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ROMAN PUBLIC LIFE
ROMAN PUBLIC LIFE
ROMAN PUBLIC LIFE BY A. H. J. GREENIDGE, M.A. LECTURER AND LATE FELLOW OF HERTFORD COLLEGE, AND LECTURER IN ANCIENT HISTORY AT BRASENOSE COLLEGE, OXFORD London MACMILLAN AND CO., Limited NEW YORK: THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 1901 All rights reserved To M. L. P. J. T. W. G. and J. E. G. H....
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PREFACE
PREFACE
The object of this work is to trace the growth of the Roman constitution, and to explain its working during the two phases of its maturity, the developed Republic and the Principate. The title selected perhaps expresses more succinctly than any other could do the nature of the plan which I wished to undertake. My desire was to touch, however briefly, on all the important aspects of public life, central, municipal, and provincial; and, thus, to exhibit the political genius of the Roman in connexi
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1. THE POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS OF ROME
1. THE POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS OF ROME
Herzog, E. — Geschichte und System der römischen Staatsverfassung. Leipzig, 1884-91. Karlowa, O. — Römische Rechtsgeschichte , Bd. I. (“Staatsrecht und Rechtsquellen”). Leipzig, 1885. Lange, L. — Römische Alterthümer. Berlin, 1856-71. Madvig, J. — Die Verfassung und Verwaltung des römischen Staates. Leipzig, 1881-82. Mispoulet, J. — Les institutions politiques des Romains. Paris, 1882-83. Mommsen, Th. — Römisches Staatsrecht. Bd. I. (“die Magistratur”), II. Abt. i. (“die einzelen Magistraturen”)
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2. THE CITY OF ROME, THE MONARCHY AND THE EARLY HISTORY OF ROME
2. THE CITY OF ROME, THE MONARCHY AND THE EARLY HISTORY OF ROME
Bernhoeft, F. — Staat und Recht der römischen Königszeit im Verhältniss zu verwandten Rechten. Stuttgart, 1882. Dyer, T. — The History of the Kings of Rome. With a prefatory dissertation on its sources and evidence. London, 1868. Gilbert, O. — Geschichte und Topographie der Stadt Rom. Leipzig, 1883. Ihne, W. —“Early Rome, from the foundation of the city to its destruction by the Gauls” ( Epochs of Ancient History ). London, 1876. Lanciani, R. — Ancient Rome in the light of recent discoveries. Lo
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3. THE SENATE
3. THE SENATE
Mommsen, Th. — Römische Forschungen , Bd. I. Berlin, 1879. Rubino, J. — Untersuchungen (Abschn. iii. “von dem Senate und dem Patriciate”). Cassel, 1839. Willems, P. — Le Sénat de la République Romaine. Louvain, 1883-85....
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4. THE EQUITES
4. THE EQUITES
Belot, E. — Histoire des chevaliers Romains considerée dans ses rapports avec les différentes constitutions de Rome. Paris, 1869-73. Marquardt, J. — Historiae equitum Romanorum libri quattuor. Berlin 1840....
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5. THE POPULAR ASSEMBLIES
5. THE POPULAR ASSEMBLIES
Borgeaud, C. — Le plébiscite dans l’antiquité. Grèce et Rome. Geneva, 1886. Huschke, P. — Die Verfassung des Königs Servius Tullius als Grundlage zu einer römischen Verfassungsgeschichte. Heidelberg, 1838. Mommsen, Th. — Römische Forschungen , Bd. I. Berlin, 1879. Rubino, J. — Untersuchungen (Abschn. iv. “von den Volksversammlungen”) Cassel, 1839. Soltau, W. — Entstehung und Zusammensetzung der altrömischen Volksversammlungen. Berlin, 1880. Soltau, W. — Die Gültigkeit der Plebiscite. Berlin, 188
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6. THE STATE DIVISIONS
6. THE STATE DIVISIONS
Beloch, J. — Der italische Bund unter Roms Hegemonie. Leipzig, 1880. Huschke, P. — Die Verfassung des Königs Servius Tullius. Heidelberg, 1838. Kubitschek, J. — De Romanarum tribuum origine et propagatione. Vienna, 1882. Kubitschek, J. — Imperium Romanum tributim discriptum. Vienna, 1889. Mommsen, Th. — Die römische Tribus in administrativer Beziehung. Altona, 1844....
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7. ADMINISTRATION UNDER THE PRINCIPATE
7. ADMINISTRATION UNDER THE PRINCIPATE
Cuq, E. —“Le conseil des empereurs d’Auguste à Dioclétien” ( Mémoires présentés à l’Académie des inscriptions ). Paris, 1884. Hirschfeld, O. — Untersuchungen auf dem Gebiete der römischen Verwaltungsgeschichte. Berlin, 1877. Liebenam, W. — Forschungen zur Verwaltungsgeschichte des römischen Kaiserreichs. Leipzig, 1888. Liebenam, W. — Die Laufbahn der Procuratoren bis auf die Zeit Diocletians. Jena, 1886....
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8. THE CIVIL AND CRIMINAL COURTS
8. THE CIVIL AND CRIMINAL COURTS
Bethmann-Hollweg, M. A. von. —“Der römische Civilprozess” ( Der Civilprozess des gemeinen Rechts , Bde. I. II.). Bonn, 1864. Geib, G. — Geschichte des römischen Criminalprocesses bis zum Tode Justinians. Leipzig, 1842. Greenidge, A. — The legal procedure of Cicero’s time. Oxford, 1901. Keller, F. L. von. — Der römische Civilprozess und die Actionen. 5te Ausg. bearbeitet von Adolf Wach. Leipzig, 1876. Mommsen, Th. — Römisches Strafrecht. Leipzig, 1899. Puntschart, V. — Die Entwicklung des grundge
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9. PRIVATE AND CRIMINAL LAW
9. PRIVATE AND CRIMINAL LAW
Cuq, E. — Les institutions juridiques des Romains. Paris, 1891. Czyhlarz, C. von. — Lehrbuch der Institutionen des römischen Rechts. Prague, Vienna, Leipzig. 1895. Giraud, C. — Histoire du droit Romain ou introduction historique à l’étude de cette législation. Paris, 1847. Goodwin, F. — The Twelve Tables. London, 1886. Ihering, R. von. — Geist des römischen Rechts auf den verschiedenen Stufe seiner Entwicklung. Leipzig, 1877-83. Karlowa, O. — Römische Rechtsgeschichte. Leipzig, 1885. Laboulaye,
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10. PUBLIC ECONOMY
10. PUBLIC ECONOMY
Cunningham, W. —“An essay on Western civilisation in its economic aspects” ( Ancient Times , Book III). Cambridge, 1898. Dureau de la Malle, A. — Economie politique des Romains. Paris, 1840. Marquardt, J. — Römische Staatsverwaltung , Bd. II. 2te. Aufl., besorgt von H. Dessau und A. von Domaszewski. Leipzig, 1884....
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11. SOCIAL CONDITIONS
11. SOCIAL CONDITIONS
Friedländer, L. — Darstellungen aus der Sittengeschichte Roms in der Zeit von August bis zum Ausgang der Antonine. Leipzig, 1862-71. Ingram, J. — A history of slavery and serfdom (ch. iii.). London, 1895. Marquardt, J. — Das Privatleben der Römer. 2te. Aufl., besorgt von A. Mau. Leipzig, 1886. Voigt, M. —“Privataltertümer und Kulturgeschichte” ( Handbuch der klassischen Altertums-Wissenschaft , herausg. von Dr. Iwan von Müller, Bd. IV. Abt. ii.). München, 1893. Wallon, H. — Histoire de l’esclava
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12. THE GUILDS
12. THE GUILDS
Cohn, M. — Zum römischen Vereinsrecht. Berlin, 1873. Liebenam, W. — Zur Geschichte und Organisation des römischen Vereinswesens, drei Untersuchungen. Leipzig, 1890. Mommsen, Th. — De collegiis et sodaliciis Romanorum. Kiel, 1843. Waltzing, J. — Etude historique sur les corporations professionelles chez les Romains depuis les origines jusqu’à la chute de l’Empire d’Occident. Louvain, 1895-99....
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13. RELIGIOUS ORGANISATION IN ITS POLITICAL ASPECT
13. RELIGIOUS ORGANISATION IN ITS POLITICAL ASPECT
Beurlier, E. — Essai sur le culte rendu aux Empereurs Romains. Paris, 1890. Boissier, G. — La religion Romaine d’Auguste aux Antonins. Paris, 1874. Bouché-Leclercq, A. — Les pontifes de l’ancienne Rome. Paris, 1871. Guiraud, P. — Les assemblées provinciales dans l’Empire Romain , Paris, 1887. Marquardt, J. —“De provinciarum Romanarum conciliis et sacerdotibus” ( Ephemeris Epigraphica , vol. i. pp. 200-14). Mourlot, F. — Essai sur l’histoire de l’Augustalité dans l’empire Romain. Paris, 1895. Mou
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14. THE MUNICIPAL TOWNS
14. THE MUNICIPAL TOWNS
Kuhn, E. — Die städtische und bürgerliche Verfassung des römischen Reichs bis auf die Zeiten Justinians. Leipzig, 1864-65. Liebenam, W. — Städteverwaltung im römischen Kaiserreiche. Leipzig, 1900. Mommsen, Th. —“Die Stadtrechte der latinischen Gemeinden Salpensa und Malaca in der Provinz Baetica” ( Abhandlungen der philologisch-historischen Classe der königlich sächsischen Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften , Bd. II.). Leipzig, 1857....
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15. THE PROVINCES
15. THE PROVINCES
Arnold, W. — The Roman system of provincial administration to the accession of Constantine the Great. London, 1879. Marquardt, J. — Römische Staatsverwaltung , Bd. I. Leipzig, 1881. Mommsen, Th. — The provinces of the Roman Empire from Caesar to Diocletian. Translated by William P. Dickson. London, 1886....
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16. SOURCES AND DOCUMENTS
16. SOURCES AND DOCUMENTS
Bruns, C. — Fontes juris Romani antiqui. Freiburg, 1893. Kipp, Th. — Quellenkunde des römischen Rechts. Leipzig, 1896....
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17. INSCRIPTIONS
17. INSCRIPTIONS
Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum. Berlin. Inscriptions Regni Neapolitani , ed. Mommsen. Leipzig, 1852. Mommsen, Th. — Res gestae divi Augusti ex monumentis Ancyrano et Apolloniensi. Berlin, 1883. Orelli-Henzen. — Inscriptionum Latinarum selectarum collectio. Zürich, 1828-56. Peltier, C. — Res gestae divi Augusti. Paris, 1886. Wilmanns, G. — Exempla inscriptionum Latinarum. Berlin, 1873....
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18. DICTIONARIES OF ANTIQUITIES CONTAINING ARTICLES ON ROMAN CONSTITUTIONAL LAW
18. DICTIONARIES OF ANTIQUITIES CONTAINING ARTICLES ON ROMAN CONSTITUTIONAL LAW
Daremberg-Saglio. — Dictionnaire des antiquités Grecques et Romaines (A to Lib). 1875, etc. Pauly. — Real-Encyclopädie der classischen Alterthumswissenschaft. 6 Bde. Stuttgart, 1839. Pauly-Wissowa. — Real-Encyclopädie , etc. (a new edition of the above, A to Corn). 1893, etc. Smith. — Dictionary of Greek and Roman antiquities. Third edition, edited by W. Smith, W. Wayte, and G. E. Marindin. London, 1890....
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19. HISTORIES OF ROME
19. HISTORIES OF ROME
Duruy, V. — History of Rome and of the Roman people, from its origin to the establishment of the Christian Empire. Translated by W. J. Clarke. Edited by J. P. Mahaffy. London, 1883-86. Gardthausen, V. — Augustus und seine Zeit. Leipzig, 1891-96. Gibbon, E. — The history of the decline and fall of the Roman Empire. Edited by J. B. Bury. London, 1896-1900. Hertzberg, G. — Geschichte des römischen Kaiserreichs (Oncken, W.— Allgemeine Geschichte , Hauptabth. 2, Thl. l). Berlin, 1880. How (W.) and Le
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§ 1. The Growth of the City
§ 1. The Growth of the City
In the developed political life of Italy there is a survival of a form of association known as the pagus [1] —an ethnic or, at least, a tribal unit, which is itself composed of a number of hamlets ( vici , οἶκοι). This district with its group of villages perhaps represents the most primitive organisation of the Italian peoples engaged in agriculture and pastoral pursuits. [2] The pagus seems to resemble the tribe ( tribus ) of the fully formed city-state, [3] while the vicus may often have repre
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§ 2. The Elements of the Population—Patricians, Plebeians, Clients
§ 2. The Elements of the Population—Patricians, Plebeians, Clients
The free population of Rome as a developed city-state was composed of the two elements of Patricians and Plebeians. The ultimate source of this distinction, which is undoubtedly anterior to the foundation of the city, can only be a matter of conjecture; but the origin of the Patriciate may probably be explained as the result partly of earlier settlement, partly of superior military prowess. The warriors within the pale receive the new settlers, but only on certain conditions; these conditions ar
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§ 3. Roman Family Organisation—The Gens, the Familia, the Bondsman and the Slave—The Disposition of Property—The Conception of “Caput”
§ 3. Roman Family Organisation—The Gens, the Familia, the Bondsman and the Slave—The Disposition of Property—The Conception of “Caput”
The clan ( gens ) was an aggregate of individuals supposed to be sprung from a common source, a social union, with common rights in private law, which had as its theoretical basis the notion of descent from a single ancestor. According to the juristic theory of the clan, all its individual members would, if their descent could be traced through every degree, have sprung from two individuals who were within the power of this ultimate ancestor, a sign of this original potestas being the common gen
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§ 4. The Citizens and the Political Subdivisions of the State
§ 4. The Citizens and the Political Subdivisions of the State
The whole collection of Roman citizens forms the populus Romanus quiritium , [118] or populus Romanus quirites . [119] Of the terms thus placed in apposition, populus Romanus is the more general descriptive name, and quirites the official title by which the citizens are addressed in the assembly. Yet both words appear to have the same signification; populus is the armed host, [120] and the quirites are the “ bearers of the lance .” [121] If the latter etymology is correct, the word quirites came
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§ 5. The Monarchical Constitution
§ 5. The Monarchical Constitution
It is generally agreed that the monarchical constitution of early Rome rested on a limited sovereignty of the people, a power restricted by the extraordinary authority of their sole magistrate. This popular sovereignty was asserted in jurisdiction, in legislation, and in the ratification of magisterial power. The attribution of the right of appeal in criminal cases ( provocatio ) [153] to the people shows that with them rests either the sovereign attribute of pardon or some right of trying crimi
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§ 6. The Servian Constitution
§ 6. The Servian Constitution
At some period before the close of the monarchy the absurdity of the existing constitutional arrangements began to be felt. In matters of private law there was not a single important difference between a free Plebeian and a Patrician; and large numbers of that portion of the Plebs which had sprung from clientship were virtually in a condition of independence. Although their tenure of the soil might be precarious, their right of acting for themselves in the law courts questionable, it must have b
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CHAPTER II THE GROWTH OF THE REPUBLICAN CONSTITUTION
CHAPTER II THE GROWTH OF THE REPUBLICAN CONSTITUTION
The two new magistrates, who were appointed to the headship of the state, were, like the king, armed with the imperium and its united powers of military leadership and jurisdiction. Hence they bore the old titles of praetores and judices , [316] while those designations which denoted a single supremacy in the state, such as dictator or magister populi , were necessarily discarded. The new magistrates were to hold office for a year and then to transmit their power to two successors. But their rig
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§ 1. The Classes of the Population
§ 1. The Classes of the Population
By the date of the lex Hortensia (287 B.C. ) the Republican constitution had, in all essential points (considered as the constitution of a city-state), completed its growth; but, before we proceed to examine the theory and practice of the developed polity, it is necessary to pause and inquire what changes these centuries of Republican development had made in the status of the citizen, and in that of the other classes of the city, who shared partially in, or were excluded from, his rights, and wh
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§ 2. The Theory of the Constitution
§ 2. The Theory of the Constitution
The Roman constitution had lost none of its complexity by growth. The accretions of ages had changed a curious but comparatively simple type of polity into a jumble of constitutional law and custom, through which even the keen eye of the Roman jurist could not pierce, and which even his capacity for fictitious interpretation and the invention of compromises could not reduce to a system. The lack of logic, which is the usual accompaniment of a conservatism not thorough-going enough to be consiste
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§ 1. General Characteristics of the Magistracy
§ 1. General Characteristics of the Magistracy
The collective powers of the magistrate had, as we saw, been summed up in the word imperium ; they had, perhaps, also been expressed by the vaguer term potestas . When, in course of time, magistracies were created which did not possess the imperium , potestas was necessarily the only word which expressed the generic power of the magistracy; imperium became a special species of this power. Thus one could speak of the consulare imperium or of the consularis potestas , but only of the tribunicia po
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§ 2. The Individual Magistracies
§ 2. The Individual Magistracies
After this general review of the magistracy, we may glance at the precise place in the state administration assigned to the separate magistrates, so far as the record of their duties has not been already anticipated. The only true mode of creating a dictator ( dicere dictatorem ) was through nomination by one of the consuls, [842] who, as we have seen, to avoid unfavourable omens, pronounced his selection between midnight and morning. [843] The question, which consul was to exercise this power,
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CHAPTER V THE PEOPLE AND ITS POWERS
CHAPTER V THE PEOPLE AND ITS POWERS
We have already noticed the duality of procedure by which the powers of the people were exercised, and seen that every popular act was dependent on a rogatio . [1160] But different spheres of popular activity may conveniently be distinguished. They may be divided into (i.) legislative or quasi-legislative acts; (ii.) elective; (iii.) judicial. (i.) With respect to legislation proper, the Roman, like every other government which recognises the theory of parliamentary sovereignty and has no provis
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CHAPTER VI THE SENATE
CHAPTER VI THE SENATE
The Roman constitution, in the form in which we have left it at the close of the period of its growth, was the chaotic result of attempts to arrest internal revolution, and of feeble and misdirected efforts to readjust the relations of outworn powers. A state in which three popular assemblies have each the right of passing binding acts of parliament, in which twenty magistrates with clashing authority have each the right of eliciting the sovereign will of the people, possesses no organisation wh
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CHAPTER VII THE INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS OF ROME AND THE INCORPORATION OF ITALY
CHAPTER VII THE INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS OF ROME AND THE INCORPORATION OF ITALY
The peoples of Greece and Italy offer, amidst many general points of similarity, some striking differences in their conceptions of international relations. The pan-Hellenic sentiment, which created a shadowy law of nations, has no pan-Italic counterpart. Outside the Greek city-state there was but the sentiment of nationality to create rules for human conduct; but, for this very reason, the rules, when created, were of pan-Hellenic validity. In Italy we get narrower but closer groupings; its hist
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CHAPTER VIII THE ORGANISATION AND GOVERNMENT OF THE PROVINCES
CHAPTER VIII THE ORGANISATION AND GOVERNMENT OF THE PROVINCES
When Rome had asserted her supremacy over the greater part of Sicily at the close of the first Punic war, a new problem in organisation was presented to her. She held, perhaps rightly, that these new dependencies, with their transmarine position, fickle politics, and in some cases Carthaginian sympathies, could not safely be included in the military symmachy of Italy; so she substituted tribute for military service, placed the command of the cities of a wide district under the guidance of the pe
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CHAPTER IX THE REVOLUTION AND THE TRANSITION TO THE PRINCIPATE
CHAPTER IX THE REVOLUTION AND THE TRANSITION TO THE PRINCIPATE
The party of reform which, during the last century of the Republic, gave a new development to the elastic Roman constitution, by gradually creating a stronger executive organ than had been known since the time of the monarchy, had two distinguishing features. One was an opposition, sometimes rational, sometimes blind, to the senatorial government; the other the exposition of a positive programme for remedying evils which all but the most callous or careless could see. The nature of their attack
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§ 1. The Powers of the Princeps
§ 1. The Powers of the Princeps
We have seen that the powers on which Augustus based his position as Princeps were the proconsulare imperium and the tribunicia potestas . In the theory of a constitution which he presented to the world the first of these prerogatives was supposed to establish his power outside Rome and Italy, the second, with its purely civic traditions, to be the basis of his influence within the central state. His object in exalting the tribunician power to the first place in Rome and her Italian dependencies
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§ 2. Titles, Insignia, and Honours of the Princeps
§ 2. Titles, Insignia, and Honours of the Princeps
In dealing with the titles of the Princeps, it is as well to begin with those which were not in the list of official titles, for, impressed on the ruler, as they were, by current usage, they were often the most significant. The word Princeps , although it described no office or peculiar authority, was yet a semi-official designation; even as employed in the later Republic it had signified a political pre-eminence over other citizens, [1642] and now it denoted not so much the “chief citizen” as t
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§ 3. Creation, Transmission, and Abrogation of the Principate
§ 3. Creation, Transmission, and Abrogation of the Principate
The Principate was, in the theory of the constitution, an elective office, and one based on the principle of occasional delegation. It was necessary for the life of the state that there should be a magistracy, [1674] but it was not necessary that there should be a Princeps. Hence there was no institution such as the Republican interregnum to fill up the gap left by the vacancy of the throne, [1675] and the fact that such gaps did occur in the history of the Principate shows that the possibility
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§ 4. The other Powers in the State—the Magistracy, the Comitia, and the Senate
§ 4. The other Powers in the State—the Magistracy, the Comitia, and the Senate
As the Republican constitution continued in form unimpaired, so its most essential feature, the magistracy, although subjected to modification, was still an integral element in the administration of Rome and Italy during the Principate. Few radical differences were introduced into the magisterial qualifications or career; the innovations affected only the age for office, the starting point in the cursus honorum , and one of the steps in the certus ordo magistratuum . The minimum age for the quae
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§ 5. The Chief Departments of the State; the Dual Control of Senate and Princeps
§ 5. The Chief Departments of the State; the Dual Control of Senate and Princeps
We have already seen that, in the most essential fact of sovereignty—the creation of the Principate—the Senate and people, or rather the Senate as representing the people, was theoretically supreme. [1802] The attribute of sovereignty that comes nearest to this is the power of legislation, for it is one that the “determinate human superior” generally retains in his own hands. The other functions that are usually associated with the highest authority in a community, such as the control of general
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§ 6. The Senatorial and the Equestrian Nobility
§ 6. The Senatorial and the Equestrian Nobility
Although the authority of the Princeps rested virtually on the support of the army, his position might have been unsafe, and would have been embarrassing, had he not secured for the work of administration at home and abroad an official class, that was dependent to some extent on imperial creation and, therefore, worked in harmony with himself. The old Republican nobility, so far as it had not been extinguished, might be utilised; but it could be employed only by being kept in fetters, and by pow
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§ 7. The Functionaries of the Princeps
§ 7. The Functionaries of the Princeps
The Princeps, since he is not a king, has neither magistrates nor ministers subject to his will; but he possesses a number of delegates and servants who assist in the performance of his vast duties of administration. Some of these, such as the legates, praefects, and curators, find analogies in the Republican constitution; others, such as the procurators and secretaries of departments, are borrowed from the organisation of a Roman household and are transferred from the life of the palace to that
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§ 1. The Organisation of Italy
§ 1. The Organisation of Italy
The chief feature of the organisation of Italy during the early Principate was the completion of the efforts made during the later Republic at incorporating its towns with Rome. The unity aimed at was chiefly that of jurisdiction, but we have no evidence of the steps which Augustus took to perfect the system of judicial centralisation, which had been devised at the close of the Republic. [2067] At the same time this Emperor adopted a device which, though its full details and effects are unknown,
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§ 2. The Organisation of the Provinces
§ 2. The Organisation of the Provinces
The imperial problem of the later Republic—the task of finding a frontier—occupied the unceasing energy of the early Principes, and in this, as in similar cases in the history of the world, delimitation involved extension. Sometimes the views as to the proper boundary altered, and advance was at times succeeded by retrogression. Thus Augustus sought the Elbe only to fall back on the Rhine, and Trajan adopted against the great eastern power a heroic policy of annexation which did not commend itse
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§ 3. The Worship of the Emperor
§ 3. The Worship of the Emperor
One result of the discipline which we have described was doubtless to create a strong, though not a warm, imperial sentiment. A gentler bond of union amongst the provinces and of attachment to the imperial house was to be found in the carefully cultivated world-religion which expressed itself in the form of Caesar-worship. The cult of the Emperor, although stimulated and encouraged by the imperial government, was by no means a purely artificial product. Had it offended against Roman or Italian s
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APPENDIX I THE TWO ASSEMBLIES OF THE TRIBES
APPENDIX I THE TWO ASSEMBLIES OF THE TRIBES
The existence of a comitia tributa populi , as distinct from the concilium plebis tributim , was first demonstrated by Mommsen ( Römische Forschungen, Die patricisch-plebejischen Tributcomitien der Republik ). The chief lines of evidence on which the proof of the existence of this parliament rests are as follows:— (i.) We have a series of passages which prove the continued distinction of the Populus and the Plebs and of patrician and plebeian magistrates, and which show that these magistrates co
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APPENDIX II A LIMITATION OF THE TRIBUNATE IN THE REIGN OF NERO
APPENDIX II A LIMITATION OF THE TRIBUNATE IN THE REIGN OF NERO
Tacitus in the Annals (xiii. 28, 2), in describing certain limitations on the powers of tribunes and aediles which were introduced in the year 56 A.D. , mentions one respecting the tribunate, the nature of which has never yet been explained. He expresses it in the words “prohibiti tribuni jus praetorum et consulum praeripere, aut vocare ex Italia cum quibus lege agi posset”—“the tribunes were forbidden to usurp the authority of praetors and consuls, or to summon out of Italy persons liable to le
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