Part 9 (2/2)

The earlier history of the Roman const.i.tution has been already related.

We have seen how, after a long struggle, the Plebeians acquired complete political equality with the Patricians. In the Second Punic War, the antagonism between the two orders had almost disappeared, and the only mark of separation between them in political matters was the regulation that, of the two Consuls and two Censors, one must be a Patrician and the other a Plebeian. Even this fell into disuse upon the rise of the new n.o.bility, of which we shall speak in the next chapter. The Patricians gradually dwindled away, and it became the custom to elect both Consuls and Censors from the Plebeians.[38]

I. THE MAGISTRATES.--Every Roman citizen who aspired to the consuls.h.i.+p had to pa.s.s through a regular gradation of public offices, and the earliest age at which he could become a candidate for them was fixed by a law pa.s.sed in B.C. 179, and known by the name of the Lex Annalis. The earliest age for the Quaestors.h.i.+p, which was the first of these magistracies, was 27 years; for the aediles.h.i.+p, 37; for the Praetors.h.i.+p, 40; and for the Consuls.h.i.+p, 43.

All magistrates at Rome were divided into _Curules_ and those who were not Curules. The Curule Magistrates were the Dictators, Censors, Consuls, Praetors, and Curule aediles, and were so called because they had the right of sitting upon the _Sella Curulis_, originally an emblem of kingly power, imported, along with other insignia of royalty, from Etruria.

1. The _Quaestors_ were the paymasters of the state. It was their duty to receive the revenues, and to make all the necessary payments for the military and civil services. There were originally only two Quaestors, but their number was constantly increased with the conquests of the Republic. Besides two Quaestors who always remained at Rome, every Consul or Praetor who conducted a war or governed a province was attended by one of these magistrates.

2. The _aediles.h.i.+p_ was originally a Plebeian office, inst.i.tuted at the same time as the Tribunes.h.i.+p of the Plebs.[39] To the two Plebeian aediles two Curule aediles were added in B.C. 365. The four aediles in common had the charge of the public buildings,[40] the care of the cleansing and draining of the city, and the superintendence of the police. They had also the regulation of the public festivals; and the celebration of the Ludi Magni, or Great Games, was their especial function. Originally they received a sum of money from the state to defray the expenses of these games, but the grant was withdrawn about the time of the First Punic War; a measure attended with important consequences, since the higher magistracies were thus confined to the wealthy, who alone could defray the charges of these costly entertainments. After the Macedonian and Syrian wars, the Curule aediles often incurred a prodigious expense, with the view of pleasing the people, and securing their votes in future elections.

3. The inst.i.tution of the _Praetors.h.i.+p_ in B.C. 366 has been already narrated. There was originally only one Praetor, subsequently called Praetor Urba.n.u.s, whose chief duty was the administration of justice. In B.C. 246 a second Praetor was added, who had to decide cases in which foreigners were concerned, and who was hence called Praetor Peregrinus.

When the territories of the state extended beyond Italy, new Praetors were created to govern the provinces. Two Praetors were appointed to take the administration of Sicily and Sardinia (B.C. 227), and two more were added when the two Spanish provinces were formed (B.C. 197). There were thus six Praetors, two of whom staid in the city and the other four went abroad. Each Praetor was attended by six Lictors.

4. The _Consuls_ were the highest ordinary magistrates at Rome, and were at the head both of the state and the army. They convoked the Senate and the a.s.sembly of the Centuries; they presided in each, and had to see that the resolutions of the Senate and the People were carried into effect. They had the supreme command of the armies in virtue of the Imperium conferred upon them by a special vote of the People. At the head of the army, they had full power of life and death over their soldiers. They were preceded by twelve lictors, but this outward sign of power was enjoyed by them month by month in turn.

The magistrates above-mentioned were elected annually, but it was the practice frequently to prolong the command of the Consuls or Praetors in the provinces under the t.i.tles of Proconsuls or Propraetors. In the later times of the Republic it was usual for both Consuls and several Praetors to remain at Rome during their year of office, and at its close to take the command of provinces, with the t.i.tles of Proconsuls or Propraetors.

5. The _Dictators.h.i.+p_, which occurs so often in the early history of the Republic, disappears altogether after the Second Punic War. As the Republic became powerful, and had no longer to dread any enemies in Italy, there was no necessity for such an extraordinary magistracy as the Dictators.h.i.+p, but whenever internal dangers seemed to require a stronger executive, the Senate invested the Consuls with dictatorial power.[41]

6. The _Censors_ were two in number, elected every five years, but they held their office for a year and a half. They were taken, as a general rule, from those who had been previously Consuls, and their office was regarded as the highest dignity in the state. Their duties, which were very extensive and very important, may be divided into three cla.s.ses, all of which, however, were closely connected.

(_a_). Their first and most important duty was to take the Census. This was not simply a list of the population, according to the modern use of the word, but a valuation of the property of every Roman citizen. This valuation was necessary, not only for the a.s.sessment of the property-tax, but also for determining the position of every citizen in the state, which was regulated, in accordance with the const.i.tution of Servius Tullius, by the amount of his property. Accordingly, the Censors had to draw up lists of the Cla.s.ses and Centuries. They also made out the lists of the Senators and Equites, striking out the names of all whom they deemed unworthy, and filling up all vacancies in the Senate.

(_b._) The Censors possessed a general control over the conduct and morals of the citizens. In the exercise of this important power they were not guided by any rules of law, but simply by their own sense of duty. They punished acts of private as well as public immorality, and visited with their censure not only offenses against the laws, but every thing opposed to the old Roman character and habits, such as living in celibacy, extravagance, luxury, etc. They had the power of degrading every citizen to a lower rank, of expelling Senators from the Senate, of depriving the Equites of their horses, and of removing ordinary citizens from their tribes, and thus excluding them from all political rights.

(_c._) The Censors also had the administration of the finances of the state, under the direction of the Senate. They let out the taxes to the highest bidders for the s.p.a.ce of a l.u.s.trum, or five years.[42] They likewise received from the Senate certain sums of money to keep the public buildings, roads, and aqueducts in repair,[43] and to construct new public works in Rome and other parts of Italy. Hence we find that many of the great public roads, such as the Via Appia and Via Flaminia, were made by Censors.

II. THE SENATE.--The Senate was in reality the executive government of Rome, and the Magistrates, of whom we have been speaking, were only its ministers. The Senate consisted of Three Hundred members, who held the dignity for life unless expelled by the Censors for reasons already mentioned, but they could not transmit the honor to their sons. All vacancies in the body were filled up by the Censors every five years from those who had held the Quaestors.h.i.+p or any higher magistracy. The Censors were thus confined in their selection to those who had already received the confidence of the people, and no one could therefore enter the Senate unless he had some experience in political affairs.

The power of the Senate was very great. It exercised a control over legislation, since no law could be proposed to the a.s.semblies of the People unless it had first received the approval of the Senate. In many cases ”Senatus consulta”[44] were pa.s.sed, which had the force of laws without being submitted to the Popular a.s.semblies at all. This was especially the case in matters affecting religion, police, administration, the provinces, and all foreign relations.

In foreign affairs the authority of the Senate was absolute, with the exception of declaring war and making peace, which needed the sanction of the Centuries. The Senate a.s.signed the provinces into which the Consuls and Praetors were to be sent; they determined the manner in which a war was to be conducted, and the number of troops to be levied; they prolonged the command of a general or superseded him at their pleasure, and on his return they granted or refused him a triumph; they alone carried on negotiations with foreign states, and all emba.s.sadors to foreign powers were appointed by the Senate from their own body.

In home affairs they had the superintendence in all matters of religion.

They had also the entire administration of the finances. When the Republic was in danger the Senate had the power of suspending the laws by the appointment of a Dictator, or by investing the Consuls with dictatorial power, as already mentioned.

III. THE POPULAR a.s.sEMBLIES.--1. The _Comitia Curiata_, the Patrician a.s.sembly, had become a mere form as early as the First Punic War. The gradual decline of its power has been already traced. It continued to meet for the transaction of certain matters pertaining to the Patrician gentes, but was represented simply by 30 lictors.

2. The const.i.tution of the _Comitia Centuriata_, as established by Servius Tullius,[45] had undergone a great change between the time of the Licinian Rogations and the Punic Wars, but both the exact time and nature of this change are unknown. It appears, however, that its object was to give more power and influence to the popular element in the state. For this purpose the 35 tribes were taken as the basis of the new Const.i.tution of the Centuries. Each tribe was probably divided into five property Cla.s.ses, and each Cla.s.sis was subdivided into two Centuries, one of Seniores and the other of Juniores. Each tribe would thus contain 10 Centuries, and, consequently, the 35 tribes would have 350 Centuries, so that, with the 18 Centuries of the Knights, the total number of the Centuries would be 368.

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