- 
 nia(i49)65; 1. Canuleia (445) 
 33; I. Cassia (137) 61 ; leges 
 Clodiae (58) 106, 157; leges 
 Corneliae (81-80) 94-97, 188, 
 283; 1. Domitia (104) 97; 1. 
 Gabinia tabellaria (139) 61 ; 1. 
 Gabinia de provinciis consu- 
 laribus (67) loi ; 1. Ilortensia 
 (287) 50; 1. lulia municipalis 
 (45) 130,340; 1. lulia Augusti 
 de adulteriis 328; 1. lulia 
 Augusti de maritandis ordi- 
 nibus 328; 1. lulia Norbana 
 (a.u. 19) 485; leges Liciniae 
 Sextiae (367) 36 ; 1. Maenia 
 (2S7) 50; 1. Manilla (66) 101 ; 
 1. Menenia Sestia (452) 30; 
 plebiscitum Ogulnium (300) 
 43; plebiscitum Ovinium(339- 
 3'-) 47. 259. 261; 1. Papia 
 Poppaea 32S ; 1. Papiria (131) 
 61 ; 1. Plautia Papiria (S9) 91 ; 
 1. Pompeia de civitate danda 
 (89) 91 ; leges Ponipeiae (52) 
 109, 188, 2S3; 1. Publilia (339) 
 50 ; 1. Sempronia de provinciis 
 (123) 283; 1. Sempronia de 
 provocatione (123) 87, 287; 1. 
 Valeria de provocatione (509) 
 27; leges Valeriae Horatiae 
 (449) 3'. 50: •• Vatinia (59) 105; 
 1. Villia annalis (180) 60, 173 
 
 Leges (projioser's name not men- 
 tioned), 1. curiata de imperio 
 1 6, 1 7 7 ; 1. de potestate censoria 
 
 The numbers refer to the sections.
 
 INDEX 
 
 447 
 
 308 ; 1. de imperio Vespasiani 
 p. 419 ; 1. provinciae 83; 1. 
 sacrata militaris 49 ; leges de 
 ambitu 61 ; leges X tabularum 
 30, p. 418; leges de provoca- 
 tione 27, 30-31,87, 159; leges 
 frumentariae 87 ; leges tabel- 
 lariae 61, 86, 306; paternal 
 laws 49 
 
 Legis actiones 518 
 
 Legislation, procedure in 306. 
 See also comitia centuriaia, 
 curiata, iributa, and concilium 
 plebis 
 
 Lepidus. See Aemilins 
 
 Lepidus, M., after Caesar's death 
 131 ; member of triumvirate 
 135; suspected by colleagues 
 137; loses power 139 
 
 Licinius Crassus, M., and the 
 slave war 99; consul in 70 B.C. 
 100; relation to CatiHnarian 
 conspiracy 102 ; in Parthia 
 114 
 
 Licinius Lucullus, L. 111-112 
 
 Lictors 169 
 
 Livius Drusus, M. 90 
 
 Lucullus. See Licinius 
 
 Lustrum, the 214 
 
 Macedonia, first war with 75 ; 
 second 76 ; third 78 ; treat- 
 ment of 79 
 Magister equitum 126, 193 
 Magistracies, the, reelection to 
 44, 60; plurality of offices 44 ; 
 relations to the senate 58 ; the 
 " recall " 85 ; two-year term 95 ; 
 colleges increased 127; can- 
 didates nominated by Caesar 
 128; definition of magistratus 
 144; magistratus, maiores and 
 
 minores, patricii and plebeii, 
 curule and non-curule, ordi- 
 narii and extraordinarii, cum 
 imperio and sine imperio 145- 
 149; term of office 152-153; 
 vacancies 153; powers 154- 
 165; emoluments of office 167; 
 insignia of office 168; eligibility 
 171-173; candidacy 174-175; 
 elections 176; inauguration 
 177; retirement from office 177; 
 responsibility 178; delegation 
 of the imperium 244 ; position 
 under the empire 331, 365, 397, 
 460-463; eligibility 461 ; nom- 
 ination, election, term of office 
 349, 462 ; loss of power 463. 
 See also citrstcs honoruni, im- 
 perium, and set late 
 
 Magistri militum 398 
 
 Maiestas, minuta 348 
 
 Mandata 413 
 
 Marius, C. 88, 93 
 
 Ministerial system introduced 
 
 351 
 Mithridates 92-93, 1 1 i-i 12 
 Monumentum Ancyranum, the 322 
 Munda 122 
 Municipal government 130, 358, 
 
 456, 489 
 Municipia 53 
 
 Natalium restitutio 485 
 
 Nero, accession 352 ; court in- 
 trigue 353; Seneca and Burrus 
 353 ; character of reign 354 ; 
 last of Julian line 356 
 
 Nerva 373 
 
 Nobilitas, origin of the 48, 50, 
 65; influence curtailed 129 
 
 Nominatio, the 331 
 
 Nota, the 210 
 
 The numbers refer to the sections.
 
 448 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Octavius, C, Caesar's heir 132; 
 relations with Antony 135-142. 
 See also August its 
 
 Officials with criminal jurisdic- 
 tion 510 
 
 Orationes principis, the 414 
 
 Ornamenta triumphalia 409 
 
 Otho. See Salvius 
 
 Pagus, the 2 
 
 Patricians, origin of the i ; rights 
 20; eligibility to office 171; 
 exclusive privileges 277, 291 
 
 Patronus, the i, 22, 513 
 
 Penalties 511, 513, 515 
 
 Peregrini 291, 499; peregrin! 
 dediticii 485, 499-500 
 
 Pertinax. See Helvius 
 
 Petitio, the 175 
 
 Pharsalus 120 
 
 Philippi 136 
 
 Piracy 73. "3 
 
 Plebeians, origin of the 9, 20; 
 enrolled in the army, lo-ii; 
 secure tribunate 27 ; publica- 
 tion of laws 30 ; right of inter- 
 marriage ^T) ; tribuni militares 
 34 ; admission to magistracies 
 36, 43; right to legislate 50; 
 members of comitia curiata 
 298; under the empire 487- 
 489. See also coticiliuin plebis 
 and trihuiii plebis 
 
 Pompeius, Sextus 139 
 
 Pompey, and Sertorius 98 ; con- 
 sul in 70 B.C. 100; the pirates 
 113; concjuest of the East 1 14; 
 consul in 55 B.C. 107 ; sole con- 
 sul in 52 B.C. 108; war with 
 Caesar i i9-i2(j 
 
 Pontiffs, the, as judges 507, 509 
 
 Porcius, M. Cato 106 
 
 Postumus, Gallic emperor 391 
 Potestas, definition of 149; maior 
 
 potestas 1 50 ; par potestas 151, 
 
 180,269,377,399 
 Praecones 170 
 Praefectus, alae, castrorum, co- 
 
 hortis, the 494 
 Praefectus aerarii, the 445 
 Praefectus alimentorum, the 427, 
 
 455 
 Praefectus annonae, the 441, 451 
 Praefectus Capuam, etc., the 243 
 Praefectus iuridicundo, the 65, 161 
 Praefectus praetorio, the 349, 389, 
 
 398, 411-412, 433, 441, 443 
 Praefectus urbi, the 18 ; under 
 the republic 1 26, 246; under the 
 empire 339 ; made permanent 
 official 349; functions 44 1-442, 
 449; the praefectus urbi feri- 
 arum Latinarum 470 
 Praefectus vigilum, the 339, 412, 
 
 441, 450 
 Praeses, the 398 
 
 Praetorship, the, established 3S ; 
 open to plebeians 43 ; changes 
 62 ; college enlarged 127, 331 ; 
 relation to consulship 197; 
 method of election 198; title 
 198; development of office 
 199-200; praetor urbanus 200, 
 246, 269, 465 ; praetor pere- 
 grinus 200, 465 ; assignment of 
 duties 201 ; powers 202-205 ; 
 the edictum perpetuum 204, 
 465 ; under the empire 465 
 Praevaricatio 513 
 Prefectures, the, under Diocle- 
 tian 3()S 
 Priesthoods 25, 36, 97, 1S3, 314 
 Princeps, the 325, 330, 331, 367, 
 414. See also emperor 
 
 The numbers refer to the sections.
 
 INDEX 
 
 449 
 
 Principium, the 318 
 
 Privati cum imperio 247 
 
 Procedure, criminal 513; ancient 
 and modem compared 514; 
 under the empire 515; civil 
 procedure 518-520 
 
 Procuratores 446, 448, 458 
 
 Professio, the 174, 331 
 
 Proletariat, the 23, 29, 35, 49, 51, 
 68, 85 
 
 Promagistracy, early instances 
 45 ; Sulla's system 95 
 
 Promulgatio legis 308 
 
 Prorogatio imperii, the 152. See 
 also prof?iagist7-acy 
 
 Provinces, acquisition of the 81; 
 their government 82, 188 ; the 
 lexprovinciae83; condition of 
 the provinces 116; governors' 
 term limited 126; Caesar's re- 
 forms 130; under senate 283; 
 the provinces under Augustus 
 342-344; local govemment359; 
 under the Julian emperors 360; 
 under the Flavian emperors 
 367, 370-372 ; in the second 
 century a.d. 383 ; in the third 
 century 389-392 ; under Dio- 
 cletian 398 ; imperial and sena- 
 torial provinces 342, 428; 
 imperial officers in the prov- 
 inces 458-459 ; the provincial 
 assemblies 361, 459 
 
 Provincia, meaning of 151 
 
 Punic wars, the. See Carthage 
 
 Pyrrhus 71 
 
 Quaestiones extraordinariae, the 
 189, 511 
 
 Quaestiones perpetuae, the 65, 87, 
 512; Sulla's reforms 96 ; com- 
 position of juries 87, 96, 100, 
 
 512; under praetors 162, 203; 
 political cases 178; presidency 
 512; under the empire 412, 
 440, 515 
 
 Quaestorship, the 18, 507; open 
 to plebeians 43 ; college en- 
 larged 63, 127; history of office 
 238 ; quaestores urbani 239 ; 
 quaestores militares 240 ; pro- 
 vincial quaestors 240, 246; 
 Italian quaestors 241; college 
 reduced 331 ; under the empire 
 469 
 
 Quattuor viri lure dicundo, the 
 358 
 
 Quattuor viri viis, etc. 243 
 
 Quinquennales, the 358 
 
 Recuperatores, the 517 
 
 Relegatio 484, 515 
 
 Religious affairs 25, 155-157, 183, 
 279, 326, 407 
 
 Renuntiatio, the 176, 306 
 
 Res privata, the 421, 448 
 
 Rescripta 413 
 
 Responsa prudentium, the 520 
 
 Rome, founding of 3 ; sources of 
 early traditions 5 ; early city 
 6; its population 7 ; early gov- 
 ernment 8 ; government under 
 the empire 337-339. 426, 449- 
 452 ; the regiones 339. See 
 also cura itrbis 
 
 Salvias Otho, M. 355 
 Samnites, the 52 
 Saturninus 89 
 Scribae, the 170 
 Scribonius Curio, C. 109, 119 
 Sella curulis, the 168 
 Sempronius Gracchus, C. 87 
 Sempronius Gracchus, Ti. 85 
 
 The numbers refer to the sections.
 
 450 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Senate, the, under the monarchy 
 13, 15, 19; the conscript! 26, 
 261, 267; the senate and the 
 tribune 39, 46 ; and the popu- 
 lar assemblies 57, 278; and the 
 magistrates 40, 58, 278; char- 
 acter of senatorial government 
 59; Sulla's reforms 94; the sen- 
 ate enlarged by Julius Caesar 
 129; relations to consul 181; 
 control of the finances 184; 
 the senatus consultum ulti- 
 mum 189, 287; the lectio sena- 
 tus 212; choice of members 
 259; number in senate 129, 
 260, 332 ; composition 261 ; 
 adlecti26i; eligibility 262-266; 
 age and property requirement 
 266 ; pedarii 267 ; insignia and 
 privileges 268; presiding officer 
 269; placeand time of meeting 
 270; quorum 271; procedure 
 272 ; classes of senators 267, 
 272; method of voting 273; 
 valid senatus consulta 274- 
 275; thesenatusauctoritas274; 
 the senate and modern parlia- 
 ments 276 ; powers of the sen- 
 ate277-287; senatusconsultum 
 and lex 278; the tumultus 286; 
 theiustitium 286; the appoint- 
 ment of a dictator 2S7 ; po- 
 sition of the senate under 
 Augustus 332, 471; numbers 
 reduced 332 ; in the second 
 century a.d. 380; in the third 
 387 ; under r3iocletian 396 ; 
 admission to the senate under 
 the empire 472; classes of sena- 
 tors 473 ; presidency of the 
 senate 474 ; place and time of 
 meeting 475; c|uorum 476; 
 
 procedure 477 ; the senate and 
 tlie princeps478; powers of the 
 senate 479-4S I, 515; municipal 
 senate 358. See also sena- 
 torial arislocracy and iits itiin 
 patrihiis ai^endi 
 Senatorial aristocracy, the, cre- 
 atedby Augustus 334; enlarged 
 by Claudius and Vespasian 
 365; position under the em- 
 pire 495-497; insignia and titles 
 496 ; the senatorial cursus 
 honorum 497. See also sen- 
 ate and nobilitas 
 Seniores, the 23 
 
 Sergius Catilina, L. 102 ; effect of 
 the Catilinarianconspiracy 103; 
 constitutionality of the execu- 
 tion of the conspirators 287 
 Sertorius, Q. 98 
 Seviri Augustales, the 336 
 Seviri equitum Romanorum 492 
 Sextus Pompeius 138-139 
 Sources, the pp. 40, 61, 92-93, 
 125-127, 147-149, 286-288, 
 303-304. 316, 3-7-328, 340, 
 and margins pp. 152-262, 341- 
 
 39S 
 Sources of traditional narrative 
 
 5, 24 ; of early constitutional 
 
 history 14 
 Spain acquired 79 ; ruled by 
 
 Sertorius 98 
 Stipendium 84 
 Sulla. See Cornelius 
 Sulpicius Galba, Ser. 355 
 Sulpicius Rufus, P. 93 
 Supplicatio, the 159 
 Syria, war with 77 
 
 Taxes. Stejinatices 
 Thapsus 121 
 
 The numbers refer to the sections.
 
 INDEX 
 
 451 
 
 lJ 
 
 Tiberius, associated in the gov- 
 ernment 327 ; made emperor 
 346; character 347 ; influence 
 of Sejanus 347 ; treason trials 
 348 ; transfers elections to 
 senate 349 
 
 Titus, emperor 366 
 
 Toga, praetexta, the 168; pur- 
 purea 168 
 
 Trajan 374 
 
 Tres viri capitales, the 127, 243, 
 470, 510 
 
 Tres viri monetales, the 127, 243, 
 470 
 
 Tres viri rei publicae constituen- 
 dae, the 135, 258 
 
 Tribuni, cohortis praetoriae, co- 
 hortis urbanae, cohortis vigi- 
 lum, legionis 494 
 
 Tribuni aerarii, the 100, 293, 440 
 
 Tribuni militares consulari potes- 
 tate, the, instituted 34, 194; 
 nura j3erj Q5 ; powers 195; dis- 
 appearance of office 196 
 
 Tribuni militum, the 194, 249 
 
 Tribuni plebis, the, instituted 27 ; 
 acquire positive powers 31 ; 
 seat in senate 39 ; power to 
 convoke senate 46 ; powers 
 limited by Sulla 94-95; re- 
 stored in 70 B.C. 100; public 
 prosecutor 178 ; election, num- 
 ber, insignia, attendants 217; 
 early powers 218; later powers 
 220-225 > ^^ political leaders 
 
 226; under the empire 429, 
 468 
 
 Tribunus celerum 18 
 
 Tribus, the 4, 7, 23, 41 ; freedmen 
 and landless freemen admitted 
 51; membership in 293; list 
 of the tribes 293 ; the tribes 
 under the empire 501 
 
 Triumph, a 159 
 
 Triumvirate, the first, formed 
 104 ; renewed 107 ; the second 
 triumvirate 135 ; discord be- 
 tween its members 1 38-1 41 ; 
 legal basis of its powers 258 
 
 Tullius Cicero, M., suppresses 
 Catilinarian conspiracy 102 ; 
 unites conservatives 103 ; ban- 
 ished 106-107 
 
 Tumultus, the 286 
 
 Vatinius, P. 105 
 
 Vectigal 84 
 
 Vespasian, proclaimed emperor 
 
 362 ; character 364 ; reforms 
 
 365 ; liberal policy 365 
 Viatores 170 
 Vicarius, the 398 
 Viginti sex viri, the, under the 
 
 republic 242-243 ; under the 
 
 empire 470 
 Vir, egregius, eminentissimus, 
 
 perfectissimus, splendidus 493 
 Vitellius, A., emperor 355 
 
 Zenobia 391 
 The numbers refer to the sections.
 
 ANNOUNCEMENTS
 
 A NEW HISTORY SERIES 
 
 By James Harvey Robinson, Columbia University, and 
 James Henry Breasted, The University of Chicago 
 
 The old saying that " a book reflects its maker's personality " 
 was never applied with greater truth than in the case of these new 
 histories by James Harvey Robinson and James Henry Breasted. 
 Never before has a course of this scope been offered for high schools 
 which, in addition to those essential qualities demanded of a text- 
 book, possessed in so large a measure such attractiveness of style, 
 such grasp of historical perspecdve, such farseeing breadth of vision 
 and scholarly thoroughness as is found in these two volumes for 
 high schools. 
 
 ANCIENT TIMES 
 
 By James Henry Breasted, xx + 742 pages, $1.60 
 
 For the first year of high-school history. In subject matter as well 
 as in style the author's constant aim has been to make this book simple 
 enough to be put into the hands of first-year classes. It is nevertheless 
 planned to stimulate and interest all pupils of high-school age. The 
 book aims to present the career of man from the Early Stone Age 
 to the break-up of the Roman Empire in a connected story of expand- 
 ing life and civilizadon. The story is always as graphic and picturesque 
 as it is scholarly, and is enriched at every point by the results of the 
 most recent excavations and discoveries. The elaborate system of 
 maps and the full illustrative material, comprising eight full-page color 
 plates and over three hundred black and white cuts, set a new standard 
 for textbook illustration. 
 
 MEDIEVAL AND MODERN TIMES 
 
 By James Harvey Robinson. 777 pages, ?i.6o 
 
 " Medieval and Modern Times," for the second year of high-school 
 history, covers the history of western Europe from the fall of the 
 Roman Empire to the present, placing the emphasis on the conditions 
 and institutions which characterized the life of their times rather than 
 upon events. Thus the student, instead of retaining a confused memory 
 of names and dates, is given a general knowledge of world history in- 
 valuable to him in interpreting the present. The exceptional full-page 
 plates and colored illustrations and the multitude of cuts from draw- 
 ings and rare photographs parallel the text in power to visualize the 
 scene and to interest the student. 
 
 GINN AND COMPANY Publishers
 
 HISTORY AS PAST ETHICS 
 
 By P. V. N. Myers 
 
 8vo, cloth, 387 pages, $1.50 
 
 This latest volume by Professor Myers is a distinct and val- 
 uable contribution to historical literature and the historical view- 
 point. The author treats history in its ethical significance and 
 provides a detailed study of the moral life in all the various 
 stages of historic evolution, from that of ancient Egypt to the 
 new social and international conscience of the present age. He 
 includes studies of ('hinese and Japanese morals and the ethi- 
 cal ideals of India as well as the moral life of the nations that 
 have molded the history of the Western world. 
 
 " History as Past Ethics " fittingly completes the remarkable 
 series of the Myers Histories. It is distinguished by the sound 
 scholarship, the vivid and picturesque style, and the ability to 
 handle large historic periods with a just and discriminating 
 sense of historical values that have gained for Professor Myers's 
 Histories an international reputation. It presents such a fresh 
 and illuminating viewpoint of historical movements, contempo- 
 rary as well as past, that it will prove a valuable adjunct to the 
 historv librarv or to that of the student of ethics. 
 
 GINN AiND COMPANY Puklishkrs
 
 h 
 
 r ^l . 11 A AT LOS 
 
 RENEWAL IVIAK i'Jmi
 
 3 1158 00514 3382 
 
 Ui 
 
 UC SOUTHERIM REGIOMAL LIBRARY FACILITY 
 
 AA 000 749 665