THE ROMAN NOBILITY Matthias Gelzer Translated with an introduction by
Robin Seager
OXFORD BASIL BLACKWELL 1969
© in this translation Basil Blackwell, 1969 631 I1940 x Library of Congress Catalog Card No.: 69-2 69-20434
Die Nobilität der römischen Republik is translated from the German by permission of B.G. Teubner Verlag, Stuttgart Die Nobilität der Kaiserzeit is translated from the German by permission of Franz Steiner Verlag, Wiesbaden
ion
. K
Printed in Great Britain by William Clowes and Sons, Limited, London and Becdes and bound by The Kemp Hall Bindery, Oxford
Preface I FIND IT strangely moving that Mr. Seager should have devoted his distinguished linguistic and historical talents to making available to the English-speaking public two works which I wrote more jKan half a century ago. Besides my warm thanks to him I should like to express my equally deep gratitude to Professor Badian, who together with Mr. Seager undertook the task of kindly correcting various slips which had escaped me at the time. 5 October, 1968.
MATTHIAS GELZER
Contents
y
PREFACE BY MATTHIAS GELZER ABBREVIATIONS ABBREVIATIONS .. INTRODUCTION
.
.
^X XI
THE NOBILITY OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC
Prefatory Note
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
1
I Eligibility for Office and Nobility The Equestrian Order . The Senatorial Order . Nobility . . Clarissimi . . . . . Principes Civitatis Antiquity of the Concept of Nobility The Predominance of the Nobility Conclusion . . . .
4 18 27 40 44 49 jQ, 52
II The Social Foundations of the Predominance of the Nobility Elections in the Late Republic Relationships based on Personal Connection and Relationships based on Fides . . Patronage in the Courts . Patronage over Communities . Political Friendship . Financial Obligation Factions The Hellenistic Influence in Politics Conclusion
THE NOBILITY OF THE PRINCIPATE . SUBJECT INDEX
.
.
54 62 70 86 101 110 123 136 139 141 163
Abbreviations Bruns= Fontes iuris Romani antiqui7 (ed. Mommsen-Gradenwitz, 1909). De Sanctis= Storia dei Romani I, II, (1907). Ferrero= Grandezza e decadenza di Roma (1901-07: references in double square brackets are to the English translation of A. E. Zimmern and Rev. H.J. Chaytor, London, 1907-09). Lange= Römische Alterthümer I 3 (1876), II 3 (1879), III2 (1876). Madvig=D/e Verfassung und Verwaltung des römischen Staates. (1881-82). Mommsen RG= Römische Geschichte9 (unchanged reprint of 2 1856-57: references in double square brackets are to the English translation of W. P. Dickson, London, 1894). Mommsen Staatsr.= Römisches Staatsrecht I3, II3, III1 (1887). Mommsen Strafr.—Römisches Strafrecht (1899). Niese= Geschichte der griechischen und makedonischen Staaten (18931903). Willems=Le senat de la ripublique romaine (1878-83). The consular Fasti are for my purposes adequately published in E. W. Fischer, Römische Zeittafeln von Roms Gründung bis auf Augustus' Tod9 Altona 1846. A modern critical edition has been begun by Giovanni Costa, I Fasti Consolari Romani', so far published: vol. I he Fond, Milan 1910. [Addendum 1961: A. Degrassi, Fasti Consulares et Triumphales, in Inscriptiones Italiae XIII1; T. Robert S. Broughton, The Magistrates of the Roman Republic I (1951), II (1952), Supplement (I960).]
(
Introduction THIS BOOK UNITES under its ad hoc title translations of two works: Die Nobilität der römischen Republik and the essay Die Nobilität der Kaiserzeit. It was only with the appearance in 1962 of the first volume of Matthias Gelzer's Kleine Schriften that Die Nobilität der römischen Republik, first published precisely half a century before, was made universally available. By the time that this welcome reprint was produced, the status of Nobilität as a masterpiece had for many years been secure; it was hailed by reviewers of the Kleine Schriften as the joint foundation . . . of nearly all the best work on Roman republican history which has been done in the last forty years' 1 and as 'the key that unlocked the door from the 19th to the 20th century in historical research in the Roman Republic'.2 In fifty years Nobilität has indeed brought about a revolution, but the process has been a slow one. The door which was unlocked in 1912 stood for a long time barely ajar, while historians did little more than peer timidly through the crack. No doubt the First World War must bear much of the blame for the total lack of notice with which, outside Germany, Nobilität was greeted. But at first, even in the country of its origin, the book attracted little attention and less understanding. A reviewer in 1913 summed it up as 'interesting and instructive', but he seems to have had no inkling that he had in his hands a work which was to change the entire shape of Roman historiography.3 It was not until 1938 that Nobilität, or rather one section of it, received a serious review, in the form of an important article by Afzelius.4
1 Balsdon, Gnomon 37, 1965, 578. 2 Badian JRS 57,1967, 217. 3 Bardt, BPhW 1913, 16ff. 4 C r t M l , 1938, 40ff.; cf. also CetMl,
1945, 150ff.
xii
INTRODUCTION
By then its influence had already been seen in another fundamental study, Münzer's Römische Adelsparteien und Adelsfamilien of 1920. Münzer has not always been fortunate in his disciples, and the 4 Faktionsthese9 has advanced a long way, more often than not by extremely dubious paths, from the eleven pages which Gclzcr had devoted to factions. Mopping-up after the revolution is by no means complete, and among the most urgent of the tasks still to be performed is a full investigation of the concept of/actio, from which we might learn just when we may speak of factions without distortion or oversimplification, or whether it might not be wiser to stop talking about factions altogether. At last, in 1939, the message o£ Nobilität reached England, brought by Syme's Roman Revolution. It is characteristic of the force of Gelzer's work that it played so large a part in shaping a book which deals only briefly with the last decades of the republic as a prelude to the triumvirate and the rule of Augustus. Meanwhile the study of the republic itself had continued in a blissful unawareness of the existence of Nobilität to which the ninth volume of the Cambridge Ancient History survives as monument. It was in the United States that the lessons to be learned from Nobilität were first applied on a large scale in English to the republic, in Lily Ross Taylor's Party Politics in the Age of Caesar (1949). More recently Badian's Foreign Clientelae (1958) marked the next major stage in the assimilation of Gelzer's ideas into the study of republican history in English. The constantly increasing influence of Nobilität carries with it a paradoxical danger of neglect. The student in diligent quest of the 'latest view* may ask why he should bother to read a book that is more than fifty years old, especially as its doctrines have moulded almost everything else that he is likely to be advised to read. Why read Gelzer, when he can get his Gelzer pre-digested and duly brought up to date? One might reply simply that, since he has seen fit to devote the flower of his youth (or at least a couple of hours a week thereof) to the study of Roman history, he might well find the time to read the most important book ever written on the subject. But life is short, shorter now than ever before.... Fortunately there are also practical reasons. In the first place Nobilität gives the English-speaking student
INTRODUCTION
X1U
something that he could not hitherto find elsewhere: a full and reliable introduction to the social and political structure of the Roman republic. Nobody who has tried to teach the republic to beginners can have failed to feel the lack of such an introduction; I imagine that I am by no means the only lecturer whose timetable has started with something like '3 lectures potted Nob.\ before Ti. Gracchus comes on the scene. Secondly, the work of Gelzer's followers in English has in the main been written for scholars and on questions of detail, and so takes knowledge of Gelzer and much else for granted. To the incipient student the results are liable to be baffling. It is hardly surprising if, despite the efforts of his tutor, he tends tofleefor refuge to realms of anachronistic simplicity and light, where the senatorial and popular parties contend in a genteel and parliamentary fashion, only rarely perturbed by the vulgar incursions of such colourful low-life as Bolsheviks and gangsters. If, on the other hand, he begins with Nobilität, not only will it be easier for him to find his way in the specialist works which exploit its discoveries, but he will also be equipped with the principles he needs to guide his mind in its search for the food of knowledge in regions where no pigeon's milk is yet available. All this is not to say, I need hardly add, that Nobilität should be read only by first-year students. Its enduring value to scholars and teachers could equally be demonstrated at length—but they, it is hoped, will need no convincing. It is perhaps the measure of the book's greatness that it combines two essential roles: it is at once the most profound yet concise introduction to the study of the republic and a lasting inspiration and touchstone for further research. Three years after Nobilitätfirstappeared, Gelzer traced, much more briefly, the survival of the concept of nobilitas in the principate.5 Unlike its great predecessor, Kaiserzeit aroused immediate controversy. In the next number of Hermes Otto attacked Gelzer's basic thesis that under the principate only men descended from consulars of the republic were counted as nobiles.6 Most of his case merits little attention, depending as it does largely upon misinterpretations, as 5 Hermes 50, 1915, 395ff. 6 Herrn« 51, 1916, 73ff.
xiv
INTRODUCTION
for instance of Tac. Hist. 1.78 and 2.76. His attempt to assign to the passage of Pliny which forms the starting-point of Gelzer's investigations a meaning directly opposed to that suggested by Gclzcr was sufficiently refuted in the following year by E. Stein, who provided perhaps the most satisfactory solution of the crux in Pliny by positing a lacuna before afficiatP Stein, though largely in sympathy with Gelzer, refused to accept his arguments for discounting the two passages Tac. Ann. 12.1 and 13.46. He therefore concluded that the magic circle was closed at some time between the consulships of Poppaeus Sabinus (A.D. 9) and Rubellius Blandus (now fixed as A.D. 18), and conjectured, not unnaturally, that the stimulus was provided by the transfer of elections to the senate in A.D. 14. This theory is at first sight very attractive, but it rests only on two pieces of evidence, both of them of disputed interpretation, and it clashes with the implication of Pliny, who defines nobiles as posteri libertatis. As long as there is no unquestionable instance where nobilitas is ascribed to a man descended from a consular of the triumviral period or later, it seems better to accept Gelzer's view, despite the minor difficulties arising from it. The translation of both Nobilität and Kaiserzeit has been made from the first volume of the Kleine Schriften. Single square brackets mark additions made in the Kleine Schriften; double square brackets indicate translator's notes. A few minor misprints have also been silently corrected with the author's approval. I am deeply indebted for his advice and encouragement to Professor E. Badian, who read the entire translation in both its drafts, saving me from many errors and suggesting countless improvements. School of Classics, University of Liverpool.
7 Hemes 52,1917, 564ff.
ROBIN SEAGER
The Nobility of the Roman Republic PREFATORY NOTE
the foreword to his Abriss des römischen Staatsrechtes of'the dulness ofthat kind of historical research which thinks it permissible to leave out of account what never happened'. Nevertheless, I presume to put before the public a work which on principle deals only with circumstances attested by contemporary evidence, since for the social historian this seems to me the only course. If he does otherwise—if, that is, he tries, by the drawing of analogies, to bring to life periods which have no tradition—his research will fail of its object; for this must surely be to establish what, in the social structure of a state, is peculiar to it and what it has in common with others. For the Roman republic the tradition is meagre, and so the period which offers scope for social history is confined—apart from a few isolated pieces of information—to barely two centuries. It is therefore for this period that I have tried to investigate more closely the composition of the ruling class and the foundations of its predominance. MOMMSEN SPEAKS IN
I Eligibility for Office and Nobility consul recorded by the Fasti appears under the year 366. According to the tradition the election took place by the terms of the plebiscite of Licinius and Sextius.1 Mommsen remarks of this event that through it 'equality of civic rights was achieved', and again: 'The major successes which the Roman people achieved abroad in the century between the last Veientine war and the war with Pyrrhus make us realise that the Junkers had made way for the yeomanry.'2 Throughout the remainder of the republican period it was in fact technically possible for every Roman citizen to hold the highest public office.3 Not until Augustus was eligibility for office restricted to the senatorial order.4 However, the very form of the law, which guaranteed only one place to the plebeians and did not dare to introduce complete freedom of choice, shows that the 'Junkers' were not finished.5 It was, as we know, not until 172, when the distinction between patrician and plebeian ruling families had ceased to exist, that both consuls were for the first time plebeian. In 215 this could still be prevented.6 Thus even Mommsen had to admit: 'The fall of the Junkers in no way deprived the Roman commonwealth of its aristocratic character.'7 THE FIRST PLEBEIAN
1 Liv. 6.35.5 under the year 377: ne tribunorum militum comitiafierentconsulumque Htique alter ex plebe crearetur. 2 Mommsen, RG I, 304 [=1, 392f.J. 3 Cic. Sest. 137 alludes to the ancestral constitution in the following words: qui cum regum potestatem non tulissent, ita magistratus annuos creauerunt ut consilium senatus rei publicae praeponerent sempitemum9 deligerentur autem in id consilium ab uniuerso populo aditusque in ilium summum ordincm omnium ciuium industriae ac uirtu patcrct. 4 Mommsen, Staatsr. I, 498. 5 Under 342 Liv. 7.42.2 records, on poor authority, the demand, put forward through a plebiscite: uti liceret consules ambosplebeios creari. Cf. De Sanctis, II, 218. 6 Liv. 23.31.13. 7 Mommsen, RG I, 783 [=111, 3]. 2
4
THE NOBILITY OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC
In fact the new development in 366 represented a shift in power towards timocracy, not towards true democracy. Eligibility for office had hitherto been confined to the patricians; it was now extended to the whole equestrian order, that is, to all those whose property entitled them to receive a public horse from the censor when there were places free in the eighteen centuries. Only once in the tradition are those eligible for office distinguished from the rest of the citizen body as 'those to whom the senate-house is open'; the phrase refers to the members of the senatorial and equestrian orders.8 The principle that not every citizen should be allowed to take part in government was to the Romans so self-evident that there was no law on the subject and they never enunciated it. Yet as far as I know it has never been clearly brought out by the moderns. An attempt to do so therefore needs no lengthy justification.
1. THE E Q U E S T R I A N
ORDER
Madvig was thefirstto show that throughout the republic there was in the Roman army no promotion from the ranks to the officercorps.9 The ordinary citizen could rise to be a centurion. The military tribunes on the other hand were equites.10 The single passage which appears to contradict this is too obscure to serve as evidence.11 Kiibler adduces three exceptions.12 Of these, however, only the case
8 Cic. Sest. 97: maximorum ordinum homines quibus patet curia, Cf. what Liv. 42.61.5 (following Polybius?) makes Perseus say after the victorious cavalry engagement at the Peneus: equitatum Romanum, quo inuictos se esse gloriabantur, fudistis: equites enim illis principes iuuentutis, equites seminarium senatus; inde lectos in patrum numerum consules, inde imperatores creant. 9 In his essay in Kleine philologische Schriften, 529, and II, 502, 510. 10 Mommsen too (Staatsr. Ill, 540) assumes this state of affairs for the historical period. By historical I mean the period, knowledge of which goes back to a contemporary literary tradition. This study is in principle concerned only with that period. [Cf. Caes. BC 1.77.2.] 11 Liv. 7.41.3= Zon. 7.25.9 on Salonius, qui alternis prope annis et tribunus militum et primus centurio erat, quem nunc primi pili appellant. 12 In his article 'Equites Romani' (RE 6.272ff.). Val. Max. 4.7,5 (L. Petronius admodum humili loco natus ad equestrem ordinem et splendidae militiae stipendia P. Caeli beneficio perucnerat) says nothing about promotion from centurion to military
THE EQUESTRIAN ORDBR
5
13
of L. Fufidius is certain: a military parallel to Sulla's admission of common soldiers to the senate.14 Our knowledge of thfe equestrian order at Rome is very incomplete. Only a few important points will be mentioned here.15 The nucleus of the equites was formed by the 1,800 holders of the public horse, organised for political purposes in the eighteen equestrian centuries. Despite the financial compensation provided, exemption from the assignment of a public horse was regarded as a privilege.16 Roman tradition on the subject knew only that ever since Servius Tullius the equites had been the richest men.17 Livy assumes an equestrian census as early as 401. 18 The censors selected the equites from the number of those who possessed it.19 From the 1,800 thus constituted the consuls took as many as they needed for a campaign, 300 for each legion,20 or according to the evidence for the Second Punic War sometimes only 200.21 The normal annual levy of four legions thus required 800-1,200 equites. However, from tribune. We should rather think of a donation of capital by Caelius. The murderer of Pompeius, L. Septimius, called tribunus militum by Caes. BC 3.104.2, was an officer of the Egyptian crown in the army which Caesar describes in c. 110. The story in vir. ill. 72.3 about the famous Aemilius Scaurus: primo in Hispania corniculum meruit, could not, even if it were reliable, count as an exception, since Scaurus, despite his poverty, was a patrician. Corniculum merere must here refer to service as an NCO; cf. Suet, gramm. 9.1 on agratnmaticus who had previously been a magistrate's apparitor, then a cornicularius and finally an eques. On his father's death Aemilius Scaurus inherited six slaves and HS 35,000 in cash (Val. Max. 4.4.11=fr. IP). 13 RE 7.201, no. 4. 14 Sail. Cat. 37.6. The grandfather of the jurist Ateius Capito was a Sullan centurion, his father a praetorian (Tac. Ann. 3.75.1). 15 Details in Kubier, RE 6.272; Mommsen, Staatsr. III. 476ff; De Sanctis, II, 205ff. 16 Liv. 39.19.4. 17 Cic. rep. 2.39, D. Hal. 4.18. Liv. 34.31.17 makes Nabis say in 195: uos a censu cquitem, a censu peditem legitis et paucos excellere opibus, plebem subiectam esse Ulis uultis. 18 5.7.5. 19 Pol. 6.20.9: ir\ovrlv8r)v can&v yeyevrjfxevqs vno rod TI^T]TOV ri\s 20 Pol. 6.20.9; for the legion of 5,000 men. 3.107.11. 21 Pol. 3.107.10.
6
THE NOBILITY OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC
the available body of 1,800 we must subtract magistrates and senators, who were allowed until the time of the Gracchi to retain the public horse.22 In the second century Cato recommended that the holders of the public horse be increased in number to 2,200.23 This figure would obviously have met the need. Livy narrates that as early as 401, in the war against Veii, citizens of equestrian census, to whom no horse had been allotted, volunteered for service in the cavalry.24 He remarks: "Then for the first time equites began to serve with privately owned horses.' These equites are contrasted with the plebs, which formed the infantry. Equites here means all holders of the equestrian census, none of whom served in the infantry. From them were drawn the 1,800 equites equo publico, and if these proved insufficient the other holders of the census were called on as a reserve. Thus in 225, according to Polybius, 3,100 Roman equites were mobilised.25 In addition, however, there was on hand a reserve of 23,000 Roman and Campanian equites.26 The total number of equites was therefore 26,100. Mommsen calculates that 22,100 of these were Romans.27 Livy says of the censors of 209: 'They sought out a large number of men who were liable for equestrian service/28 The massive levies in Livy29 of eighteen and twenty-one legions during the Second Punic War are annalistic falsifications, as Beloch showed.30 For, according to Polybius, in 214, at the height of her efforts, Rome faced the enemy with only eight legions and some hundred and fifty warships.31 In 216 eight legions fought as a unit, whilst land forces were also engaged in Gaul32 and Spain,33 but this was most exceptional. The successive equestrian levies of 1,400,1,400 and 1,050 men in the years 182-180 are also dubious.34 If these annalistic exaggerations are discounted, one can understand how in normal times a levy (what in the Swiss militia is called an Auszug) of 2,200 equites would be 22 23 25 27 29 31 33 34
Liv. 29.37.8, Cic. rep. 4.2; Mommsen, Staatsr. Ill, 505ff. ORF3 fr. 85. 24 Liv. 5.7.5 and 13. 2.24.3, 9, 13. 26 2.24.14. Rom. Forschungen II, 400. 28 27.11.15. 24.11.1, 26.1.10, 27.22.11. 30 Klio 3, 1903, 475. 8.1. 32 3.106.6. 3.95.5, 97.4,106.7. Liv. 40.1.5 and 7, 40.18.5f., 40.36.6 and 8.
THE E Q U E S T R I A N ORDER
•'
7
sufficient. Each man was bound to serve in ten campaigns, and it was only after the completion of this period of service that the way to the magistracies was opened.35 This may however be understood, with Mommsen, as a ten-year liability for equestrian service, though the actual service could not always in fact be performed.36 There is no trace in the literary sources of any military distinction between equites equo publico and equites equo priuato. Politically, however, the latter belonged to the first class of voters. In rank the equites were senior to the infantry centurions. The pay of an eques was 1 denarius a day, that of a centurion f denarius, and that of a common soldier ^,37 The donatives given by victorious generals to their troops were proportioned accordingly.38 In camp the equites assembled each morning, together with the centurions, for briefing by the military tribune.39 Sentries for the bivouac of the equites were provided by the triarii.40 At night the equites on watch went the rounds in fours, the man on duty taking comrades with him as witnesses.41 Their superior status is most clearly revealed by Polybius' account of the allocation of rations.42 The Roman infantryman received -§- of an Attic bushel of wheat per month, the eques 2 bushels of wheat and 7 of barley, the allied infantryman §- bushel of wheat, and the allied eques 1^ bushels of wheat and 5 of barley. Since the eques received three portions, it may be deduced that he had two attendants. The allied eques had only one attendant and, as the relation between the rations of fodder shows, only two horses, 35 Pol. 6.19.2 and 4. 36 Staatsr. I, 506. The passage in Plut. C. Grac. 2.4 points in the same direction: Gaius says that he served 12 years before his quaestorship, whilst the others served only 10 iv avayKats, i.e. in times of emergency. Moreover, the period of service for the infantry was 16 campaigns, 20 in emergencies. A man was liable for conscription until the completion of his forty-sixth year (Pol. 6.19.2). This limitation also makes it probable that many were not called upon for the full regulation number of campaigns. 37 Pol. 6.39.12. 38 Liv. 33.23.7, 33.37.12, 34.52.11, 36.40.13, 37.59.6, 39.5.17, 39.7.2, 40.43.7, 40.59.2, 45.40.5, 45.43.7. Only in 45.34.5 do the equites merely receive double. 39 Pol. 6.34.5. 40 Pol. 6.33.10. 41 Pol. 6.35.8, 36.1. 42 Pol. 6.39.13fT.
8
THE NOBILITY OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC
whilst the Roman took with him three horses. Before the time of Polybius the Roman eques too had only two horses.43 It is emphasised of the elder Cato that he carried his own arms when on the march and that only one man attended him.44 As general he used 3 Attic bushels of wheat per month and \\ bushels of barley per day for his beasts. He tells us himself that as consul he took three slaves with him to Spain and later bought two more.45 In 121 the consul Opimius called out the senators and equites against C. Gracchus with two armed slaves each.46 In 140 the consul Q. Caepio detailed his 600 equites, as a punishment, to fell timber 'with only their slaves' on a hill occupied by Viriathus.With the help of their allied comrades and other volunteers they accomplished the task intended to bring about their destruction. It is understandable that they piled the wood they had brought in around the praetorium and that only a hasty retreat saved Caepio from being burnt to death.47 Legally of course equites were no more liable for such tasks than they were for work as sappers. In 252, 400 of them refused to accept this imposition, but they were in consequence demoted at the next census to the class of aerarii for refusing to obey a consular order.48 The same penalty was imposed at the census of 159 on a well-nourished eques who, when asked by the censors why he looked so much fitter than his ill cared-for horse, replied: 'My good-for-nothing slave Statius looks after the horse, but I look after myself/ which answer was judged impertinent.49 The ten turtnae of cavalry attached to a legion were each commanded by three decuriones and optiones.50 These officers were directly 43 Festus p. 247.16L s.v. Paribus; Lammert, RE 8.1695. 44 Plut. Cato mai. 1.9, 6.3. 45 ORF3 fr. 51. 46 Plut. C. Grac. 14.4. 47 Dio fr. 78: fiera fiovtov vmroKoyiwv. There was a special clause about the slaves in the peace-treaty with Antiochus III (Pol. 21.43.10). In Caesar's army the common soldiers were also allowed to keep slaves; in 47 by special order they were left in Sicily together with domestic gear and tents, which were likewise private property, in order that as many troops as possible could be quickly transported to Africa (BAfr. 47.3). 48 Val. Max. 2.9.7. 49 Gell. 4.20.11. 50 Pol. 6.25.1.
THE E Q U E S T R I A N ORDER
9
responsible to the military tribune. Of the twenty-four military tribunes of each year, fourteen were men who had at least five campaigns behind them, whilst ten were of an age to stand for office, that is, they had served for at least ten years.51 Thus consulars are attested as military tribunes in 19352 and 191.53 In 171 four legions were raised, which were to be commanded by four senatorial military tribunes.54 For the campaign of 168 the senate decreed that the people and the consuls should choose as military tribunes only men who had already held a magistracy.55 There was in general a close connection between the military tribunate and the civil magistracies. Like the latter it was unpaid^6 and ever since the third century57 the twenty-four military tribunes for the normal annual levy of the 'first four legions' had been magistrates elected by the people,58 ranking below the quaestors.59 After his return from the East in 75 Caesar became military tribune by popular election, but was not quaestor until 69 under Antistius Vetus in Hispania Ulterior.60 Both the military tribunes elected by the 51 Pol. 6.19.1. 52 Liv. 35.5.1. 53 Liv. 36.17.1. Livy calls them consulates legati, but at that time the title was tribune, as Gic. Cato mau 32, Plut. Cato mau 12.1, Flam. 20.1 testify. Liv. 44.1.2 calls the consular Popillius tribune. 54 Liv. 42.35.4. 55 Liv. 44.21.2. 56 Mommsen (Staatsr. II, 577 n. 6) assumes equestrian pay, but I know of no evidence; cf. Madvig, II, 530. In Cic. 2 Verr. 1.36 the military tribunes are not expressly mentioned, and so might be included among the troops (stipendium). But on the other hand Cic. Fam. 5.20.7 says that the names of military tribunes, like those of praefecti and contubernales, had to be entered for the beneficia recommended by the governor within the period of 30 days allowed for the rendering of his accounts. Admittedly he goes on to speak of beneficia for centurions. The military tribunes naturally shared in distributions of booty and triumphal donatives. Tigranes promised every Roman soldier \ mina, centurions 10, and military tribunes a talent (Plut. Pomp. 33.6). After his triumph Caesar gave the common soldiers 5,000 denarii, the centurions double and the military tribunes and praefecti cquitum four times that amount (App. BC 2.102.422, Dio 43.21.3; Suet. Iul 38.1 lias HS 24,000 for the common soldiers). [Cf. Hirt. BG 8.4.I.] 57 Mommsen, Staatsr, II, 575. 58 Ibid. 578 n. 1. 59 L. Acil. (Bruns7 p. 55) line 2, Cic. Cluent. 148. 60 Suet. Jul 5; Lange, III, 184; Klebs, RE 1.2558, no. 46.
10
THE NOBILITY OF THE R O M A N REPUBLIC
people and those chosen by the generals when there was a further levy must, in the light of all that has been stated above, have been equites. There is no reason not to think of the totality of those who could lay claim to the equestrian census. The amount of this census, HS 400,000, is first recorded in an anecdote from the year 49.61 Cicero says of a man that he barely possessed the equestrian census, so there was nothing that could be taken from him but his life.62 This remark shows that by that time such an estate no longer counted as wealth. It was through the judiciary law of C. Gracchus in 123 that'the equestrian order acquired a legally acknowledged political significance.63 Appian expressly mentions the possessors of the census.64 Cicero too has this interpretation.65 Thus according to him a centurion who had acquired the equestrian census in the course of his campaigns could become a juror. 66 Mommsen at first shared this view,67 but later restricted seats on the juries to the eighteen equestrian centuries, 'perhaps including those who had given up the public horse'.68 His grounds are not, however, convincing. He nowhere produces any evidence for his assertion that 'the equites who served after the lex Amelia (70) were also doubtless the equites equo publico*. Now to illuminate the lex Sempronia, which obviously effected the general transfer of jury service from the senate to the equites, we possess fragments of a law governing its application to the court that dealt with extortion by magistrates in the provinces. Mommsen identified this as the lex Acilia repetundarum mentioned by Cicero,69 which he placed in the year 122.70 In the regulations for drawing up the list of jurors for the current and subsequent years, 61 Suet. M. 33.1. 62 Cic. Farn. 9.13.4. 63 Lange, III, 39; Madvig, I, 166; E. Komemann, Klio, Beiheft 1, 1903, 48. 64 BC 1.22.91: TOVS KaXovfievovs vrnriccs ot TTJV a£i
THE EQUESTRIAN ORDER
11
the definition of the class from which the 450 names were to be drawn is unfortunately missing.71 However, the disabilities which entailed exclusion from the list survive. The categories affected are: tribunes of the plebs; quaestors; tresuiri capitales; military tribunes of one of the first four legions; present and former tresuiri agris dandis adsignandis; present and former senators; anyone appearing as a gladiator; anyone condemned by a public court and therefore debarred from membership of the senate; anyone under thirty or over sixty; anyone not resident in Rome or within a mile of the city; fathers, brothers or sons of any of the magistrates mentioned above; fathers, brothers or sons of senators or ex-senators; and any-^ one about to go overseas. When allowance has been made for these exceptions, the 1,800 holders of the public horse could not possibly in my opinion have been sufficient. Magistrates and senators with their relations alone may have amounted to several hundred,72 whilst the majority of those who served in the cavalry must have been under thirty, for military service normally began at seventeen.73 Rural landowners were also excluded, as well as all who were doing military service overseas or travelling abroad on business. This last situation, in fact, must often have arisen, for Cicero conceives of the equites on the juries as being in the main publicani.74 After 140, the Roman equites perhaps make their last appearance as a unified cavalry corps for tactical purposes at the battle of the A thesis in 102. Among them on that occasion was the son of the famous M. Aemilius Scaurus.75 In 70 a man could adduce as evi71 L. Acil. (Bruns7 p. 55) lines 12, 16. Mommsen in CIL I (1863) supplied (line 12): quei in hac ciuit[ate sestertium quadringentorum milium n(ummum) plurisue census siet... (in all about 137 letters are missing), later in Bruns and the Staatsrecht: quei in hac ciuit[ate equum publicum habebit habuerit... 72 This category rules out most former holders of the public horse, whom Mommsen wanted to include. 73 Plut. Cato mai. 1.8, C. Grac. 5.1. Q. Cicero says in comm. pet. 33 that the equestrian centuries are easy to win, multo enim facilius ilia adulescentulorum ad amicitiam aetas adiungitur. Similarly Cic. Mur. 73, where Murena's stepson appears as influential in the equestrian centuries. 74 2 Verr. 3.168. 75 Val. Max. 5.8.4. What Kubier {RE 6.281) adduces for the year 133 from Val. Max. 2.7.9 is not evidence.
12
THE NOBILITY OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC
dence of his Roman citizenship that in his time he had served with the Roman eques Raecius.76 No doubt the turmae of cavalry gradually disappeared as a result of the Marian army reform of 107. The cavalry which Marius used in Africa consisted of Latins and other allies, brought over by Sulla. No Romans are mentioned.77 From this time on the military function of the equestrian order was limited to service as staff-officers or in the suite of staff-officers and generals. Legally, however, the general liability for service continued to hold good for the equites as much as for the rest of the citizen body.78 A career like that of Plancius, whom Cicero defended, was now typical: he was a contubernalisfirstof A. Torquatus in Africa, then of his kinsman Cn. Saturninus in the Cretan campaigns of Q. Caecilius Metellus (68-64). He was subsequently military tribune in Macedonia, then quaestor in the same province, and later tribune of the plebs. His trial arose out of the methods he employed at his election to the aedileship.79 If one considers the position of the equestrian order within the army on the one hand, and the relationship between staff-officers and magistrates on the other, it emerges that only the equites were eligible for office. Thus already in the republican period there existed 76 Cic. 2 Verr 5.161. Raecius may of course have been a contubernalis, Cf. also Plane. yiy where it is said of Plancius' father: ut ipse in legionibus P. Crassi imperatoris inter ornatissimos homines, equites Romanos, summo splendore fuerit. Crassus triumphed in 93 de Lusitanis (Act. triumph. \Insc. Ital XIII. 1, 84f., 5621). 77 Sail. BJ 95.1. 78 Caes. BC 1.7.7, BAlex. 56.4. To extort money, the Caesarian propraetor of Spain, Q. Cassius, organised a levy of equites Romani. 79 Cic. Plane. 27f. This and other examples in Mommsen, Staatsr. I, 510 n. 1. The relationship of Plancius to Metellus is expressed by miles huius Q. Metelli. Miles is often thus used of men of equestrian birth: Cic. rep. 6.11 (somnium Scipionis) of the military tribune Scipio: paene miles; Balk 47 of Marius; Flacc. 77 of Appuleius Decianus (RE 2.260, no. 22); Cato mau 10, 18 of Cato; Brut. 281 of P. Crassus, 304 of Hortensius; Veil. 2.104.3: hoc tempus met functum ante tribunatu, castrorum Ti. Caesaris tnilitem fecit. Further passages on die military service of men of equestrian birth: Plut. Cato min. 8.1, 9.4. Cato first served as a volunteer under his half-brother Caepio, tr. mil 72 in the servile war; later as military tribune he had fifteen slaves, two freedmen and four friends with him. Cic. Rah. Post. 19: Rabirius was an eques, qui nee tribunus nee praefectus nee ex Italia comes nee familiaris Gabini fuit; at Fam. 5.20.7 he mentions eontubernales of his own military tribunes. Caesar's legate Q. Titurius had an eques with him as familiaris (Caes. BG 5.27.1).
THE EQUESTRIAN ORDER
13
a de facto timocratic limitation of the right to stand for office. As. early as Polybius' time candidature for a magistracy was permitted only after the completion of at least ten years' military service. Staff posts were closed to centurions, the high commands a fortiori,80 This held not only for the offices which carried imperium, the consulship and praetorship, but even for the quaestorship. For the quaestors were first and foremost the deputies and military aides of the higher magistrates under whom they served. Thus in 143 L. Tremellius, the quaestor of Macedonia, defeated the self-styled son of Perseus, but it was the praetor, who had already departed, who was saluted as imperator.81 Cassius, the later assassin of Caesar, defended Syria against the Parthians after the death of Crassus.82 Caesar consulted with his legates and his quaestor over his plan for a treacherous attack on the Germans.83 M. Crassus was given a special command, M. Antonius command of the winter-quarters in 52/1. 84 Cicero lefrCoelius as his deputy in Cilicia. He stresses that the quaestor could properly be placed in command over senatorial legates who had held no more than the quaestorship.85 Membership of the equestrian order was also required for extraordinary offices. By the terms of Rullus' agrarian bill of 65 '200 finitores (surveyors) from the equestrian order' were to be assigned to the decemniri elected by seventeen tribes.86 In his speech for Plancius Cicero refers to unworthy candidates who defeated the deserving, among them one M. Seius, 'who could not even preserve his equestrian status unsullied by conviction'.87 In the same speech he enumerates three types of candidate: they come either from a consular or from a praetorian family or from the 80 C. Marius, the 'man of the people* who reached the consulate, was of course an eques, as Val. Max. 8.15.7 expressly states and Madvig (Kl. Sehr., 525) demonstrates at length. 81 Varro RR 2.4.2, Li v. per, 53, Eutrop. 4.15. This position is translated in a Greek inscription as avrirccfiias avTHJTpdrrjyos (ILS 8775, cf. also 8778). 82 RE 3.1728. 83 BG 4.13.4. 84 BG 5.24.3, 8.2.1. 85 Cic. Fam. 2.15.4, 2.18.3. 86 Cic. leg. agr. 2.32. 87 Plane. 12.
14
THE NOBILITY OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC
equestrian order.88 The 'freedom of the people in bestowing offices' consisted in the fact that its choice could be made from the whole of this circle and that distinctions of rank need not be observed. The cursus honorum was the same for the high and the lowly; only the glory differed. As aedile the eques Plancius had reached the place he deserved, which countless other men of equestrian birth had already attained.89 Only a few exceptions to this rule are known. Most important are the four secretaries: Flavius, aed. cur. 304;90 Claudius Glicia, proclaimed dictator as an insult to the senate by Claudius Pulcher in 249 and immediately forced to abdicate;91 Cicereius, secretary to the elder Africanus, pr. 173 ; 92 and a secretary of Sulla's time who became urban quaestor under Caesar.93 But the secretaries (scribae), the highest minor officials of the republic, were closely connected with the equestrian order; some were equites, others appear as directors of companies of publicani.9* By such occupations the scribae could of course acquire the equestrian census, and also, if they gave up their paid office, attain magistracies.95 In the same way it was possible for former centurions to become jurors. 96 At the time of the Sullan reaction and the absolute monarchy of Caesar, men of the lowest origins secured magistracies and entry into the senate.97 When Cicero speaks of them, he indulges in mere vague and general abuse. It should nevertheless be assumed that they possessed the census. 88 Ibid. 15. 89 Ibid. 60. 90 Gell. 7.9, Liv. 9.46.1, Val. Max. 2.5.2; Mommsen, Staatsr. I, 354 n. 2. 91 Liv. per. 19, Fast. Cap. {Insc. Ital. XIII. 1, 42f., 116, 436f.J. 92 Val. Max. 3.5.1, 4.5.3. 93 Cic. off. 2.29. 94 Mommsen, Staatsr. I, 353, III, 517 n. 4. In Cic. 2 Verr. 3.168 two scribae together with a homo equestris ordinis honestissimus atque ornatissimus (166) as magistri societatis puhlicanorum. Immediately afterwards Cicero says Verres would be condemned, 5i publicani, hoc est si equites Romani iudicarent. 95 Exemplified by Piso in the anecdote of Flavius (Gell. 7.9). 96 Cic. Phil. 1.20. 97 Sail. Cat. 37.6, BJ 4.4; Suet. M 72; Dio 43.47.3; Cic. Fatn. 6.18.1, Phil. 11.12, 13.26. In BAfr. 28.2 two military tribunes are named who were sons of a Spanish senator.
THE EQUESTRIAN ORDER
15
In general it is impossible to be too careful in such matters in the face of contemporary pamphleteering. Antonius sneeringly claimed that Octavianus' great-grandfather had been a freedman and a ropemaker and his grandfather a moneychanger,98 and he called the father of the equestrian-born consul of 45, C. Trebonius, a buffoon." Cicero paid him back in his own coin by tearing apart the family trees of his wives Fadia and Fulvia.100 Cicero himself was dismissed as the son of a fuller, although he came from a well-known family at Arpinum.101 Such insults belong to the arsenal of rhetoric.102 The annalists, who were trained in rhetoric, introduced them into history too, and said of Terentius Varro, cos. 216, that he had delivered the meat for his father the butcher.103 Where we are able to control such testimony, it is usually possible to discard everything out of the way. Munatius Plancus calls Ventidius Bassus, later renowned for his victory over the Parthians, a muleteer.104 A Picentine captured in the Social War, 105 he had in fact been exhibited in the triumph of Pompeius Strabo. Later he made his living by contracting to supply wagons and draughtanimals for the retinue of provincial governors. It was in this capacity that Caesar made his acquaintance; he took him to Gaul and later raised him to the senatorial order.106 His career thus fell in the period of absolutism, but even if it had not, it would not have been exceptional for a publicanus; for according to Cicero 'the publicani form the flower of the Roman equites'.107 The eques Marius was despised by the other legates of Metellus because he had pre98 Suet. Aug. 2.3, Ps.-Cic. ep. Oct. 9. 99 Cic. Phil. 13.23. 100 Phil 2.3, 3.16, 13.24. 101 Dio 46.4.2, Plut. Cic. 1.2, Cic. leg. 3.36. 102 Cic Cael. 3: the elder Caelius is defended against the charge of being parum splendidus. In Vat. 11 Cicero is prepared to overlook obscuritas and sordes of origin; ibid. 17 he describes his opponent as emersus e coeno. Where nobility is too manifest, as in the case of Antonius, misalliances are brought in; so too Pis. fr. 11, 62. Cf. R. Preiswerk, De inventione orationum Ciceronianarumy Diss. Basel 1905, 90. 103 Liv. 22.25.18. 104 In Cic. Fam. 10.18.3. 105 Two Ventidii members of the municipal aristocracy at Auximum in Picenum: Plut. Pomp. 6.5. 106 Gell. 15.4. 107 Plane. 23.
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THE NOBILITY OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC
viously been a publicanus.108 P. Rupilius too, the consul of 132, is alleged to have begun in the employ of a company of publicani.109 These occupations were the very ones that brought in the money necessary for a senatorial career. The case of the tribune C. Herennius, whose father was in charge of distributing electioneering funds in a tribe for the candidates, will have been similar.110 The same profession may be inferred for the father of Verres, who later became a senator and had statues erected in his honour by his son.111 L. Aelius Stilo, son of an auctioneer and surnamed Praeconinus on account of his father's calling, is expressly designated as an eques by Cicero, not surprisingly, since auctioneering was a profitable business.112 The famous orator L. Crassus used to dine with the witty Granius,113 whose sallies were well received by men of the highest distinction.114 The dinners of Naevius were as renowned as his entertaining conversation.115 'Low', 'obscure' or 'sordid' origins are ascribed to various wellknown Roman magistrates: C. Terentius, cos. 216;116 Q. Pompeius, cos. 141 ; 117 Cn. Mallius, cos. 105;118 C. Servilius Glaucia, pr. 100;119 Q. Arrius, pr. 73; 120 A. Gabinius, tr. pi 139;121 L. Quinctius, tr. pi 1A\122 M. Lollius Palicanus, tr. pi 71. 123 108 Diod. 34/5.38.1. 109 Val. Max. 6.9.8. Operas dare thus also in 2 Verr. 2.171. Ps.-Ascon. 264 St. on 2 Verr. 2.32 calls him ex pubhcano dictus consul 110 Cic. Att. 1.18.4. 111 Cic. 1 Verr. 23, 25, 2 Verr. 2.95, 145, 161. 112 Cic. Brut. 205: uir egregius et eques Romanus; Suet, gramm. 3.1; Plin. NH 33.29. 113 Cic. Brut. 160. 114 Cic. Plane. 33. 115 Cic. Quinct. 11, 93. 116 Liv. 22.25.18: loco non hutnili solum sed etiam sordido ortus. 117 Cic. 2 Verr. 5.181: hutnili atque obscuro loco natus; according to the anecdote in Plut. mor. 200C his father was allegedly a flute-player. 118 Cic. Plane. 12: non solum ignobilem uerum sine uirtute, sine ingenio, uita etiam contempta ac sordida. 119 Cic. Brut. 224: ex summis etfortunae et uitae sordibus. 120 Cic. Brut. 243: infimo loco natus. 121 Cic. leg. 3.35: homo ignotus et sordidus, epit. Oxy. 193: uerna[e nepos. 122 Cic. Cluent. 112: humilitas hominis. 123 Sail. Hist. 4.43M: humili loco Picens.
THE EQUESTRIAN ORDER
17
Such descriptions do not exclude equestrian status. Caesar's advisers Balbus and Oppius, both of them equites, call themselves homines humiles, in contrast to amplissimi uiri.124 On one occasion, in a speech to the people, Cicero says of his forebears: 'They lacked the light of honours bestowed by you.' 125 This illustrates the concept of obscurity; alternatively, the nobility of Ser. Sulpicius Rufus is called 'obscure' because it rested only on the remote consular tribune of the fourth century.126 For sördidus we have direct testimony.127 A source of income like that of Ventidius is described as 'sordid'.128 In the De Officiis Cicero enumerates the 'sordid', as opposed to the liberal, forms of occupation. These include customs-men, usurers, hired labourers paid for their effort, not for their skill, small shopkeepers, and all artisans, 'for the workshop is not a fitting place for a free man'. 'Small-scale trade must be regarded as sordid, but largescale trade on the other h^nd, which makes many things available and brings advantage to many without dishonesty, is not wholly to be condemned. Indeed, if, weary of profit, the trader retires from the harbour to the land and an estate, as he often used to retire from the sea to the harbour, trade may justly be praised.'129 Consequently we also hear that it was unseemly for the son of a tribune to engage in trade; it was expected of him that he should follow a political career.130 Terentius Varro was of'sordid' origin, because his wealth came from his father's butcher's shop.131 Marius was called 'sordid and uneducated', because he showed a lack of taste in the arrangements for his dinner-parties, knew nothing of the theatre, and paid no more for his cook than for the manager of his estates.132 Hereditary equestrian status was naturally more highly valued than a census recently acquired. Thus the elder Cato proudly re124 Cic. Att. 9.7A.1. 125 Cic. leg. agr. 2.1. 126 Cic. Mur. 16. 127 Cic. QF 1.2.6: homo sördidus sed tarnen equestri censu. 128 Gell. 15.4.3. 129 Cic. off. 1.150f. 130 Cic. Flacc. 70. 131 Liv. 22.26.1: pecutiia a patre rclicta animos ad spent liberations fortunae fecit. 132 Sail. BJ 85.39. Cf. also Cic. Fam. 2.12.2: omnis peregrinatio obscura etsordidast iis, quorum industria Romae potest inlustris esse. There sordida merely intensifies the obscurity.
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THE NOBILITY OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC
called that his great-grandfather lost five war-horses, all of which were replaced at the state's expense.133 Plancius could look back on more than three generations of Roman equites.134 According to his biographer, Atticus 'maintained the equestrian dignity which he inherited from his ancestors'.135 The selection of those eligible for office from the citizen body of Rome took place on purely timocratic grounds. It had its roots in the nature of public office at Rome, which was unpaid and so demanded economic independence.136 But the fact that eligibility for office was the prerogative of the equestrian order finds its explanation in the concept of imperium, which united civil and military powers of command in one individual. Hence the officer class also supplied the magistrates.
2. T H E S E N A T O R I A L
ORDER
From the mass of those eligible for office the senatorial families stand out as a group. As early as 218 we find them made the the object of a special regulation by the plebiscite of Q. Claudius: 'No senator or senator's son shall possess a sea-going vessel of more than 300 amphorae burthen (about 1,730 galls.).'137 Livy comments: 'This was judged sufficient for bringing in the crops from the country. All profit from trade was thought of as improper for senators.'138 All those affected by the law opposed it. Of the entire senate only Flaminius, cos. des. II for 217, spoke in its favour. This fact throws considerable light on the social position of senators at the time. The law was not by any means democratic, for it required that the ruling class should be large landowners, but it was intended to make a 133 Plut. Cato max. 1.1. 134 Cic. Plane. 32. 135 Nep. Alt. 1.1. 136 The Romans always imposed timocratic constitutions: in 194 on the Thessalians (Liv. 34.51.6), in 95 on the Sicilian city of Halaesa (Cic. 2 Vert. 2.122). As the census varied in the different towns, the absence of such a provision in the so-called lex Mia municipalis, lines 84, 89, is without significance. 137 Münzer, RE 3.2670, no. 29. 138 Liv. 21.63.4. In Cicero's time the law had not yet been repealed but was generally ignored (2 Verr. 5.45). Cf. Mommscn, Staatsr. Ill, 898.
THE SENATORIAL ORDER
19
breach in the hitherto unlimited economic supremacy of the senators. By this means Flaminius, in whom we may see the originator of the plan, made it possible for the capitalists, the later equestrian order, to acquire a political significance of their own. Mommsen's conjecture,139 that the law debarred senatorial families not only from owning sea-going ships, but also from bidding for public contracts,140 seems to me very plausible. For according to Polybius such contracts were the people's affair, whilst the senate had the right to exercise surveillance, to dispose of the revenues and to administer justice if differences arose.141 Flaminius' earlier tribunician law of 232 displayed the same tendency. By its terms the territory taken from the Senones, from Ariminum southwards to Picenum, was divided by viritane allotment to Roman citizens, whose property it became.142 The entire senate, including Flaminius^ father,143 rose against the law, and after it had nevertheless been ratified by the plebs, did all it could to hinder its implementation.144 This way of utilising the ager publicus greatly displeased Flaminius' opponents. They obviously wanted the newly acquired land to be exploited by occupatio,1*5 and felt that they were being deprived by the law of a right which long practice had caused to be taken for granted.146 139 RG I, 8531=111,941. 140 These belong together with trade: Plaut. Tritt, 331: publicisne adfinis fuit an maritumis negotiis? mercaturan an uenalis habuit, ubi rem perdidit? 141 6.17.3: 8ta rov irXtyovs, 6.17.S-7. 142 Cato orig. fr. 43P; Mommsen, RG I, 560 [=11, 229]). 143 Cic. inv. 2.52. 144 Lange, II, 149. 145 Mommsen, Staatsr. Ill, 87; App. BC 1.7.27. By this system the individual could work as much land as he liked against payment of a quota to the treasury. 146 Pol. 2.21.8 makes this law 'the first step in the depravation of the people at Rome', a phrase illuminated by 6.51.6: TTJV TrXctcrrqv hvvayuv iv TOI? StaßovXlots irapa ficv Kapyy]hoviois 6 Sfjfxos 17817 ^erciA-q^ci, irapa 8e 'Ptofiaiois aKfiTjv €?x€v rj ovyKXrjros. When he made this retrospective estimate of Flaminius* actions, he already had the spectacle of Ti. Gracchus before his eyes. His disapproval of interference with private property is to be understood in the light of this. (Cf. Meyer, Kl. Sehr. I, 392; K.J. Neumann in Einleitung in d. Altertumswissenschaft III, 414.) Neumann has recently begun to speak (Ullsteins Weltgesch. I, 417; Einl. Altertumsw. Ill, 402) of a 'struggle of the legislature against the executive'. I confess that this means nothing to me, even if these modern concepts 3
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THE NOBILITY OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC
The method of individual assignment which Flaminius chose shows, on the other hand, that it was no longer easy for the ordinary citizen to obtain possession of public land by other means.147 In addition to the ager Gallicus, Cato later knows of ager Samnitis, Apulus and Bruttius which was also under private ownership. The context is that of the allotment of land to veterans after the Hannibalic War, no doubt in areas which had been confiscated because of defection.148 In 167 Cato speaks of a law that limited possession of public land by occupatio to a maximum of 500 iugera, and in the same passage he mentions a limit on the number of beasts an individual might pasture on public land.149 Appian150 and Plutarch151 also testify to the existence of such a law, without any indication of date. Appian gives the number of beasts as 100 head of large animals and 500 head of small animals. He also has a clause about the use of free labour as opposed to an exclusively servile system of husbandry. According to the annalistic tradition, this was one of the leges Liciniae of 367.152 A series of laws was falsely ascribed to this year, because in 366 the first plebeian consul appeared in the Fasti. Historically this has just as little significance as when the early annalists connect the tribunate of theplebs and the plebeian consulate with the legislation of the Twelve Tables.153 Both alike are mere hypotheses about the chronology of constitutional history. More valuable is a notice under the year 298, according to which Very many men' were condemned by the aediles at that time, because they had too much could be applied to the Roman state. Of Flaminius* policy we are able to say no more than that it aimed at securing a strong personal following, with the help of which he could defy the other members of his class. 147 On which see Kubitschek, RE 1.791; Mommsen, Staatsr. II, 635fF. 148 Cato ORF3 fr. 230: accessit ager quern priuatim habent Galliens Samnitis Apulus Bruttius, Liv. 31.4.2, 31.49.5, 32.1.6. 149 Orig. fr. 95eP ap. Gell. 6.3.37. 150 BC 1.8.33. 151 TL Grac. 8.1. 152 Liv. 6.35.5. In Plut. Camilh 39.5 Licinius passes the law as magister equitum of an unnamed dictator. In Liv. 6.39.3 the dictator is called P. Manlius. Licinius is again magister equitum, but no action is ascribed to him. 153 Pol. 6.11.1, Diod. 12.25; Siegwart, Klio 6, 1906, 363.
THE SENATORIAL ORDER
21
154
(common) land in their possession. However, the version in Appian and Plutarch suggests that the law they mention should be placed after the Hannibalic War. 155 Special emphasis is laid in these accounts on the way in which only the wealthy gained by the system of occupatio, because the use of slaves gave them the advantage over the free peasant-farmers, who were being ruined by military service and whose land was being bought up to an ever increasing degree. In his law of 133 Ti. Gracchus allowed each paterfamilias to retain 500 iugera, with 250 for each son.156 These figures reveal the advances made by latifundism since Cato's time. At all events the Gracchan maximum will not have been a high one. In this way the economic power of the senatorial order developed after the great conquests of the fourth and third centuries. To participate in government demanded some measure of wealth to begin with, and the conditions governing occupatio of ager publicus benefited nobody more than the senators; it was the senate which supervised the public purse and the senate which supplied judges.157 The prescription of land as the only form of investment for senatorial families could in the circumstances only hasten the spread of latifundism among the ruling class. In this period membership of the plebs became synonymous with poverty.158 In 242 a large fleet was built 'thanks to the generous sacrifices and noble spirit of the leading men', who undertook responsibility for 154 Liv. 10.13.14. Similar intervention against cattle-owners: Liv. 10.23.13 in 296, 10.47.4 in 293, 33.42.10 in 196, 35.10.12 in 193. Cf. Mommsen, Staatsr. II, 494. 155 Niese, Hermes 23, 1888, 410; Meyer, Kl Sehr. I, 403; De Sanctis, II, 216. Neumann (Ullsteins Weltgesch. I, 454; Einl. Altertumsw. Ill, 426) excogitates the year 196 as the exact date of the law, but this is no more than an unfounded hypothesis. In particular cf., against his use of Liv. 33.42.10, the passages cited in the preceding note. 156 App. BC 1.9.37, 1.11.46; Liv. per. 58. 157 Pol. 6.13.3, 6.17.7. 158 Cassius Hemina (2nd. century) fr. 17P: quicumque propter pleuitatem agro publico ciccti stmt. This clearly refers to the struggle between the orders. But like the other annalists Hemina will have made use of analogies from his own time. (!jto ORF* fr. 82: propter tertuitatem et plebitatem, Plaut. Poert. 515: nos uidemur tibi plrbvi et pauperes.
22
THE NOBILITY OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC
warships either singly or in groups of two or three.159 In 214 those who were worth more than a million had to provide seven slaves each for thefleet.In the case of senators it was taken for granted that they could provide eight and pay them for a year. A senatorial census is not attested until the end of the republic: Augustus was able to raise it from HS 800,000 to HS 1,000,000.160 But all the sentimental tales of poor senators in earlier days are certainly fictitious. This can easily be seen from an example. Polybius speaks with admiration of the integrity of L. Aemilius Paullus in money matters. He did not even want to set eyes on the spoils of Macedonia, which amounted to 6,000 talents, although he lived in somewhat straitened circumstances. After his death his sons wanted to repay to his second wife, who survived him, her dowry of twenty-five talents, but found themselves in some embarrassment. They succeeded, but only by selling the movables, the slaves, and finally also part of the landed estate.161 At their father's death, therefore, the cash in hand amounted to less than 150,000 denarii (HS 600,000). What was left after the dowry had been deducted came to sixty talents (360,000 denarii, HS 1,440,000).162 Scipio handed it all over to his brother, Q. Fabius Maximus, so that Fabius might have as much capital as he had himself.163 Polybius says of Scipio too that for a Roman he was by no means rich,164 and emphasises the reliability of this information, for about these matters above all, he 159 Pol. 1.59.6: Sia rr^v rwv Trpoecrrayraiv av&püv eis ra KOWCL
iAoTifjil<xv KOI yewaioryra. The figure of 200 quinqueremes is clearly too large: cf. Pol. 1.64.1 and the observation of Beloch, Einl. Altertumsw. Ill, 152. 160 Suet. Aug. 41.1 has 1,200,000. Dio 54.[17.3], 26.3 and 30.2 simply gives 250,000 denarii, which according to Plut. Ant 4.7 is equivalent to HS 1,000,000. Suetonius is probably wrong. Cf. Kubitschek, RE 3.1923. Such a property qualification for senators can belong only to the period when the equestrian census counted as poverty. Cf. supra p. io n. 69. The elderly widow Comificia wanted no part of a marriage with Juventius Thalna, because he had only HS 800,000 (Cic. Alt. 13.28.4). 161 Pol. 18.35.4ff. 162 Pol. 31.28.3; Plut. Aemil. 39.10 says scarcely 370,000 denarii. 163 One must remember that they inherited Fabian and Cornelian property respectively from their adoptive fathers. 164 Pol. 18.35.10. According to Plut. mor. 199F he left iv ovoiy /xcyaAfl 33 lbs. silver and 2 lbs. gold.
THE SENATORIAL ORDER
23
says, precise data could not in general be obtained ariiötig the Romans because of their constant family squabbles.165 On the strength of this the annalists and rhetoricians claim that Aemilius was so poor that the dowry could be refunded to his widow only with difficulty, or that repayment was made possible only by the sale of his solitary piece of land.166 At the end of the republican period it was still the respectable thing for the capital of senators to be invested in land.167 But alongside this an interest in commercial undertakings is also found, as already attested for the agriculturalist Cato. 168 In 67 a plebiscite of the tribune Gabinius prohibited provincials from borrowing money at Rome. The intention was to protect them from exploitation by means of usurious rates of interest.169 But since senators themselves indulged in affairs of this kind, it was easy to circumvent the law by special decrees of the senate. The large part playedrln these loans by extortionate interest-rates shows how little liquid capital was generally available. There was an old law, by the terms of which nobody was allowed to keep more than 15,000 denarii in cash lying idle.170 It is characteristic of the late republic that political activity required substantial sums of ready money, which only a few men possessed, whilst most people's capital was tied up in land. It is 165 Pol. 18.35.8. 166 Dio fr. 67.1: iv roaavrr) irevia, Val. Max. 4.4.9: adeo mops. On this question I follow Madvig (I, 139) without reservation. Cf. Mommsen, Staatsr. Ill, 1187 n. 4, RG I, 305 n. [ = I, 394 n. 1J on the erroneous conception of honours for the dead. Cic. de or, 2.268 and Dio fr. 36.33 report a joke of Fabricius, in which legend has obviously forgotten that this great man has to be a pauper. None of the passages adduced by Willems (I, 192ff.) is relevant. In 2 Verr. 1.104 censum non esse refers, as pecuniosa mulier in 111 shows, to an evasion of the lex Voconia by non-declaration at the census. Thus already Savigny {Vermischte Sehr, I, 420ff.). Cic. parad. 50 produces as an example of a 'genuinely poor* magistrate M\ Manilius, cos, 149; he possessed a small house in the Carinae and an estate at Labici. This is how Cicero also imagined Curius and Fabricius. Ap. Claudius, later cos, 54, was poor, that is, his brother-in-law Lucullus forewent payment of his wife's dowry and inheritance (Varro RR 3.16.2). 167 Cic. off, 1.151, Phil, 5.20. 168 Plut. Cato mai, 21.6; Mommsen, RG I, 856 n. [«HI, 97 n. 1J. 169 Cic. Att, 5.21.12, 6.2.7; cf. Lange, II, 661; Ascon. 57. 170 We hear of it when Caesar renewed it (Dio 41.38.1, cf. Tac. Ann, 6.16.1: lex dictatoris Caesaris qua de modo aredendi possidendique intra Italiam cauetur).
24
THE NOBILITY OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC
necessary to bear this in mind when one reads of the enormous debts incurred by Roman politicians.171 Cicero repeatedly complains about men who were rich enough to pay their debts, but were unwilling to sell their estates.172 So too in Sallust Catilina declares that he is quite capable of meeting his debts from his property.173 On May 5th. 43 D. Brutus wrote to Cicero that on April 15th. 44 he had had forty million at his disposal, but that now he was no longer able to pay his seven legions: all his property was mortgaged and he had already dragged all his friends into debt.174 A successful political career carried with it, for the Roman of the ruling class, the promise of a province in the not too distant future. It was possible to run up debts in anticipation of this.175 On his departure from Cilicia Cicero deposited with the puhlicani at Ephesus HS 2,200,000, legitimately acquired.176 From this it is possible to estimate what a less scrupulous governor or a victorious general could amass.177 It could at all events be reckoned to the credit of P. Cornelius Lentulus Spinther that in 51, after three years as governor of Cilicia, he had to put up for sale all his estates except one.178 He had in his time celebrated his aedilician and praetorian games with especial splendour.179 When Ap. Claudius, the consul of 79, died during his governorship of Macedonia, he left his six children in 'poverty'.180 Obviously he had not yet got around to putting his finances in order, as it was left to his successor Curio to 171 On the circulation of money at the time cf. Mommsen, RG III, 520ff. [ = V , 380ff.J; Ferrero, II, 65, 218 [=11, 49, i3of.J. Cicero bought a house for HS 3,500,000. He easily borrowed this sum at 6 per cent, because in his consulate he had intervened on behalf of the creditors (Fatn. 5.6.2). The allegations of propaganda are naturally often unreliable, e.g. Cicero denies the prosecutors' charge that Caelius was in debt (Cael. 17). 172 Cat. 2.18, Sull. 56, Caes. BC 3.20.3. 173 Sail. Cat. 35.3. 174 Cic. Fan. 11.10.5. 175 Mommsen, Staatsr. I, 296. 176 Fatn. 5.20.9: pectmia quae ad me saluis legibus peruenisset. 177 Cf. e.g. Cic. imp. Pomp. 38, Verr. passim. Marius amassed immense wealdi (Plut. Mar. 34, 45). 178 Thus Münzer, RE 4.1396; Cic. Att. 6.1.23. 179 Cic. off. 2.57, Plin. NH 19.23. 180 Varro RR 3.16.2, Oros. 5.23.19; Münzer, RE 3.2849.
THE SENATORIAL ORDER
25
181
collect the tribute. A memorandum composed under Caesar's monarchy proposed to put an end to this unhealthy state of affairs by a total ban on loans. Each man should be allowed to spend only his own capital, 'for now it is the fashion among the young to squander their own and other people's property and to refuse nothing to their own desires and the entreaties of others'.182 Thus at Rome ownership of large estates always provided the material foundation for political activity, and so the hereditary character of the latter in certain families was fostered to a high degree. A law like that sponsored by Flaminius, which restricted not only senators but their sons to the revenues from land, no doubt appeared at first to be a curtailment of their freedom, but was bound in the long run to weld the ruling class more closely together and increase its tendency to self-perpetuation. This first special law was followed by others. Thus in the repetundae legislation the sons of magistrates and senators were made liable,183 as they were in C. Gracchus' law of 123 against unjust condemnations, at a time when only senators served on the juries.184 A similar clause appeared in Sulla's law laying down the procedure in cases of murder, after senatorial courts had been restored.185 The attempt of Livius Drusus in 91 to extend these provisions to cover the equites on the juries was a failure.186 Thus it was even possible to speak of the 'burdens' of the senatorial order, and Sulla laid down in the law which authorised the proscriptions that the sons of proscribed senators should lose the privileges of their order but retain its burdens.187 The remark of the future king of Syria, Demetrius I Soter,188 181 Sail. Hist. 2.80M. 182 Sail. ep. 1.5.4flf. Cf. Pöhlmann, Aus Altertum u. Gegenwart, N.F. 266ff. 183 L. Aril, line 2. 184 Cic. Cluent. 151. 185 Cic. Cluent. 148. 186 Cic. Cluent. 153. Rab. Post. 16 explains how since this time the senatorial order had had great prestige, but the danger of prosecution under these laws had luing over the heads of its members. The equestrian order rested content with the position it had inherited from its fathers and in compensation enjoyed a quiet life. Cf. Preiswerk, 56ff. 187 Veil. 2.28.4; Lange, II, 702. 188 Willrich, RE 4.2795ff., no. 40. From 175 to 162 he lived as a hostage at Rome.
26
THE NOBILITY OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC
who declared that the sons of senators were all his brothers,189 gives us an idea of the social position of senatorial families in the second century. After the surrender of Corfinium in 49 Caesar had all the senators and senators' sons, the military tribunes and Roman equites brought before him.190 In his casualty-list for the battle of Dyrrhachium he mentions by name a senator's son and some 'well-known Roman equites\ and then gives the numbers of the fallen military tribunes and centurions.191 Another time he speaks of senators' sons and those of equestrian birth together under the title of'honourable young men'.192 The word honestus often has a similar character, though it cannot quite be translated as 'eligible for office'.193 Within the senate it is possible to distinguish the group of those who had held a curule magistracy.194 Until the plebiscite of Atinius195 only the curule magistracies196 had conferred a lifelong seat in the senate, provided that the holder was not removed from the list by the censors. After the lex Atinia former tribunes entered the senate under the same conditions, and the right was extended to quaestorians by Sulla.197 But the pre-eminence of the curule senators remained, and they were asked their opinion first.198 The most im189 Pol. 31.2.5. 190 Caes. BC 1.23.1. 191 Caes. BC 3.71.3. 192 Caes. BC 1.51.3: honesti adulescentes, senatorumfiliiet ordinis equestris. 193 Cic. ap. Quintil. 11.1.85 (fr. of speech de proscriptorum Uberis): quid enim crudelius quam homines honestis parentibus ac maioribus natos a re publica submoueri; Flacc. 18 of the prosecutor D. Laelius: adukscens bonus honesto loco natus. In Fam. 16.9.4 Cicero instructs Tiro to travel mm honesto aliquo hominet cuius auctoritate nauicularius moueatur. Suet. Aug. 46.1 contrasts the honesti with the multitudo. But elsewhere in Cicero the word is not to be interpreted so narrowly. It is used of Quinctius (Quinct. 94), who is nowhere given the title equest in contrast to his companion, an auctioneer; in 2 Verr. 2.149,155 the Roman and native farmers of Sicily are so described. 194 Mommsen, Staatsr. I, 402, III, 861; Willems, 1,132. 195 Passed after 122 and before 103 (Mommsen, Staatsr. Ill, 862 n. 2; Willems, I, 230) because in die lex Acilia (122) tribunicius is not yet identical with senator. 196 The plebeian aedileship too by 122, but not yet in 216 (Mommsen, Staatsr. Ill, 861 n. 2, 860 n. 3). 197 Mommsen, Staatsr. Ill, 863 n. 1. 198 Cic. 2 Verr. 5.36. When L. Memmius, the famous orator and father of the well-known politician and patron of poetry C. Memmius, came to Egypt in 112,
NOBILITY
27
portant distinction between them and the rest of the senators was the right of the sons of a deceased curule magistrate to exhibit his wax mask in the funeral procession and subsequently to set it up in the atrium.199 It is the generally accepted view that nobilitas, membership of the aristocracy of office, was inherited from their ancestors by the descendants of curule magistrates.200
3. N O B I L I T Y Nobilis is derived from noscere201 (thus Cato coins cognobilior cognitio from cognoscere202) and so means in essence 'notable*. The development of the concept ofnobilitas from 'notability' to 'nobilifyfounded on office* is illustrated by a remark of Cicero to his son: 'For when from his youth a man possesses some claim to fame and distinction— whether it be inherited from his father (as is, I believe, my dear Cicero, the case with you), or the consequence of other fortunate circumstances—all men's eyes are upon him. They keep track of what he does and how he lives, and, just as if he were standing in a bright light, no word, no action of his can remain in darkness.'203 Similarly Sallust says: 'The glory of men's ancestors is like a light shining on their descendants, which allows neither their virtues nor their vices to remain hidden.'204 This notability which a man owed to his ancestors manifested its beneficial effects particularly at magisterial elections. 'Because of their notability' the people prethe Egyptian official (W. Otto, RE 8.831, s.v. 'Hermias* no. 10, thinks of the €mo$ or vnofxvr)paToypdos) calls him: 'Pwfxatos rwv dno crvy(Wilcken, Chrestomathie 3.3). On L. Memmius cf. Cic. Brut. 136, 247, 304; Eph. Epig. 4.215, line 13 (Adramyttium), [identification doubtfulj, also in Willems, I, 695; Cichorius, Untersuchungen zu Lucilius, 3. 199 Mommsen, Staatsr. I, 442fF. 200 Lange, II, 2; Madvig, I, 186; Willems, I, 368; Mommsen, Staatsr. Ill, 462; Bcloch, EinL Altertumsw. Ill, 163; Neumann, ibid. 402. 201 Mommsen, Staatsr. Ill, 462. 202 Gell. 20.5.13. 203 Cic. off. 2.44. 204 Sail. BJ 85.23.
28
THE NOBILITY OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC
ferred to other candidates 'those whose fathers and grandfathers it had seen as consuls/205 The nohiles were recommended by their forebears and their 'smoke-stained ancestral images'.206 On the other hand the homo nouns, the political self-made man, could ascribe his success to his own energy and merits.207 There is no ancient definition of nobility. The moderns bestow this title on too wide a circle, as I conclude from the list of those to whom Cicero attributes it: L. Aelius Tubero.208 Q. Aelius Tubero, grandson of Aemilius Paullus.209 M. Aemilius Lepidus, cos. 46, 42, the triumvir.210 M. Aemilius Scaurus, cos. 115, the princeps senatus.211 C. Antonius, pr. 44,212 L i ^. c « „ a . r AA'-- > brothers of the triumvir. L. Antonius, cos. 4 1 / " J M. Antonius, cos. 44, 34, the triumvir.214 M. Antonius Antyllus, his son.215 C. Atilius Serranus, cos. 106.216 L. Aurelius Cotta, cos. 65.217 Q. Caecilius Metellus Numidicus, cos. 109.218 205 Liv. 4.44.2. 206 Cic. Sest. 21, Pis. 1, Plane. 18, 67. 207 Cic. 2 Verr. 3.7: hominum nouorum industrial 4.81: hominibus nouis industriis; 5.180: uirtute non genere populo Romano commendari; 181: nouorum hominum uirtus et industria; Cat. 1.28: hominem per te cognitum, nulla commendatione maiorum; Phil. 6.17: a se ortum; Brut. 96: homo per se cognitus; 175: homo per se magnus. Cicero wrote to Hirtius (Non. p. 437.29= fr. 3 OCT): cum enim nobilitas nihil aliud sit quam cognita uirtust quis in eo, quern inueterascentem uideat ad gloriam, generis antiquitatem desideret? 208 RE 150; Lig. 27. 209 RE 155; Mm. 75. 210 HE 73; PW. 13.8, 15. 211 RE 140; Mur. 16. 212 RE 20; Fam. 2.18.2. 213 RE 23; Fam. 2,18.2. 214 RE 30; Mil. 40, Phil. 1.29, Fam. 2.18.2. 215 RE32;Pfa7.2.90. 216 RE 64; Plane. 12. 217 RE 102; 2 Ferr. 2.174. 218 RE 97; red. Quir. 9.
NOBILITY 219
29
Q. Caecilius Metellus Pius, cos. 80. Q. Caecilius Metellus Nepos, cos. 57.220 L. Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus.221 L. Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus, his son, cos. 58, Caesar's father-inlaw.222 C. Cassius Longinus, pr. 44, the assassin of Caesar.223 L. Cassius Longinus Ravilla, cos. 127.224 M. Claudius Marcellus, cos. 51. 225 Ti. Claudius Nero, pr. 41 ?, father of the emperor.226 Ap. Claudius Pulcher, cos. 79.227 Ap. Claudius Pulcher, his son, cos. 54.228 Ap. Claudius Pulcher, son of the consul of 54.229 C. Claudius Pulcher, cos. 92, brother of the consul of 79.230 P. Clodius, aed. 56, the notorious enemy of Cicero, son of the consul of 79,231 and his sister Clodia.232 C. Coelius Caldus, q. 50.233 Cn. Cornelius Dolabella, pr. 81. 234 P. Cornelius Dolabella, cos. 44, Cicero's son-in-law.235 P. Cornelius Lentulus Spinther, cos. 57.236 P.Cornelius Scipio = Q. Caecilius Metellus Pius Scipio, cos. 52.237 219 RE 98; Plane. 69. 220 RE 96; red. sen. 5, Corn. ap. Ascon. 62. 221 RE S9; Pis.fr. 11. 222 RE 90; Serf. 21, Pis. 2. 223 RE 59; Phil. 2.113, Earn. 12.10.3. 224 RE 72; leg. 3.35. 225 RE 229; Marc. 4. 226 RE 254; Fam. 13.64.2. 227 RE 296; Plane. 51. 228 RE 297; F*m. 3.7.5, 3.8.8, 3.10.9. 229 RE 29S; Fam. 11.22.1. 230 RE 302; 2 Ferr. 4.6, Brut. 166. 231 RE 48; Mi7. 18, har. resp. 4. 232 RE 66; Cael. 31. 233 RE 14; /I«. 6.6.3, E*m. 2.15.4. 234 RE 135; Quinct. 31. 235 RE 141 ;Phil. 1.29. 236 RE 238; Fam. 1.7.8. 237 RE 'Caecilius* 99; Com. ap. Ascon. 74.
30
THE NOBILITY OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC
[Faustus Cornelius Sulla, q. 54, son of the dictator.237*]) L. Cornelius Sulla, the dictator, cos. 88, 80. 238 P. Cornelius Sulla.239 Cn. Domitius Ahenobarbus, cos. 96. 240 L. Domitius Ahenobarbus, cos. 54. 241 C. Fabius Pictor. 242 Q. Hortensius, cos. 69, the orator.243 C. Hostilius Mancinus, cos. 137. 244 C. Julius Caesar, the dictator, cos. 59, 48, 46, 45, 44. 245 [L.Julius Caesar, cos. 90. 245a ] M. Junius Brutus, accusator.246 M. Junius Brutus, pr. 44, the assassin of Caesar.247 M. Juventius Laterensis, pr. 51. 2 4 8 [L. Licinius Crassus, cos. 95. 248a ] [P. Licinius Crassus, cos. 97. 248b ] P. Licinius Crassus, q. 55?, son of the consul of 70 and 55. 249 L. Licinius Lucullus, the well-known consul of 74. 250 [M. Livius Drusus, tr. pi 91. 250 *] Q. Lutatius Catulus, cos. 78. 251 L. Marcius Philippus, cos. 91. 2 5 2 237a {RE 377; Vat. 32.} 238 Har. resp. 54. 239 RE3S6;Sull. 37. 240 RE 21; leg. agr. 2.19. 241 RE 27; Phil 2.71. 242 RE 122; Tusc.lA. 243 Quinct. 9, 72; 2 Verr. 3.7; Ait. 13.12.3. 244 De or. 1.181. 245 Vat. 15. 245a (RE 142; Tusc. 5.55.J 246 De or. 2.225. 247 Phil. 2.113, Brut. 52, Tusc. 4.2. 248 Plane. 18, 50. 248a {RE 55; parad. 41.] 248b [RE 61; Tusc. 5.55.] 249 Earn. 13.16.1. 250 Att. 13.12.3, Acad, prior. 2.1. 250a [RE 18; Äii. Ptor. 16J 251 Att. 13.12.3. 252 Quinct. 9, Afwr. 36, Brut. 166.
31
NOBILITY 253
M. Octavius Cn. f., son of the consul of 76. C. Papirius Carbo, cos. 120.254 P. Popillius Laenas, cos. 132.255 [M. Pupius Piso, cos. 61.255al C. Scribonius Curio, tr. pi. 50.256 Sempronius Tuditanus, grandfather of Fulvia.257 P. Servilius Vatia Isauricus, cos. 48. 258 C. Sulpicius Galus, cos. 166.259 Ser. Sulpicius Rufus, cos. 51. 260 L. Valerius Flaccus, pr. 63. 261 The common feature of these names is that they belong to consular families, that is, to families which in the past had already supplied the state with a consul. Some of the men mentioned"seem to constitute an exception: only the gentile name, not the cognomen, of Aelius Tubero, Aemilius Scaurus, Juventius Laterensis and Papirius Carbo occurs in the consular Fasti. But for Juventius Cicero expressly attests the consular rank of his family and its Tusculan origin.262 It follows that M \ Juventius Thalna, cos. 163, was of Tusculan descent and that Laterensis* nobility went back to him. Cicero also calls M. Junius Pennus agentilis of Brutus. The same explanation must hold good for Aemilius Scaurus and the Tuberones, from whose gens other stirpes often attained the consulate. A difficulty seems to arise over Papirius Carbo, as he was plebeian, whilst the other stirpes were patrician. But Cicero 263 gives us specific proof that this gens was regarded as a single unit.264 253 Fam. 8.2.2. 254 De or. 3.74. 255 Red. sen. 37, red. Quir. 6. 255a [RE 10; Plane. 12.J 256 Fam. 2.7A. 257 Phil. 3.16. 258 Ep. Brut. 2.2.3. 259 Brut. 78. 260 Mur. 16. 261 Flace. 81. 262 Plane. 18f. 263 Fam. 9.21.2. 264 Thus in the case of Papirius he can speak of a reditus ad bonos (leg. 3.35).
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THE NOBILITY OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC
As for the recognition of nobility in practice, Cicero points out to Ser. Sulpicius Rufus: 'Your nobility, although of the highest, is known chiefly to historians, and is obscure to the people and the voters. For your father was an eques and your grandfather was not renowned for any brilliant deed. So knowledge of your nobility cannot be gained from the everyday talk of men, but must be unearthed from the history of antiquity.'265 Cicero is here alluding to the consular tribune of 388, 384 and 383, for these magistrates naturally counted as the equivalent of consuls, as did the dictator of 287 for the Hortensii. Here we have an instance of nobility proved by the records. Usually, however, it was the prestige which was present, whilst only the consular ancestors were lacking for true membership of the nobility. In an age when genealogical studies were undeveloped,266 it was in most cases not difficult to supply this need. Cicero speaks of this in the Brutus, and mentions as a means 'transference to the plebs, when men of a lower rank force their way into another family of the same name'.267 Thus for instance the Carbones maintained that their stirps had originally been patrician. The important conclusion remains unchanged: nobility demanded consular ancestors. This is in fact explicitly stated by Cicero on one occasion.268 Antonius accused Octavianus of not being one of the nobility, obviously a gross impertinence to the son of the dictator. In his reply Cicero adds that, had he lived long enough, Octavianus* natural father would also have become consul, and so admits that Octavianus is nobilis only through his adoptive father. The rule is observed throughout by Cicero. He says269 that in 100, besides the consulars and praetorians, 'all the young nobiles took up arms to overthrow Appuleius Saturninus: Cn. and L. Domitius, the consuls of 96 and 94, L. Crassus, cos. 95, Q. Mucius, his colleague, C. Claudius cos. 92, M. Drusus, tr. pi 91, all the 265 Mur. 16. 266 Alt. 6.1.18: o aviaroprjcrlav turpem. 267 Brut. 62. 268 Phil. 3.15: ignobilitatem ohicit C. Caesaris filio, cuius etiam natura pater, si uita suppeditasset, consul factus esset. 269 Rab.perd.2\.
NOBILITY
33
Octavii, Metelli, Julii, Cassii, Catones and Pompeii, L. Philippus, cos. 91, L. Scipio, cos. 83, M. Lepidus, cos. 78, D. Brutus, cos. 77, P. ServiJius, cos. 79, Q. Catulus, cos. 78, and C. Curio, cos. 76.270 Curio is the only one who does not fit, but the difficulty can easily be overcome. The last three names are all those of consulars present at the time; Cicero could hardly leave one out. Moreover, in the judgment of contemporaries the Curiones were so distinguished that Cicero on one occasion wonders why Curio the praetor of 121 never became consul.271 In the speech for Roscius of Ameria he designates as men of the highest nobility (nobilissimi) the Metelli, Servilii and Scipiones.272 For the refutation of the view that nobility was established by any curule office, the speeches for Fonteius and Murena are instructive. Cicero calls273 Fonteius 'a very praiseworthy and courageous man and an excellent citizen' and brings forward as a ground for his acquittal the antiquity of his family and its regular praetorships.274 Sulpicius Rufus had claimed that Murena was not of good family but a new man. Cicero replies: 'If any plebeian families at all are distinguished and deserving of honour, then his great-grandfather and grandfather were both praetors, and his father, after celebrating a triumph for the achievements of his praetorship in the most splendid and honourable fashion, made it easier for his son to reach
270 R Vonder Miihll (De L. Appuleio Saturnino, Diss. Basel 1906, 14ff.) recognised that this Ust does not rest on any tradition; Cicero simply used the names on the consular Fasti. The only exception is the famous tribune Drusus; not, as Vonder Miihll says (p. 17), the Catones, for L. Porcius Cato was cos. 89. In these circumstances it is no accident that T. Didius, cos. 98, C. Coelius Caldus, cos. 94, M. Herennius, cos. 93, M. Perperna, cos. 92 (Cicero therefore did not recognise his father's consulship of 130: cf. p. 51 n. 457) and P. Rutilius Lupus, cos. 90, are missing. They did not belong to cuncta nobilitas ac iuuentus. 271 Brut. 124. 272 Rose. Am. 15. 273 Font. 41: primum generis antiquitasf quam Tusculo, ex clarissimo municipio, profectam in monumentis rerum gestarum incisam ac notatam uidemus, turn autem continuae praeturae, quae et ceteris ornamentis et existimatione innocentiae maximefloruerunt, deinde recens memoria parentis . . . postremo ipse cum in omnibus uitae partibus honestus atque integer', turn in re militari cum summi consili et maximi animi9 turn uero usu quoqu bellorum gerendorum in primis eorum hominum qui nunc sunt exercitatus. 21A Cf. Varro RR 2.4.2, who makes Cn. Tremellius Scrofa say: septimus sum deinceps praetorius in gente nostra.
34
THE NOBILITY OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC
the consulship, in that the son merely claimed what was already owed to the father/275 In both speeches Cicero uses every device to give his clients the appearance of distinction. He would certainly not have failed to mention their nobility if it had in fact been recognised.276 It is obviously because the consulship founded nobility that it, and not the censorship, was for Cicero the summit of the cursus honorum.277 The celebrated founder of the nobility of the Junii was L. Brutus, cos. 509.278 The consul of 340 is recorded as 'the first Decius to become consul',279 similarly Cn. Octavius, cos. 165.280 An opposing speaker asked Cicero in court if he thought the path to office was easier for a man of equestrian birth than it would be for Cicero's son, the scion of a consular family.281 'New men', homines noui, is the name given in general by Cicero to those equites who were the first of their family to hold public office and so obtain entry to the senate, such as L. Quinctius, tr. pi. 74,282 T. Fadius, tr. pi. 57,283 and Cn. Plancius, aed. 54.284
275 Mur. 15. Later, in s. 17, he opposes to the charge of ignobilitas the consul ex familia uetere et inlustri> and stresses the antiquity of the family similarly in s. 86. It is to be noted that obviously in this case no relationship could be established between Licinius Murena and the noble Crassi and Luculli. On the other hand Varro RR 1.2.9 calls C. Licinius Crassus (Cic. Lael. 96), tr. pi. 145, eiusdem gentis as C. Licinius Stolo, whom he describes as a descendant of the consul of 364. The historian C. Licinius Macer was likewise reckoned as a member of this family (Liv. 7.9.5). 276 Madvig (I, 186) refers to Tac. Ann. 3.30 and Cic. Plane. 15 for the phrase nobilitas praetor iay which in fact is his own coinage; but this is a mere error. 277 Plane. 60: honorum populifinisest consulatus. Phil. 1.14 of the consulars: they stand in altissimo gradu dignitatis, similarly PhiL 10.4; Fam. 3.7.5: ullam Appietatem aut Lentulitatem ualere apud me plus quam omamenta uirtutis existimas? cum ea consecutus nondum eram, quae sunt hominum opinionihus amplissima, tarnen ista uestra nomina numquam sum admiratus; uiros eos, qui ea uobis reliquissent, magnos arbitrabar 278 On M. Junius Brutus cf. Tusc. 4.2: praeclarus auctor nobilitatis tuae; Brut. 52: nobilitatis uestrae princeps. 279 Div. 1.51: P. Decius ille Q.f. qui primus e Deciis consul fuit; or fin. 2.61: princeps in ea familia consulatus. 280 Off. 1.138: qui primus ex ilia familia cotisulfactus est; and Phil. 9.4: qui primus in earn familiam attulit consulatum. 281 'Plane. 59. 282 Cluent. 111. 283 RE 6.1959, no. 9; Fam. 5.18.1. 284 Plane. 67.
NOBILITY
35
He also describes as homines noui those equites who were created jurors by the lex Amelia of 70.285 In the lower magistracies, up to the praetorship, such new men were quite a common phenomenon. 'Those who have reached them are innumerable.'286 It is plain that they must often have had to endure disdainful treatment from men of inherited distinction.287 The consul of merely equestrian birth is on the other hand a rare exception.288 Cicero could pride himself on being the first new man for a generation to win the position of consul, which the nobility defended as if it were a fortress.289 This saying illustrates the exclusiveness with which the nobiles kept their hold on the consulship. Cicero is alluding to C. Coelius Caldus, cos. 94, who is also named by Q. Cicero in his Comtnetitariolum Petitionis as Cicero's most recent predecessor.290 Nevertheless, not all the consuls between 94 and 63 were nobiles: as early as 93 we have M. Herennius, in 90 P. Rutilius Lupus, in 89 Cn. Pompeius Strabo, in 83 C. Norbanus Bulbus, in 81 M. Tullius Decula, in 76 C. Scribonius Curio, in 72 L. Gellius Poplicola, in 66 L. Volcacius Tullus, whilst for 65 P. Autronius Paetus was elected. This shows that the principle of exclusiveness operated within fairly wide limits. Every senator's son was admitted without serious opposition. There was therefore no Restricted number of ruling families', as Mommsen claimed.291 The scanty information offered by the rest of the tradition accords with the conclusions which can be drawn from Cicero. With the first two points in his exposition ('I am a new man, I am a candidate for the consulship') Q. Cicero confirms what I have 285 2 Verr. 2.175. 286 Plane. 60. 287 2 Verr. 4.81, 5.181, 3.7, 2.174; Plane. 17; Fam. 1.7.8; Phil. 9.4. 288 Leg. agr. 1.27: equestri ortus loco consul. At rep. 1.10 he exclaims: consul autem esse, qui potui, nisi eum uitae cursum tenuissem a pueritia, per quern equestri loco natus peruenirem ad honorem amplissimum. 289 Leg. agr. 2.3: me perlongo interuallo prope memoriae temporumque nostrorum primum hominem nouum consulem fecistis et eum locum quern nohilitas praesidiis fit'matum atque omni ratione obuallatum tenebat me duce rcscidistis uirtutique in posterum patere uoluistis. 290 Comm.pet. 11. 291 RG II, 2151=111, 4861. 4
36
THE NOBILITY OF THE R O M A N RBPUBLIC
already said about the significance of the consulship for the attainment of nobility and its contrast with nouitas292 He characterises Catilina as nobilis.293 Catilina must therefore have derived his descent from the Sergii Fidenates, for whom consulates and consular tribunates in the fifth and fourth centuries are recorded. We know that his great-grandfather M. Sergius,294 urban praetor in 197, bore the cognomen Silus.295 The fact that the gens Sergia was patrician has nothing to do with its nobility.296 Indeed I believe, against Mommsen,297 that patricians who held office for the first time were also called homines noui. The passage of Cicero adduced by Mommsen proves this: the patrician Sulpicius Rufus is not a homo nouns (as is assumed by his uneducated contemporaries, who think that he is of equestrian birth) only because he has consular tribunes among his ancestors.298 Similarly in the case of Aemilius Scaurus we hear only of an interval in which the family attained no office.299 Here too nobility rested on the consulate of an ancestor, real or supposed. Livy's comment on the year 366 cannot be regarded as decisive in this matter, since in his annalistic narrative the struggle of the plebeians to reach the consulate is overlaid with the colours of later factional struggles.300 Besides, Livy does not even say that L. Sextius was the first homo nouus. Sallust too calls Catilina a nobilis301 and makes his Marius say
292 Comm.pet. 293 Comm. pet 9. From the discussion of the one competitor, Antonius, he proceeds to the other: alter uero quo splendore est?primum nobilitate eadem, i.e. he belongs to the eiusmodi nohiles of s. 7: ut nemo sit qui audeat dkere plus illis nobilitatem quam tibi uirtutem prodesse oportere. 294 Plin. NH 7.104/5. 295 Liv. 32.27.7. 296 Cic. Mur. 17, Sail. Cat. 31.7, Ascon. 82. 297 Staatsr. Ill, 463. 298 Mur. 16. 299 Ascon. 23: Scaurus itafuit patricius ut tribus supra eum aetatibus iacuerit domus eius fortuna. nam neque pater neque auus neque etiam proauus—ut puto propter tenues opes et nullam uitae industriam—honores adepti sunt, itaque Scauro aeque ac nouo homin laborandum fuit. When Plut. mor. 318C calls him /catvo? äv0pa>7TO$t that is no doubt his own opinion, as ix raircivov ßiov KCH. rancLvorepov yivovs shows. 300 7.1.1: annus hie erit insignis noui fwmmis consulatu. 301 Gif. 5.1.
NOBILITY
37
that his nobility springs from his uirtus (rather than from a consular forebear).302 His remarks on the exclusiveness of the nobiles are particularly important. It operated only against new men who sought the consulate. This cannot be more pointedly expressed than it is on the occasion of Marius* candidature: 'At that time the plehs bestowed the other offices, but the nobility passed the consulship from hand to hand. Any new man, however distinguished he might be, was held unworthy of this honour and spurned as if he were polluted/ 303 He speaks in similar fashion about Cicero's consulship: 'In the past most of the nobility used to foam with resentment and regard the consulship as polluted, if anew man, however outstanding, obtained it.' 304 Ser. Sulpicius Rufus the jurist, several times mentioned above, calls Sp. Carvilius Maximus Ruga, cos. 234 and 228, uir nobilis.305 According to the Fasti he was Sp. f. C. n., that is, son of the consul of 293 and 272.306 Catullus gibed at those who wanted to make friends with nobiles, when he saw the followers of Piso, cos. 58 and Caesar's father-in-law, returning with empty pockets from Macedonia.307 Caesar uses the word nobilis with reference to Romans only once, in the speech of Ariovistus;308 a deliberate avoidance, since he uses it freely of foreigners.309 Varro calls L. Cornelius Merula 'the 302 BJ 85.17. Similarly 25: mihi noua nobilitas est. Here the word is not used in its strict sense, just as Veil. 2.34.3 later calls Cicero uir nouitatis nobilissimae. Mommsen, Staatsr. Ill, 463 n. 1. 303 BJ 63.6. 304 Cat. 23.6. 305 Gell. 4.3.2. 306 Münzer's doubts (RE 3.1630) seem to me unfounded. 307 28.13; Münzer, RE 3.1388. 308 BG 1.44.12: Caesar's death would be welcome multis nobilibus principibusque populi Romani. 309 BG 1.2, 7, 18, 31, 5.3, 6.13 of Gauls, BC 1.34 of Massiliot envoys. Cicero is also very generous with nobilitas as applied to non-Romans, i.e. municipales and provincials. In his elaborate diction a precise indication of the sphere of validity is seldom lacking: Rose. Am. 15: nobilitate... non modo sui municipii uerum etiam eius uicinitatis facile primus, similarly Cluent. 11, 23: uir fortis et experiens et domi nobilis, 109: an eques Romanus in municipio suo nobilis, 196: nobilitas ilia inter suos. In the case of provincials, however, where confusion with Roman nobiHty is out of the question, he too omits such qualifications: 2 Verr. 1.76, 85, 2.11, 23, but
38
THE NOBILITY OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC
descendant of a consular family1.310 Instead of nobilis511 Cornelius Nepos uses also generosus,*12 as do Sallust313 and Livy.314 The memorandum of 50 B.C. 315 ascribed to Sallust distinguishes between nohiles and ordinary senators within the senate.316 The author of the Bellum Africum speaks once of a 'new man and minor senator'.317 Asconius gives the list of Cicero's fellow-candidates for 63: 'Two patricians, P. Sulpicius Galba and L. Sergius Catilina, four plebeians, of whom two were nohiles, C. Antonius, son of the orator M. Antonius, and L. Cassius Longinus, and two were at least not the first of their families to hold office, Q. Cornificius and C. Licinius Sacerdos. Of all the candidates only Cicero was of merely equestrian birth.'318 In addition to all these writers, Livy too offers plentiful material. As I have already remarked, he must be used with caution. It cannot stand as evidence against Cicero when Livy under the year 509, at a time when according to his own account only patricians could hold office, describes Aquillii and Vitellii, members of plebeian families, as nohiles adulescentes,319 just as, at the same period, he presents C. Mucius Scaevola in the same terms, although the Mucii were plebeian and produced their first consul in the year 175.320 For this period there is no trace of a tradition. Such errors merely reveal the inconsistently 2.35, 68, 91,128, 3.93, 4.38, 51, 5.40 (here missing for a municipalis), 111, 112, Arch. 4, Flacc. 52 of citizens of Tralles: apud nos noti, inter suos nohiles, Balb. 41, Att. 5.20.4 of a centurion nobilis sui generis. Sallust too describes municipal members of the Catilinarian conspiracy as domi nohiles (Cat. 17.4), and C. Gracchus had already called a quaestor of Teanum Sidicinum suae ciuitatis nohilissimus (Gell. 10.3.3). 310 Varro RR 3.2.2. Cf. RE 4.1408. 311 Thus Cato 2.3. 312 Att. 1.3, 12.1. 313 BJ 85.15. 314 4.55.3. 315 The date emerges from 2.3 and 3.3. 316 Sail. ep. 2.11.6. A discussion of this work is given by Pöhlmann, Aus Altertum u. Gegenwart, N.F. 184fF. 317 BAfr. 57: homo nouus paruusque senator. 318 Ascon. 82. 319 2.4.2. 320 2.12.2.
NOBILITY
39
thoughtlessness with which Livy's sources, the annalists of Sulla's time and later, lied. Moreover, Mommsen calls attention to the use of patricii and nobiles as synonyms,321 because the annalists applied the concepts of their own time to relationships in the past.322 Once these misleading data have been set aside, it can be seen that the terminology is entirely Ciceronian. Sp. Maelius was of equestrian birth; 323 he therefore lacked nobility, offices and achievements.324 In 420 it was not the kinsmen of tribunes of the plebs who were elected as quaestors; instead the people preferred those whose fathers and grandfathers it had seen as consuls.325 Licinius Stolo connects nobility with the winning of the consulship.326 The founder of the nobility of the Claudian gens was its first consul (495), the immigrant Attius Clausus.327 Nouitas is generally ascribed to those who were the first of their families to hold an office: tribunes of the plebs32S and quaestors,329 but in particular consuls and censors.330
321 Staatsr. HI, 463 n. 4. 322 Thus also optumates (4.9.4 and 11). This conception is briefly developed in the memorandum of 50 B.C. (Sail, ep, 2.5.1fF.): in duas partes ego ciuitatem diuisam arbitror, sicut a maioribus accepi, in patres et plebem. antea in patribus summa auctoritas erat, uis multo maxuma inplebe. itaque saepius in ciuitate secessio juit semperque nobilitatis opes deminutae sunt et ius populi amplificatum. It must be remembered that for later writers patres could mean patricians as well as senate. A similar view of the struggle between the orders in Sail. Hist. 1.1 IM. (A. Rosenberg, Unters, z. r. Zenturienverfassungy 50, was wrong to deny that this refers to the struggle between the orders.) The error is simply. that the struggle of the plebeians for equality of rights is described in the same terms as the political struggles of the post-Gracchan period (Sail. Cat. 33.4, BJ 31.17, App. BC 1.1.2, Tac. Hist. 2.38). It should also be noted that as early as Plautus (Capt. 1002) patricii pueri means 'boys of distinguished family*. In Gell. 18.2.11 the question is raised: quam ob causam patricii Megalctisibus mutitare solid sinty plcbes Cerealibus? Verrius Flaccus expounds as follows in Fast. PraenesL for April 4th. (ILS 8744a): nobilium mutationes cenarum solitae sunt frequenter fieri, quod Mater Magna ex libris Sibullinis arcessita locum mutauit ex Phrygia Romam. Cicero (Cato max. 45) makes Cato take part in this ceremonial banquet. In the Gcllius passage therefore patricii has merely the weakened sense of nobiles. Ascon. 23 also uses patricius in this way: quae generis ciaritas etiam inertes homines ad summos honores prouexit. 323 4.13.1. 324 4.15.5. 325 4.44.2. 326 6.37.11. 327 10.8.6; cf. Münzer, RE 3.2663 and 2863, no. 321. 328 4.48.7. 329 4.54.6. 330 22.34.7, 37.57.12 and 15, 39.41.2.
40
THE NOBILITY OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC
The concept does not appear in Greek writers. In Polybius irri^avT/s has the more general sense of 'distinguished', 'belonging to the governing class'.331 In a letter Cicero translates nobilitas as evyeveia.332 But in Diodorus, Dionysius, Plutarch and Cassius Dio there is no fixed expression.
4.
CLARISSIM1
The existence of a unified class within the senate above the curule senators is further attested by the list of those whom Cicero honours with the epithet clarissimus.333 M. Aemilius Lepidus, cos. 46, 42, the triumvir.334 L. Aemilius Paullus, cos. 182, 168, the victor of Pydna.335 L. Aemilius Paullus, cos. 50.336 M. Aemilius Scaurus, cos. 115.337 L. Caecilius Metellus Calvus, cos. 142.338 331 3.40.9: tres uiri coloniae deducendae (a consular and two praetorians) rpeis av$p€s TCOV £mav(x>Vy likewise of a senatorial commission (18.42.5): SCKCC TWV imavajv. In 6.14.6 the people judges disputes (in actions brought by the tribunes) when the sum at stake justifies it, chiefly in the case of rovs ras imaveZs icrx^Koras apx&s. Cf. 10.4.1: ayopavofxla, rjv axcSov lm^av€.orarr\v apx^v etvat. crufjLßcclvci ra>v vecov irapa 'Pajpialois. In 6.53.1 he describes the funeral of one nap* avrols r&v i-mcfravcov avSp&v. In the last three cases €TTLavrjs probably renders the notion'curule*. Thus Diod. 20.36.6: rfjs enifyavzaripas ayopavop,las. The phrase in Pol. 6.58.3: 8e/ca ot imfaviararoi is rendered by Cic. off. 3.113 as decern nobilissimi. 332 Fam. 3.7.5. Polybius has the word in 31.26.6 of Papiria, the mother of Scipio Aemilianus (=Diod. 31.27.3). Diod. 31.25.2 has ol rcefr tvyevtlais /cat rrpoyovwv 86£r) 8iaepovr€s on the occasion of the funeral of Aemilius Paullus, where the form of words may still perhaps be Polybian, also in 32.27.3 of Caesar, 34/5.33.1 and 38.1 of Nasica, and 37.10 of Livius Drusus. Evyevels: 12.25 and 20.36.3f. 333 I was stimulated to this enquiry by a remark of Fritz Vonder Muhll's. Cf. O. Hirschfeld, SB Akad. Wiss. Berlin 1901, 580 [=K/. Sehr. (1913), 647]. 334 Phil. 3.23. 335 2 Verr. 4.22. 336 RE SI; Phil. 13.13. 337 RE 140; off. 1.138. 338 RE S3; Font. 23.
CLARISSIMl
Q. Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus, cos. 143.339 Q. Caecilius Metellus Nepos,a>5. 57.340 Q. Caecilius Metellus Numidicus, cos. 109.341 Q. Caecilius Metellus Pius, cos. 80.342 Q. Caecilius Metellus Pius Scipio, cos. 52.343 C. Cassius, cos. 73. 344 C. Claudius Marcellus, pr. 80.345 C. Claudius Marcellus, cos. 50.346 Cn. Cornelius Lentulus Clodianus, cos. 72, certs. 70.347 Cn. Cornelius Lentulus Marcellinus, cos. 56.348 P. Cornelius Lentulus, cos. 162.349 P. Cornelius Lentulus Spinther, cos. 57.350 P. Cornelius Scipio Africanus Aemilianus, cos. 147, 134. P. Cornelius Scipio Nasica Serapio, cos. 138.352 L. Cornelius Sisenna, pr. 78, the historian.353 L. Cornelius Sulla, cos. 88, 80, the dictator.354 Cn. Domitius Ahenobarbus, cos. 96.355 L. Domitius Ahenobarbus, cos. 54.356 Cn. Domitius Calvinus, cos. 53. 357 Q. Fabius Maximus Eburnus, cos. 116.358 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357
2 Verr. 3.211, Font. 23. Dom. 70. Red. sen. 37, red. Quir. 6, de or. 3.68. Ghent. 24. Phil 13.29. RE 58; 2 Verr. 3.97. RE 214; 2 Verr. 2.110. RE 216; Phil 3A7. 2 Ferr. 5.15, C/ae«*. 120. RE 228; 2 Kerr. 2.103: darissimus adulescens. RE 202; C
358 RF\U;B
28.
f
•*rrrirm
I
42
THE NOBILITY OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC
C. Fannius.359 L. Gellius Poplicola, cos. 72, cens. 70.360 Q. Hortensius, cos. 69, the orator.361 C. Julius Caesar Strabo Vopiscus, aed. 90.362 C. Julius Caesar, cos. 59, 48, 46, 45, 44, the dictator.363 L. Julius Caesar, cos. 90, certs. 89.364 L. Julius Caesar, cos. 64.365 C. Julius Caesar Octavianus, the later Augustus.366 C. Laelius, cos. 140.367 L. Licinius Crassus, cos. 95, the orator.368 M. Licinius Crassus, cos. 70, 55. 369 Licinius Lucullus.370 M. Livius Drusus, tr. pi. 91. 371 Q. Lutatius Catulus, cos. 78.372 L. Marcius Philippus, cos. 56.373 Q. Marcius Philippus.374 C. Marius, cos. 107,104-100, 86.375 Q. Minucius Thermus, tr. pi. 62.376 Cn. Pompeius Magnus, cos. 70, 55, 52.377 C. Popillius Laenas, cos. 132.378 359 360 361 362 363 364 365 366 367 368 369 370
RE 9; Phil 13.13. RE 17; Pis. 6, Ghent. 120, red. Quir. 17. Sull 3, Sest. 3, Afar. 10, imp. Pomp. 51, 66. Scaur. 2=Ascon. 24. Balb. 64. Scaur. 2 = Ascon. 24. Phil. 6.14. Phil 4.3: clarissimus adukscens. Grto »MI. 77. De or. 1.255, 2 Kerr. 3.3. Mur. 10, C*e/. 18. Phil 10.8: clarissimus adukscens.
371 C/H«I*. 153,
372 Cat. 3.24, twp. Pomp. 51, 66. 373 Phil 3.17. 374 Balb. 28. 375 Gtf. 3.15, 2 Kerr. 2.110. 376 Phil. 13.13. 377 1 Kerr. 44, 2 Kerr. 2.102, 110, 113, 5.153, Sest. 15, Pfc. 34, Phil 13.8: clarissimus adukscens, Earn. 1.8.4. 378 Ba/fc. 28, red. Quir. 1.
CLARISSIMI
43
379
C. Porcius Cato, cos. 114. M. Porcius Cato, cos. 195.380 M. Porcius Cato (Uticensis), pr. 54.381 P. Rutilius Rufus, cos. 105.383 Ti. Sempronius Gracchus, cos. 177, 163.384 Cn. Servilius Caepio, cos. 141.385 Q. Servilius Caepio, cos. 140.386 Q. Servilius Caepio, cos. 106.387 P. Servilius Vatia Isauricus, cos. 79.388 Ser. Sulpicius Rufus, cos. 51. 389 Ser. Sulpicius Rufus, his son.390 Cicero several times calls the three dynasts clarissimi,391 also elsewhere 'all the Scauri, Metelli, Claudii, Catuli, Scaevolae and Crassi',392 or in general terms 'those who commanded in the wars of the Roman people'.393 All the men enumerated here are either nobiles according to the definition given above or consulars (L. Gellius, C. Marius, M. Porcius cos. 195, P. Rutilius Rufus), L. Cornelius Sisenna is probably considered a nobilis by virtue of his membership of the gens Cornelia. The Sisennae may have split ofFfrom another family in the same way as the Sullae.394 I have found in Cicero only three exceptions to this rule: T. Annius Milo,395 L. Licinius Murena, propr. 83, 396 and L. Lucceius.397 379 380 383 385 387 388 389 390 391 392 393 394 395 396 397
2 Verr. 3.184, 4.22, Balb. 28. 2 Verr. All. 381 Flacc. 98. Balb. 28. 384 Cat. 1.4. Font. 23. 386 Font. 23. Balb. 28. 2 Verr. 1.56, leg. agr. 2.50, red. sen. 25, prov. cos. 1, Phil. 11.19. Phil. 1.3, Deiot. 32. Flacc. 98. Sest. 40, dorn. 42, prov. cos. 39, Vat. 35. Phil. 8.15. Leg. agr. 2.59. Sulla's stemma is given by Münzer, RE 4.1515. Har. resp. 6. Mur. 88. Fam. 5.12.7.
44
THB NOBILITY OF THE R O M A N REPUBLIC
All these can be explained. Milo had saved Cicero from his deadly enemy Clodius and so is praised elsewhere too with similar exaggeration.398 In the case of Murena a contrast is intended between his glory and the possibility that his son might be condemned. In the last instance the complimentary epithet is aimed at tempting Lucceius to write the monograph that Cicero wanted on his activities as consul.399
5. PRINCIPES
CIVITATIS
The circle of the clarissimi is in Cicero largely identical with that of the principes ciuitatis or simply principes, which might be rendered in German without qualm as Fürsten (i.e. princes), since this is the literal translation and also has the same social nuances.400 Again I give a list of those who are mentioned by name: L. Aemilius Paullus, cos. 182, 168, the victor of Pydna.401 M. Aemilius Scaurus, cos. 115.402 C. Aurelius Cotta, cos. 75. 403 L. Calpurnius Piso, cos. 58.404 P. Cornelius Lentulus Spinther, cos. 57.405 L. Domitius Ahenobarbus, cos. 54.406 Q. Hortensius, cos. 69, the orator.407 398 E.g. Fam. 2.6.4. 399 Along with spectatissimus et in rei p. maximis grauissimisque causis cognitus atque in primis probatus. 400 Principes=nobiles: rep. 2.56, leg. 3.31, 32; Sull. 3: clarissimi uiri ac principes ciuitatis; dorn. 42: quosdam clarissimos uirost principes ciuitatis. Cinna killed tot ciuitatis principes (nat. deor. 3.SO)=clarissimi uiri, lumina ciuitatis (Cat. 3.24); the same is expected of Caesar (Att. 7.7.7). In Att. 9.9.2 and Fam. 7.3.2 he calls the Pompeians nostri principes, in Att. 10.8.4 he speaks of Pompeius and the other principes. Cf. Pis. 7, Att. 2.1.7. Nobiles in this sense: Att. 1.1.2, 1.2.2. 401 Brut. SO: princeps ciuis. [Cf. now the fuller collection of material in Wickert, £E22.2014fF.] 402 Sest. 39: princeps et senatus et ciuitatis, Debt. 31, [de or. 2.197]. 403 Nat. deor. 2.168: princeps ciuis. 404 Phil. 8.17, 28. 405 Fam. 1.7.8. 406 2 Verr. 1.139: princeps iuuentutis; Mil 22: one of the principes. 407 Acad, prior. 2.5, Sull. 3.
PRINCIPES CIVITATIS
45
408
L. Licinius Crassus, cos. 95. L. Licinius Lucullus, cos. 74.409 Q. Lutatius Catulus, cos. 78.410 M\ Manilius, cos. 149.411 L. Marcius Philippus, cos. 56.4i2 P. Mucius Scaevola, cos. 133.413 Cn. Pompeius Magnus, cos. 70, 55, 52.414 M. Porcius Cato, cos. 195.415 M. Porcius Cato (Uticensis), pr. 54, his great-grandson.416 P. Servilius Vatia Isauricus, cos. 79.417 Ser. Sculpicius Rufus, cos. 51. 418 M. Tullius Cicero, cos. 63. 419 The younger Cato is out of place in this group. The others are all consulars. This is no accident. We can see from Cicero that princess ciuitatis in the narrow sense is an honorific applied to consulars.420 Nor is it an empty title. For under the senatorial system
408 De or. 1.225. 409 Att. 2.1.7, Acad, prior. 2.5, off. 1.140. 410 2 Verr. 3.210, Pis. 6 (princeps huius ordinis), Acad, prior. 2.5. 411 Fin. 1.12. 412 Phil. 8.17, 28. 413 Fin. 1.12. 414 Att. 10.8.4; Sest. 84: princeps ciuitatis; prov. cos. 41: princeps ciuium; Plane. 93: in re publica princeps; red. Quir. 16: uir omnium qui suntfueruntprinceps; red. sen. 5: omnium gentium, omnium saeculorum, omnis memoriae facile princeps; dorn. 66: omnium iudicio longe princeps ciuitatis; Fam. 1.9.11: in re publica princeps uir; 3.11.3: omnium saeculorum et gentium princeps. 415 Nat. deor. 3.11. 416 Phil. 13.30: princeps of the praetorii idemque omnium gentium uirtute princeps. 417 2 Verr. 3.210. 418 Phil. 8.17. 419 Süll. 3, Fam. 12.24.2 (me principem senatui populoque Romano professus sum), ep. Brut. 2.1.2. 420 [Pis. 30: quisquam uos (L. Calpurnius Piso and A. Gabinius) consules tunc (58) fuisse aut nunc (55) esse consulates putet, qui eius ciuitatis in qua nunc in principum numero uoltis esse, non leges... noritis?] Phil. 14.17: utinam quidem Uli principes uiuerent, qui me post meum consulatum, cum eis ipse cederem, principem non inuiti uidebant! hoc uero tempore in tanta inopia constantium etfortium consularium, quo me dolore adfici creditis. Similarly he says to Spinther (Fam. 1.7.8): in te enim, homine omnium nobilissimo, similia inuidorum uitia pcrspcxi, quem tarnen illi esse in principibus
46
THE NOBILITY OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC
of government the circle o£ the principes formed the real governing council which advised the consul. They held meetings for this purpose in the consul's house.421 Thus Cicero can say of Brutus' grandfather Caepio, quaestor in the year 100, that 'he would now be one of the principes, if he were alive'.422 As the descriptions of Pompeius already cited show, Cicero applies the term princeps also to the first, that is, the most powerful, man in the state, the man who possesses actual power. But between the official princeps ciuitatis and the princeps ciuium or in re publica princeps no precise distinction is drawn. Thus all three members of the coalition of 60 are called principes.423 Caesar424 and Crassus425 themselves used the phrase. Cicero calls Caesar's monarchy principals.426 Earlier, in 63, he says of the great revolutionaries that they wanted to be principes in the state.427 Even in this sense, however, he does not always use the word in a pejorative way.428 facile suntpassi, euohre altius certe noluerunt. Phil 8.29: the summis honoribus usi= s. 32 nos consulates should personam principis tueri. Also Mil. 22. In Fam. 10.6.3 he hopes to see L. Munatius Plancus a princeps, but since he is as yet only consul designate for 42, he is encouraged to be for the moment animo consularis (s. 2). 421 Cicero praises Antonius for observing this custom (Phil. 1.2). For his own consulate cf. Cat. 3.7, prov. cos. 45. In the speech in toga Candida he says: te uero, Catilinat consulatum sperare aut cogitate non prodigium atque portentum est: a quibus enim petis? a principibus ciuitatis? qui tibi, cum L. Volcacio cos. in consilio fuissent, ne petendi quidem potestatem esse uoluerunt. Cf. Ascon. 89: L. Volcacius Tullus consul consilium publicum habuit an rationem Catilinae habere deberet, si peteret consulatum: nam quaerebatur repetundarum. In 65 the praetorian Cicero did not yet belong to the consul's consilium (Sull. 11). Cf. Phil. 2.14. 422 Fin. 3.8. The word occurs as a precise concept in this way again in 2 Verr. 5.41 (principes in the senate opposed to uniuersi); Cat. 1.7, 2.12; Sull. 7; red. sen. 26; red. Quir. 17; Sest. 97; har. resp. 40, 45, 53, 54, 55, 60; Phil. 2.52, 8.22; Fam. 3.11.3. 423 Att. 4.5.1: isti principes; Fam. 1.9.21: summorum ciuium principatus. Also prov. cos. 38. 424 Att. 8.9.4: Balbus quidem maior ad me scribit nihil malle Caesarem quam principe Pompeio sine metu uiuere. 425 Off. 1.25: nuper M. Crassus negabat ullam satis magnam pecuniam esse ei, qui in re publica princeps uellet esse, cuius fructibus exercitum alere non posset. 426 Off. 1.26. 427 Cat. 3.25. 428 As for instance when he calls Aemilius Paullus princeps ciuis (Brut. 80) or speaks of the man in re publica dignus principatu (off. 1.86). In 46 he writes (Fam.
PRINCIPES CIVITATIS
47
The three ways in which princeps is used: (1) general, meaning 'distinguished', nobilis; (2) princeps ciuitatis in the technical sense, of the consular; (3) of leading politicians, are also found in Livy.429 Whether Caesar makes the distinction cannot be determined.430 Varro tells how, when he was Illuir monetalis, he was summoned by the tribune Porcius, but on the advice ofthe principes did not go, thus maintaining established law, for the tribune had only the right oiprensio (seizure), not uocatio (summons).431 From this we learn one function of the committee o£ the principes: the settling of questions of constitutional law. Caesar was the first to ignore their competence, as Cicero regretfully writes.432 Consequently Cicero was all 6.6.5) that if Pompeius had followed his advice, esset hie (Caesar) quidem clams in toga et princeps, sed tantas opes, quantas nunc habet, non haberet. Phil. 1.34 (to M. Antonius, reminding him of his grandfather): ilia erat uita, ilia secunda fortuna, libertate esse parent ceteris, principem dignitate. The passage in a letter (Fam. 3.11.3) to Ap. Claudius Pulcher about his distant kinsman by marriage Pompeius and his sonin-law M. Brutus may perhaps allude to this form of principate: alterius omnium saeculorum et genHum principis, alterius iam pridem iuuentutis, celeriter, ut spero, ciuitatis. But the reference is more probably to Brutus' future consulate. 429 (1) For principes in the general sense he also uses primores (4.1.3, 4.8.7); principes plebis (4.25.9, 6.34.3); primores plebis (4.60.7); at Capua occultae principum coniurationes (9.26.5), primores (26.13.1), principes senatus (26.16.6); at Nola senatus ac maxime primores eius (23.14.7)=principes (23.29.7); at Locri principes (23.30.8, 29.6.5, 29.8.2). (2) 4.6.6: consules consilia principum domi habebant; 4.48.4: nee tribuni militum nunc in senatu nunc in consiliis priuatis principum cogendis uiam consilii inueniebant; 4.48.7: principes—4.48.16: consulares; 4.57.11: primores patrum all consular tribunes for the second time; 10.6.3: certamen inter primores ciuitatis patricios plebeiosque—$. 5: capita plebis consulares triumphalesque; 29.14.12: matronae primores ciuitatis welcome the mother of the gods; 2.16.5, 4.25.9, 4.48.7 and 11, 6.32.3, 26.18.6, 26.22.14, 40.45.8, 43.14.1, 43.16.14. (3) 26.38.6: two principes at Salapia; 42.17.3: princeps Brundisii Rammiusfuit. 430 Ariovistus says (BG 1.44.12): si eum (Caesar) interjecerit, multis sese nobilibus principibusque populi Romani gratum esse facturum; BC 2.3.2: principes ac senatus at Messana; 1.74.5: a principibus Hispaniae; BG 6.11.2: in Gallia .. .factiones sunt carumque factionum principes sunt etc.; BC 1.35.3: diuisum esse populum Romanum in duos partes... principes uero esse earum partium Cn. Pompeium et C. Caesarem. Cf. supra n. 424. BAfr. 26.5: principes ciuitatum. 431 Gell. 13.12.6. The incident belongs c. 94 (Willems, I, 453). On the constitutional aspects cf. Mommsen, Staatsr. I, 145. 432 Off. 2.65: cum multa pracclara maiorum, turn quod optime constituti iuris ciuilis
48
THE NOBILITY OF THE R O M A N REPUBLIC
the more pleased, when in the days immediately following Caesar's murder Antonius held meetings of the principes in his house. Augustus states that in the year 19, in accordance with a decree of the senate, he was greeted by an embassy in Campania, which consisted of some of the praetors and tribunes and the consul, together with the principes.433 In the Greek translation the principes are clearly characterised as the committee of consulars. Thus the peculiar position of the consulars continued under the principate. Asconius calls the same men first principes ciuitatis and then consulares.434 But Tacitus always calls them primores ciuitatisy as Livy also frequently does.435 The reason is easy to find': they were not to be confused with the princeps par excellence. As Cicero's usage shows, Augustus' use of the title in no way exceeded the bounds of the republican constitution,436 and his position was regarded by his contemporaries as no different from that of earlier principes431 The
summo semper in honore fuit cognitio atque interpretation quam quidem ante hanc conf sionem temporum in possessione sua principes retinuerunt, nunc, ut honores, ut omnes dignitatis gradus, sic huius scientiae splendor deletus est idque eo indignius quod eo tempor hoc contigit, cum is (sc. Ser. Sulpicius Rufus, cos. 51) esset, qui omnes superiores, quibus honore par esset, scientia facile uicisset. 433 RG 12: [ex senatus auctoritat]e pars praetorum et tribunorum [plebi cum consule Q.] Lu[cret]io et princi[pi]bus uiris [ob\uiam mihi mis[s]a e[st in Campan]iam — Boyjjuari O[V]VKXTJTOV ol ra? [xeyiaras apxccs ap£avTe[s 0r]adv /xot {nravrqaovres \iix?1 KapTTCcvias. 434 Ascon. 60, 79. 435 Ann. 1.24.1, 4.29.1, 15.25.2 (consuluit inter primores ciuitatis Nero); Hist. 1.81.1, 3.64.1. Sen. ben. 2.27.2. on Cn. Lentulus the augur (princeps iam ciuitatis et pecunia et gratia) does not have this technical sense (Mommsen, Staatsr. II, 775 n. 4). 436 RG 13, 30, 32. Mommsen, Staatsr. II, 775. Ferrero (III, 582 |[=IV, 134]) rightly points out the close connection with Cicero's political outlook. Princeps as a title already appears in the inscription (no longer extant) CIL XI 6058: T. Mario C.f. Stel. Siculo .. .praef(ecto) duor(um) prin(cipum), which Groag(£E 4.1361) refers to Octavianus and Antonius. 437 Nep. Att. 19.2: in aßnitatem peruenit imperatoris diui filii, cum iam ante famiUaritatem eius esset consecutus nulla alia re quam elegantia uitae, qua ceteros cepera principes ciuitatis dignitate pari, fortuna humiliores. This passage was written not earlier than 32 (22.3). Cf. also Cato 2.2: cum quidem Scipio principatum in ciuitate obtineret, quod turn non potentia sed iure res publica administrabatur.
A N T I Q U I T Y OF THE CONCEPT OF NOBILITY
49
same is true of the title of principes iuuentutis, with which the equites hailed his grandsons.438 We thus find in the period from Sulla to Caesar a unified upper stratum within the senatorial order, composed of the consulars and their descendants. The question then arises of how long this social structure had been in existence.
6. A N T I Q U I T Y O F T H E C O N C E P T OF NOBILITY Nobilis in the sense of'aristocratic' is found as early as Plautus.439 In a speech by Scipio Aemilianus of the year 134 homines nobiles appear as an established concept.440 His contemporary L. Calpurnius Piso Frugi (cos. 133, cens. 120) has it in his annals,441 as does Lucilius in his satires.442 According to Ateius Capito, the jurist of the age of Augustus and Tiberius, a senatorial decree of 161 compelled the principes ciuitatis under oath not to spend on the feast of the Magna Mater more than 120 asses, in addition to the cabbage, flour and home-produced wine, and not to use more than 100 lbs. of silverware.443 It is, however, uncertain whether the precise wording is here reproduced.
438 RG 14; Mommsen, Staatsr. II, 826. Cf. supra p. 44 n. 406, p. 46 n. 428. Liv. 2.12.15, 6.13.7, 9.14.16, 9.25.4 (other towns), 42.61.5 (the principes iuuentutis are equites)y 2.35.5 (primores iuuenum). 439 Capt. 299, Rul 933, Cist. 125. 440 Macrob. Sat 3.14.7= ORF3 fr. 30 from the speech in legem iudiciariam Ti. Gracchi. Scipio had heard that freeborn girls and boys were taking dancing lessons: haec cum mihi quisquam narrabat, non poteram animum inducere ea liberos suos homin nobiles docere. Then, when he went there, he found more than 500 young people, among them the twelve-year-old son of a petitor. The change from ordinary ingenui to homines nobiles is particularly noteworthy. 441 Fr. 27P=Gell. 7.9.5 in the anecdote about Flavius' aedileship in 304: idem Cn. Flauius, Anni filius, dicitur ad collegam uenisse uisere aegrotum. eo in conclaue postquam intromit, adulescentes ibi complures nobiles sedebant. None of them stood up for him, whereupon Flavius had his curule chair placed in the doorway and sat on it, in order to irritate the nobles with this spectacle. 442 In line 258M he makes a popularis speaker say: peccare inpune rati sunt posse ct nobilitate facul propellcrc iniquos. 443 In Gel I. 2.24.2: iubcuttir principes ciuitatis, qui ludis Mcgalensibus antique ritu
50
THE NOBILITY OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC
The facts themselves perhaps take us further than the scanty literary tradition. We have seen how on the one hand nobility was not dependent on patrician or plebeian status and how it was on the other hand based on the consulate. Therefore I should not hesitate to put the formation of the concept of the consular nobility of office in the period when Rome had only one magistrate, the praetor,4** who exercised the functions of the old monarchy, or, from the time that the office became collegiate, the consules445 A connection would thus be established between the old monarchy and the nobility. It is well known that only patrician senators were qualified to serve as interreges446 Thus the struggle of the plebeians for admission to the consulate would also appear in a new light, and above all it would be possible to understand why a constant effort was made to exclude men of mere equestrian birth from the highest office. If the praetorship (in the old sense) could no longer be restricted to patricians, then at least it should be filled from senatorial families.
7. T H E P R E D O M I N A N C E O F T H E N O B I L I T Y This principle was always energetically maintained, as is shown by the list of the few new men who succeeded in breaching it.447 They are the consuls of:
mutitarent, id est tnutua inter sese dominia agitarent, iurare apud consuks uerbis conceptis On the custom cf. p. 39 n. 322. In the passages there cited nobiles or patridi appear in place otprincipes ciuitatis. 444 The old law treated by L. Cincius, the well-known jurist and contemporary of Cicero, alluded to this situation. Liv. 7.3.5: lex uetusta estt priscis litteris uerbisque scripta, ut, qui praetor maximus sit, idibus Septemhribus clauum pangat. Cf. also Cincius ap. Fest. s.v. praetor p. 276L on the greeting of &e praetor adportam. On the annual nails cf. Beloch, Einl. Altertumsw. Ill, 196. De Sanctis (1, 405) assumes for the beginning of the republic three praetors of equal rank, who were later divided into consuls (praetores maximi= arpar^yol VTTCLTOC) and one praetor. The passage, of Livy quoted seems however to suggest rather the substitution of a single supreme magistrate for the king. 445 That consul is to be understood as = collegay cf. Mommsen, Staatsr. II, 77. 446 Mommsen, Staatsr. I, 653. 447 It must be noted that we can ascribe nouitas only to those consuls for whom it is expressly attested by the tradition, thus e.g. not to L. Gellius Poplicola (as Münzer, RE 7.1002 1.16) or to C. Flaminius (as Madvig, I, 187).
THE PREDOMINANCE OP THE NOBILITY
51
448
366 L. Sextius. 293, 272 Sp. Carvilius.449 290, 275, 274 M\ Curius Dentatus.450 280 Ti. Coruncanius.451 216 C. Terentius Varro.452 195 M. Porcius Cato.453 191 M\ Acilius Glabrio.454 165 Cn. Octavius.455 146 L. Mummius.456 141 Q. Pompeius.457 107, 104, 103, 102,101, 100, 86 C. Marius.458 104 C. Flavius Fimbria.459 98 T. Didius.460
448 Liv. 7.1.1. 449 Veil. 2.128.2. 450 Cic. Mur. 17. 451 VeU. 2.128.2. 452 Liv. 22.34.7. 453 Cic. Mur. 17, 2 Verr. 5.180, rep. 1.1, Liv. 39.41.2, Veil. 2.128.2. 454 Liv. 37.57.15. In Auct. Her. 4.19 the manuscripts have: C. Laelius homo nouus erat, ingemosus erat, doctus erat, bonis uiris et studiosis amicus erat, ergo in ciuita primus erat. This refers to the consul of 140, not to Laelius the elder (cos. 190), and so nouus is to be corrected to nauus (Lambinus). 455 Cic. Phil. 9.4, off. 1.138. 456 Cic. 2 Verr. 3.9; Veil. 1.13.2, 2.128.2; Val. Max. 6.4.2 wrongly calls him nobilis. 457 Cic. 2 Verr. 5.181, Font. 23, Mur. 16, 17, Brut. 96. Here we must again remember M. Perperna, cos. 130, whose father, so Val. Max. 3.4.5 asserts, was expelled as a peregrine under the lex lunia of 126. The rest of Valerius* information is all false; thus he makes Perperna celebrate a triumph, whereas in fact he died at Pergamum (Oros. 5.10.5, Eutrop. 4.20.2, Strabo 14.1.38, p. 646) and M\ Aquillius, cos. 129, led Aristonicus in triumph at Rome in his place. The fact that his son (as Lange, III, 135 rightly assumes) was consul in 92 and that the praetorian M. Perperna who murdered Sertorius set great store by his nobility and so must have been a grandson of the consul of 130 (Plut. Sert. 15, VeU. 2.30.1), weighs against such a disgrace. But on the other hand I have already remarked (p. 33 n. 270) that Cicero's silence in Rab. perd. 21 could be interpreted in the sense of Valerius' anecdote. Perhaps the alleged peregrine took his seat in the senate and his son was therefore not reckoned a homo nouus. 458 Cic. 2 Verr. 5.181, Mur. 17, Plane. 61; Veil. 2.128.2; Sail. B/63.7. 459 Cic. 2 Verr. 5.181, Plane. 12. 460 Mur. 17, Plane. 61. 5
52
THE NOBILITY OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC
94 C. Coelius Caldus.461 63 M. Tullius Cicero.462 That is, over a period of three hundred years, fifteen new men holding a total of twenty-four consulships. In the light of these figures one may speak of a predominance of the nobility, provided that by this is understood, not that only nobiles attained office, but simply the power of the nobility to control the expansion of their circle as they saw fit. Of exclusiveness in the sense of a restriction of office to a specified number of families we find not the slightest trace in the tradition.
CONCLUSION Eligibility for office at Rome required at least the equestrian census. Those who were eligible thus comprised a selection from the citizens according to their property. From them there stand out as a special group those who exploited the opportunity offered them of standing for public office, after holding which they formed the nucleus of the senate, and more and more, with the passage of time, its totality. By special legislation their sons too were gradually included in this senatorial order, and so the tendency to regard the rank as hereditary was stimulated. The heavy wastage of the ruling class, however, necessitated constant reinforcement from below. In Rome, as far back as could be remembered, nobilitas belonged to the descendants of all those who at some time had held the highest public office, whether in the form of the dictatorship, the consulship, or the consular tribunate. The totality of these descendants, collectively called nobilitas, from 366 onwards formed the Roman aristocracy, that is, the upper stratum of the senatorial order. As inheritors of the virtues and distinction of the founders of their nobility, the first consuls of their families, these families regarded themselves as better qualified than any others to occupy the highest office, and were also so regarded by the people that elected them. The same outlook gave rise to the desire that the replenishment of their circle, 461 2 Verr. 5.181, MUT. 17, de or. 1.117. 462 Cotnm. pet. 2, Cic. passim, Sail. Cat 23.6.
CONCLUSION
53
which was made essential by the-heavy drain on its resources, should be limited to the sons of senators. For it was they, thanks to the experience of their fathers, who stood closest to the consular families. Only seldom did men of equestrian birth, 'new to public office', attain the consulate. In this fashion the nobility ruled the Roman republic.
II The Social Foundations of the Predominance of the Nobility THE MEANING OF 'predominance of the nobility' has been explained in Part I. Since Roman magistrates were appointed by popular election, it cannot be accounted for in terms of the constitution.1 It must rather have been brought about by the peculiar nature of Roman society. It therefore remains to investigate these social foundations. It is best to begin the enquiry with some detailed surviving accounts of elections at the end of the republic.
1. E L E C T I O N S IN T H E L A T E R E P U B L I C In the year 64, when the orator M. Tullius Cicero was a candidate for the consulship of 63, his brother Quintus, himself a senator, dedicated to him a short memorandum.2 Marcus is told never to forget three things: (1) he is a new man; (2) he is standing for the consulship; (3) the election is taking place at Rome. 3 The nouitas of Marcus' name was compensated for by his renown as an orator, a talent which always conferred the highest standing. For a man whose services in court consulars were not ashamed to use could not be regarded as unworthy of the consulship.4 His 1 The right to vote at Rome was of course neither equal nor direct. But originally the yeoman middle-class was dominant in the comitia centuriata and tributa, and Rosenberg (Unters, z. röm. Zenturienverfassung, 91; also 74, 80 on the voting reform of the third century) is no doubt right when he says that by the end of the republic the census divisions were completely unrealistic. 2 Nowadays printed after Cicero's letters to his brother as Commentariolum petitionis ad M.fratrem. 3 Comm. pet. 2. The contents of sections 3-12, 13-53 and 54-57 correspond to this programme. I extract only what is important for my purpose. 4 Ibid. 2.
ELECTIONS IN THE LATE REPUBLIC
55
ability had won him numerous distinguished friends: all the publicaniy almost the whole of the equestrian order and man^ municipia were devoted to him, as were many individuals from all walks of life whom he had defended, and some collegia, besides a large number of young men who were studying oratory under him and a multitude of friends who waited on him regularly each day. All these he must bind to himself by every means and make it clear to them all that the moment had come for them to show their gratitude to him or to put him under an obligation.5 Most important of all for the new man was the good will of the nobiles and especially of the consulars. People must see that they welcomed him into their circle. They must all therefore be assiduously invited, friends must be sent to them, and he must make it clear to them that he had always been loyal to the optimates; if on occasion he had spoken in popularis fashion, he had done so only to win over Pompeius.6 But the young nobiles were no less important to his standing.7 There follows a review of his four noble competitors. In the case of two of them their nobility is inadequate to cover up their lack of intelligence, whilst the other two are notorious criminals.8 Quintus turns next to the ways of combating the envy which on all sides begrudges the new man his consulate. There are descendants of consular families who have been less successful than their ancestors. Then there are the other new men who have reached the praetorship and are reluctant that one of themselves should rise still higher. Finally many voters among the people are no longer accustomed to see a new man in the consulship.9 These are the prejudices which the exertions of his friends10 and his own popularity11 have to overcome. For the period of the canvass a man's friends should be drawn from a much wider circle than in everyday life: first relatives and family friends, then fellow-tribesmen, neighbours, clients and freed5 Ibid. 4. 6 Ibid. 5. 7 Ibid. 6. 8 Ibid. 7-12. 9 Ibid. 13-15. 10 Ibid. 16-40. 11 Ibid. 41-53.
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THE NOBILITY OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC
men, finally even his slaves.12 Distinguished men create a good impression, even if they do not stir themselves on his behalf. Magistrates, especially consuls, help to bring victory in the courts. Men who are themselves standing for office and hope for support in their own campaigns are very useful. In Cicero's case an essential factor consists in the obligations created by his services as a defending counsel. Four times in the last two years he has undertaken a defence solely on account of the promises made him by members of the accused's collegium.13 These debts must be claimed and new connections established.14 He must also look to those people who are popular in their municipia and must avoid associating with men who are generally hated. He must have acquaintances in all electoral districts, above all senators and equites, friends must be canvassing for him everywhere, and he must know the presidents of the collegia. The number of votes that will be cast for him at the poll can be calculated from the number of those who wait on him at home in the mornings, escort him daily and form his constant retinue.15 His popularity will be served if he knows as many people as possible, is friendly to all, and refuses a request only in the most agreeable terms. He has the urban plebs on his side, thanks to some popularis speeches.16 Throughout the entire period of the campaign he should avoid taking up a position on any political question, whether in the senate or in the assembly, so that every man will expect him to intervene in his interest. He is standing for the highest office in the great city of Rome. He is surrounded by intrigue, and the worst thing is that a distribution of money can make men forget virtue and dignity. So his opponents ought to know that he is keeping his eyes open and that he, the great orator, is the man to punish such manoeuvres.17 In November 63 17a Ser. Sulpicius Rufus, who had stood in vain 12 Ibid. 17. 13 Ibid. 19. 14 Ibid. 21-3. 15 Ibid. 34. 16 Ibid. 51. 17 Ibid. 54-7. 17a RE7A.881.
ELECTIONS IN THB LATB REPUBLIC
57
for the consulate of the following year, prosecuted his successful rival, L. Licinius Murena, for the use of illegal methods in his canvass. This gave the consul Cicero an opportunity to dilate on these matters in his defence. He establishes at once that he has fulfilled all his obligations to his friend, the candidate Sulpicius.18 Now that Sulpicius has failed, Cicero can with a clear conscience defend his own successor, with whom he is on equally friendly terms. Apart from disreputable conduct, the prosecutors accuse Murena of lacking distinction.19 This charge includes the fact that he is not a nobilis, only a praetorian of the fourth generation. For Cicero this is naturally a welcome opportunity to spread himself on the theme of nobility and nouitas and also to carp at the nobility of his opponent.20 Then he compares the respective careers of both men.21 After they had held the quaestorship together, Sulpicius was active as a jurisconsult, Murena as a legate of Lucullus. At Rome, however, the soldier, he says, is much more highly regarded than the jurist.22 Apart from military glory, only skill as an orator confers distinction. It has before now secured the consulship for men who were not noble, for it wins gratitude, friendship and active support.23 The law on the other hand lost all its aura of mystery when the days on which litigation was permitted were published and it ceased to be a secret science. Since then, nobody has become a jurist unless he was not clever enough to be an orator.24 Lucullus* veterans, mustered again for his triumph, had played their part in voting for Murena, and Murena had moreover given games as praetor.25 This point is particularly important. Cicero recalls how, although as aedile he had put on three sets of games himself, he was worried by those of his competitor Antonius.26 Sulpicius 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26
Af«r. 7. Ibid. 15. Ibid. 15-17. Ibid. 18ff. Ibid. 22. Ibid. 24. Ibid. 29. Ibid. 39. Ibid. 40.
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THE NOBILITY OF THE R O M A N REPUBLIC
on the other hand during his praetorship was president of the quaestio peculates (embezzlement court), in which office he annoyed the jurors by forcing them to attend. By condemning a secretary he turned this whole order of subordinate officials against him.27 After his praetorship he did not take a province, whereas Gallia Narbonensis brought Murena great advantages. Whilst levying troops in Umbria he won over the voters in those regions by his restraint. In the province he helped many Romans who had already given up all hope of recovering their debts. Sulpicius was at the disposal of his friends in the city, but there are some friends whose affection cools as soon as there is no province in prospect. He had conducted the campaign itself most unskilfully, as Cicero had told him at the time. Instead of winning votes he was already collecting material for his prosecution28 and demanded a tightening up of the law of ambitus. According to a decree of the senate passed on Cicero's proposal, a canvass was illegal if men were paid to call for and escort the candidates and if a candidate had free seats distributed for gladiatorial shows and meals served to the public by tribes.29 Murena, however, was not liable under these provisions.
27 Ibid. 42. 28 Ibid. 46. 29 Ibid. 67. Rosenberg's conjecture (op. cit. 90) that in such cases we should think not of the tribuks as a whole but of the electoral clubs (corpora) within the tribe is atfirstsight very tempting. However, it is certainly not true that only these clubs are meant in such inscriptions as ILS 168,176, 286 (= CIL VI 909, 910, 955) and in Cic. Phil. 7.16 (Rosenberg, 88). In Phil 7.16 Cicero says: est(sc. L. Antonius) enim patronus quinque et triginta tribuum, quarum sua lege, qua cum C. Caesare magistrates partitus esty suffragium sustulit This is the law, the effect of which is given by Suet. luh 41.2: comitia cum populo partitus est (sc. Caesar), ut exceptis consulatus competitoribus de cetero numero candidatorum pro parte dimidia quos populus uellet pronuntiarentur, pro parte altera quos ipse dedissett et edebat per libellos circum tribum missos scriptura breui: Caesar dictator illi tribui. commendo uobis ilium et illumf ut uestro suffragio suam dignitatem teneant. Rosenberg says (91 n. 1) that Caesar's commendation was also addressed to the corporations. 'For a letter to the official tribes would be a magistrate's edict to the Roman people, whereas Caesar's communications were clearly only of a semi-official character.' This reasoning might be convincing if the Romans had been bound by the canons of constitutional law as laid down by modern scholars, but unprejudiced interpretation of the sources can only lead to the conclusion that the modern schema in accordance with which Rosenberg (also p. 89) passes judgment simply does not fit. In both speeches Cicero
ELECTIONS I N THE LATE REPUBLIC
59
He was welcomed by a large crowd on his return from the province of Gaul, but that was only natural. That there were in his procession to the campus Martins many people whom he had invited was quite in order. All the companies of publicani turned out, as did many senators, and above all the whole tribe of candidates, always eager to be of service, to say nothing of clients, neighbours, fellowtribesmen and Lucullus' soldiers.30 Likewise no criticism can be made of his normal escort. Senators and equites have no time to follow the candidate about all day long. He is happy if they simply come to his house once or escort him to the forum. But there is no other way in which the lower classes can earn our gratitude or show their gratitude to us (i.e. the leading men).31 It was not Murena who issued invitations to games and feasts, but his friends, and that was in accordance with ancestral custom.32 All this is a matter of social obligation, a perquisite of the lower classes and a burden for candidates.33 Q. Tubero, who proved stingy over the funeral banquet of his uncle P. Africanus, was not elected praetor by the Roman people.34 Even Cato (the well-known Stoic who was one of the accusers of Murena) keeps a slave who has
mentions in the same breath two other statues, one erected by the equites Romani equo publico, the other by those who had been military tribunes twice in Caesar's army. In Phil. 7.16 he calls L. Antonius patronus centuriarum equitum Romanorum. At least the dedicators in question wanted to be taken for the whole electorate. In fact it was probably only the plebs urbana quinque et triginta tribuum, as in the inscriptions of the Augustan period ILS 168 and 176. In view of all this I do not believe that Mur. 72 (spectacula sunt tributim data et ad prandium uolgo uocati) applies only to the corporations. Volgo is then contrasted with praefectum fabrum semel locum tribulibus suis dedissef in s. 73. Such practices were connected with the tie recognised between tributes, on which cf. Mommsen, Staatsr. Ill, 196fF. We must not imagine that these entertainments, feasts etc. were organised with strict constitutional propriety. At any rate Milo certainly did not dispatch 1,000 asses to the house of every voter (Ascon. 33, Rosenberg, 90); indeed Cicero regards it as customary that at plebiscites only five men from each tribe should be present and that these should in fact belong to another tribe (Sest. 109).
30 31 32 33 34
Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid.
69. 71. 72. 73. 75.
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THB NOBILITY OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC
to know every man's name, but he has been less conscientious in greeting men since his election as tribune.35 In 54 3 6 Cn. Plancius, elected aedile in 55, 37 was prosecuted by his unsuccessful competitor, M. Juventius Laterensis, for infringement of the law 'on combination for mutual advancement at elections' introduced by the consul Crassus in 55. Cicero's speech in his defence is similar to that for Murena. Here too he expounds the reasons for the result of the election. In these less important elections the people pays more attention to popularity than to social standing.38 It chooses those who have been most assiduous in courting it. 39 This attitude of the sovereign people must be reckoned with; he who craves an honour must beg for it tirelessly.40 If nothing but distinguished origin were taken into account, there would be no need to have elections at all.41 The question is then raised whether perhaps his mere equestrian birth may not actually have benefited Plancius in the election. The election of one of its citizens is a great event for Atina. All the inhabitants of this populous prefecture are for him and make up his band of permanent supporters.42 Then there are the votes of the neighbouring municipia. His father, one of the most prominent of the publicani, canvassed among the members of his order on behalf of his son, who for his own part had already put them under obligation to himself in his quaestorship and tribunate. Finally Cicero spoke for him in all the tribes.43 Cicero devotes little space to the charge against Plancius. He denies that Plancius himself had had money distributed or provided funds for other such largesses, but concedes as self-evident on the other hand that he made himself popular in his tribe by helping and going surety for many men and securing posts in the service of the 35 Ibid. 77. 36 Schol. Bob. 152St. 37 Plane. 49. 38 Ibid. 7. 39 Ibid. 9. 40 Ibid. 11. 41 Ibid. 15. 42 Ibid. 21. 43 Ibid. 24.
61
ELECTIONS IN THE LATE REPUBLIC 44
pubHcani for many more thanks to his father's influence. No law was ever intended to set aside these good old customs. After Plancius' brilliant success Laterensis should have begged the people for the second place. The people almost never rejects a noble if he begs modestly.45 The other prosecutor, L. Cassius,46 had claimed that Plancius had so far achieved nothing on military service and was neither eloquent nor learned in the law. Cicero replies that the Roman people looked in the main for uprightness of character. Cassius also endeavoured to show that Juventius too had done much to win popularity. As quaestor he had given games at Praeneste, at Cyrene he was benevolent towards the pubHcani and just towards the provincials. On this subject Cicero tells him from his own experience how little such things influence opinion at Rome. He had been an exemplary quaestor in Sicily, universally loved by Romans and provincials alike and honoured by the Sicilians in the most lavish fashion. He had sent a large quantity of corn to Rome in a time of shortage. After his return, he thought, everything would fall into his lap of its own accord. How shattering it was, on his arrival at the crowded spa of Puteoli, when someone taking the waters asked him when he had left Rome and whether he had any news. Cicero replied that he was coming back from his province. His interlocutor: 'Ah yes, Africa, wasn't it?' At which Cicero snapped angrily: 'No. Sicily.' However, when he had recovered from this irritating disappointment, he learnt from it the lesson that the eyes of the Roman people were better than its ears. From this time on he kept himself always in the public eye and visited the forum daily, whilst neither his porter nor his sleep was allowed to drive away a visitor. He wrote speeches even on holidays and feast-days. Thus his renown was won entirely at Rome and in the forum.47 Juventius too ought to adhere to the same course, and for him it would be even easier, since his virtues are further commended by his family-tree, whereas Cicero owed everything to himself. Thus 44 45 46 47
Ibid. 47. Ibid. 50. RE 3.1739, no. 65. Plane. 63-6.
62
THE NOBILITY OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC
Plancius too had cultivated friendships eagerly, had been generous, had kept himself in view, put himself forward and always avoided giving cause for envy.48 The three pieces of evidence just discussed give a very vivid picture of the way Roman elections worked. As their characteristic feature we must note that candidature for a magistracy could not rely on the support of an organised party, but was based on a system of personal relationships of all kinds, reaching both upwards and downwards in society. This peculiarity finds its most forceful expression in the advice given to a consular candidate at the critical juncture: that he should refrain from voicing any opinion on the political situation.49 2. R E L A T I O N S H I P S BASED O N PERSONAL C O N N E C T I O N A N D RELATIONSHIPS BASED O N FIDES It was Fustel de Coulanges who first recognised that these relationships of mutual obligation were the decisive element in the structure of late republican society and subsumed them under the concept of patronage.50 In many respects my own investigation can be based on the foundations laid by him. As his discussion attracted little notice in Germany, I shall begin by reproducing his arguments in some detail. In the last century of the republic patrocinium denoted various relationships: (1) that of the former master to his freedman;51 48 Ibid. 67. 49 Cf. supra p. 56; comm. pet. 53: atque etiam in hac petitione tnaxime uidendum est ut spes reipublicae bona de te sit et honesta opinio; nee tarnen in petendo res publica capessenda est neque in senatu neque in contione, sed haec tibi sunt retinendat ut senatus te existimet ex eo quod ita uixeris dejensorem auctoritatis suae fore; equites et uiri boni ac locupletes ex uita acta te studiosum oti ac rerum tranquillarumt multitudo ex eo quod dumtaxat oratione in contionibus ac iudicio popularis fuistit te a suis commodis non alienum futurum. 50 Histoire des institutions politiques de Vancienne France in the volume Les origines du Systemeßodal, 205-225. 51 This form of patronage was subject to very precise legal rules and can therefore be treated by the jurists. Cf. Voigt, Ber. über d. VerhdL d. kö'nigl. sacks. Gesellsch. d. Wissensch., Philol.-hist. Kl. 30,1878,197ff. It is of secondary importance for this study.
RELATIONSHIPS BASED ON PERSONAL CONNECTION
63
(2) that of the pleader in court to his client; (3) that of the distinguished Roman (a) to provinces, municipia, colonies, and individual members of these communities; (b) to individuals of lower social standing. The common designation of these forms of protection best shows how the categories cannot be divided in practice. Patrocinium over freedmen occupies a special position, as here the counter part of the patronus is not the cliens but the libertus. Fustel52 rightly remarks on the difference between these forms of patronage and the old law of protection with its corresponding bondage on the side of the client. In historical times only scanty relics of this bondage remained.53 Cato already speaks of the duties of patronus and cliens which were bound up with it as a mere memory of the good old days.54 However, although the strict juridical form of the old institution may have been broken, the Romans conceived of the new, looser patrocinium as a development from the old system. The link is most obvious in the cases of patronage under the ius gentium55 and patronage over communities.56 In 95 the praetor C. Claudius Pulcher replenished the council of the Sicilian town Halaesa by a law that he composed in accordance with the advice of all the Marcelli. The Marcelli, being descended from the conqueror of the island, were patrons of Sicily.57 According to Cicero it was an ancestral custom for generals who accepted the surrender of a defeated enemy subsequently to become the patrons, that is the representatives of the new allies in their dealings with the central power of Rome. 58 Thus in the old days Fabricius Luscinus had 'all the Samnites in his clientela9.59 For patronage in the courts the connection may be deduced from the fact that the provisions of the lex Cincia of 204 60 applied to such 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60
P. 205. Voigt, 168, Mommsen, Staatsr. Ill, 69fF., v. Premerstein, RE 451. Gell. 5.13.4. Cf. XII Tab. 8.21: patronus si clienti fraudem fecerit, sacer esto. Mommsen, Staatsr. Ill, 65. Ibid, in, 1203 n. 1. Cic. 2 Verr. 2.122, 4.90. Off. 1.35. Val. Max. 4.3.6, Gell. 1.14. Cic. Cato max. 10.
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THE NOBILITY OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC 61
patrons. This prohibited the giving of presents in general*62 but in particular between patrons and clients.63 Assistance in litigation had always been a duty of patronage,64 and the name patronus remained attached to it after the old rights of the protector had died out. The great significance for legal procedure of the personal relationships expressed by the later patrocinium is illuminated by two clauses of the repetundae law of 122. First it is provided that the (provincial) accusers can request the praetor in charge of the hearing to appoint a patron for them.65 The appointee must not however be in any way related by birth or by marriage to the defendant, nor a member of the same (religious) brotherhood,66 or of the same collegium, nor one under whose protection the defendant or his ancestors are or 61 Cic. Alt. 1.20.7; Tac. Ann. 11.5.3: qua cauetur antiquitus, ne quis ob causam orandam pecuniam donumue accipiat; 13.42: aduersum eost qui pretio causas orauissent. Cf. also Cic. parad. 46: mercedum pactiones in patrociniis. 62 On which cf. Mitteis, Rom. Privatrecht I, 154ff. 63 Vat. Fr. 298-309 give a 'list of a series of exceptional cases when because of a relationship between the persons (exceptae personae) the law ceased to operate' (Mitteis, 155). Paul. (71 ad ed. ad Cinciam) 307: item excipit: *si quis a semis (suis}, quique pro seruis seruitutem seruiemnt, aceipit duitue iis\ uerbis 'si quis a semis suis* liberti continents, ut patronis dare possint. sequentibus uero excipitur, ut is, qui bona fide semiit, sipostea liber pronuntiatus sit, possit dare ei, cui 'semiit'. Sabinus utraque scriptura (libertum aiC) contineri et bis idem dictum. 308: item, sed tantum patronum a liberto excipit. quidam (tarnen) putant, etiam liberos patroni exceptos, quoniam Ubertus continetur semi appellatione: et sicut in XII tabulis patroni appellatione etiam iiberi patroni continents, ita et in hac lege. item, contra: an item liberti a patronis excepti sunt? et hoc iure utimur, ut excepti uideantur, ut et dare et capere lex eis permittat. Liv. 34.4.9 in a speech by Cato gives as the cause of the law that 'the people were beginning to become tributary to the senate*. Cf. also Cic. de or. 2.286. We see from these passages that the law applied not only to activity as an advocate but to the old patrocinium as a whole. 64 D. Hal. 2.10.1: rovs i*kv TrarptKiovs eSei rots iavrtov veXarais i£rjyctcrOai rä 8t/caia, c5v OVK etxov €K€ivoi TTJV hricrn\\Lr\v and SIKCCS T€ xmlp rdv irtXarcov aStKOv^idvcov Xayxocv€LV, €i TU ßXaTTrono ir€pl ra crvyißoXaia, KOL rols ey/caXovaiv VTT€X€IV. Plaut. Menaech. 585: iuris ubi dicitur dies, simul patronis dicitur. Also Cic. Mur. 10. 65 L. Acil. line 11: queiue eiei sobrinus siet pro]piusue eum ea cognatione atttgat, queiue eiei sodalis siet, queiue in eodem conlegio siet, quoiaue in fide is erit maioresue in maiommfidefuerint [queiue in fide eius erit, maioresue in maiommfideJuerint. . . .] Cf. Cic. de or. 2.280. 66 On sodales cf. Mitteis, I, 390.
RELATIONSHIPS BASBD ON PERSONAL CONNECTION
65
ever have been, or who conversely is or ever has been under the protection of the defendant or his ancestors. Secondly,67 of the fortyeight witnesses whom the prosecutor has to provide, the praetor is forbidden to hear any who stands under the protection of the defendant or his ancestors or who is going (alone) to defend the accused at the trial,68 or is a freedman of the accused or of his father. At the trial of Marius for bribery at the elections a certain Herennius refused to give evidence against him because the Marii, he said, were old clients of the Herennii. Marius retorted that he had ceased to be a client when he was first elected to a magistracy. Plutarch observes that in fact this was true only of the curule magistracies.69 From this passage we learn that an analogous provision operated in the law of ambitus. The history of the jury courts at Rome indicates that in these clauses we are dealing not with the dead formulae of an earlier age but with the living present. For Hitzig's hypothesis,70 according to which the quaestio procedure was reformed at Rome in imitation of Greek models by C. Gracchus, can hardly be refuted. The introduction of such a novelty, however, presupposes also a new formulation of the wording of the law. And in fact, if we examine the contemporary evidence, above all that of Cicero, we everywhere come upon these relationships based on personal connection and on fides. (I prefer these more general terms to Fustel's narrower concept.) The nature offides71 is revealed in passages where it is combined with other concepts: patrocinium, clienteh, praesidium, amicitia,
67 L. Acil. line 33: quoiaue in fide is wide petetur siet, maioresue in maior]um eius fidefuerint queiue in fide eius siet maioresu[e in maiorum eiusfidefuerint, queiue eius, quoius ex h. I. nomen delatum erit, c]ausam deicet dum taxat unum, queiue eius parentisue eius [leibertus leiberta]ue siet. 68 On this clause Mommsen, Jur. Sehr. I, 54 recalls Cic. 2 Verr. 2.24: nonne multa mei testes quae tu scis nesciunt? nonne te mihi testem in hoc crimine eripuit non istius innocentia, sed legis exceptio? 69 Plut. Mar. 5.7; Mommsen, Staatsr. Ill, 69. 70 H. F. Hitzig, Die Herkunft des Schwurgerichts im röm. Strafprozess, eine Hypothese (Zürich 1909) 49ff. This argument was brought to my attention by Prof. J. Partsch. 71 Fustcl treats this concept in detail (217flf.).
66
THE NOBILITY OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC 72
hospitium. In the same way amid, clientes, hospites and patroni are often found side by side.73 The meaning of officium, which can be rendered as 'reciprocal personal relationship',74 overlaps in many 72 Gell. 5.13.2: clientes, qui sese infidem patrociniumque nostrum dediderunt. Cic. div. Caec. 13: quorum (the MzrccUi) fide et praesidio maxime nituntur. Liv. 26.32.8: the Sicilian envoys throw themselves at Marcellus* feet: infidem dientelamque se urbemque Syracusas acciperet. Cic. Fam. 7.17.2: cum te ex adukscentia tua in amicitiam etfidem meam contulisses. Rose. Am. 106: erat enim eis (the Roscii) cum Chrysogono iam antea amicitia; nam cum multos ueteres a maioribus Roscii patronos hospitesque haberent, omnis eos colere atque obseruare destiterunt aese in Chrysogonifidem et dientelam contulerunt. Also the inscriptions recording patronage over communities: the earliest (not later than 152) offers: [i]n eiusfidem om[nes nos tradimus et] couenimus (ILS 6093), the others belong to the empire: ILS 6095 (12 B.C.): senatuspopulusque ciuitatium stipendiariorum pago Gurzenses hospitium fecerunt quom L. Domitio Cn. f. L. n. Ahenobarbo procos., eumque et postereis (sic) eius sibi posterisque sueis patronum coptauerunt (sic) isque eos posterosque eorum infidem dientelamque suam recepit. Likewise ILS 6097-6101. Fustel also calls attention to the S.C. de Bacchanalibus (ILS 18.14): neue quisquamfidem inter sed dedise uelet. Fides alone also in Cic. QF 2.12.3: municipium Atellanum, quod scis esse in fide nostras Fam. 13.65.2: ea societas uniuersa in me a fide est. 73 Cic. Att. 1.20.7: per amicos, dientis, hospites, libertos denique ac seruos tuos; Fam. 5.8.5: amicorumf hospitum, clientium tuorum negotia; Cato mai. 32: non curia uires meas desiderata non rostra, non amid, non clientes, non hospites; 2 Verr. 1.28: amid, hospites, patroni Dionis. Sail. Cat. 26.4: circum se praesidia amicorum atque clientium occulte habebat (Cicero). Cf. Cic. Cat. 3.5; App. Hisp. 84: /cat ireXdras e/c 'Patfirjs teal (f)l\ovs TTtvraKoolovs, ovs is tXrjv KaraXe^as CKOACI <j>i\(av 1Xi]v. Veil. 2.7.1: crudelesque mox quaestiones in amicos dientisque Gracchorum habitae sunt. Valerius Antias ap. Liv. 38.51.6: citatus reus magno agmine amicorum dientiumque per mediam contionem ad rostra subiit. Cic. ap. Ascon. 84: quern enim aut amicum habere potest is qui tot ciuis trucidauit, aut (dientemy qui in sua ciuitate cum peregrino negauit se iudicio aequo certare posse? De or. 1.184: praesidium dientibus, opem amicis. Div. Caec. 66: ab hospitibus dientibusque suis, ab exteris nationibus, quae in amicitiam populi Romani dicionemque essent, iniurias propulsare eorumque fortunas defendere. 2 Verr. 4.89: utrum ea res ad opem an ad calamitatem clientium atque hospitum ualere debebat? Cat. 4.23: pro dientelis hospitiisque prouincialibus. 2 Verr. 4.41: circum patronos atque hospites cursare. Rose. Am. 106 (cf. preceding note), de or. 2.280. 74 Mitteis (Rom. Privatrecht I, 391 n. 3) distinguishes between juridical (lex Acilia, Cic. Cael. 26) and social (Cic. 2 Verr. 1.93f.) officium. Masurius Sabinus, a jurist of the early principate, gives the following order of precedence for these relationships: in ojficiis apud maiores ita obseruatum est: primum tutelae, deinde hospiti, deinde clienti, tum cognato, postea adfini. de qua causa feminae uiris potxores habitae, pupiUarisque tutela mulieri praelata. etiam aduersus quern adfuissent, eius filiis tutores relicti in eadem causa pupillo aderant (Gell. 5.13.5).
RELATIONSHIPS BASED ON PERSONAL CONNECTION
67
respects with that of fides. The word occurs remarkably often, especially in the sense of the performance of an action arising from such a relationship, and as a social and ultimately a moral duty. The nuance of reciprocity seems to be always present.75 Neeessitudo and necessitas, together with the cognate necessarius, are also used like fides and officium and often in conjunction with them.76 The relationship based onfideswas initiated by 'commendation'.77 During Caesar's Spanish campaign of 49, shortly before the decisive battle, the soldiers on both sides began to talk to one another and to look for acquaintances in the opposing camp, and several military tribunes and centurions of the other side 'came to Caesar and commended themselves to him\ Likewise the Spanish chieftains, who had been summoned to arms by the Pompeians, turned to such of their acquaintances and hospites as could secure for them 'the opportunity to commend themselves to Caesar'.78 Caesar also gives 75 Auct. Her. 3.14: qua fide, beniuolentia, officio gesserit amicitias. In 2.32 officium is the opposite of maleficium. Caes. BG 5.27.7: habere nunc se rationem officii pro beneficiis Caesaris. Cic. Fam. 1.1.1: ego omni officio ac potius pietate erga te ceteris satisfacio omnibus, mihi ipse numquam satisfacio; tanta enim magnitudo est tuorum erga me meritorum, ut etc. 6.6.1: uereor ne desideres officium meum, quod tibi pro nostra et meritorum muhorum et studiorum parium coniunctione deesse non debet. 7.31.1: reliquum est ut officiis certemus inter nos. 11.17.1: magna sunt eius in me, non dico officia, sed merita. 2.13.1: letters multi et offici et consili. Cf. 3.1.1, 3.5.1, 3.7.6, 3.9.1, 3.13.1; 5.2.4, 5.5.2, 5.6.3, 5.7.2, 5.8.1 (multa uarietate temporum interruptum officium cumulate reddidi); 6.5.4. 2 Verr. 5.182: nullis nostris officiis beniuolentiam illorum (sc. nobilium) adlicere possumus. Mur. 7: ego, Ser. Sulpici, me in petitione tua tibi omnia studia atque officia pro nostra necessitudine et debuisse confiteor et praestitisse arbitror. De or. 3.7: priuatis magis officiis et ingenii laude floruit, quam fructu amplitudinis aut rei publicae dignitate. In Fam. 4.12.3 Ser. Sulpicius writes of Marcellus: ita, quae nostra officia fuerunt pro collegio et pro propinquitate et uiuo et mortuo omnia ex praestitimus. Like Cicero (Att. 12.52.1), Brutus also uses the phrase ad officium pertinere [ep. Brut. 1.6.2). Plaut. Trin. 697: is est honos hominipudico meminisse officium suum. Cic. Mur. 69; Pis. 55: officiosissima natio candidatorum. 76 L. Acil. line 24: queiue se earum aliqua] necessitudine atingat, quae supra scripta stent. In Caes. BC 1.8.3 Pompeius says: semper se rei publicae commoda priuatis necessitudinibus habuisse pptiora. Caesar uses necessitas ap. Gell. 13.3.5. Cic. 2 Verr. 3.153: pepercit homini amico et, quem ad modum ipsum dicere audiui, necessario; Flacc. 14: a Laelio, paterno amico ac pernecessario; Mur. 73: officium necessitudinis. Officia necessariorum and similar phrases occur frequently, e.g. div. Caec. 5, 6, 11, 14. 77 Fustel, 216. 78 Caes. BC 1.74.4: compluresque tribuni militum et centuriones ad Caesarem 6
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us an example of commendation by a third party: to negotiate with Metellus Scipio he sent one A. Clodius, who had been 'committed and commended' to him by Scipio and whom Caesar had subsequently admitted to his circle of friends.79 We have a letter of Cicero in which the jurist Trebatius is commended in this way to Caesar in Gaul. After Cicero has explained how highly he himself regards the man, he concludes: 'And so I pass him over to you from hand to hand, as they say/80 After Trebatius had been in Gaul for some time, Cicero had to write to him and say that he did not seem to value his sojourn in Gaul and his association with Caesar as highly as he should. It had pained him to see from Trebatius' letters how from the first he had wanted nothing but to return to Rome, and was a bad officer and shameless to boot. For he had regarded the letter of commendation as a letter of credit, after cashing which he could hurry home right away. Cicero recalls how Trebatius had first attached himself to him and how he had done everything he could think of to secure Trebatius' advancement. Then, after the formation of his friendship with Caesar, he 'commended and committed' Trebatius to him as pressingly as he could.81 Similar expressions occur in Terence,82 Caelius83 and Sallust.84 Caelius' father 'commended and committed' his son to Cicero for his education.85 ueniunt seque ei commendant. idem hoc fit a principibus Hispaniae, quos euocauerant et secum in castris habebant obsidum loco, hi suos notos hospitesque quaerebant, per quern quisque eorum aditum commendationis haberet ad Caesarem. 79 BC 3.57.1: quern ab illo traditum initio et commendatum in suorum necessariorum numero habere instituerat. 80 Fam. 7.5.3: totum denique hominem tibi ita trado de manu ut aiunt in manum. 81 Fam. 7.17.2: cum te ex adulescentia tua in amicitiam etfidem meam contulisses . . . sic te commendaui et tradidit utgrauissime diligentissimeque potui. 82 Eun. 886: ego me tuae commendo et committo fidei, te mihi patronam eapio, Thais, te obsecro; 1039: patri se Thais commendauit, in clientelam etfidem nobis dedit se. 83 Fam. 8.9.4: M. Feridium tibi commendo et te rogo ut eum in tuorum numero habeas. 84 Cat. 35.6. His Catilina writes to Catulus: Orestillam commendo tuaeque fidei tradot earn ab iniuria defendas. 85 Cic. Cael. 39. Cf. Fam. 2.6.5 to C u r i o : nunc tibi omnem rem atque causam meque totum commendo atque trado. 2 Verr. 3.30: adseculae (sc. Verris) non apatre ei traditi sed a meretricula commendati. Att. 4.16.1: Paccio ratione et uerbis et re ostendi quid tua commendatio ponderis haberet. itaque in intimis est meis, cum antea notus nonfuisset.
RELATIONSHIPS BASED ON PERSONAL CONNECTION
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Conversely the patronus who undertook a defence could also 'commit himself'.86 Such relationships are also often spoken of in terms of 'promises',87 and the actions performed in consequence are termed 'attentions'.88 In the corpus of Cicero's letters commendation is spoken of with extraordinary frequency;89 the thirteenth book of the Aä Familiäres contains nothing but letters of commendation. It would be quite perverse to look for a tie ofßäes behind every commendation. Letters of commendation have been written at all periods among all peoples.90 But, as observed above on the subject o£officium, no precise line can be drawn between the employment of the term which still implies this personal relationship and the wider usage. This is a result of the very loose structure of these relationships, which on the one hand were hereditary, but on the other could be dissolved at will and replaced by new ones.91 86 Cic. QF 2.3.5: domum ad eum statim uenimus eique nos totos tradimus. 87 Att. 13.49.1: erat in consulatus petitione per te mihi pollicitus si quid opus esset; quod egoperinde tuehar acsi usus essem. QF 1.2.16: omnes et se et suos amicos, clientis, libertos, seruos, pecunias denique suas pollicentur. Comm. pet 47: officium polliceru Att. 1.2.1: Caesar mihi gratulatur et omnia pollicetur. Cael 21: ultro se offene, testimonium polliceri (sc. hominibus potentibus, gratiosis, disertis). Cf. also QF 2.7.2: totum ei negotium permisi meque in eius potestate dixi fore. Associated with this is found 'to go surety for another': Cic. QF3.8.3: ego Messallam Caesaripraestabo. Fam. 1.9.9: nisi cum Marco fratre diligenter egerisf dependendum tibi est, quod mihi pro illo spopondisti. 88 Obseruantia, obseruare9 colere: Cic. Rose. Am. 106; Mur. 76; Plane. 67; Phil. 2.49 (Cicero on his relations with Antonius in 53): postea sum cultus a tet tu a me obseruatus in petitione quaesturae; Att. 1.1.3; Fam. 6.10.2, 7.30.3, 9.16.5, 9.20.3, 12.27.1, 13.3.1, 13.6.1, 13.7.1, 13.29.6 and frequently throughout book 13. Plut. Mar. 4.1: o$ rov ott' OST€ avv€d (rot frapaytviaOcu /cat ovorrjaal /zc (sc. ra> ßaaiXcl). Witkowski compares Xen. Anab. 3.1.8, 6.1.23. P. Flinders Petrie II 16.6 (Witkowski 4).6: <S cluUvai COTLV \npos ro]v ßaatXla. Cf. Caes. BC 1.74.4 (supra p. 67 n. 78). 91 Fustel, 224. Cic. 2 Ven. 2.89 on the breaking off of hospitium: hospitium ei retiuntiat.
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3. P A T R O N A G E IN THE C O U R T S After this general survey I shall now deal with certain forms of relationship between the strong and the weak which are of particular social and political importance, beginning with patronage in the courts and patronage over communities. In the lex repetundarum the representative of the peregrine or allied accusers is called their patron,92 whilst the defender of the senator accused is described as 'the man pleading his case'.93 The two concepts cannot be strictly distinguished; in both cases the function is the same. But patronage always suggests the protection of a weaker individual.94 The 'famous orators' in the Brutus are also called by Cicero 'the throng of patrons'.95 From the early period he 92 L. Acil. lines 11, 26. 93 Ibid, line 33: qui causam deicet. 94 Kubitschek, RE 1.436ff., s.v. 'advocatus'. In general cliens is used for persons of lower social standing: for Cato's second father-in-law, his former secretary Salonius (Gell. 13.20.8, Plin. NH 7.61, Plut. Cato mal 24); for Cicereius, the secretary of the elder Africanus, who later became praetor (Val. Max. 4.5.3); and for Mucius, with whom Ti. Gracchus replaced his tribunician opponent Octavius (Plut. Tu Grac. 13.2). Clodius assigned Cato two scribes to take to Cyprus, of whom one was a rogue, the other his client (Plut. Cato mitt. 34.6). The Roscii of Ameria were clients of Sulla's freedman L. Cornelius Chrysogonus. One of them belonged to the decern primi (Cic. Rose. Am. 106, 109). A. Caecina was a client of the Servilii, but also calls himself an old client of Cicero's, because Cicero had once (in the extant speech) defended his father (Cic. Fam. 13.66.1, 6.7.4). A pirate apprehended by Vatinius was also a client of Cicero's (Fam. 5.10a.l). In the speech in toga Candida (ap. Ascon. 83f.) Cicero makes a distinction between amicus for citizens and cliens for peregrines. In Mur. 69 homines nostri ordinis honestissimi and candidati are contrasted with clientesf uicinu tributes, milites Luculli; ibid. 10: patroni of the infimi, defensor of Murena, but ibid. 4 patronus and defensor together, also Sull. 6, Att. 12.49.2. It is no doubt intended as a mark of scorn when Sallust makes his L. Philippus say to the senators that they contend for the patrocinium of M. Lepidus and P. Cethegus (Hist. 1.77.6, 20M). Rich men were not pleased at being called clients (Cic. off. 2.69). Cicero therefore counts it greatly to the credit of Q. Metellus Pius that as consul in 80 and a man of old-established nobility he commended Q. Calidius to the voters at the praetorian elections as patronus of himseljf and his family. As tribune in 99 Calidius had in fact proposed the law recalling Metellus Numidicus, Pius' father (Cic. Plane. 69; Val. Max. 5.2.7). The consular Vatinius likewise describes himself as Cicero's client and speaks of the continuation of Cicero's patrocinium since his defence of him in 54 (Fam. 5.9.1). 95 Cic. Brut. 332.
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names besides Cato seventeen other consulars and P. Scipio, the son of Africanus.96 The giants of the past were Ser. Sulpicius Galba (cos. 144), P. Scipio Africanus Minor, C. Laelius (cos. 140), Cato, M. Aemilius Lepidus Porcina (cos. 137), C. Papirius Carbo (cos. 120), and the two Gracchi.97 They were followed by L. Crassus, M. Antonius, C. Aurelius Cotta (cos. 75), P. Sulpicius Rufus (tr. pi 88), L. Marcius Philippus (cos. 91), C.Julius Caesar Strabo Vopiscus (aed. 90),98 and finally Hortensius and Cicero.99 The title patronus is bestowed by Cicero in the Brutus only on men of distinction. This is shown by his explanation of the prominent position attained by P. Antistius:100 Sulpicius was dead, Cotta and Curio absent, of the other patroni of the period only Carbo and Pömponius were still alive, both of whom Antistius easily overshadowed. The title is thus regularly denied to the few non-senatorial orators mentioned: L. Caesulenus, M. Pontidius of Arpinum (whilst M. Valerius Messalla is called patronus immediately after), C. Rusius and the Roman equites P. Cominius and T. Aerius.101 For a proper understanding of patronage in the courts, we must first give a brief picture of Roman forensic life. 'For the majority of public and private contracts and in all important cases, judges are appointed from the senate.' Polybius regards this as the most important factor in the senate's control over the people.102 The people, according to him, was forced to rely on the good will of the senators and thought twice before opposing the senatorial regime. It was therefore a step of the greatest consequence when in 122 C. Gracchus reformed the quaestiones and handed them 96 Brut. 77-81. 97 Tusc. 1.5. Cf. the orators from whom exempla are taken in Auct. Her. 4.7: only Carbo is missing. 98 Brut. 301. 99 Brut. 317. 100 Brut. 226; RE 1.2547, no. 18. 101 Brut. 131, 246, 254, 271; Cluent. 109: Romae summa copia patronorum, hominum eloquentissimorum atque amplissimorum, whereas the ignobilis (112) L. Quinctius, tr. pi. 74, is not even lautior aduocatus, much less patronus (110). In 2 Verr. 2.1A the eques Romanus in primis splendidus atque honestus Q. Minucius (69) is called patronus. 102 Pol. 6.17.7; cf. Mommsen, Staatsr. II, 229 n. 3; Strafr. 178 n. 2. Civil and administrative jurisdiction is meant.
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over to the equites.103 It was not until 81 that Sulla was able to restore them to the senate, then in 70 L. Aurelius Cotta passed a law whereby the jurors were drawn in equal numbers from the senators, equites and tribuni aerarii.104 The tribuni aerarii were removed again by Caesar in his dictatorship. The most famous example of equestrian class-justice was the condemnation of P. Rutilius Rufus.105 Since public contracts were in the hands of the equites, any governor who kept too sharp an eye on the publicani in his province was certain to be condemned.106 The governors of Sicily could not take action against brigandage by the slaves employed as herdsmen on the latifundia, since the owners were mostly equites who could later take revenge for such interference with their property.107 On these grounds Posidonius excused the Roman government, falsely of course, since in 134 senatorial courts were still in existence. Consideration for the slave-owners is, however, credible enough. P. Popillius, praetor in Sicily c. 135, cos. 132, boasts: 'As praetor in Sicily I instituted a search for the runaway slaves of Italians and returned 917 men to their masters.'108 Verres used later slave risings to extort money from the owners, returning 103 Cf. Hitzig, op. cit. supra p. 65 n. 70, and p. 11 n. 71; Mommsen, Staatsr. Ill, 527ff 104 Like the equites (apart from the 1,800 holders of the public horse) the tribuni aerarii form a specific census group within the first Servian class (Madvig I, 184). The author of the memorandum of 50 B.C. advises Caesar to abandon this timocratic selection of jurors from the three orders: ex pecunia legi inhonestum. He should admit all members of the first class to the juries. The system whereby rich and poor sat together in the courts according to the lot had proved itself at Rhodes (Sail. ep. 2.3.3, 7.11, 12.1). Already in 89, by a law of Plautius, the Hst of jurors was drawn up by each tribe choosingfifteenjurors without restriction. The object was to deprive the equites of their sole control of the courts, and the jurors under the law did in fact include senators and some plebeians (Ascon. 79). We do not know how long the new system lasted. The revolutionaries drew their support chiefly from the equestrian order, so probably restored the old state of affairs. 105 Diod. 37.5.1. 106 Diod. 34/5.25.1. 107 Posidonius ap. Diod. 34/5.2.3, 31. Cf. Schwartz, RE 5.690. 108 ILS 23; J. Klein, Die Verwaltungsbeamten der Provinzen Sizilien und Sardinien, 43. [The attribution of the acephalous inscription to Popillius is disputed: cf. A. Degrassi, Hommages Grenier (1962), 510ff., Imagines, pi. 192b; T. P. Wiseman, BSR 32,1964, 21fF.J
P A T R O N A G E I N THE COURTS 109
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captured slaves to them for a fee. The second great Sicilian slave war of 103 is said to have broken out in the following way. Marius ordered the Bithynian king Nicomedes to provide him with auxiliaries. The king claimed that he was unable to do so, because the publicani had sold his subjects into slavery. The senate decreed that no free-born ally might be a slave in a province. The praetor in Sicily, Licinius Nerva, wanted to enforce this decree and ordered the liberation of 800 slaves—another source adds the malicious suggestion 'or because he was looking for the chance to make some money'110—but 'men of high rank' deterred him from pursuing this course, whereupon a protracted revolt began.111 An even more dangerous consequence of this situation was the unprecedented success gained by Mithridates in his attempt at revolution in the Eastern provinces.112 The view that a seat on a jury was to be used to further private and class interests is taken for granted in the forensic speeches of the period. The great published speeches against Verres on the charge of repetundae belong to the time in 70 when violent agitation was under way to transfer the courts once more from the senate to the equites. Cicero therefore elaborated the point that if Verres were not condemned, the people would look for another order ofjurors. 113 The worst result of an acquittal would be that Verres might become a judge over his present judges, a possibility which the Roman people would not countenance, whilst if Hortensius defended Verres for collecting money at much too high a rate instead of the corn which the province was obliged to deliver to him, he was implying that senatorial jurors would want to behave in this way in their turn as governors and legates. Hence an acquittal would mean the end of senatorial courts.114 Verres dared to treat unjustly not only provincials and common traders but Roman equites, because the 109 Cic. 2 Verr. 5.10, 15, 18.
110 Diofr. 93.1. 111 112 113 114
Diod. 36.3. Plut. Lucull. 7, 20. 2 Verr. 1.21f. 2 Vcrr. 3.223.
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equites, being excluded from the courts, could do nothing to harm him.115 Carpinatius was the local manager of a company which contracted for Sicilian pasture rights and harbour dues. At first he informed the company of Verres* misconduct, but subsequently established a close connection with him and received a share of the plunder taken from the subjects. Another representative, however, continued to report that Verres was causing the company considerable loss by paying no dues on the export of goods he had seized. Thus a great deal of material incriminating Verres accumulated in the company's files, though Carpinatius, since his change of front, had praised him highly and asked for his earlier reports to be destroyed. When Verres came home Carpinatius arranged a big reception for him on the part of the shareholders. Thereupon Verres came to an understanding with another friend, who happened to be a director of the company, and after dismissing the general meeting of the shareholders procured a vote of the board to destroy all the damaging correspondence.116 Cicero concludes from this decision that the Roman equites who made it would, if they were jurors, certainly condemn Verres, since they had found the reports so compromising. But a man who would inevitably be condemned even by Roman equites, who were deeply indebted to him for his generous treatment, could not conceivably be acquitted by the senatorial jurors. 117 Cicero also addresses individual jurors who in his opinion were bound to vote for condemnation, for instance one whose halfbrother, a witness, had suffered at Verres* hands,118 another whose father had been robbed by Verres despite his son's distinction,119 and C. Marcellus, whom Verres had insulted by setting up his own statue and by his disregard for the position of the Marcelli as patrons of Sicily.120 In the speeches for Cluentius and Rabirius Postumus Cicero was faced with mixed juries. To win over the non-senatorial majority, 115 116 117 118 119 120
2 2 2 2 2 2
Vert. 3.96. Verr. 2.175: decumani, hoc est principes et quasi senatores publicanorum. Verr. 2.169-191. Verr. 1.128. Verr. 4.42. Verr. 4.90; RE 3.2733, 'Claudius* no. 214.
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he puts before them the following argument. The clause on bribery in Sulla's judiciary law can apply only to senators, since at that time only senators served as jurors. Therefore, if the eques Cluentius is condemned under this clause, the equestrian jurors will be deprived in future not only of their immunity but also of their capacity to come to just decisions, 'for who will still dare to judge a well-to-do man justly and boldly, if he then has to expect a charge of corruption?' 121 Again, if the eques Postumus is condemned, this precedent will make the whole equestrian order liable under the law of repetundae. Immunity is the privilege of the equites, who once justly took up arms against a bill of Livius Drusus dealing with judicial corruption.122 In both speeches Cicero enjoins the jurors to take thought not only for their power but also for the law, for justice and for their conscience.123 Given this state of affairs, it is not surprising that the personality and position of the advocate were of the greatest weight in deciding the result of an action. In his first forensic speech Cicero says that he has to fight against the greatest influence and eloquence, the two things which carry most weight in the state.124 Gratia here refers to the favour in which the auctioneer Naevius stood with the nobiles, his popularity with them; 125 but like 'favour' in English, the concept can have a more active force and signify the manifestation of favour.126 It further indicates reciprocal good relations,127 and is finally also used uni121 Cluent. 152. 122 Cluent. 144-160, Rab. Post. 13-19. 123 Cluent. 159, Rab. Post. 11. On this topos cf. Preiswerk, 59. That the liability of the equestrian jurors was an important question in the political struggles of the time is shown by Att. 1.17.8 (61 B.C.). 124 Quinct. 1. 125 Cic. Rose. Am. 15; 2 Vert. 1.135, 3.60; Cluent. 154; Mur. 17, 36, 38, 47, 59; Place. 14; dorn. 46; Plane. 7; Att. 1.16.12,1.17.6, 5.21.12; Fam. 2.6.3, 6.6.9,11.16.3; QF 1.3.6; de or. 1.15; Brut. 242, 281; comm. pet. 32. 126 Cic. imp. Pomp. 70, 71: aliquam bonam gratiam. In leg. agr. 2.102 the favour of the Quirites consists in their votes. In Mur. 10 the favour of Ser. Sulpicius Rufus is highly valued. At ibid. 71 tenues must sectari, for nil ualent gratia, cf. supra p. 59. Cf. Fam. 1.7.21; QF 2.14.2; Brut. 97, 233. 127 Cic. 2 Verr. 1.21: in gratia esse cum aliquo. In prov. cos. 18= Gell. 6.19.6 the tribune Ti. Scmpronius Gracchus iurauit palam in amidtiam inque gratiam se cum
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laterally as gratitude for favour shown.128 The remarkably common occurrence of the word in the sources is itself evidence for the importance of the social relationships which it expressed. If a man is called gratiosus, this suggests certain corresponding notions.129 The successful politician had to be gratiosus. His success depended on the co-operation o(gratiosi in all circles, in particular those whose gratia extended most widely. Sallust describes Roman society in these words: *A few powerful men, to whose favour the masses had committed themselves/130 In this way gratia and power were very closely connected.131 The advocate too had to be a homo gratiosus in this sense. A wellknown example is the defence of the revolutionary Norbanus by M. Antonius (after his censorship of 97). The only way he could secure himself a hearing at all was by pointing out that Norbanus had once been his quaestor, an office which by ancestral custom put its holder in the position of a son to his superior.132 Then he vividly
P. Africano non redisse, but nevertheless used his veto in the interests of L. Scipio in 185. This incident shows what importance the personal enmities of the nobiles took on in political life. These are the 77736? aXXyXovs avrnTapayioyal, of which Polybius speaks (18.35.8). Cic. Scaur. 31: Cicero is fideli in gratiam reditu firmoque coniunctus with Ap. Claudius. Phil. 8.20: there is no consular quin mecum habeat aliquam coniunctionem gratiae. Att. 1.14.7: in gratiam redii with Lucceius, who intends to stand for the consulate. Att. 2.3A; Fam. 1.9.4: me cum Caesare et cum Appio esse in gratia; 1.9.19 on Vatinius: reditus in gratiam per Pompeium. 128 Cic. leg. agr. 2.1 of the man elected consul towards die Quirites. Mur. 24: eloquence gives plurimas gratias. Att. 1.1.4: omnis gratias non modo retinendas uerum etiam acquirendas putemus. 1.19.4: magna cum agrariorum gratia. QF 2.3.6: quae tibi eo scribo, quod me de retinenda Sesti gratia litteris saepe monuisti. Brut. 209. 129 Cic. 2 Verr. 3.30: equites Romani gratiosi; 37: aliis praetoribus gratiosi; 4.42: eques R. splendidus et gratiosus; Mur. 47: homines honesti in suis uicinitatibus et municipiis gratiosi; Flacc. 88: homines gratiosi sptendidique; Cael. 21: homines potentes gratiosi diserti; Plane. 44: semper fuerunt boni uiri, qui apud tribules suos gratiosi esse uellent. Att. 16.11.5: gratiosi are the most suitable addressees for letters of commendation. Fam. 2.6.3: for Milo's candidature habemus ... iuuentutis et gratiosorum in suffragiis studia9... nostram suffragationem fortasse etiam gratiosam. 2.7A: Curio adulescens gratiosissimus. 130 Hist. 1.12M: pauci potentes, quorum in gratiam plerique concesserunt. 131 Cic. Quinct. 1, 9; Cael 21. 132 And so establishes a personal tie between them (de or. 2.200). Called necessitudo at div. Caec. 63, Fam. 2.17.5, Ascon. 35. Necessitudo also in Nepos Cato 1.3.
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recalled to the equestrian jurors how Norbanus had removed their hated enemy Caepio, who had wanted to admit senators as jurors alongside the equites.1*3 After thus preparing the ground, he brought his own authority into play. Nothing could be more damaging to his reputation than that he, who had saved so many with whom he had no tie, should be unable to help his friend. The jurors should take into account his age, his offices, his deeds and his just and dutiful sorrow, especially as they knew from other trials that he always asked indulgence only for his friends and never for himself.134 Cicero tells us that the two Caepiones, consuls in 141 and 140, helped many clients by their advice and speeches and still more by their authority and influence.135 M. Crassus, who later fell in the Parthian War, was for some years one of the leading advocates, not because of his natural gifts, but on account of his industry and the diligence and demonstrations of his influence which he devoted to ensuring the successful outcome of a trial.136 He was imitated on a small scale by Q. Arrius, who showed most clearly how far a man could get at Rome by clever exploitation of the circumstances of the moment, performing services for many in their election campaigns and court cases. So Arrius rose from modest surroundings to high office, wealth and influence, and achieved, without education or talent, a certain repute as a patronus.137 Curio, the consul of 76, regarded the acquittal of Verres as certain, as soon as Verres* advocate Hortensius had been elected consul for 69 138 Q Caecilius Metellus (later Creticus) summoned the Sicilian accusers to his presence before the beginning of the trial and explained to them that all precautions had been taken to prevent Verres' condemnation. He himself would be consul in the next year (69), his brother Lucius was at present praetor in Sicily, the third 133 Jul. Obseq. 41. 134 Cic. de or. 2.198-202. 135 Brut. 97. That Verres as judge showed no respect for auctoritas is explicitly urged against him (2 Verr.{ 1.135). 136 Brut. 233. No case was too trivial for him, and he often defended where Pompeius, Caesar or Cicero were hesitant. Moreover he greeted everyone by name (Plut. Crass. 3.4f.). 137 Brut. 247. 138 1 Verr. 19.
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brother, Marcus, would next year be president of the repetundae court. They intended to delay the prosecution until then, because at present (70) the conscientious and popular M \ Glabrio was praetor of the repetundae court—Cicero uses this narrative as an opportunity to compliment him and some of the jurors—but from January 1st. everything would be different.139 Cicero also remarks, with an allusion to the well-known line of Naevius, that Verres boasted that not destiny but himself had made this Metellus consul.140 L. Metellus did in fact gravely hamper Cicero in his collection of material, for he restrained the Sicilians by threats and promises from sending embassies and kept Cicero from obtaining witnesses.141 His conduct as praetor was quite unlike that of Verres, but since a certain secretary had come to him, he had been doing everything he could for Verres.142 Such were the obstacles that an advocate had to be able to overcome. A Roman senator in Sicily accused an accomplice of Verres. But Metellus refused to appoint a jury, in order, as he said, not to prejudice Verres' whole existence by such a trial. In this, according to Cicero, there was no ground for blame, Tor Metellus was protecting his friend, his close friend, as I heard him say myself \ It was, however, surprising, he goes on, that Metellus did not realise that his very refusal was prejudicial.143 As Cicero mockingly observes, Verres rejected, as he had the right to do, some particularly virtuous men from the jury. When his advocate Hortensius asked him why he had picked out his best friends for rejection, he replied that their judgment was too independent.144 Cicero tries to frighten Hortensius by pointing out that, as he was not bound to Verres by any tie, he would make it appear by defending him that he was really giving his approval to Verres' crimes, as Verres claimed.145 D. Laelius prosecuted Valerius Flaccus because Pompeius, who 139 1 Vert. 27. 140 1 Verr. 29. 141 2 Verr. 2.12. 142 2 Verr. 2.62.
143 2 Verr. 3.152. 144 2 Verr. 1.18. 145 2 Verr. 5.176.
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had been a good friend to his father, asked him to do so and put at his disposal his authority, influence, money and power.146 Pompeius saved several defendants by his authority alone.147 In this way Manilius escaped Cn. Calpurnius Piso,148 who consequently delivered sharp attacks on Pompeius and replied, when asked by Pompeius why he did not prosecute him: 'Give sureties to the state that if you were summoned you would not start a civil war.'149 In a similar case the presiding praetor Cato refused to admit the testimony of Pompeius on behalf of a guilty senator.150 In 52, when Pompeius was sole consul, he tightened up the law against ambitus. But as soon as his father-in-law Metellus Scipio was accused, he summoned the jurors to him. When the prosecutor saw that the jurors were escorting Scipio home from the forum, he withdrew the charge.151 In his first trial (54) Gabinius was acquitted thanks to Pompeius* support.152 The next time he was unsuccessful, despite Cicero's defence, because Gabinius had been less generous than before.153 It was acclaimed as an act of courage and daring on the part of earlier jurors that they had ventured to reject as biased the testimony of the two Caepiones and the Metelli against Q. Pompeius, that of M. Scaurus against Fimbria and Memmius, and that of the great orator L. Crassus against M. Marcellus Aeserninus,154 without regard for 'courage, distinction and deeds accomplished'.155 In the
146 Flacc. 14. 147 L. Cornelius Balbus was defended by Pompeius, Crassus and Cicero (Münzer, RE 4.1263). Cicero begins his speech: si auctoritatespatronorum in iudiciis ualent, ab amplissimis uiris L. Corneli causa defensa est; si usust a peritissimis; si ingenia, ab eloquentissimis; si studiat ab amicissimis et cum beneficiis cum L. Cornelio turn maxima familiaritate coniunctis. quae sint igitur meae partes? 148 itE3.139l£,no. 95. 149 Val. Max. 6.2.4. 150 Val. Max. 6.2.5. 151 Plut. Pomp. 55.7, Dio 40.53.1, Val. Max. 9.5.3; with somewhat different details App. BC 2.24.94. 152 Cic. QF 3.1.24, 3;2.1, 3.3.3; Att. 4.18.1; Dio 39.55.4, 39.62.3. 153 Dio 39.53.2. Dio treats Gabinius with consistent malice, as F. Vonder Mühll shows (Juvenes dum Sumus, Basel 1907, 77ff). However, this piece of information has internal probability in its favour. 154 RE 3.2760, 'Claudius' no. 226. 155 Cic. Font 23f.
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corpus of Cicero's correspondence there are several letters in which provincial governors are asked to settle a case in the interest of one of the parties.156 The praetor designate L. Flavius157 protested against a decision of the governor of Asia, Q. Cicero, to the latter's brother Marcus, who was prompted to write to Quintus. Flavius* protectors Pompeius and Caesar wrote at the same time.158 Hence one way of winning the good will of a jury that was taught in the schools of rhetoric was the discrediting of an opponent by allusions to his power, his clique, his nobility, and his dientelae and other connections, in the course of which one suggested that he relied more on these weapons than on truth.159 We find this technique put into practice more than once in Cicero.160 On the other hand Q. Cicero advised his brother to make friends of magistrates and especially the consuls in order to secure justice for himself in the courts.161 Alongside 'favour', however, in the speech already cited, Cicero places eloquence.162 The first Roman publicist, Cato,163 constantly employed Greek forms of rhetoric, however much he may have despised and hated the Greeks.164 Henceforth artistic mastery of Greek oratorical techniques was part of the indispensable equipment of the Roman advocate. That Marius, who lacked this training,165 once delivered a few words in person on behalf of a defendant, is a unique exception. It was possible only because of the authority he had achieved in other fields.166 What follows will illuminate the connection between patrocinium in the courts and eloquence.
156 Fam. 13.37, 54, 55.2, 59. 157 RE 6.2528, no. 17. 158 QF 1.2.10ff. in 59; cf. 1.2.4 and 6. Cicero excuses these suggestions as necessary because of his 'many enemies' (1.2.13). 159 Auct. Her. 1.8: in inuidiam trahemus, si uim, si potentiam, si/actionem, diuitias, incontinentiam, nobilitatem, clientelas, hospitium, sodalitatem, adfinitates aduersariorum proferemus et his adiumentis magis quam ueritati eos confidere aperiemus. 160 E.g. Mur. 59, Gael 22, Scaur. 37, Quinct. 1. 161 Comm. pet. 18. Cf. supra p. 56. 162 Cf. supra p. 75. 163 Cic. Brut. 61. 164 Plin. NH29.14: quodbonum sit illorum litteras inspicere, nonperdiscere, uincarn', Plut. Cato mal 12.3; Leo, Kultur der Gegenwart I, 8, 332. 165 Sail. BJ 85.32. 166 Cic. Both. 49. In other cases it is a matter of bad training: Cic. Brut. 242:
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In the second book of his De Officiis Cicero, following Panaetius, gives directions as to how the moral man should make use of the society of his fellows to attain the state of well-being demanded by nature.167 One means is glory, the highest degree of which is reached when the masses love and trust a man and admiringly judge him to be worthy of honour.168 A young man can win glory by deeds of war; of this there were many examples in ancient times, when wars were constantly being waged.169 The mind, however, is to be valued above the body. A young man makes a good impression if he attaches himself to renowned and prudent statesmen.170 But forensic oratory secures the highest admiration, especially a speech for the defence, such as Cicero delivered for Roscius.171 Subsequently Cicero reviews the services which put men under obligation, and mentions the accomplishments of the jurisconsult. But those of the orator earn far more gratitude. 'It was to him that our ancestors in time of peace assigned the leading station/ The services and patronage of the eloquent, obliging man, who in accordance with ancestral custom defends many men in court willingly and free of charge, range far and wide. Caesar of course had put an end to this.172 Elsewhere Cicero says: 'Ever since Rome's dominion over the world has guaranteed leisure through long years of peace, almost every young man who has wanted to achieve glory has felt compelled to devote all his energies to his training as an orator.'173 He waxes enthusiastic over the new type of statesman embodied in the perfect orator, who combines rhetorical training with insight into the true nature of things.174 He is a power in politics, a leader in L. C. Caepasii fratres qui multa opera ignoti homines et repentini quaestores celeriter facti suntt oppidano quodam et incondito genere dicendi. 259 on T. Flamininus, cos. 123: existumabatur bene Latine, sed litteras nesciebat. On the significance of rhetorical technique cf. div. Caec. 45ff. 167 Off. 2.1, 9, 18. 168 Ibid. 31. 169 Ibid. 45. 170 Ibid. 46. 171 Ibid. 51. 172 Ibid. 66. 173 De or. 1.14. 174 Dc or. 3.136, 1.20, 1.158f., 3.121.
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government, first in counsel and speech, in the senate, the assembly and the courts.175 In many other places, as in the De Oßciis, Cicero links eloquence with military experience and knowledge of the law as the three qualities required in a Roman politician.176 Cicero understandably speaks with special approval of the political importance which attached to oratory. It seems, however, that in fact, since the hellenisation of Rome, there had been few 'soldiers' among Roman politicians. A Marius is the exception. A famous general such as Lucullus read through the military handbooks for the first time on the journey from Rome to Asia Minor.177 But the entire life's work of a Cicero was accomplished in the forum and the council chamber, defending friends who were in danger. By this means he attained the highest offices, his moderate fortune and his dignity.178 The assistance he had given his friends in their lawsuits secured him a brilliant election to the praetorship, as he says himself at the beginning of his first political speech. His arguments on that occasion were advanced on behalf of his friends, the Roman equites, as their patron, so to speak.179 In July 65, in a letter to Atticus, he weighs the chances of his candidature for the consulship, and in passing gibes at Catilina, competition from whom is to be feared only ifjudgment is passed in his trial for repetundae that the sun does not shine at noon.180 By January 64 however, under the pressure of the election campaign, he had come to a different decision: 'I am thinking now of defending my competitor Catilina. I have the jurors I want, thanks to the prosecutor's own wishes. I hope that if he is acquitted Catilina will be better disposed towards my candidature. If things go wrong, I shall resign myself.'181 175 De or. 3.63. 176 Brut. 84, 239, 256, Mur. 24 cf. supra p. 57, de or. 1.131, Plane. 62 cf. supra p. 60f., red. sen. 13. 177 Cic. Lucull. 2; Sail. Cat. 45.2 calls the praetors of 63, L. Valerius Flaccus and C. Pomptinus, homines militares, also (59.6) the praetorian M. Petreius, who defeated Catilina. Cic. acad. prior. 2.2; cf. also Font. 43, where some homines non litteris ad rei militaris scientiam, sed rebus gestis ac uictoriis eruditi are enumerated. Also Sail. BJ 85.12. 178 Cic. Phil. 7.7. 179 Imp. Pomp. 1-5; Heinze, Abh. Sachs. Ges. Wiss. 27, 1875, 987. 180 AtU 1.1.1. 181 Att. 1.2.1.
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'Forensic activity/ he says in 59, 'affects a circle far wider than just those on whose behalf it is exercised. The whole people takes pleasure in it. My house is alive, people greet me in the street, the memory of my consulate is revived, those who are obliged to me display an eager concern/ Thus he looked forward confidently to the struggle with Clodius.182 His work in the courts, which had once aided him in the competition for office, would now serve to win the popularity that would safeguard his position.183 In 54 he writes to his brother that he is stunned by the thought that it is all over with the republic and with the courts. The time of life at which he should have been able to enjoy his dignity as a senator was being filled up with court-cases and the comfort of literary composition at home, but his boyhood dream, *to be by far the best and to stand out above the others', was gone forever.184 Polybius185 tells how Scipio, when he was barely twenty, complained to him that men thought him idle and a bad Roman, because he did not appear in the courts.186 Later he remarks that by his noble conduct, which displayed a genuine cultivation of mind, Scipio won far fairer renown than the rest of his class, who cared only about court-cases and morning calls, lived in the forum and sought in this way to commend themselves to the people. 'They could win praise only by bringing a fellow-citizen to misfortune, for that is usually the way of the courts/187 We do in fact often find future Roman statesmen already at work in their youth, and most of them do make their debut by prosecuting a politician before the courts.188 According to Cicero, M. Caelius Rufus was only following ancient custom and the example of young men who had later risen to greatness when in 59 he secured the downfall of C. Antonius, 182 Att. 2.22.3. He mentions such obligations e.g. at QF 3.1.16, Fam. 7.50.3. 183 Att. 1.17.6. 184 QF 3.5.4. 185 31.23.11. 186 Cf. the injunction already found in Plaut. Irin. 651: inforo operam amicis da> ne in Iccto amicae ut solitus es\ also Epid, 422: res magna amid apud jorum agitur, ei nolo ire aduocatus. 187 31.29.10. 188 Cicero sneers at them as pueri nobiles (div. Caec. 24). 7
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the consul of 63, and thus introduced himself to the people.189 Hortensius first appeared in 95, to immediate general applause, when he was only nineteen.190 At twenty-one L. Crassus annihilated the famous orator and consular C. Papirius Carbo. 191 P. Sulpicius Rufus began as an adulescentulus, and a year later prosecuted Norbanus.192 Cicero's earliest surviving speech, the Pro Quindio, belongs to his twenty-sixth year.193 Eleven years later his opponents claimed to be shocked that he, who had hitherto always appeared for the defence and was now of an age for the aedileship, suddenly wanted to conduct a prosecution.194 In 77, when he was twenty-three, Caesar prosecuted the consular Cn. Cornelius Dolabella.195 C. Cotta, born c. 120, defended his uncle P. Rutilius Rufus in 92.196 L. Licinius Lucullus secured the condemnation of his father's accuser before his quaestorship.197 M. Aemilius Scaurus, son of the famous princeps senatus, brought about the condemnation of the praetorian Cn. Cornelius Dolabella for his governorship of Cilicia in 80/79.198 In 73 L. Domitius Ahenobarbus (cos. 54) defended the publicani in their dispute with Oropus.199 Among Murena's accusers in 63 there appears the son of his fellow-candidate for the consulship, Ser. Sulpicius Rufus.200 In 66, by the condemnation of P. Sulla, who was already consul designate, L. Manlius Torquatus obtained for his father the consulship of 65. 201 Cicero was himself unwilling to prosecute his enemy Piso, Caesar's fatherin-law and consul in 58, but placed his hopes in the young men, 189 Gael 18, 47, 73f., 78; Dio 38.10.3. 190 Cic. Brut. 229. 191 Cic. de or. 3.74 makes him say: an disciplina fuerit forum, magister usus et leges et instituta populi Romani mosque maiorum. 192 Cf. supra p. 76, de or. 2.88f. Antonius urges him ut forum sibi ludum putaret esse ad discendum. Cf. also 1.94: antequam ad discendum ingressi sumus, ohruimur ambitione etforo. 193 Gell. 15.28.3. 194 Div. Caec. 70. 195 Suet. Iul. 4.1; Münzer, RE 4.1297, no. 134. 196 Cic. de or. 1.229; Klebs, RE 2.2482ff., 'Aurelius' no. 96. 197 Cic. acad. prior. 2.1, Plut. Lucull. 1.2. 198 Cic. Scaur. 45f., Ascon. 26; Münzer, RE 4.1297f., no. 135. 199 SIG3 747.24. 200 Cic. Mur. 56. 201 Cic. fin. 2.62.
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although they were now feeble and were striving less than they should have for glory and honour.202 Political struggles were for the most part conducted in the courts. The elder Cato had to defend himself forty-four times and was acquitted every time.203 Aemilius Scaurus and Rutilius Rufus stood for the consulship of 115. Rufus failed and prosecuted his victorious opponent for bribery. Scaurus was acquitted and in his turn brought a charge against Rutilius.204 In 94 L. Crassus the orator (cos. 95) became governor of Gaul. Thereupon there appeared in the province C. Carbo, son of the Carbo driven to suicide by Crassus, to prepare for a prosecution. Crassus however made him a member of his consilium, so that he had to share in all the business of government.205 The prosecution brought by Ser. Sulpicius Rufus in 63 has already been discussed.206 These political trials were an everyday occurrence.207 The more questions of law receded into the background, the greater the number of advocates that had to be engaged. The law of Acilius allowed only one,208 but before the reorganisation of Augustus as many as twelve were not unknown.209 Cicero says of this custom that it was convenient for the advocate, as it cut down his work and afforded him the chance of putting several persons under an obligation in the same space of time as would otherwise have had to be devoted to a single defence.210 Patrocinium in the courts was thus one of the prime expedients of the Roman politician; it opened up a path for him and helped him to maintain the position he had won. Because of its close dependence on oratory it was also capable of elevating the new man. If we reflect further that oratory in its highest sense comprised in itself the 202 Pis. 82. 203 Plin. NH 7.100. Cf. Tac. Ann. 3.66.1. 204 Cic. Brut. 113, de or. 2.280. 205 Val. Max. 3.7.6. 206 Cf. supra p. 56ff. 207 Cic. Scaur. 30, Rah. Post. 44. 208 LAcil line 33. 209 Ascon. 20: defenderunt Scaurum sex patroni, cum ad id tempus raro quisquam pluribus quam quattuor uteretur: at post bella ciuilia ante legem luliam ad duodenos patronos est pcruetitum. 210 Brut. 209.
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entire education of the period, this becomes an important factor in evaluating the predominance of the nobility, which could survive only if those who maintained it were also the best educated men. Such was in fact the case throughout the republic: the political aristocracy led in oratory, historical writing and jurisprudence. It was among the aristocrats that Panaetius and Polybius found their pupils, it was the aristocrats who were hymned by the poets,211 and if the consular Cicero rose so high, because he was the most powerful ofator and the most skilful and cultivated propagandist, the greatest of all Roman nobiles was at once the supreme philologist, orator and writer of his age.212
4. P A T R O N A G E O V E R
COMMUNITIES
Very closely linked with protection in the courts was patronage of provincials and communities. When Spanish envoys complained in 171 to the senate about the extortions of Roman magistrates, they were instructed to nominate four patrons to plead their cause in a hearing before a jury. They chose M. Porcius Cato, who had pacified Spain as consul in 195, P. Cornelius Scipio Nasica,213 praetor in Hispania Citerior 194, L. Aemilius Paullus,214 praetor in Hispania Ulterior 191/0, and C. Sulpicius Galus, subsequently cos. 166.215 These men then accused two previous governors and compelled them to go into exile. For the rest the affair was shelved until it fell into oblivion. However, the senate did decree certain measures for the protection of the Spaniards in the future.216 We see from this example how patronage over a people was not secured ex211 Cic. Arch. 5ff., Lucret. 1.26. 212 Cic. Brut. 252f., 261f. 213 Liv. 34.42.4; Münzer, RE 4.1494ff., no. 350. His father Gnaeus and his uncle Publius had begun the task of driving the Carthaginians from Spain. 214 Klebs, RE 1.576ff.t no. 114; ILS 15. 215 This man had connections with Aemilius Paullus (Liv. 40.28.8), and so may already have been with Paullus in Spain as an amicus. Willems (1,349) assumes that he went as quaestor. 216 Liv. 43.2.12.
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clusively by the first conqueror for himself and his descendants,217 but was more widely founded by official activity in the region. In consequence plurality of patrons became so common that our oldest source (not later than 152) already uses cooptare to describe the choice of a patron.218 Cicero notes as a particular honour that the Roman citizens of Capua chose him as their sole patron.219 The evidence permits us to conclude that virtually every governor acquired positions of patronage in the province under his control. In Sicily, besides the Marcelli and the Lentuli Marcellini,220 we also find the Scipiones,221 and of Cicero in particular we know that as quaestor he won the confidence of the Sicilians and was their patron from then on.222 Verres appeared on an inscription at Syracuse as 'patron and saviour' of Sicily.223 Cyprus and Cappadocia were called clientelae of the younger Cato.224 But Cicero too, as a former governor of Cilicia, recommended Cyprus and especially Paphos to a quaestor, whom he urged to bear in mind the lex of Lentulus Spinther and Cicero's own arrangements.225 As praetor Caesar took over the patronage of Hispania Ulterior.226 We know of the awkward situation in which Massilia found itself when in the civil war it did not want to join either of its patrons, Caesar and 217 Cf. supra p. 63. 218 ILS 6093. 219 Sest. 9, Pis. 25. 220 Div. Caec. 13, 2 Verr. 2.103 of the subsequent consul of 56 (Münzer, RE 4.1389f, no. 228). 221 hi 2 Verr. 4.80 Q. Caecilius Metellus Scipio (later cos. 52) is addressed. The patronage of Segesta in particular is there traced back to the younger Scipio, who returned to the city a statue from the booty of Carthage. We have an analogous inscription of Scipio on a base at Thermae Himeraeorum (SIG3 677). But the elder Africanus had already reorganised the province in the Second Punic War before crossing to Africa; thus he gave a constitution to Acragas (2 Verr. 2.123; Hülsen, RE 1.1191). 222 Cic. div. Caec. 2, Att. 14.12.1 (scis quam diligam Siculos et quam illam clientelam honestam iudicem), Scaur. 26, Brut 319. 223 Cic. 2 Verr. 2.114, 154. 224 Cic. Tarn. 15.4.15,/«. 4.56 (of the Citians in particular). 225 Cic. Fam. 13.48. Spinther was governor of Cilicia 56-53 (Münzer, RE 4.1396). 226 BHisp. 42.2.
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Pompeius. Earlier it had been under the protection of the younger Scipio Africanus.228 As legatus pro praetore of Pompeius in the pirate war Cn. Cornelius Lentulus Marcellinus, later cos. 56, is called 'patron and saviour' of Cyrene on an inscription.229 The M. Aemilius Scaurus defended by Cicero was left by Pompeius in Syria in 63 as pro quaestore pro praetore and was honoured with a statue as patron of Tyre. 230 L. Antonius, brother of the triumvir, appears with the same title at Pergamum as 'patron and saviour'.231 The'quaestor L. Sestius was honoured by the same city as 'patron and benefactor'.232 An inscription from Magnesia ad Sipylum describes Messalla Potitus, proconsul under Augustus, as 'patron and benefactor of the city by virtue of his ancestors'.233 The frequent conjunction oiirarpcov with evepyerrjs and acorr/p seems to show that for the Greeks of the period these concepts had more or less the same meaning. Thus Metellus Pius Scipio, cos. 52,234 and P. Servilius Isauricus, cos. 48, 235 were called at Pergamum simply 'saviours and benefactors', as was Caesar at Athens.236 In Italy the foundation of a colony established patronage.237 This nuance of patronage was perhaps rendered by the Greeks with the term KTiaTr)$> as applied to Pompeius at Mytilene.238 The functions of the patron of a community are briefly summarised in the speech delivered by Caesar at Hispalis in 45: as patron he had introduced to the senate many embassies from Hispania Ulterior 227 Caes. BC 1.35.4. 228 Cic. rep. 1.43. 229 SIG3 750. 230 ILS 8775. 231 OGIS 448. 232 OGIS 452. 233 OGIS 460: trdrpova /cat evepyeTqv Swz 7rpoyova)v rfjs TrdAcaiff. 234 SIG3 757. 235 OGIS 449. 236 SIG3 759. 237 Cic. Suit. 60-62; cf. L. col Gen. (Brum7 p. 122) line 97. 238 SIG3 751, 752, combined with acj-njp and cvepyerrjs. His friend, the historian Theophanes of Mytilene, and Potamon were also honoured in a similar way (SIG3 753, 754). Pompeius had at Theophanes* request restored to the city the autonomy it had lost on account of its defection to Mithridates (Veil. 2.18.1, Plut. Pomp. 42.8).
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and had incurred many enmities by defending Spanish interests, public and private.239 The dealings of foreign, allied and subject communities with the central government at Rome were not altogether as simple as they might appear in terms of formal constitutional law.240 We get a very vivid picture from an inscription of Abdera in honour of two citizens of Teos.241 After the defeat of Perseus in 168 the Thracian king Cotys applied to Rome for the territory of Abdera to be assigned to him. Against this threat Abdera secured help from its metropolis, Teos,242 which sent two envoys to Rome. These shirked neither mental nor physical exertion. By daily displays of respect they assured the great men of Rome of their devotion.243 They won over the patrons of Teos, who had previously sided with Cotys,244 to the support of Abdera and became assiduous attenders at morning receptions in the atria. Nothing further is said of their activities at Rome; their object was clearly achieved without official dealings with the senate. The reason why Abdera did not send envoys directly to Rome was that it had no patrons there. Similarly about 196 the Lampsacenes made use of the backing of Massilia,245 whilst a plea by its daughter-city saved Phocaea from the destruction planned for it by the senate in 129 because of its support of Aristonicus.246 In 54 Tenedos lost its autonomy because it had not attached enough influential senators to its interests.247 Gades made its former citizen L. Cornelius Balbus a hospes, because his distinguished connections gave him great influence.248 Sicilian embassies applied to their 239 BHisp. 42.2. 240 Mommsen, Staatsr. Ill, 959ff., 1148fF. 241 SIG3 656. 242 Hdt. 1.168. 243 SIG3 656.21: evrvyx&vovrts pv npwrwv äpnXXa Kai aTrovSrj nepl avrov iylvero. This is perhaps a translation ofprincipes ciuitatis. 244 Ibid. 23: rovs ndrpiovas rrjs [7TarpC]8os. 245 SIG3 591.44ff. 246 Justin 37.1.1; Niese, III, 371 n. 1. 247 Cic. QF 2.9.2. 248 Cic. Balb. 41, 43: quis est enim twstrum an non ilia ciuitassit huius studiot cura, diligentia commertdatior?
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patrons to make L. Metellus, the new governor, take up his appointment as quickly as possible.249 When Lentulus Sura wanted to bring the envoys of the Allobroges into the Catilinarian conspiracy, they reported the fact to their patron, Q. Fabius Sanga, and received instructions from him as to their course of action.250 The arbitration of 117 in the boundary disputes between Genua and its atttihuti was carried out by the descendants of the consul of 197, Q. Minucius Rufus, that is, by the patrons of the Ligurians on behalf of the senate.251 Private individuals from the provinces were naturally even more dependent on their patrons when they wanted to get something done at Rome. The well-known Sthenius of Thermae, who had once been a hospes of Marius, took refuge from the persecutions of Verres with his hospites at Rome, whereupon his case was raised in the senate. This move was thwarted by Verres* father, who went round to all the friends of Sthenius and promised that he would put the matter right.252 In similar circumstances the Maltese Diodorus hastened to present himself in mourning garb to his Roman 'patrons and hospites9 and told them his story.253 The three million inherited by Heraclius of Syracuse was reported to Verres as a certain prize, since apart from the Marcelli Heraclius had no patron of his own on whose help he could call.254 But ties of hospitium were just as important for allied princes as they were for such individual subjects. In 181 Eumenes II sent all his brothers to Rome 'because he was eager to commend his brothers to his private friends and hospites at Rome and to the senate in general'. They were brilliantly received both in private and in public.255 In 168 Attalus was again warmly welcomed at Rome. 249 Cic. 2 Verr. 2.10. 250 Sail. Cat. 41.5, App. BC 2.4.14. 251 ILS 5946. Mommsen, Staatsr. Ill, 1203 n. 1, sees in the inscription evidence for the view 'that all communities under Roman rule had such a patron*. 252 2 Verr. 2.95-97. Cf. 113 and Plut. Pomp. lO.llff., cited by E. Kuhn, Stadt. u. burg. Verf. d. röm. Reichs II, 50. 253 Cic. 2 Verr. 4.41. 254 2 Verr. 2.36. 255 Pol. 24.5.2; Willrich, RE 6.1097. The private ties dated from the Romans' Eastern campaigns.
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Some distinguished men advised him to make himself king, saying that the senate would support him in the undertaking. He found this train of thought very tempting andfinallycame to an agreement with certain influential men to approach the senate to this end instead of carrying out his brother's mandate. However, Eumenes was able to persuade him once again to change his mind through the agency of his physician.256 At the same time a Rhodian embassy was present at Rome. They observed the unfriendly mood of the Romans in public and private negotiations and begged their friends amid tears that their ruin might not be decreed.257 In 157 envoys of Demetrius I Soter and the Cappadocian pretender Orophernes intrigued in private conclaves against Ariarathes V of Cappadocia, who had actually fled to Rome. 258 During the siege of Numantia Jugurtha, the commander of the Numidian contingent, established ties with several Romans, both new men and nobles. After the victory Scipio praised him before the assembled army, but afterwards told him in a tete-a-tete in his tent that he should cultivate his friendship for the Roman people through official channels and not by private connections, and that he should not get into the habit of making presents to certain persons.259 Jugurtha, it is clear, did not take this advice to heart. When the removal of Hiempsal aroused great agitation at Rome, he instructed his envoys to bestow gifts on his old hospites and on other men who had influence in the senate at the time, whereupon opinion changed completely.260 The verdict that he passed on Rome after the senate had expelled him from Italy is notorious.261 Deiotarus provides a further good example. He engaged himself to every Roman commander who waged war in the East: Sulla, Murena, Servilius Isauricus, Lucullus, and later Bibulus and Cicero.262 A tie of hospitium with Cato Uticensis, inherited from his father, is 256 257 258 259 260 261 262
Pol. 30.1-3. Pol. 30.4.3 and 5; Niese, III, 193. Pol. 32.10.2 and 5; Niese, III, 250. Sail. BJ 8.2. Sail. BJ 13.7. Sail. BJ 35.10. Cic. Phil. 11.33f.
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also recorded.263 In due course they all interceded for him in the senate. Most important for him was his friendship with Pompeius, who granted him, in addition to his inherited tetrarchy over the Tolistobogii, the fertile land at the mouth of the Halys and Armenia Minor, together with the coastal strip from Pharnaceia and Trapezus to the frontier of Colchis, and recognised him as king. These arrangements were ratified by the senate in 59.264 On this occasion he entered into hospitium with the consul Caesar.265 In the civil war he brought 600 cavalry to Pompeius,266 but in 47 Caesar again recognised him as friend and king.267 Since women of rank played a major role in Roman politics in general—behind the scenes, of course268—it comes as no surprise to see foreign kings competing for their favour too. 269 Ptolemy VII, whom his subjects called Physcon ('The Belly'), even wanted to make the widow of Ti. Sempronius Gracchus, the famous Cornelia, queen of Egypt.270 We know from the empire how the various trade guilds also had their patrons,271 just like political communities. The situation was probably the same under the republic, though we hear only of the patrons of the companies of publicanL These needed advocates to defend them in their lawsuits,272 and in particular to speak for them in the senate,273 which ultimately controlled the public purse. They were moreover dependent on the good will of the provincial governors and so were glad to be commended by their protectors.274 263 Plut. Cato min. 12.2. 264 Cic. Phil 2.94; BAlex. 67; Strabo 12.3.13ff. p. 547. 265 BAlex. 68.1, Cic. Debt. 9. 266 Caes. BC 3.4.3. 267 BAlex. 68.1, Cic. Debt. 10. 268 Cic. Fam. 5.2.6, Att. 15.11.1,15.12.1. 269 Plut. C. Grac. 19.2 of Cornelia: airocvraiv rtov ßamXiwv /cat Sc^o/icVojv Trap CCVTTJS 8wpa /cat Trcpmovroyv. 270 Plut. Ti. Grac. 1.7: rj ye /cat /TroAc/xatou rod ßaatXdios Koivovfjuevov TO SidSrjfia /cat fiviofxevov TOV ydfiov avTrjs f\pvf\aaTO. Physcon got Cyrenc in 164/3, came to Rome in 154, and became king of Egypt in 145 (Niese, III, 209, 212, 267). 271 ILS 7216fF. 272 Cic. Brut. 86ff 273 Mommsen, Staatsr. Ill, 1123; Cic. off. 3.88, Att. 1.18.7, har. resp. 1. 274 Cic. Fam. 13.9, 13.65.2.
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If we now enquire what this patrocinium over communities and corporations meant for the Roman patrons, we must look above all at Pompeius.275 His power rested on his dientelae. His father had already created for him a considerable hereditary following.276 On the outbreak of the Social War in 90 he had been appointed to serve under the consul Rutilius Lupus277 and was obviously at once assigned Picenum (the region in which the revolt had begun at Asculum) as his sphere of operations, for in this year he was defeated at Falerii and compelled to withdraw to Firmum.278 Some time later, however, he achieved a brilliant victory over the Picentines, which the senators at Rome celebrated by resuming the insignia of their order.279 The remnants of the enemy force fled to Asculum and there allowed themselves to be shut up by Pompeius with one of their leaders, Vidacilius. In the meantime Pompeius had been elected consul for 89. A Marsian relieving force led by P. Vettius Scato now advanced against him. Negotiations proved fruitless and there ensued a bloody battle, in which Pompeius had at the same time to repel the sortie of the Picentines.280 Vidacilius committed suicide.281 Asculum was captured, and on December 25th. 89 Pompeius triumphed at Rome. 282 In the following year he was intended to hand over his army to his successor, the consul Q. Pompeius, but instead he allowed the troops to murder the consul. Next he gave 275 BAfr. 22.2. 276 Rutilius Rufus fr. 7P: Pompeius elaborauit, uti populum Romanum nosset eumque artificiose salutaret. Peter (HRF 123 [HRR I, 189]) connects this fragment of Charisius with Plut. Pomp. 37 A and rightly concludes that Cn. Pompeius Strabo, cos. 89, is meant. [Since the fragment comes from the first book, it is perhaps more likely that Q. Pompeius, cos. 141, is meant; cf. Peter, ad loc.} 277 App. BC. 1.40.179. His share in the war has also recently been treated by Gatti, 'Lamina di bronzo con iscrizione riferibile alia guerra dei socii italic! (Bull, comunale III, 1908) Rome 1909 [ILS 8888] [=Degrassi, ILLRP 515]. 278 App. BC 1.47.204. The text has ncpl TO &a\epvov opos. On the two neighbouring cities cf. ILS 6568. 279 App. BC 1.47.205f, Oros. 5.18.17, Liv. per. 74. 280 Cic. Phil 12.27. For the negotiations with Scato Pompeius summoned his brother Sextus from Rome, as he was Scato's hospes (Diod. 37.2.8, Liv. per. 74, Oros. 5.18.18-21). 281 Oros. 5.18.21, Liv. per. 76. 282 Acta triumph. CIL I 2 p. 177 l=Insc. Ital. XIII 1.84f., 563]: VI Kal Ian.
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THE NOBILITY OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC
only half-hearted support to the government against the revolution of Cinna, in order to extract advantages for himself. But before his designs could be fulfilled, an epidemic carried him off.283 We can grasp the position he had built up for himself to a limited degree from his son's entrance on the scene in 83. After his father's death he had been prosecuted under the revolutionary regime for embezzlement of booty by his father, but was acquitted thanks to the good will of Antistius, the praetor in charge of the hearing. A link was conjectured between this verdict and his subsequent marriage to Antistia, the praetor's daughter.284 However, since he felt insecure at Rome, he retired to Picenum,285 and when Sulla landed in Italy in 83 Pompeius, a private citizen of twenty-three, was able to bring him a legion.286 All our authorities agree in ascribing this success to the esteem in which his father had been held. Velleius Paterculus calls Picenum 'full of clientelae inherited from his father'; Plutarch tells us that he owned estates in Picenum, but in particular that his father had already been on good terms with the cities; other authors describe his troops as 'his father's army'.287 Two other pieces of information may be brought into connection with this devotion on the part of the army: the elder Pompeius kept the booty of Asculum for himself and gave none of it to the exhausted treasury,288 and on the other side the murder of the consul of 88 is ascribed to Strabo's instigation.289 I should combine the evidence we have in the following way. The 283 Liv. per. 79, Jul. Obscq. 56a; Mommsen, RG II, 310 n. [=IV, 64 n. 1]. 284 Plut. Pomp. 4.1-4. 285 Dio fr. 107.1, Plut. Pomp. 6.1. 286 App. BC 1.80.366: fjA0€ KOL re\o$ ijyayev. Plut. Pomp. 6.6 goes so far as to speak of three legions, with full complement and baggage. Veil. 2.29.1 has only exercitus and Dio fr. 107 x61/3« nva. 287 BAfr. 22.2, Val. Max. 5.2.9. Cic. Phil 5.44 says: Me aduersariorum partibus agrum Picenum hahuit inimicum. Dio fr. 107: nap* CKCCVOJV X€LP^ TLVa &La TVV rov iroLTpos rjycfiovlav aOpolcras Svvccoretav 18 lav ovviwrt). Liv. per. 85: conscripto uoluntariorum exercitu cum tribus legionibus ad Syllam uenerat. 288 Oros. 5.18.26; Plut. Pomp. 1: xprftLaruw aTrXqaros hriQvpia. This ties up with the trial of his son. 289 Val. Max. 9.7. »«7. Rom. 2: ambitiosi ducts inlecebris corrupti milites. Of his exercitus it is also said: quern aliquamdiu inuita ciuitate obtinebat.
PATRONAGE OVER COMMUNITIES
95
290
Pompeii were Picentine landowners. At the beginning of the Social War Cn. Pompeius, as an expert on the region and patron of the communities and Roman residents there, was given the task of suppressing the revolt in this area. He organised his army on the spot out of Romans and loyal allies.291 After his victories he thought to make it serve his political designs and bound it by large rewards to his person.292 At his death the men returned to their homes, and many of them were later ready to respond to the call of his son, who promised them fresh profits. Later too it was in Picenum that Pompeius' strength lay. To combat the armed gangs of Clodius he was waiting in 56 for a large detachment from Picenum and Gaul.293 When Cicero wants to indicate in January 49 how badly Pompeius had prepared himself for the struggle against Caesar, he says that he is not even sure of the feelings of Picenum.294 Shortly afterwards, however, Pompeius wrote to him that once he was in Picenum the refugees could return to Rome.295 He urgently requested Domitius Ahenobarbus to dispatch the nineteen Picentine cohorts,296 without which it would be impossible for him to face Caesar with his two legions.297 290 Thus Willems, I, 396. 291 His base was the Latin colony Firmum, founded in 264 (Veil. 1.14.7). Hadria was another Latin colony (Liv. per. 11); Auximum (Veil. 1.15.3) and Potentia (Liv. 39.44, Veil. 1.15.2) were citizen colonies. Pompeius Magnus is attested as patron of Auximum by an inscription (ILS 877) and it was there that he began recruiting (Plut. Pomp. 6.5). 292 It is possible that the inscription published by Gatti (cf. supra n. 277) also points in this direction. In it Pompeius bestows the Roman citizenship, decorations and double pay on a Spanish cavalry squadron. It was only whilst correcting the proofs of this book that I became acquainted with the detailed study devoted to this inscription by Ettore Pais (SSAC 2, 1909, 1-13f£). He deduces from the tribes of the officers mentioned as members of the general's consilium that most of them came from Picenum and Umbria (p. 132). I agree with him when he describes this grant of citizenship to individual tributary foreigners as illegal (p. 145ff.). He rightly characterises the inscription as the oldest evidence for the Spanish clientele! of the Pompeii (p. 158), and his conjecture (p. 160) that it was because of this position of the Pompeii that Strabo's son was given the command in the Sertorian war is most convincing. [Cf. C. Cichorius, Rom. Stud. (1922), 130fF.] 293 Cic. QF 2.3.4. 294 Att. 7.13.1, cf. 8.3.4, 8.8.1. 295 Att. 7.16.2. 296 Pompeius to the consuls of 49: Cic. Att. 8.12A. 297 Pompeius to Domitius: Cic. Att. 8.12C.2, D.I. Here he calls the Picentincs
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THE NOBILITY OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC
After Sulla's victory in Italy he sent Pompeius to conquer Sicily and Africa. On this mission Pompeius established his hospitium with the kings of Numidia and Mauretania, relationships which even after his death made Africa the centre of the resistance to Caesar.298 In the Sertorian war he extended his Spanish clientelae. They comprised not only the peoples he subdued,299 but also many of the numerous Romans settled in Spain, who will have put themselves under Pompeius' patronage. Spanish landowners made up a third of the strength of the Pompeian legions which Caesar forced to surrender.300 The fact that in 45 a further Pompeian rising occurred in Spain is to be explained by these clientelae no less than by the savage rule of the Caesarian propraetor Q. Cassius Longinus.301 The great command in the East brought him his connections with the Eastern kings and communities. They provided him with ships and cavalry for the decisive struggle with Caesar, filled his chest and supplied his corn.302 It is understandable that at first Pompeius, conscious of this personal power behind him, underestimated Caesar.303 True Roman sentiment bridled, of course, at the thought that the fatherland could be saved only with foreign aid.304 But
optimi dues. They are free landowners, not tenants, as Pompeius' letter B.2 shows. This must be noted against M. Rostowzew, Studien zur Gesch. d. röm. Kolonates, who speaks (p. 377) of a *x<*>pa> ßaaiXiK'q of the new kings of the Roman empire'. The patrocinium of the republic (at least in the historical period) is, as far as is known, totally non-agrarian. It becomes a matter of land-ownership only in the late empire (Fustel, 244). Plut. Pomp. 6 says: expla> T ° &c irXiov rats noXcatv rj$6fjL€VOS OIKCICOS KOI iAiKa>$ irarpoQev ixovcrais irpos avrov. 298 Plut. Pomp. 12.8, Caes. BC 2.25.4, BAfr. 22, 57. 299 Ascon. 92 with Dio 36.44.5. 300 Caes. BC 1.86f. 301 BAlex. 48ff., BHisp. 7.4; Münzer, RE 3.1741. 302 Caes. BC 3.3-5. 303 In Cic. Fam. 9.9.2 Dolabella writes to his father-in-law: animaduertis Cn. Pompeium nee nominis sui nee return gestarum gloria neque etiam regum ac nationum clientelis, quas ostentare crebro solebat, esse tutum. 304 Cic. Att. 11.6.2: tanta erat in illis crudelitas, tanta cum barbaris gentibus coniunetio, ut non nominatim, sed generatim proscriptio esset informata. 11.7.3: iudicio hoc sum usus, non esse barbaris auxiliis fallacissimae gentis rem publicam defendendam praesertim contra exercitum saepe uictorem. Cf. the explosion in BAfr. 57.3: usu uenisse hoc etui
PATRONAGB OVER C O M M U N I T I E S
97
for Caesar too it was of great value that the Gaetuli felt themselves to be clients of Marius, and so now in the civil war joined the side of his nephew.305 The significance of clientela does not of course manifest itself in such grandiose fashion in the case of other men. But we hear elsewhere too that in times of danger clients were called upon to protect their patron. Thus the prefecture of Reate was under the protection of Cicero.306 In 54 he represented it in a dispute with Interamna before the consul Ap. Claudius,307 but in the year of his consulate he had called on its services and surrounded himself with a bodyguard of young men from Reate.308 Whenever he left his house, Ti. Gracchus was always accompanied by three or four thousand dependents.309 Sulpicius Rufus, the tribune of 88, had a following of armed equites.310 In a letter to Antonius the assassins of Caesar, Brutus and Cassius, complained that he was calling on them to disband 'their friends from the municipia, whilst he himself was summoning numerous veterans to Rome.311 In an account of the war of Mutina Cicero praises to Cassius the useful assistance rendered by the latter's Transpadane clients.312 Romano et ei9 qui ab populo Romano honores accepisset, incolumi patria fortunisque omnibus Iubae barbaro potius oboedientemfuisse, quam aut Scipionis obtemperasse nuntio aut caesis eiusdem partis ciuibus incolumem rcuerti mallei 305 BAfr. 32, 35, 56. 306 Cic. Scaur. 27. 307 Att. 4.15.5, Varro RR 3.2.3. 308 Cic. Cat. 3.5: ego ex praefectura Reatina compluris delectos adulescentis quorum opera utor adsidue in rei publicae praesidio cum gladio miseram. Sail. Cat. 26 A: circum se praesidia amicorum atque clientium occulte habebat. 309 §empronius Asellio fr. 6P ap. Gell. 2.13A: nam Gracchus domo cum proficiscebaturf numquam minus terna aut quatema milia hominum sequebantur. App. Samn. 5 says even of Curius Deiitatus: elnero vctov Aoyd&wv 7rÄrjdos o/cra/coatcov iiri Travra rcc epya eroifioi. But Münzer (RE 4.1841) rightly regards this testimony as dubious. 310 Plut. Mar. 35.2 speaks of 600; SulL 8.3: erpe^c 8e rpiax^tovs pax<xipo6povs, KCtl rrXrjBos ITTTTIKCOV V€<xvtaK(ov rrpos QLTTOLV iroifjLWV nepl ctvrov €fyo>, ovs avrtavyKXrjrov wvofjLa&v. 311 Cic. Fam. 11.2: ex mtmicipiis nostros necessaries. 312 Fam. 12.5.2: praeter Bononiam, Regium Lepidi, Parmam totam Galliam tenebamus studiosissimam rei publicae; tuos etiam clientis Transpadanos mirifice coniunctos cum causa habebamus.
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THE NOBILITY OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC
The revolutionary bodyguards were very closely connected with the legally permitted escorting of candidates and the welcoming home of the governor returning from his province by his clients and friends. The ample evidence for the importance of these institutions with regard to the elections has already been set out.313 This was the reason why Cicero was so deeply concerned to be on good terms with the companies of publicani and did favours for the municipia with which he was connected.314 In 46 Cicero had his son and his nephew elected as aediles at Arpinum.315 The clash between Milo and Clodius in 52 took place while the consular candidate Milo was on the way to his home town of Lanuvium, there to appoint a priest in his capacity as dictator, whilst Clodius had just made a speech to the decurions at Aricia.316 In the speech for Plancius Cicero dilates on the great influence that the candidate's own community and tribe could exercise on an election.317 313 Cf. supra pp. 56, 59, 60. 314 Imp. Pomp. 4: equitibus Romanis, honestissimis uiris, adferuntur ex Asia cotidie litterae, quorum magnae res aguntur in uestris uectigalibus exercendis occupatae; qui ad me pro necessitudine quae mihi est cum Mo ordine causam rei publicae periculaque rerum suarum detulerunt. Har. resp.l, 2: he defended the publicani against Clodius: cepi equidem fructum maximum et ex consurrectione omnium uestrum et ex comitatu publicanorum. Prov. cos. 10 on Gabinius (cf. Vonder Mühll, RE 7.428): iam uero puhlicanos miseros—me etiam miserum illorum ita de me meritorum miseriis ac dolore!—tradidit in seruitutem Iudaeis et Syris, nationibus natis seruituti. Phil 6.13: quern umquam iste ordo patronum adoptauit? si quemquam, debuit me. QF 1.1.6 of Asia: constat enim ea prouincia primum ex eogenere sociorum quod est ex hominum omni genere humanissimumt deinde ex eogenere ciuium qui aut quod publicani sunt nos summa necessitudine attingunt aut quod ita negotiantur ut locupletes sint nostri consulatus beneficio se incolumis fortunas habere arbitrantur. Cf. also QF 1.1.32, 1.4.4; Fam. 2.13.3: ciuitates locupletaram, publicanis etiam superioris lustri reliqua sine sociorum ulla querela conseruaram. Cf. also p. 82 n. 179. Apart from Reate, Arpinum was naturally especially close to Cicero's heart (Fam. 13.1 If.; Cael. 6: Cicero's election was assisted commendatione ac iudicio meorum; Plane. 20: at Arpinum the hills tell of Marius and the Cicerones). Mention is also made of Cales (Fam. 9.13.3), Volaterrae (Fam. 13.4.1), Atella (Fam. 13.7.1, QF 2.12.3), Placentia (Pis. fr. 9: Placentia municipium de me optime meritumy cf. Ascon. 3 : quod illi honoratissima decreta erga Ciceronem fecerunt certaueruntque in ea re cum tota Italia, cum de reditu eius actum est), Dyrrhachium ([Att. 3.22.4], ep. Brut. 1.6.4), Capua (Sest. 9, Pis. 25). [Cf. Plane. 97: cum omnia ilia municipia quae sunt a Vibone adBrundisium in fide mea essent; leg. 2.15: nostri clientes, Locri.] 315 Fam. 13.11.3. 316 Ascon. 31. 317 Cf. supra p. 60. Also Att. 2.1.9: Fauonius meant tribum tulit honestius quam
P A T R O N A G B OVER C O M M U N I T I E S
99
Provincial clientehe were of the highest value to a politician's reputation. For, as Cicero once puts it, a politician's position and success depend not only on the true state of affairs but also on his reputation.318 It is with this in mind that Quintus should value the honorific decrees of the Asian cities. Such honours are often conventional or are granted from opportunist motives, but Quintus, who really deserves them, should make an effort to secure this form of glory.319 With such thoughts Cicero succeeds in consoling himself on his appointment as governor of Cilicia.320
suamt Luccei perdidit. The elections in question were those for the tribunate in 60 (Münzer, RE 6.2074). Cicero and Lucceius had undertaken to secure their tribes for Favonius. (Cicero's was the Cornelia: SIG3 747.13.) 318 QF 1.2.2: cum ratio salusque omnium nostrum qui ad rem publicam accedimus non ueritate solum sed etiamfama niteretur. 319 QF 1.1.31: in istis urbibus cum summo imperio et potestate uersaris in quibus tuas uirtutes consecratas et in deorum numero conlocatas uides. A decree of the Macedonian town of Lete (117 B.C.) honouring the quaestor M. Annius: SIG3 700. The decree of Gythium (SIG 3 748), in which two wealthy Romans resident there were honoured for lowering the rate of interest on a loan from 48 per cent to 24 per cent, might be regarded as having more practical motives. When these men also obtained for the town exemption from billeting and the supply of corn and clothing, their motives were no doubt not entirely unselfish. An especial honour was the naming of games after a governor. It was paid to Q. Mucius Scaevola, proconsul of Asia 95/4 (Diod. 37.5, OGIS 437 n. 8, 438, 439: the games were called Harrqpia /ecu MOVKUHX), C. Claudius Marcellus, proconsul of Sicily 79 (Münzer, RE 3.2733; Cic. 2 Verr. 2.51), L. Licinius Lucullus, who c. 70, like Scaevola, freed Asia from its bloodsuckers the publicani (Plut. Lucull. 23.2), whilst under Verres the Marcellia at Syracuse were replaced by Verria (Cic. 2 Verr. 2.52,114,154,4.24,151). Numerous festivals are known from the Hellenistic period in honour of kings and also of private individuals, e.g'AXc£dv8p€ia of the Ionians (OGIS 222.26, Strabo 14.1.31, p. 644); *Avrvy6vei* in Oreus (SIG3 493.22; Stengel, RE 1.2405, no. 9); ZcXtvKciazt Erythrae (SIG 3 412.12); and at Delos, besides Evcpycoia, ^lAcTcupeia and €t,af also EVTVXCLCC, Eamarptia and TlaraiK^ia after private persons (SIG3 588.55). 320 Att. 5.10.2: persuasum est omnibus meis seruiendum esse famae meae. 5.11.5: uidentur mihi nosse nostram causam et condicionem profectionis suae; plane seruiunt existimationi meae. 5.14.2: spero meos omnis seruire laudi meae. 5.17.2: omnes mirifice oviLi\oho£ov(Tiv gloriae meae. 5.16.3: iustitia, ahstinentia, dementia tui Ciceronis opiniones omnium superauit. 5.20.6: ego in uita mea nulla umquam uoluptate tanta sum adfectus quanta adficior hac integritate, nee me tamfama quae summa est quam res ipsa delectat. 8
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THE NOBILITY OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC
Clients in the subject areas often enough had the opportunity to show their gratitude in action. Since the introduction of the quaestiones there had been many Roman statesmen who had at times had to face a charge of repetundae. The prosecutors had the right to compel people to come to Rome to testify at the hearing, they could institute enquiries in the cities and towns and have decrees passed on the subject of the accused's conduct in office.321 To counter this, honorific embassies from his province must come to the help of the defendant. Cicero sneers at Verres, who was praised only by Messana, because that city was not liable to pay tribute.322 Finally mention may once more be made of Rutilius Rufus. When already a consular he accompanied his friend Q. Mucius Scaevola to Asia as his legate and stayed behind as deputy after Scaevola's departure, until his successor arrived.323 On his return the hatred of the publicani was directed against him, whilst personal enmities also came into play,324 and so in 92 he was condemned for extortion to pay a fine greatly in excess of his fortune. He chose voluntary exile in Mytilene and moved to Smyrna during the Mithridatic War. Mucius took care that he did not suffer because of his poverty, and all the kings and communities with whom he had come into contact during his service in the province made his comfort a matter of their honour.325 When Sulla invited him to return to Rome, he preferred to go on living among his clients as a citizen of Smyrna.326 I think that by now I have sufficiently discussed those points which are important for the understanding of patronage over communities as a social institution. Subjects, allies, professional associations and private individuals needed to have their interests represented before 321 L. Aril line 31; Hitzig, 24. 322 2 Verr. 2.13, 114, 3.13, 5.52, 4.17, 150. Cf. Sest. 10, Pis. 25, where Cicero boasts of the decreta of Capua. 323 Lange, III, 93 combines Cic. AtL 5.17.5 and D. 1.2.2.40. Also Diod. 37.5, Liv. per, 70. 324 E.g. with Marius (Dio fr. 97.3), probably also with Cn. Pompeius Strabo, whom he judged very severely, for which reason Theophanes of Mytilene calumniated him in his turn (Peter, HRF p. 122, [=HRR I, p. 188]; Rutilius fr. 5, 7). 325 Dio fr. 97.4. 326 Sen. ep. 24.4, Cic. Ball. 28.
POLITICAL FRIENDSHIP
101
the government at Rome by powerful senators. The politician needed the support of electors and subjects. The relationships which arose from these needs were hereditary. Thus it calls for no further explanation that in the general consciousness nobility was synonymous with the possession of many clientelae.327
5. P O L I T I C A L
FRIENDSHIP
Mention has been made above of the relationship between the higher magistrate and his quaestor.328 Reciprocal obligations of this kind occupied a considerable place alongside patrocinium in the social and political life of Rome. Cicero distinguishes between two groups of subordinates on the Istaff of a provincial governor: those provided by the state, such as | quaestor and legates, and those whom the governor took with him * of his own choice, the 'praetorian cohort'.329 In his description of the camp Polybius tells us of a special bivouac for 'those who volunteered for service out of friendship for the consul'.330 This was sited near the consul's tent, because these men, together with the staff 327 Auct. Her. 1.8 (supra p. 80 n. 159). Cic. Cluent. 94: Sulla (son of the dictator) maxitnis opibus, cognatis, adfinibus, necessariis, clientibus pluritnis. Sail. BJ 85.4: uetus nobilitas, maiorumfortia facta, cognatorum et adfinium opes, multae clientelae, omnia haec praesidio adsunt; ep. 2.11.3: cum Ulis maiorum uirtus partarn reliquerit gloriam, dignitatem, clientelas. Naturally it might often be advantageous to choose powerful men as patrons even if they were not of senatorial standing. Thus we find C. Quinctius Valgus (Cic. leg. agr. 3.3, 8), a great landowner in Hirpinum, as patron of Aeclanum (ILS 5318 with Dessau's note). As duumuir of Pompeii he and his colleague had an amphitheatre built at their own expense (ILS 5627). He was the father-in-law of the tribune P. Servilius Rullus. 328 P. 76 n. 132. Cf. Cic. div. Caec. 46, 60, 65, 1 Vert. 11, 2 Vert. 1.37, 41. Cicero is not sure that the relationship between legatus and propraetor may not be even closer than that between quaestor and consul, since the first is decided by the magistrate's free choice, the second by the lot. 329 Cic. QF 1.1.10: collectively called ministri imperi tui; 11: hos eos, quos tibi comites et adiutores negotiorum publicorum dedit ipsa res publica; 17: quos aut ex domesticis conuictionibus aut ex necessariis apparitionibus tecum esse uoluisti, qui quasi ex cohorte praetoris appellari solent. Quasi is used, because Quintus had no army (cf. s.5). 330 6.31.2.
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THE NOBILITY OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC
cavalry, remained in the vicinity of the consul and the quaestor, always when on the march and for the most part in their other duties too. In Latin they are called amici. Cato records with pride that he never turned over allied cities to his prefects to plunder, never took the booty from those who had secured it to distribute it among a small circle of friends, never handed out official travelpasses on the strength of which his friends could then draw large sums of money, and never presented his subordinates or his friends with silver instead of the customary wine or made them rich at the state's expense.331 At the conclusion of his Spanish campaign the elder Africanus left his troops behind whilst he himself travelled to Rome for the consular elections 'with C. Laelius and his other friends'.332 After the battle of Cynoscephalae T. Flamininus no longer discussed matters with the Aetolians, but settled all questions either on his own initiative or with his friends.333 From this it appears that the 'friends' were members of his consilium.334
331 ORF3 fr. 203: numquam praefectos per sociorum uestrorum oppida inposiui, qui eorum bona liberos diriperent. numquam ego praedam neque quod Je hostibus captum ess neque manubias inter pauculos amicos meos diuisi, ut Ulis eriperem qui cepissent, numqua ego euectionem dataui, quo amici mei per symbolos pecunias magnas caperent. numquam ego argentum pro uino congiario inter apparitores atque amicos meos disdidi, neque eos malo publico diuitesfeci. On the symboli cf. the edict of the prefect of Egypt of A.D. 42 (Wilcken, Chrestomathie, 439.2): iirficvl c^Ww ivyapevew rovs im rr\s X<*>p<xs firjSe €<£oSta r} dXXo rt Scopcav alretv oirep rod ifio[v] 8iirX<x)fJLaros, \afjL[ß]dv€iv_ &€ €KCC&\TO\V r<x)V ix[6v\ra)v ifiov StVAco/xa ra avraapK€t (read avrdpKTj) imh-qTia (read imrqScia) rifjLTjv airoSiSovras axnibv. Penalties are threatened for anyone ßeßLaorfiivos rivet ra>v arro rfjs x^Pas V apyvpoXoyrfaas contrary to the prefect's orders. In law compensation had to be paid to the population for transport services. The apyvpoXoytlv clearly consists in the fact that these expenses were made to fall on the inhabitants of the regions passed through. Cato's meaning is the same. Cf. Wilcken, Einführung in die Papyruskunde, 375; F. Zucker, SB Berl. Akad. 1911, 800; Mommsen, Staatsr. I, 300 n. 2. 332 Pol. 11.33.8, 21.31.2. 333 Pol. 18.34.3: ra 8* TTpoK*L\i€va awercAci KCCI hi avrov /cat 8ia TWV ISlcov tXcov. 334 Mommsen, Staatsr. I, 316 n. 1. Epigraphically attested for the principate by ILS 5947.23fF. Cf. 5/C 3 684.11: /ieraTot?7ra[>]dv[To]s cvrfovXlov, 741.8. In the inscription published by Gatti (supra p. 93 n. 277, Pais, 134fF.) the legionary legate L. Gellius Poplicola, subsequendy cos. 72 (Münzer, RE 7.1001flf., no. 17), is named first. Thirty-first (in the list in Pais, 128) is the young Cn. Pompeius, the
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When in 134 the younger Africanus took 500 friends and clients with him from Rome to Numantia, he was not in principle making any innovation; what was new was that he formed them into a military unit, the cohors amicorum335 In this force the clients will have made up the infantry; we know that the friends formed a cavalry squadron. Marius paid more attention to bravery than to friendship in making his choice of amid, and so in his army the cohort was an elite force, which intervened under his leadership where the danger was greatest.336 On the other hand, according to Caesar, the panic at Vesontio in the face of Ariovistus started precisely among the military tribunes, the prefects and the rest who had followed Caesar from Rome 'for friendship's sake', because none of them possessed any great experience of war.337 This is not surprising, for since the end of the second century the military training of men of equestrian birth had begun in the contubernium of generals and officers.338 Just as the governors of peaceful provinces took their friends abroad with them, so too the magistrates at Rome were surrounded by their contubemales. L. Gellius, later cos. 72, was a contubernalis of the consul Papirius Carbo in 120, and Cicero therefore regards him as especially qualified to pass judgment on Carbo's oratory.339 L. Manlius Torquatus was Cicero's contubernalis in his praetorship and consulate.340 A man's political career at Rome usually began with his joining a tried statesman. Cicero says that the senator must know all about the military strength and finances of the state, and the relations of the allies and subjects to Rome, as well as keeping in his head the
later Magnus. Pais emphasises that there is other evidence for close connections between Gellius and Magnus. As consul Gellius introduced the law which ratified Pompeius' grants of citizenship in the Sertorian war; in 67 he was a legate of Pompeius in the pirate war (Pais, 154; Münzer, RE 7.1002). 335 App. Hisp. 84: ovs is tXrjv KccraXe^as eVaAet lXwv tArjv. 336 Sail. BJ 98.1. 337 Caes. BG 1.39. 338 Cf. supra p. 12. 339 Brut. 105. 340 Cic. Sull 34, 44:familiaris9 46: amidtia.
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rules of senatorial procedure and cases of precedent.341 No other path to this goal was known except the practice to be got by serving as the friend of an active general or politician.342 It was inevitable that in this kind of friendship the ethical motive faded into the background in favour of the practical aim of mutual advancement, and that certain precisely regulated forms of expression should develop in the process. The end result was naturally the same, here as with patrocinium: the more numerous a man's friends, the greater his success, whether friends meant benefactors or dependents. Thus Polybius gives as a major occupation of rising politicians the daily morning call at the homes of their protectors.343 How much weight is attached by Q. Cicero to the 'house full of people'344 we have already noted.345 As he says, in his day many more people were indulging in the practice than before. C. Gracchus and Livius Drusus were the first whose morning receptions took on such proportions that they divided their friends into three classes. Those of the first class were admitted singly, those of the second class in groups, those of the third class en masse.346 These last no doubt com-
341 Leg. 3.41. Cf. also Sail. ep. 2.1.3: sed mihi Studium juit adukscentulo rem publicum capessere, atque in ea cognoscenda multam magnamque curam habui: non ita ut ma stratum modo caperem quern multi malis artibus adepti erant, sed etiam ut rem publicam dornt militiaeque quantumque artnis uiris opulentia posset cognitum habuerim. 342 Cf. p. 81 n. 170. 343 Pol 31.29.8: irepi TOVS xai/>€Tt°,/Lt0^S' eanovha^ov. The contemporary inscription SIGZ 656.26 calls it 17 KCCO* r\p.£poLv itftoSeia tVt TWV arpdcov. cf. p. 89. (Latin salutatio.) 344 Cic. Att. 2.22.3: domus celebratur; cf. p. 83 n. 182. 345 Cf. supra p. 56, comm. pet. 34, 35. 346 Sen. ben. 6.34.1: consuetudo ista uetus est regibus regesque simulantibus populum amicorum discribere . . . 2: apud nos primi omnium C. Gracchus et mox Liuius Drusus instituerunt segregate turbam suam et alios in secretum recipere9 alios cum pluribus, alios uniuersos. Seneca connects the custom with the degrees of rank at Hellenistic royal courts. Of the six Ptolemaic degrees the fourth is TWV 7rpa>TCov lAa)v, the fifth r&v iXa)v (Strack, RhM 55, 1900, 176; OGIS 104 n. 2). It is probable that the Ptolemies took over these titles from the Seleucids, which does not however exclude differences. For instance, the Egyptian imaroXoypdfos is a ovyy*vr\$y the €moTo\oypao$ of Antiochus IV on the other hand is ets rwv (\a)v (OGIS 139.14, Pol. 30.25.16); cf. RostovtzefF, RE 7.210. It would be very apt if C. Gracchus, who introduced corn distributions at Rome on the Hellenistic model (Hirschfeld, Kais. Verwaltungsbeamten, 230 n. 1; on the provision of corn at Alex-
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prised the clients. For the principate, which adopted this division of friends, knew no third category.347 Seneca remarks of this system that by it one was deprived of'true friends'. Cicero vouches for this from his own experience: *I miss nothing so much as a man with whom I could talk about everything that troubles me, a man who would love me, who would be understanding, in front of whom I need not play a part. My brother, who is honesty and devotion personified, is away, so I have only my wife and children. For fancy friendships of convenience impart a certain glitter to one's public image, but bring no profit in private life. Although the house is full of visitors each morning, although I make my way to the forum accompanied by a crowd of friends, in that great multitude I cannot find one man with whom I could jest freely or share a sigh in friendship/348 Or again: 'Earlier, when I was feeling tired of things, when youth and ambition were driving me forward, I was at least free not to defend a man if I did not want to. But now I have no life. For I expect no reward from my labours and I am often forced to defend men who have not deserved it of me at the request of those who have put me in their debt.'349 Sallust puts it similarly: 'The struggle for office forced many men to deceit, to bear one thing in the heart, another on the tongue, to value friendship and enmity not by desert but by profit, to show a respectable face rather than a respectable character/350 Yet for Cicero it was one small ray of light in the dark time of Caesar's monarchy, when he could write that his morning audiences were
andria Wilcken, Einführung, 364,365 n. 5) and following Greek precedent reorganised jury courts at Rome (Hitzig, see supra p. 65 n. 70), adopted certain practices of Hellenistic court ceremonial for his receptions. Antiochus IV (Pol. 26.1.5) showed that monarchy and the tribunate were not irreconcilable opposites. In this connection the passage in 2 Verr. 3.7f. is relevant, where Cicero addresses Hortensius: odistis hominum nouorum industriam etc. Verrem amatis . . . hie cum uenit extra ordinem uocatur; hie solus introducitur; ceteri saepe frugalissimi homines excluduntur. 347 Mommsen, Staatsr. II, 835 n. 1. The inscription ILS 1320 describes an eques of the time of Augustus or Tiberius as ex prima admissione. In general senators belonged to the first class, equites to the second. 348 Att. 1.18.1; cf. QF 1.3.8, Lael 64. See his hypocritical letter to Antonius {Att. 14.13B). 349 Fam.7AA\cf.Att. 1.12.1. 350 Sail. Cat. 10.5.
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now once more better attended, because in those days a rightminded citizen stood out like a white raven.351 From this we can imagine how the famous consular felt, when he in his turn had to sit in Caesar's anteroom till summoned. Caesar hit the nail on the head when he said, shortly before the Ides of March 44: 'Am I to doubt that I am hated by everyone, when M. Cicero sits and cannot speak with me at will? If anyone is easy to win over, he is, and yet I do not doubt that he hates me to the death/352 The morning calls were at all events the chief opportunity for commendation.353 We know that Horace waited on Maecenas every day.354 Virgil and Varius will have done the same. It was they who introduced him on hisfirstvisit. Maecenas spoke only a few words, as was his custom. Eight months later Horace was invited to come again, and from then on was numbered among Maecenas* friends.355 To belong to a man's entourage gave formal proof of such a friendship. Therefore Cicero thought it most important that Trebatius should become a contubernalis, and since he himself could not do him this service, he recommended him to Caesar.356 As he writes to the latter, he had intended to advance his protege in his province in every way and to heap benefits upon him. The sentences of Cato cited above (p. 102) elucidate the nature of such benefits, which were customary at the time. During his exemplary proconsulate in Asia, Q. Mucius Scaevola, cos. 95, still paid all his expenses and those of his retinue out of his own pocket.357 In Cicero's day very large sums 351 Fam. 7.28.2 or 9.20.3 (in 46): haec igitur est nunc uita nostra: mane salutamus domi et bonos uiros multosf sed tristis, et hos laetos uictoresf qui me quidem perofficiose et peramanter obseruant. ubi salutatio defluxit, litteris me inuoluot aut scribo aut lego; ueniunt etiam, qui me audiunt quasi doctum hominem, quia paulo sum quam ipsi doctior. inde corpori omne tempus datur. 352 Cic. Ait. 14.1.2. Caesar's audiences: Fam. 6.14.2, 6.19.2; those of Antonius: Fam. 11.28.7. In general cf. Fustel, 210; Mommsen, RG III, 528 [ = V , 391J. 353 Cf. supra p. 67f. 354 Serm. 2.6.31. 355 Hor. Serm. 1.6.55ff. (60: respondes, ut tuus est mos, pauca: abeoy et reuocas nono post mense iubesque esse in amicorum numero) Serm. 2.6.40: septimus octauo propior iamfugerit annus, ex quo Maecenas me coepit habere suorum in numero. O n in numero cf. p. 68 n. 79, 83. 356 Cic. Fam. 7.5.1, 7.17.7. Trebatius was one of many men commended by Cicero (QF 2.13.3, 3.1.10). 357 Diod. 37.5.1.
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were laid out by the senate on provincial government. How large a share he gave his followers then depended on the governor.359 In campaigns that brought in a lot of booty, large profits naturally came to the friends as well. Catullus airs his anger in very crude fashion because in 56 C. Memmius let him return to Rome with empty pockets, especially as he had to see how Mamurra, an eques from Formiae, brought home millions from his service with Caesar.360 It can have been only a feeble comfort for him that two friends in the retinue of Piso, Caesar's father-in-law, had fared no better than himself.361 C. Gracchus had already maintained that the wine-jars usually came back from the provinces filled with gold and silver,362 and Q. Scaevola, the consul of 117, sarcastically replied to Septumuleius, who had once received the weight of C. Gracchus' head in gold and was now seeking a place as an officer, that he ought to stay in Rome, where he could earn more gold after his own fashion.363 Hence Cornelius Nepos praises Atticus for being above a customary means of self-enrichment, because he never accompanied a magistrate to a province.364 Nevertheless Atticus found it quite in order that Cicero should put Brutus' agent in charge of a squadron of cavalry so that in this capacity he could extort usurious interest from the cities of Cyprus.365 Apart from such favours the protector was especially obliged to 358 Mommsen, Staatsr. I, 296. The uasarium served for equipment for the journey. No accounts had to be rendered for it. Ibid. 298 n. 1: Cicero saved HS 2,200,000 saluis legibus. For administrative expenditure a lump sum was allotted. There savings were easy enough. 359 Cic. Fam. 5.20.7. These were heneficia. According to 2 Verr. 1.36 the cohors praetoria was paid by the quaestor along with the army and the legates. Cicero's cohors complained because he did not want to use up the whole sum: they thought all the extra money should have been divided amongst them (Mommsen, Staatsr. I, 300 n. 4; Cic. Fam. 3.8.3: liberalitas from the public purse is less under Cicero than under Ap. Claudius). 360 CatulL 10.12, 28.9, 29, 57; cf. also Cic. Att. 7.7.1, Plin. NH 36.48. 361 Catull. 28, 47; Münzer, RE 6.1944. 362 Gell. 15.12.4, Plut. C. Grac. 2.10. 363 Cic. Je or. 2.269. Cf. also 2 Verr. 2.29. 364 Ncp. Att. 6.4. 365 Cic. Att. 6.2.9, 5.21.10, 6.1.3, 6.3.7.
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commend his friend in election campaigns. In 193 the elder Africanus led his cousin Nasica about to commend him.366 Ser. Galba, the consul of 144, accompanied P. Crassus, a candidate for the aedileship, later consul in 131.367 Pompeius commended Lepidus for the consulship of 78.368 In 50 Caesar travelled to Italy to bespeak the augurate for his quaestor M. Antonius in municipia and colonies.369 When the question of Cicero's return from exile was raised, magistrates and private citizens visited the municipia and colonies to gather votes for his recall.370 In 54 Varro and Q. Axius accompanied the aedilician candidates in whom they were interested to the polls. There, after the voting, they met the consul Ap. Claudius in the uilla publica. He was present as augur, but was also supporting a candidate.371 Augustus, who behaved in a thoroughly republican way in such matters, Vent round the tribes with his candidates and spoke for them in the usual way'. 372 The contrast with the dictator Caesar is most characteristic. Caesar prepared his recommendations to the tribes in writing, without salutation.373 The famous men who insisted on taking such trouble knew very well what they were about. It was precisely Caesar and Pompeius, 'the
366 Liv. 35.10.9. 367 Cic. de or. 1.239. 368 Plut. Pomp. 15.1. He was not allowed to enter Rome to commend Pupius Piso (cos. 61) because he had not yet triumphed (Plut. Pomp. 44.1); he would hear nothing of a consulship for Milo on the other hand, commending instead his own candidate (Cic. QF 3.8.6; cf. Ascon. 30). 369 Hirt. BG 8.50.1. 370 Cic. red. sen. 31. In Cic. Fatn. 2.6 Curio is asked to work for Milo's consulship. (In 2.6.3 Cicero speaks of nostra suffragatio.) In 11.16.2 D. Brutus is urged to commend L. Aelius Lamia for the praetorship. Here again the assertion of Rosenberg (Unters, z. r'om. Zenturienverf., 80) that at the elections all the activity of those concerned was concentrated on the city of Rome is shown to be false. Apart from the evidence just cited, mention should also be made of Cic. Mur. 42, Att. 1.1.2 and Liv. 7.15.12f. on theplebiscitum Poetelium: eaque rogatione nouorum maxime hominum ambitionem, qui nundinas et conciliabula obire soliti erant, conpressam credeban C. Gracchus made speeches circum conciliabula (Gell. 1.7.7). 371 Varro RR 3.2.1, 3.2.2, 3.7.1, 3.17.1 and 10. 372 Suet. Aug. 56.1; Mommsen, Staatsr. II, 926. 373 Suet. Iul. 41.2: Caesar dictator Uli tribui. commendo uobis ilium et ilium, ut uestro suffragio suam dignitatem teneant. I have expressed my opinion of Rosenberg's interpretation of this passage above, p. 58 n. 29.
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two most powerful men', who 'had embraced all the young nobiles'.374 In the picture which people formed of the great men of the past, they were just as inseparably attached to their friends as to their clients. For Cicero's Cato there was no memory fairer than that of Cn. and P. Scipio, the consuls of 222 and 218, L. Aemilius Paullus, cos. 219 and 216, and P. Africanus surrounded by their circle of young nobiles375 Just as Polybius describes the position of Laelius with Scipio,376 so Ennius already tells of the friend of P. Servilius Geminus, cos. 252 and 248: with him he can share everything, his table, his serious and his cheerful thoughts, for he is full of understanding and knows the right moment to speak and to be silent.377 Cicero, who came from a family of the municipal nobility at Arpinum famous for its proper way of thinking,378 was first of all brought by his father to Q. Mucius Scaevola the Augur, cos. 117, after whose death he attached himself to Q. Scaevola the Pontifex, cos. 95. 379 His uncle, L. Cicero, had already been contubernalis to Antonius, the famous orator and consul of 99, when the latter governed Cilicia in 102. Through this connection the young Marcus also acquired access to him.380 Thus from the first he moved entirely in consular circles,381 and as early as 80 he speaks of his future political activity as of something to be taken for granted.382 In 78 he visited Rutilius Rufus at Smyrna.383 In his youth Caelius Rufus attached himself to Cicero and Crassus and under their tuition formed himself as a forensic speaker and politician. Later he followed the proconsul Q. Pompeius to Africa, where he became acquainted with provincial administration and
374 Cic. Fam. 2.15.4: postremo non tarn mea sponte quam potentissimorum duorum exemplo, qui omnis Cassios Antoniosque complexi sunt, hominem adulescentem non tarn allicere uolui quam alienate nolui. 375 Cic. Cato mat. 29. 376 Pol. 10.3.2,10.9.1; Liv. 30.33.2. 377 In Gell. 12.4.4=4»». 7.232V. 378 Leg. 3.36. 379 Lael. 1, Brut. 306. 380 De or. 2.2; Groebe, RE 1.2591. 381 Plut. Cic. 3.2. 382 Rose. Am. 3. 383 Rep. 1.13, Brut. 85.
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also inspected his father's estates. After his return he made a name for himself by his prosecution of C. Antonius, Cicero's erstwhile colleague in the consulship.384 The surviving correspondence between him and his protector, together with Cicero's speech in his defence, shows us how scrupulously both parties cultivated their mutual relations. Cicero's relationship with C. Curio and P. Crassus was similar.385 It could be said in commendation of M. Terentius Varro, who became quaestor in 46, that he had attached himelf to Cicero at the very beginning of his forensic career and had done him good service during his involuntary stay at Brundisium.386 Thus the tie ofamicitia pervades the entire period of the republic, as far back as our knowledge goes.
6. F I N A N C I A L
OBLIGATION
In his speech in the senate on January 1st. 43, Cicero demanded energetic measures against Antonius. Nobody may still say: 'He is my friend, he is my kinsman, he has given me money.'387 The juxtaposition of two recognised forms of relationship with financial obligation is characteristic of the age, and our investigation will discover a wealth of material in this state of affairs. I have already explained how political activity required economic independence and how in consequence the senatorial order developed into a class of great landowners.388 Mommsen showed how already in the last years of the Hannibalic War a 'disproportionate influence' of the aedilician games can be discerned at the elections.389 That the economic superiority of the ruling class was exploited in this way needs no explanation. It is the fault of our sources that we know nothing of the subject for an earlier period. Only the notice that in 264 a distinguished man was for thefirsttime honoured at his death 384 385 386 387 388 389
Cic. Cael. 9, 72-4. Brut. 280-2, Fam. 2.1-6, 5.8.4,13.16.21. Fam. 13.10.2f. Cf. in general also the remarks of Q. Cicero, supra p. 54fF. Phil. 5.6. Cf. supra p. 25. Staatsr. I, 532.
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390
with gladiatorial games sheds some light. For it was not only the dead who were intended to enjoy such entertainments. In Polybius' day a gladiatorial show cost 30 talents 'if one wanted to give it on a grand scale'.391 The object of the exercise is most clearly demonstrated by Caesar, who at once used the death of his daughter to promise the people a gladiatorial show and a banquet, which was previously unheard of.392 Cicero regards the 'brilliant aedileship* as a necessity. But it should be in keeping with one's financial resources.393 Mam. Aemilius Lepidus, later cos. 11 > failed at the first attempt because he had never been aedile. Sulla had to stand twice for the praetorship, because the people had expected from him, the good friend of Bocchus, a dazzling display of wild beasts, but instead he had missed out the aedileship altogether. The second time he bought himself the necessary number of votes.394 A distribution of oil to the people is recorded for the first time during the aedileship of the elder Africanus in 213.395 Again in 190 the consular Acilius Glabrio, a new man, had high hopes of the censorship, because he had obliged a large number of the voters by distributing gifts of produce. His fellow candidates, some nobiles and Cato, engineered a tribunician prosecution against him for malversation of booty. Cato, who had taken part in the campaign as a military tribune, stated in evidence that the gold and silver vessels from the captured royal camp had not been carried in the triumph. Acilius declared that this was 'shameful perjury', but withdrew his candidature. Thus although the people did not condemn him, his rivals had achieved their aim.396 In 174 T. Flamininus celebrated games lasting four days in honour of his dead father. On three days a total of 74 gladiators appeared. Apart from these contests there were distributions of meat, public feasting 390 Liv. per. 16, Val. Max. 2.4.7; cf. Münzer, RE 7.239. 391 Pol. 31.28.6. 392 Suet. Iul. 26.2. 393 Off 2.57f. 394 Plut. Sull. 5.1-4; Mommsen, Staatsr. I, 541 n. 2. 395 Liv. 25.2.8. Pol. 10.5.6 calls him [teyaXoScopos on that account. Cf. Rostovtzeff, RE 4.875ff.f s.v. 'congiarium'. 396 Liv. 37.57.10ff.
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and theatrical shows.397 The countless trials for ambitus of a later period show the commonplace nature of such methods of winning the electors' favour. The two Ciceronian speeches discussed earlier (the Pro Murena and the Pro Plancio) give a lively picture of what was then achieved in this field.398 The economic consequences of this state of affairs have already been dealt with above.399 As the capital of senators was primarily tied up in land, the running up of debts to make a political career was for many a necessity. Before the consular elections for 53 the interest rate rose from 4 j>er cent to 8 per cent.400 On this soil such a man as Verres throve. His father was a senator, who is labelled a parvenu.401 The son, in 84, was quaestor to the consul Carbo, went over to Sulla, and is alleged to have made off with HS 600,000 in the process.402 Sulla sent him to Beneventum and later granted him some estates in the region, confiscated from the proscribed. In 80 and 79 he was legate and proquaestor of Dolabella in Cilicia. He escaped punishment for the numerous crimes he committed there by appearing as a prosecution witness at Dolabella's trial for repetundae.*05 Cicero knows nothing of a tribunate or aedileship. He brought home enough money from Cilicia to buy himself the urban praetorship of 74 and silence his accusers by paying them HS 300,000 each.404 Already at this stage in his career he had extorted a fortune, but he became famous only with his three-year governorship of Sicily. He was often heard to say that the proceeds of the first year were his profits, the second year belonged to his protectors and the third to the jury. 405 The sum for which Cicero prosecuted him amounted to HS 40,000,000.406 397 Liv. 41.28.11. 398 Cf. supra p. 57ff. 399 Cf. supra p. 23f. 400 Cic. QF 2.14.4, Att. 4.15.7. 401 Cic. 2 Verr. 2.95,1 Verr. 23, 25. 402 2 Verr, 1.34ff. 403 Münzer, RE 4.1298. 404 Cic. 2 Verr. 1.101,4.45.1 need not point out that these assertions of Cicero's have no documentary value. But they show what was considered possible. 405 1 Verr. 40. 406 1 Verr. 56.
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Verres was protected by his distinguished connections. The great men 'adorned their station with his silver*. For such purposes they needed men who were so compromised that they could survive only under powerful protection.407 More precise information is available only for his relationship with the three Metelli. He had even succeeded in establishing ties of kinship with them.408 He could boast that he had helped Q. Metellus to the consulship of 69.409 For he was master of the comitia thanks to his skill in bribery.410 The chief value of his support at the elections was that he gave it at his own expense. He made HS 500,000 available to try to prevent Cicero's election as aedile for 69.411 It should be noted that by Roman standards these Metelli were thoroughly honest magistrates.412 The difficulties experienced by three brothers of similar age in amassing the necessary capital for elections drove them to turn to a Verres. Outlay on elections goes back to the earliest period for which we have evidence. In a speech delivered in 164 Cato prides himself on never having distributed his own or the allies' money on canvassing | at elections.413 Polybius remarks on the corruption in ruling circles on the occasion of the truce which T. Flamininus granted in 197 to king Philip after the battle of Cynoscephalae and which was ascribed by the Aetolian League to Macedonian bribery.414 It was the generally accepted custom at that time in Greece that nobody did anything without getting paid for it, and the Aetolians, he says, were unacquainted with Roman practice on this point. Before the wars overseas nothing of the kind was to be expected of any Roman, as long as Rome maintained its own customs. In his own time Polybius can no longer say the same of one and all, but he is still convinced 407 2 Verr. 3.8. He presented Hortensius with an ivory sphinx (Plut. Cic. 7.8). 408 2 Verr. 2.64, 138. The details are not given. 409 1 Verr. 29. 410 1 Verr. 25. 411 1 Verr. 23. 412 In particular Cicero praises Verres' successor in Sicily, except insofar as he was hampered by consideration for Verres (2 Verr. 2.63, 140, 3.43-46 etc.; cf. Münzer, RE 3.1205). 413 ORF* fr. 173. 414 18.34rT. Cf. also 6.56.13rt".
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of the reliability of the majority on this score. He does however praise a law which punished bribery at the elections with death.415 Bribery of senators, 'primarily of the needy', was carried out on a large scale for the first time by Timarchus, a diplomat in the service of Antiochus IV.416 This Timarchus was afterwards recognised by the senate as king of Babylon in opposition to Demetrius I, a case just like that ofJugurtha later.417 The greater the wealth that could be concentrated in the hands | of individuals, the more the struggle for political power was transj formed into a problem o£finance.The emergence of this motif in \ j politics gives the last decades of the republic their peculiar character. C. Cotta, the consul of 75, announces in Sallust that his oratory, his counsel and his purse had stood at every man's disposal.418 M. Crassus, 'the nobilis of greatest wealth and greatest power',419 had, in contrast to Pompeius, the ever victorious general, won his position by defending men in the courts, lending them money and supporting them at elections.420 He lent to his friends without interest, but was strict when it came to recovering the principal.421 His intervention on behalf of Caesar is well-known. In 61, after his praetorship, Caesar wanted to go as proconsul to Hispania Ulterior but was being detained by his creditors, who laid claim to his governor's paraphernalia. Crassus stood surety for 830 talents.422 The majority of senators were indebted to him in this way. This was why an outraged senate declared that the report that Crassus had been involved with Catilina was a slander. The richest man thus | became the most powerful, because by lending money he could put \ | most politicians under an obligation. 'The first man in the state/ 415 6.56.4. Apparently not otherwise recorded. Cf. Lange, I, 717. 416 Diod. 31.27a from Polybius. 417 Willrich, RE 4.2796; Niese, III, 247. 418 Hist. 2.47.4M. 419 Sail. Cat. 48.5. 420 Plut. Crass. 7.4. 421 Plut. Crass. 3.1. 422 Plut. Crass. 7.6, Caes. ll.lf.; Suet. IuL 18.1 (without naming Crassus). According to App. BC 2.8.26 Caesar is alleged to have said (a<jlv ccvrov CITTCLV) that his liabilities exceeded his assets by HS 25,000,000. On the relationship between Crassus and Caesar cf. Ferrero, II, 547 [=1, 334f.J.
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so Crassus* doctrine went, 'must be able to maintain an army from his revenues.'423 The master in this field was in the end, however, not Crassus but Caesar. He understood just as well how to make other men's money serve his purpose as to make others work for him with his own. Whether before his quaestorship he already had debts of 1,300 talents, as Plutarch says,424 need not be discussed. As curator of the Appian Way he made a very large contribution to expenses out of his own pocket. During his year as aedile in 65 he adorned the public buildings handsomely, and his games and wild beast shows were so brilliant that his colleague Bibulus was completely forgotten. Caesar also used his aedileship to give gladiatorial games in honour of his father, who had died twenty years before. The preparations for these were on such a large scale that a special decree of the senate was passed 4on the number of gladiators'. He eventually put on 320 pairs.425 In 63 he was elected pontifex tnaximus, defeating Servilius Isauricus and Catulus. He had to expend lavish sums on bribery. Catulus hoped that he could profit from Caesar's debts and offered him a substantial sum if he withdrew. But Caesar secured new loans and refused. Now he obviously had to win, otherwise his credit would be at an end. On the day of the election he said to his mother: 'Today you will see your son either pontifex maximus or a fugitive.'426 In the same year he was elected praetor for 62. After Crassus had saved him from his creditors in 61 he went off to Spain. There he provoked the Lusitani, in order to win by a campaign the military glory that would help him to the consulate. His soldiers hailed him as imperator, whilst he himself grew rich and was able to give his men a donative.427 Cicero already knew on December 5th. 61 that Caesar wanted to 423 Cic. off. 1.25, paral 45; Plut. Crass. 2.9. 424 Caes. 5.8. 425 Plut. Caes. 5.9, Suet. Iul. 10.2, Dio 37.8.2. 426 Plut. Caes. 7.1^, Suet. Iul 13, Sail. Cat. 49.3. 427 Dio 37.52.1ff., Plut. Caes. 12, App. BC 2.8.27. Suetonius (54.1) read in contemporary pamphlets that he had 'begged' money from the subjects to satisfy his creditors and had plundered some Lusitanian towns without any justification. Cf. FCITCTO, I, 4281=1, 277f.J. 9
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ally himself at the consular elections for 59 with L. Lucceius, who was also a candidate. Bibulus, the third candidate, had the same thing in mind.428 When Caesar returned in 60 he made an arrangement with Lucceius, by which Lucceius, who was very rich but much less popular with the voters than Caesar, should promise money for votes in both their names. When the optimates heard this, they clubbed together to raise as large a sum on behalf of Bibulus; even Cato maintained that this was done in the interests of the state. The result was that Bibulus and Caesar were elected.429 -** It is not necessary to believe all the stories about Caesar's consulate which a hostile propaganda put into circulation, such as that he stole 3,000 lbs. of gold from the Capitol and substituted gilded copper. But it cannot be doubted that he accepted money without scruple for negotiating treaties with foreign princes. For the recognition of Ptolemy XII he is alleged to have shared 6,000 talents with Pompeius.430 At all events the sums procured for the king on this occasion by the Roman financier C. Rabirius Postumus were substantial.431 To recover his money Rabirius then became Egyptian minister of finance.432 According to Cicero he did not achieve his object. He had no share in Gabinius' 10,000 talents (= HS 240,000,000 = 60,000,000 denarii). Caesar took over his obligations to his own numerous creditors, and it was to Caesar alone that he owed his salvation.433 When Caesar came to Alexandria in 48 in pursuit of Pompeius, he had a claim for 17,500,000 denarii on Auletes' heirs. The collection of this money was the principal object of his stay.434 Further treaties of alliance with cities and princes were arranged in 59 by the tribune Vatinius.435 It was common knowledge, however, that Vatinius was paid by Caesar for everything he did.436 We can see why Caesar needed so much money. 428 Cic. Att. 1.17.11. 429 Suet. Iul. 19. 430 Suet. M. 54.3. 431 Cic. Rab. Post. 4ff. 432 Ibid. 22. Cf. also QF 2.2.3; Ferrero, II, 115 [[=11, 81]. 433 Cic. Rab. Post. 21, 30ff., 41. 434 Plut. Caes. 48.8, Dio 42.9.1, 42.34.1. Ferrero, II, 429 [=11, 255J suggests, no doubt rightly, that fresh extortion from a people already squeezed dry provoked the great revolt. 435 Cic. Vat. 29, Fam. 1.9.7, Att. 2.9.1. 436 Cic. Vat. 29, 38.
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In 58 Caesar went to his province, and from then on the gold of Gaul won him friends. Matius alone could boast that he had not been made captive by 'the sweetness of money'.437 In most cases riches piled up in the hands of his adherents in Gaul: Labienus, Mamurra, Balbus.438 He made loans to his entire entourage and to the majority of senators, together with their wives, either entirely free of interest or at a moderate rate.439 Among these senators was Cicero, to whom Caesar loaned HS 800,000.440 This debt was a great discomfort to his sense of propriety when in December 50 he had to choose between Caesar and Pompeius. If he were to give the best advice for his country in the senate, he could expect Balbus to stop him at the door with a 'Pay back the money, please.'441 But Caesar was just as generous towards men of other classes, who came to him either by invitation or on their own initiative. He gave lavishly even to freedmen and slaves, if their masters approved or were to be won over in the process. He was the refuge of all spendthrifts.442 Cicero sent his young friend Trebatius off to Gaul 'to be gilded by Caesar'.443 Balbus assured Cicero that Trebatius would come home rich. Cicero hoped that he was speaking as a Roman and not as a Stoic, to whom all men were rich who enjoyed heaven and earth.444 There was disappointment at Rome when the news came that in Britain there was neither gold nor silver, only slaves.445 Caesar doubled the pay of his soldiers.446 He raised new legions 437 Cic. Fam. 11.28.2. 438 Cic. Att. 7.7.6; Catull. 29, 57. 439 Plut. Pomp. 51.3, Suet. Iul. 27.1, Cic. Phil 2.78. 440 Cic. Att. 5.4.3. In 54 he already speaks of Caesar's liberalitas to him and his brother (Fam. 1.9.18). 441 Att. 7.3.11,7.8.5: est emmafjLOpov avTi7ro\iT€voii€vov xp^io^eiXerrjv esse. 442 Suet. Iul. 27.2, Dio 40.60.4, Cic. Att. 7.3.5. 443 Fam. 7.13A: moriar ni, quae tua gloria est, puto, te malic a Caesare eonsuli quam inaurari. 444 Fam. 7.16.3, 7.17.1. Caesar sent witty thanks for the dispatch of the jurist: negat enim in tanta multitudine eorum qui cssent quemquam fuisse qui uadimonium concipere posset: implying the lack not only of legal skill but also of economic resources (QF 2.15a.3). 445 Cic. Att. 4.17.6, Fam. 7.7A; cf. Catull. 29.4. 446 Suet. Iul 26.3.
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out of his private means and so came close to fulfilling Crassus' requirement.447 He put the gold from the plundered Gallic temples on offer in Italy and the empire at HS 3,000 per lb.448 He bestowed his riches freely on princes, provinces and cities, in order to extend his clientelae.449 The power that Caesar had built up for himself in this fashion was most strikingly displayed in spring 56. After he had visited Illyricum,450 friends from Rome met him as far north as Aquileia to ascertain his opinion on certain private matters.451 At Ravenna he had talks with Crassus,452 and then, at Luca, met Pompeius, who was on the way to Sardinia^n his capacity as curator annonae453 Here all the Roman politicians called on him whom he had already obliged or who hoped for his support in their plans. Some hundred and twenty lictors with their fasces were to be seen, and more than two hundred senators.454 The chief object was to prevent Caesar's opponent L. Domitius Ahenobarbus from becoming consul in the next year.455 By the terms of the agreement Pompeius and Crassus got themselves elected, then in their consulate arranged the prorogation of Caesar's command for five years.456 At this time Caesar's political exertions were directed at achieving the certainty that during his absence from Rome the magistracies would be manipulated to his advantage. Some men had to guarantee their devotion to him under oath and in writing.457 The election scandal of 54 gives an insight into the detail of these intrigues. C. Memmius (the patron of Catullus and Lucretius), Cn. 447 Suet. Iul 24.2. In 56 the senate decided to provide pay for this private legion too (Cic. Fam. 1.7.10). But further new legions were being formed all the time. Cf. Drumann, Gesch. Roms2 III, 213, 247, with Groebe's list of the legions, 702. 448 Suet. Iul 54.2. 449 Suet. Iul 28.1. 450 BG 3.7.1. 451 Cic, Vat. 38. 452 Cic. Fam. 1.9.9. 453 Mommsen, Staatsr. II, 672. 454 App. BC 2.17.62, Plut. Caes. 21.3f., Pomp. 51.4f„ Cic. QF 2.4.6, 2.13.3. 455 Cic. Att. 4.8a.2. 456 Suet. Iul 24.1. 457 Suet. Iul 23.2.
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Domitius Calvinus, M. Valerius Messalla and M. Aemilius Scaurus were standing for the consulship of 53. 458 As praetor in 58 C. Memmius had, with his colleague L. Domitius Ahenobarbus, passed comment in the senate on the illegality of Caesar's conduct during his consulship. At that time Caesar had published replies to Memmius' cutting speeches in the same tone,459 but now he was supporting his candidature with all his power.460 It was at this point that the rate of interest rose from 4 per cent to 8 per cent. 'Money is evening out the merits of the candidates,' Cicero wrote. In July he already knew that Memmius had formed a coalition for the election with Domitius Calvinus and the two consuls of the year, Ap. Claudius Pulcher and L. Domitius Ahenobarbus. In the meantime, however, the deal fell through and Memmius' chances dropped.461 Therefore in September, on Pompeius' advice, he recited the detailed agreement which he had concluded with Calvinus and the consuls. By its terms both candidates pledged themselves, when elected, to pay the consuls HS 4,000,000 each if they failed to provide them with a forged lex curiata and a forged decree of the senate on the appropriations for their consular provinces.462 They further promised HS 10,000,000 to the century which voted first.463 Caesar took no pleasure in these revelations and withdrew his support from Memmius.464 It was not until July 53 that Calvinus and Messalla were 458 Cic. QF 2.14.4. 459 Suet, M 23.1, 49.2, 73; Schol. Bob. 130,146St. 460 Cic. Att. 4.15.7, 4.16.6: Caesar's soldiers home on leave will vote for him, also Pompeius* clients in Gaul. On the detachment of soldiers for electoral purposes cf. Dio 39.31.2, Plut. Pomp. 58.1. 461 Cic. Att. 4.17.3. 462 It appears from this that the provinces they wanted were disputed from another quarter; cf. next note. 463 Cic. Att. 4.17.2, QF 2.14.4, 3.1.16; App. BC 2.19.69, who gives the sum at stake as 800 talents = 4,800,000 denarii, which by the customary calculation gives HS 19,200,000. Cicero has uti atnbo HS quadragena consulibus darent, which is probably to be interpreted as HS 40 x 100,000 each. Appian has obviously added together the two figures in Cicero. He also says that the consuls were being prevented by the dynasts from obtaining provinces and had therefore wanted to make some money out of the election of their successors. On Appius* plans cf. Cic. Att. 4.18.4, Fam. 1.9.25, QF 3.2.3. 464 Cic. Att. 4.17.3, QF 3.8.3: here Cicero says he is prepared to stand surety for Messalla to Caesar (in November 54).
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at last elected.465 Memmius, however, was condemned in 52 on the ground of his canvass,466 and retired to Athens.467 Lange conjectures, probably rightly, that Memmius had had to give Caesar assurances about his dangerous opponent L. Domitius Ahenobarbus and had wanted to obtain a hold over Domitius through this compromising agreement.468 This makes it intelligible why Caesar took no further interest in Memmius after the whole affair became known.469 We learn more details in 51, when Caesar succeeded in winning Curio to his side. Like Memmius, Curio had in 59 been a passionate opponent of Caesar and a joy and comfort to Cicero.470 In 51 he was elected tribune. On AugusHst. Caelius hoped that he would attach himself to 'those of sound views', because it had offended him deeply that Caesar, who usually paid any price for the friendship even of the lowest, took no notice of him.471 So Caesar had to dig deeper into his pocket to secure this valuable talent. One writer speaks of HS 10,000,000,472 others of taking over his debts, which on one account473 are alleged to have totalled HS 60,000,000.474 I am inclined to believe Cicero, who says that Curio would have left Caesar in the lurch without a qualm as soon as it seemed profitable to him.475 In addition, one of the consuls of 50, L. Aemilius Paullus,476 let himself be persuaded by 1,500 talents (= HS 36,000,000) to a benevolent neutrality. He had clearly fallen into financial straits as a result of his aedileship, which he devoted to a magnificent rebuilding of the basilica Aemilia.*77 465 Dio 40.17.1; Münzer, RE 5.1420. 466 App. BC 2.24.93. 467 Cic. Att. 5.11.6, Fam. 13.1-3. 468 III, 345. 469 Domitius' speeches in June 54 fit this assumption well (QF 2.13.3). 470 Att. 2.7.3, 2.8.1, 2.12.2, 2.18.1, 2.24.2; Fam. 2,1.2; Suet. IuJ. 50.1. 471 Cic. Fam. 8.4.2. 472 Veil. 2.48.4. 473 Val. Max. 9.1.6. 474 Dio 40.60.3, Plut. Caes. 29.3, Pomp. 58.2, Suet. M 29.1, App. BC 2.26.101. 475 Att. 10.7.3,10.8.2; Fam. 2.13.3. 476 Klebs, RE 1.564f., no. 81. 477 Cic. Att. 4.17.7 (54 B.C.), Plin. NH 36.102, App. BC 2.26.101, Plut. Cacs. 29.3. C(. Hülsen, RE 1.540f., s.v. 'Aemilia basilica'.
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Before Caesar undertook his expedition to Spain in 49 he borrowed a large sum from his military tribunes and centurions, which he distributed at once to the troops. 'By so doing,' he remarks himself, 'he achieved two things: he bound the centurions to him by means of the loan and by his expenditure he purchased the good will of the soldiers/478 After his return from Alexandria in 47 he applied the same method all over Italy. Not only did he allow himself to be presented with statues and crowns, he accepted loans from individuals and communities for public purposes, as he put it. Thus he could oppose the desire for a remission of debts and won over a large number to support of his rule.479 His election maxim ran: two things establish, maintain and increase a man's predominance— soldiers and money—and each multiplies the other.480 This was the principle on which he acted. To counter the great mutiny of the legions in Campania he at once distributed public land as well as his own to all the soldiers.481 After promising HS 2,000 to each man at the beginning of the civil war, he raised the sum after every victory, so that at his triumph in 46 he paid out HS 24,000.482 During the African campaign he was able to tempt many of his opponents' troops to desert by promising them an amnesty and the same rewards as his own men if they joined his service. Thereupon Scipio tried the same device of distributing leaflets in Caesar's camp, but without success—not, as Dio maliciously remarks, because none of Caesar's men would have been prepared to go over, but because Scipio promised no rewards, simply urging them to liberate the senate and people.483 Usually the Pompeians showed greater understanding in these matters. At least L. Domitius Ahenobarbus, who had more than thirty cohorts in Corfinium, promised each soldier four iugera of his own property, with proportionate lots for centurions and veteran levies.484 Pompeius himself 478 BC 1.39.3f. 479 Dio 42.50.2ff. 480 Dio 42.49.4. 481 Dio 42.54.1. 482 Suet. IuL 38.1; Dio 43.21.3, who has only 5,000 drachmae=HS 20,000. Cf. App. BC 2.92.387. 483 Dio 43.5.3. 484 Caes. BC 1.17.4, Dio 41.11.1.
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took this course to secure the consulate of 60 for his ptotigi L. Afranius; indeed the distributors are alleged to have lived in the house of the consul M. Pupius Piso.485 During Caesar's consulship Cicero writes in general terms that it looked as if the three dynasts wanted to leave nobody any further opportunity for 'liberality'.486 In 56 Crassus and Pompeius bought the praetorship for Vatinius.487 Pompeius needed the civil war to fill his coffers just as much as Caesar did; this was not only Cicero's opinion,488 but also that of Ser. Sulpicius Rufus,489 and Caesar attributes crushing debts in particular to Lentulus Crus.490 But the outcome justifies Ferrero iöiregarding Caesar above all as the gran corruttore.491 Sallust already says precisely this. After a long interval he once more encountered in Rome two men of outstanding uirtus but differing manner of life, M. Cato and C. Caesar. 'Caesar was deemed great because of his benefactions and his liberality, Cato on account of the purity of his conduct. Caesar gained glory by giving, helping, forgiving, Cato by giving nothing.'492 Despite this liberality, however, Caesar knew as well as other Romans the right occasion to recall his earlier kindnesses and services.493 In his narrative of the surrender of Corfmium he makes P. Lentulus Spinther speak of his previous friendship with Caesar and of Caesar's services to him—the reader is left to assume that Spinther himself had never done anything for Caesar. Caesar adds: 'These benefits were of the greatest, for through Caesar Spinther had become a pontifex, through Caesar he had received Spain after his praetorship and had obtained help in his candidature for the consulship.' When the prisoners were subsequently brought before Caesar, he pointed out in a few words how some of them had shown him no thanks for benefits of great magnitude.494 In 47 he speaks 485 486 487 488 489 491 493 494
Cic. Att. 1.16.12, Plut. Pomp. 44.4. Att. 2.18.1. Plut. Pomp. 52.3. Att. 9.10.6, 9.7.3 and 5; Fam. 7.3.2, 6.6.6. Att. 10.14.1. 490 BC 1.4.2. II, 67 [=11, 521. 492 Cat. 53.6fF. Cic. Att. 1.17.5; Fam. 5.7.2, 5.8, 5.5.2; tog. cand. ap. Ascon. 85; Fam. 5.2.3. Caes. BC 1.22, 23.
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495
in the same vein to Deiotarus. After the battle of Munda he made a speech at Hispalis on the ingratitude of the Spaniards and recounted to them in detail his services as magistrate and patron since his quaestorship.496
7. F A C T I O N S Hitherto we have been speaking in the main of relations between men of differing degrees of power. However, the co-operation of those of equal status was also often envisaged when support in the courts, at elections and in other political activities was required. To conclude I should like to deal with this side of political and social life. In order to secure his election a candidate was often compelled to form a coalition with another. An agreement between candidates for the purpose of mutual support against third parties was called coitio.*97 The way in which Cicero speaks of this indicates that it was a common phenomenon: in 64 Catilina and C. Antonius combined,498 in 60 Caesar and Lucceius, in 54 Memmius and Calvinus.499 The parties naturally contributed everything of which their connections were capable. Thus the rumour got about that Cicero too had a share in the coitio of 54. He denied it, of course, with great firmness : the arrangements, he said, were such that no respectable man could be involved, and moreover he was on equal terms with all the candidates, so that he could not lend a hand to exclude one of them.500 It was considered unsavoury if money played a part in the proceedings.501 Such temporary alliances were made between candidates who otherwise had nothing to do with each other. Neither Caesar nor Bibulus had had any ties with Lucceius before 61. 502 495 BAlex. 68.1. 496 BHisp. 42.1-3. His services to Gades: Cic. Balb. 43. 497 Liv. 39.41.1 uses wire of Cato's eight rivals for the censorship. 498 Ascon. 83. 499 The annalistic observations in Liv. 7.32.12, 9.26.9 no doubt stem from the same period. 500 QF 3.1.16. 501 Cic. parol 46. 502 Cic. Att. 1.17.11.
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Much more important was the enduring combination which the Romans called factio, the clique. Factio in the political sense always has a pejorative tone.503 Sallust makes a tribune say: 'The same desires, the same hatreds, the same fears brought them all together. Among good men this is friendship, among bad men a clique.'504 The Catilinarian conspirators are a faction.505 Cicero explains: 'When certain men control the state by virtue of their wealth, their distinction or of any form of power, this is a faction, but they call themselves aristocrats (optimates).'506 The best-known example is the coalition of the three 'dynasts' Caesar, Pompeius and Crassus, who came together in December 60. First Caesar came to an understanding with Pompeius, and then with Crassus. Cicero too was approached, but he refused, an attitude for which he was to pay dearly enough.507 On the strength of this alliance the three men were able for several years to suppress all other political forces, until Crassus' death made a new arrangement necessary. This was possible because they controlled the largest clientelae and circles of friends.508 In all his works Sallust puts forward the view that factional politics first began after the destruction of Carthage.509 This is unhistorical.510 We meet factions as political forces as soon as a reliable tradition permits an insight into the details of the past. T. Quinctius Flamininus, who was consul in 198 at the age of thirty, obtained the command in the Macedonian War, and his imperium was continuously prorogued until 194.511 Polybius
503 Plautus uses it as 'tie of affinity': Trin. 452: cum nostra nostra non est aequa /actio, adfinitatem uobis aliam quaerite. 466: non esse aequiperahiks nostras cum nostris factiones atque opes. (Cf. also 497.) 490: deos decent opulentiae etfactiones. Cic. Fam. 5.8.5 wants his tie with Crassus to be regarded as ^/oedus. 504 BJ 31.14. Similarly Sallust's Catilina says: nam idem uelle atque idem nolle ea demumfirma amicitia est (Cat. 20.4). 505 Sail. Cat. 32.2. 506 Rep. 3.23. Thus Auct. Her. uses factiosus (2.40) and /actio (1.8). 507 Cic. Att. 2.3.3, 2.18.3, 2.19.5. 508 Dio 37.54.3, 37.57.2; Plut. Crass. 14.2. Their followers are called crcapetca or iratpiKa. Examples of how important men included friends and clients in promises: Cic. QF 1.2.16, Fam. 5.8.5, Att. 1.20.7. 509 Cat. 10.5, BJ41.1, Hist. 1.12M. 510 Liv. 7.32.12 is obviously evidence only for the late republic. 511 Liv. 34.52.2.
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emphasises more than once that he owed this to his friends at Rome. 512 We find him in 193 as the head of his faction at Rome, where he succeeded in obtaining the consulship for his brother Lucius against the opposition of the friends of Scipio.513 His election as censor marked a further victory over Scipio and at the same time over the faction of Cato.514 In revenge Cato expelled L. Quinctius from the senate when he was censor in 184.515 Titus demanded an explanation of this disgrace before the people, and Cato delivered the great speech in which he justified his action. By way of consolation Titus was able to get Cato's censorial contracts declared invalid by the senate, and when Lucius appeared in the theatre the people called him to sit among the consulars.516 In the same year, when Demetrius, the son of the Macedonian king, came to Rome on an embassy, Titus made private promises to the young man about the succession to the throne and so caused the prince's death.517 The elder Cato attained the military tribunate with the help of the patrician L. Valerius Flaccus, whose estate adjoined his own. On his own account he put many men under obligation to himself by defending them in court. Politically he attached himself to Q. Fabius Maximus and gave him vigorous support in the struggle against Scipio's modern line. As a member of this powerful circle he reached the higher offices, although he was a new man,518 and significantly his friend Valerius too was successful each time in the elections, for the consulship of 195 and the censorship of 184.519 Leafing through the history of these decades, one constantly comes upon factional struggles. The new man M \ Acilius Glabrio seems to have belonged to the Scipionic group, as Lange stresses. 520 As tribune in 201 he worked to enable Scipio to bring to an end the 512 513 514 515 516 517 518 519 520
Liv. 32.32.7; Pol. 18.10.7, 18.11.2. Liv. 35.10.8. Liv. 37.58.2. Liv. 39.42.5. Plut. Flam. 19. Pol. 23.3.8, Liv. 40.20.3. Plut. Cato mat. 3.1-4, Cic. Cato mat. 10. Liv. 33.47.7, 30.41.4; Pint. Cato mat. 10.1, 16.8. II, 233.
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war in Africa in which he had won the decisive battle.521 He was aedile with Laelius in 197,522 praetor with Laelius in 196.523 He stood for the consulate in 192 together with Laelius.524 The latter was a protege of Scipio,525 but was no more successful than Scipio's cousin Nasica. In 191, however, Acilius and Nasica were elected.526 In 189 Acilius had to abandon his candidature for the censorship. Nasica too was unsuccessful at that time. T. Flamininus and M. Marcellus527 were elected; that is, the Scipionic group was again defeated, as it had been in the consular elections of 193 by L. Flamininus and Cn. Ahenobarbus. For Acilius' factional allegiance his hostility to Cato is characteristic.528 In 190 C. Laelius and L. Scipio were consuls, the one the intimate friend, the other the notoriously incompetent brother of P. Africanus.529 M. Fulvius Nobilior was twice able to keep his opponent M. Aemilius Lepidus out of the consulship.530 Then, when Aemilius was eventually elected in 187, he had Fulvius accused before the senate by Ambraciot envoys and secured decrees of the senate to the effect that Ambracia should have full restoration.531 His colleague C. Flaminius resisted on behalf of Fulvius, as did the tribune Ti. Gracchus.532 The two opponents were elected together as censors for 179. A deputation of senators urged them to be reconciled, an act which was performed before the assembled people and subsequently praised in the senate.533 It is also worth noting on the sub521 Liv. 30.40.9, 30.43.2. 522 Liv. 33.25.2. 523 Liv. 33.24.2. 524 Liv. 35.10.3. 525 Liv. 35.10.10. 526 Liv. 35.24.5. 527 Liv. 37.57.10ff. 528 Liv. 37.57.13; cf. Lange, II, 224. Cf. also supra p. 111. 529 Pol. 10.3.2,10.9.1; Liv. 30.32.2. Mommsen, RG I, 7921=111,15], Münzer, RE 4.1472. The truth is preserved in App. Syr, 21, according to which the senate demanded that he appoint his brother as adviser for the war against the Great King Antiochus. 530 Liv. 37.47.6, 38.35.1. 531 Liv. 38.43.1, 38.44.3f., 39.4.8. 532 Liv. 38.43.8, 39.5.1 [a forgery by Valerius Antias (RE 22.123)]. 533 Liv. 40.45.6-46, Gell. 12.8.5.
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ject of this censorship that Aemilius had a dam built at Tarracina, a project which was looked on with disfavour because the censor had estates in the area and so was providing for his own advantage at the state's expense. In 189 Cn. Manlius Vulso had been elected along with Nobilior, and so he too was attacked by Lepidus in 187.534 The protest made by the commission of ten about Vulso's conduct of the war in Asia Minor is probably connected with this.535 With the help of his relatives and friends Manlius was able to parry the attack,536 and after his triumph his friends secured him the favour of the people by a decree of the senate whereby the outstanding portion of the compulsory loan that the state had raised for the war was to be paid out of the triumphal booty.537 The well-known trials of the Scipiones reveal a struggle between cliques. P. Africanus was twice able to quash the accusations,538 but eventually the position of the Scipiones was so shattered by a third attack on his brother that Cato could venture in 184 to deprive Lucius of the public horse.539 Since he did not expel him from the senate, this was pure malice,540 and it seems to me very credible that the entire furore against the Scipiones was the work of the Catonian faction, just like the humiliation of the Flaminini. This was a rumour already known to the ancient tradition recorded by Cornelius Nepos.541 In 185 the lot assigned the conduct of the elections to the consul Sempronius. Instead, however, his colleague Ap. Claudius came to Rome before him and supported his brother Publius in his canvass. The tribunes joined in the struggle on either side. Eventually Publius' election was accomplished.542 534 Liv. 38.42.10. 535 Liv. 37.55.7, 38.44.11, 38.50.3 where this behaviour is described as malignitas. 536 Liv. 38.50.2. 537 Liv. 39.7.5; Mommsen, Staatsr. Ill, 228 n. 4. 538 Pol. 23.14, Gell. 4.18. 539 Gell. 6.19, Liv. 39.44.1, vir. ill 53.2. On the trial cf. Münzer, RE 4.1474ff. [Cf. RE 22.123, 127.] 540 Presented as such by Plut. Cato mal 18.1; vir. ill 53.2. 541 Gcll. 4.18.7: Petillii quidam tribuniplebis a M.utaiunt Catone, inimico Scipionis, cotnparati. Cf. Münzer, RE 4.1479. 542 Liv. 39.32.13.
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The consuls of 182, L. Aemilius Paullus and Cn. Baebius Tamphilus, agreed that Baebius should hold the elections, because his brother Marcus was also a candidate for the consulship. He was duly elected.543 Paullus and Tamphilus had both previously failed in 185, which for Paullus had been his second unsuccessful candidature. Since he failed three times in all, he must have stood again for 183.544 His attitude to the Baebii seems to me to point to membership of the same faction. In 184 the two praetors C. Calpurnius Piso545 and L. Quinctius, who in 185 had won the great victory at the Tagus,546 asked for permission to bring home^their troops. Thereupon a great dispute arose in the senate between the newly elected praetors and the friends of the absent pair. Consuls and tribunes were divided in their opinions. In the end the absentees won. 547 The consul of 173, M. Popillius Laenas, was ordered by the senate to liberate the Ligurians he had sold into slavery and refund the price to the purchasers. In a great rage he came to Rome, threatened the praetor who had raised the matter of his conduct of the war, and demanded recognition from the senate of his claim to a supplicatio. He accomplished nothing and so returned to the province.548 His colleague Postumius Albinus held the elections and proclaimed Popillius' brother Gaius and P. Aelius Ligus consuls. Aelius raised the question of Liguria, but C. Popillius announced that he would veto any decree passed on the subject and brought his colleague over to his side. The senate assigned Liguria to both consuls.549 Meanwhile a letter arrived from M. Popillius, with news of the slaughter of a further 6,000 Ligurians. Thereupon the tribunes passed a plebiscite which threatened the consuls if they did not proceed to their province and instituted an enquiry directed against M. Popillius.550 Marcus handed over the army to his successor, but, 543 Liv. 40.17, 18. 544 Vir. ill. 56.1.
545 546 547 548 549 550
RE 3.1376. Liv. 39.30-31. Liv. 39.38.10. Liv. 42.8, 9. Liv. 42.10.11. Liv. 42.21.4-8.
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hated as he was by senate and people, he hesitated to present himself at Rome until a fresh plebiscite threatened him with condemnation in absence. He defended himself in two sessions before the praetor C. Licinius, who let himself be persuaded by the absent consul Gaius and the pleas of the Popillian family to fix as the date for the final hearing March 15th. On this day, however, the new magistrates had already entered office, and the enquiry was thus broken off once and for all.551 C. Popillius took as little notice as his brother of the instructions regarding the Ligurian slaves.552 A single family thus succeeded in riding roughshod over the decrees of senate and people. When C. Laelius stood for the consulship of 141, Scipio Aemilianus asked Q. Pompeius whether he too was thinking of standing. Pompeius replied that he would commend Laelius in the canvass. In fact, however, he commended himself and was elected, whilst Laelius failed. For Scipio this was sufficient reason to break with Pompeius for ever.553 He helped P. Rupilius to the consulate of 132, and intended to do the same for Rupilius' brother Lucius, but he did not succeed.554 For apart from Pompeius he was also on terms of enmity with Q. Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus, with whom P. Mucius Scaevola was allied in 132,555 and Scaevola's brother P. Licinius Crassus Mucianus was elected for 131. Now he, of course, was the father-in-law of C. Gracchus,556 and at that time, by the terms of Tiberius' agrarian law, was a triumvir in charge of assigning the public land, together with Ap. Claudius, the father-inlaw of Ti. Gracchus, and C. Gracchus himself.557 The brothers Scaevola and Crassus had originally both been close to Ti. Gracchus,558 and we hear nothing of later enmity. Although Metellus had been a strong opponent of Ti. Gracchus,5591 do not regard it as 551 552 553 554 555 556 557 558 559
Liv. 42.22.8. Liv. 42.28.3. Pint. mor. 200C, Cic. Lael 11. Cic. Lad 73, Tusc. 4.40; Plin. NH 7.122. Cf. also C. Fannius fr. 6P. Cic. rep. 1.31. Plut. Ti. Grac. 21.1, C. Grac. 15.2, 17.4. ILS 24, 26. Cic. Acad, prior. 2.13: aiunt Ti. Graccho auctorcs legtitn fuisse. Cic. Brut. 81, Plut. TL Grac. 14.2.
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impossible that with Mucius he supported the candidature of Crassus against Scipio. We know that Crassus' mind was by no means occupied solely with the agrarian question. In his consulate there was a war to be waged against Aristonicus. So as pontifex maximus he forbade his colleague, theflamen Martialis L. Valerius Flaccus, to absent himself from his sacral duties. Although the same arguments applied to himself, he succeeded in securing the command by a popular vote, whilst only two tribes voted for Scipio.560 Metellus and Pompeius too were mutual enemies,561 but just as they jointly attacked Ti. Gracchus in 133, so they had previously maintained in 136 that th£ consul L. Furius Philus,562 a member of the Scipionic group, was aiming to enrich himself in his Spanish province, whereupon he had forced them to accompany him as legates.563 The Gracchan upheaval, although it certainly did not have its origin in purely personal motives,564 contained elements of faction enough. The contribution of the fathers-in-law has already been mentioned. For 132 Ti. Gracchus wanted to get himself re-elected to the tribunate with his brother, whilst his father-in-law Appius was to become consul.565 After the deaths of the fathers-in-law M. Fulvius Flaccus and C. Papirius Carbo were elected to the landcommission.566 M. Fulvius had probably been driven into the Gracchan camp because the censors of 174 had erased his father from the list of the senate.567 C. Papirius Carbo was active as tribune in 131 in the spirit of the Gracchan programme of reform. But as consul in 120 he defended L. Opimius, who as consul in 121 had
560 Cic. Phil. 11.18; Liv. per. 59: P. Licinius Crassus cos., cum idem pontifex max. esset, quod numquam antea factum erat, extra Italiam profectus proelio uictus et occisus est Lange (III, 19) conjectures that L. Rupilius stood unsuccessfully against Crassus. 561 Cic. Font. 33. 562 Münzer, RE 7.360, no. 78. 563 Dio fr. 82, Val. Max. 3.7.5. 564 As was claimed by its opponents (Cic. har. resp. 43, Brut. 103; Veil. 2.2.1, Dio fr. 83.2). 565 Dio fr. 83.8. The original land-commission consisted of these three men (App. BC 1.13.55). 566 ILS 25. 567 This conjecture is put forward by Münzer, RE 7.241.
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been responsible for the death of C. Gracchus and many of his followers, and indeed put forward the view that this had been justified and for the good of the state.568 Nevertheless he was in the following year condemned as a Gracchan on the accusation of the young L. Crassus.569 C. Gracchus began his tribunate with two laws designed to avenge his brother on two specific persons. At the request of his mother he allowed the bill against M. Octavius to drop,570 but P. Popillius Laenas, the consul of 132, was compelled to go into exile.571 In the rise of Marius the only extraordinary feature is that he became consul despite the pretension of the nobility to exclude men of equestrian birth from the highest office. In other respects his career follows the usual pattern. He came from a land-owning family at Arpinum and grew up in the country without a Greek education.572 He served as an eques under Scipio at Numantia,573 attracted the attention of the general by his courage,574 and became so well known that when he stood for the military tribunate all the tribes voted for him. Like other equites he took an interest in public contracts.575 On reaching the required age he turned to politics. Of his quaestorship nothing is known. 576 The support of a Caecilius Metellus however,577 under whose protection his father had previously stood, helped him to the tribunate of 119, but he fell out with his benefactor over his law on voting procedure.578 It is perhaps as a result of this that he did not now advance so smoothly. On 568 Cic. de or. 2.106. 569 Cic. de or. 2.170, Fam. 9.21.3; Val. Max. 3.7.6. 570 Plut. C. Grac. 4.2, Diod. 34/5.25.2. 571 Plut. C. Grac. 4.2; Diod. 34/5.26; Cic. dorn. 82, leg. 3.26. 572 Sail. BJ 63.3. 573 Val. Max. 8.15.7, perhaps a contubernalis, since he reclines with Scipio at table (Plut. Mar. 3.4). 574 Plut. Mar. 3.13, Val. Max. 8.15.7. 575 Diod. 34/5.38. 576 Val. Max. 6.9.14: Arpinatibus honoribus iudicatus inferior quaesturam Romae petere ausus. That is rhetorical tittle-tatde. 577 According to Münzer (RE 3.1207f, no. 82) Q. Baliaricus, cos. 123, cens. 120. 578 Cic, leg. 3.38, Plut. Mar. 4.4 (with Münzer's conjecture). to
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one and the same day he failed at both aedilician elections.579 At the praetorian elections he secured only the last place and had to face a prosecution for bribery, in which he was acquitted by only half the jurors. This rather points to his guilt, since the verdict was delivered by members of his own order, not by senators. His friend Cassius Sabaco was expelled from the senate at the next census, because at the election his slave had insinuated himself among the voters inside the barriers. An electoral agreement with M. Aemilius Scaurus probably belongs to this period.580 After his praetorship he was assigned Hispania Ulterior. Although he was not rich, he was of sufficient standing on Jiis return to be able to marry Julia, a woman of the most ancient nobility.581 In 109 his friend582 Q. Metellus took him with him as a legate to the Jugurthine War and constantly entrusted him with the command whenever an independent mission had to be undertaken. Then in 108 the words of a soothsayer encouraged him to think of the consulship.583 He asked Metellus for leave to enable him to stand in the regular manner. Metellus amicably advised him not to expose himself to any such disgrace. But when Marius kept repeating his request, Metellus allegedly told him not to be in such a hurry: it would be time enough for him to stand for the consulship with Metellus' son, who was then about twenty years old.584 Marius was filled with rage, and now resorted to every means to reach his goal, using leniency in disciplinary matters among the soldiers and fine speeches to the numerous Roman businessmen at Utica about how with half the army he would have Jugurtha in chains inside a few days, whilst Metellus was deliberately prolonging his period of command. He promised Numidia to the half-witted pretender Gauda, whom Metellus had ignored. He brought it about by his speeches that the Roman equites and businessmen wrote to their contacts in Rome demanding 579 Plut. Mar. 5.3, Cic. Plane. 51. 580 Plin. NH 36.116: M. Scaurus pater totiens princeps ciuitatis et Mariani sodalieii rapinarum prouincialiutn sinus. These characteristics of the father are intended to throw light on the gross extravagances of the son. 581 Plut. Mar. 6.4. 582 Sail. BJ 58.5. 583 Sail. BJ 63. 584 SaU.fi/64.
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Marius as commander. At Rome agitation on behalf of Marius was thus taken up by a large and influential circle. At the same time the spirit of the lex Mamilia of 109, under which several distinguished men had been found guilty of taking bribes from Jugurtha and condemned, was still rampant.585 Since Marius was no longer performing any duties, Metellus at last gave him leave to go to Rome. 586 By the time of his arrival everything was admirably prepared. Men now extolled Marius* humble origins as they previously had Metellus' nobility. Revolutionary magistrates demanded that Metellus be put on trial. All craftsmen and farmers abandoned their work and attached themselves to Marius as an escort for the elections. So Marius obtained the consulship and by a special decree of the people the command in the Jugurthine War as well. His successes made him into the popular hero of the six consulships. However, when in 100 he was called on to show political skill as the head of a faction, he failed and sank into insignificance. The major part played by factions in all political struggles could be illustrated by further particular examples. Here I shall do no more than refer to one further typical factiosus of the later period, P. Cornelius Cethegus.587 He was outlawed in 88 by Sulla along with Sulpicius Rufus and Marius,588 but escaped.589 On Sulla's return in 83 he offered himself to him for every service.590 After Sulla's death too he occupied a prominent position in the ruling clique of the time, although he never became consul.591 Despite his unsavoury reputation the most distinguished men had to dance attendance on him and make him presents.592 Lucullus had great difficulty in securing the command in the Mithridatic War because he had fallen out with Cethegus. There was no other way for Lucullus to restore himself to favour but to pay court to Cethegus' mistress Praecia.593 585 586 587 588 589 590 591 592 593
Sail. BJ 65. Sail. BJ 73.2. Münzer, RE 4.1281. App. BC 1.60.271. App. BC 1.62.280, Plut. Mar. 40.4. App. BC 1.80.369. Cic. Brut. 178. Cic. parad. 40. Plut. Lucull. 5, 6.
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Some lively descriptions of the activities of the cliques survive. On the eve of the battle of Pharsalus nobody among the Pompeians was thinking about the result. All minds were focussed on the exploitation of the victory, which was taken for granted. They were squabbling over rewards and over the priesthoods, and establishing lists of future consuls. In particular a great dispute arose as to whether Lucilius Hirrus,594 who had been sent by Pompeius on an embassy to the Parthians, could be elected to the praetorship in his absence at the next elections. His friends demanded of Pompeius that he keep the promise made to Hirrus when he left, so that he might not appear to have been deceived by Pompeius' fiat. The rest, however, claimed that personal favour should not be shown where services were equal. L. Domitius Ahenobarbus, P. Cornelius Lentulus Spinther and Q. Caecilius Metellus Pius Scipio quarrelled daily over the succession to Caesar's position as pontifex maximus and insulted each other openly in the process. Lentulus urged the claims of age, Domitius his popularity and standing in the city, Scipio his position as Pompeius* father-in-law.595 Caesar calls the men who were behaving in this fashion the 'clique of the few'.596 On his side things were probably not very different. In autumn 56, after the conference of Luca, Cicero writes that for all he knew the list of future consuls that had been agreed on might be as long as the Fasti down to the present day.597 The memorandum of the year 50 sketches the following picture: 'Pompeius has given supreme power over revenues, expenditure and the courts to a few senators. The Roman plebs, which previously had the greatest power, he has reduced to slavery by laws which are not even just. Although the courts are in the hands of the three orders as before, that clique is so firmly in control that it gives and takes as it pleases, bringing innocent men to ruin and its own members to office. No wickedness, on shame or disgrace prevents them from acquiring the magistracies.'598 'Nowadays the nobles, utterly ignorant of exertion against the enemy, organised as a clique 594 He failed against Caelius in the aedilician elections of 51 (Cael. ap. Cic. Fam. 8.2.2, 8.9.1). He played the nobilis or the bonus. 595 Caes. BC 3.82, 83. 596 BC 1.22.5. 597 Ait. 4.8a.2. 598 Sail. ep. 2.3.1ff.
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559
for war and peace, arrogantly rule all peoples. Thus the senators, by whose wisdom the tottering state was formerly stabilised, are made the slaves of other men's desires and driven this way and that by the waves. On one occasion they decide one thing, on the next the opposite. The common weal and woe they estimate as the jealousy or favour of the ruling men dictates. Therefore, if the freedom of all were equal or the vote more secret, the commonwealth would gain in power and the nobility lose in strength. But because it is difficult to make the influence of all senators equal, since the virtues of their ancestors have left the nobiles the advantages of glory, dignity and clientelae, whereas the majority of the rest are treated as intruders in the senate,' Caesar should introduce a written ballot and enlarge the senate.600 'For up to the present some have been busy with criminal trials, others with their private affairs and those of their friends, and so they have been unable to attend meetings of the senate. However, such demands upon their time have hindered them no more than the nobles' high-handed orders. The noble gentlemen, with a few senators whom they keep as hangers-on of their clique, have been doing all that there is to be done in the way of ratifying, censuring and decreeing, just as they please.'601 It is worth noting that Cicero similarly accuses Piso, the popularis consul of 58 and Caesar's father-in-law, and later Antonius of suppressing freedom of expression.602 Those excluded from it always described the ruling clique as 'the few', and in the constitutional theory taken over from the Greeks oligarchy had an unpleasant ring. In the cycle of constitutions factio in Cicero 603 corresponds to the oligarchy of Polybius.604 Cicero, ambitious and of mere equestrian birth, tried in the Verrines to discredit his distinguished opponents, who were protecting the de599 militiae domi factione instructi. 600 Sail, ep. 2.10.9-11.5. 601 Ibid. 2.11.6. 602 Pis. 57: nulloferente suffragium Hbero. Fam, 1.8.3 of the year 55 in general: dignitas in sententiis dicendis, libertas in re publica capessenda, ea sublata totast. Phil 1.14, 20: Antonius is forming the third decury of jurors from those, qui libere iudicare non audeant 603 Rep. 1.68. 604 6.8.5.
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fendant, by calling them 'the few'.605 Again in 66, in the speech for Cluentius, he attempted to win over the equestrian jurors with this slogan.606 Then, when he himself had become one of the rulers, he once more struggled against 'the few', but this time he meant by it the clique which wanted to secure the passage of Rullus' agrarian bill.607 After his return from exile he dubbed Clodius, Gabinius and his other enemies with this title, and gives it expressly to the three dynasts in a letter of 55. 608 Caesar on the other hand was concerned in his Civil War to present his opponents as oligarchs, and in this he was backed up by Hirtius.609 The catchword naturally also occurs in Sallust,610 in the two memoranda addressed to Caesar,611 and in Livy.612 It is interesting that Sallust describes the position adopted by Cethegus and other factional leaders in relation to the other senators as patrocinium.613 Political power at Rome rested precisely on the personal obligations of dependants. The first Roman statesman of whose political activity we know anything, Ap. Claudius Caecus, the censor of 312, 'attempted to gain control of Italy through his clientelae .6U 8. T H E H E L L E N I S T I C I N F L U E N C E IN POLITICS Such was the government of Rome in the historical period. After the Hannibalic War political life undeniably displayed a strongly 605 Diu. Caec. 70; 1 Vert. 36; 2 Vert. 1.155, 3.145, 5.126,127. 606 Ghent 152. 607 Leg. agr. 2.25, 82 (similarly ss. 63, 70: mention of certi homines); 3.13. Cf. rep. 3.23, Fam. 1.9.10 on the opponents of the three dynasts. 608 Sest. 67, har. resp. 60, Fam. 1.8.3. 609 BG 8.50.2, 52.3; BG 1.22.5, 85.9. 610 BJ 27.2, 31.2, 9, 20, 41.7, 42.1, 80.5; Cat. 20.7, 30.4, 39.1, 58.11; Hist. 3.48.6M. 611 Sail. ep. 1.2.2; 2.3.2. 612 10.9.4. 613 Hist. 1.77.6, 20M. 614 Suet. Tib. 2.2, where for Drusus we should read Crassus, with Hirschfeld; cf. Münzer, RE 3.2681. Cic. Cato mat. 37 says: tantas clientelas Appius regebat et caecus et senex.
THE HELLENISTIC I N F L U E N C E I N POLITICS
137
individualist character. Roman magistrates regarded themselves much less as administrators than as possessors615 of a supremacy which they exploited with reckless egoism to strengthen their personal power. As has often been remarked, we know virtually nothing about the social conditions of the previous age. Nevertheless I should be prepared to hazard the conjecture that Hellenistic influences played a part in the constant growth of political individualism. When the elder Africanus was asked who were the best politicians of the past, he named Agathocles and Dionysius, the Sicilian tyrants.616 A man such as T. Quinctius Flamininus, who at the Isthmian Games of 196 had been hailed as 'saviour' by the grateful Greeks and crowned with wreaths and fillets,617 and in whose honour the Chalcidians in 191 had instituted a cult with priest and paean,618 could no longer be content with the role of a common senator at Rome. M. Aemilius Lepidus, the opponent of Nobilior, took part as a young man in 201 in an embassy to the East,619 and was sent from Rhodes to Philip, who was then besieging Abydos, to order him in the name of the senate to cease all hostilities against the Greeks and Egypt. When the king attempted to justify himself, Lepidus abruptly cut
615 The crushing of the revolution by Sulla is therefore regarded as a recovery of the state by the nobility. Thus Cic. Rose, Am. 141: idcircone exspectata nohilitas armis atqueferro rem publicum reciperauit ut ad libidinem suam liberti seruolique nobilium bonafortunas arasque nostras uexare possent? Sail. Cat 11.4: postquam L. Sulla armis recepta re publica etc. Control by the faction presented as possession: Sail. Cat. 20.7; BJ 31,20, 41.7; Hist. 1.51 (quo patejactum est rem publicam praedae non libertati repetitam), 3.48.6M. 616 Pol. 15.35.6: rivas vnoXafifidvei TrpaypLariKuyrarovs avSpas yeyovivai KQX OVV VÜ)
To\fX7}pOT<XTOVS.
617 Pol. 18.46.12. As OXOTTJ/D in an inscription: SIG3 592. Eorrqp indicates divine honours: Plut. Demetr. 10.4; Diod. 20.46.2,100.3; Paus. 1.8.6; SIG3 390.27. On the divine honours paid to Alexander and the Diadochi cf. W. Otto, Priester und Tempel im hellenistischen Aegypten I, 142, II, 272; Wendland, Hellenistischrömische Kultur, 75; Kaerst, Gesch. des hellenistischen Zeitalters I, 389ff. The concept came to be more and more debased. When Prusias II congratulated the Romans in 167 he greeted the senate with the words: xaiperc 6eol aioTrjpes (Pol. 30.18.5). Cf. supra p. 86fF. [On honours for Flamininus cf. Reynolds, JRS 56,1966, 117.] 618 Plut. Flam. 16.3ff.; in the paean he is addressed as
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him off, so that Philip was greatly taken aback and remarked that he could forgive him only because he was so young and inexperienced, because he was such a handsome man, and because he was a Roman. 620 In 168, during the war with Perseus, the senate heard that Antiochus IV Epiphanes had overrun Egypt and had almost taken Alexandria too. Such an increase in the power of the Syrian kingdom seemed dangerous, and C. Popillius Laenas, the consul of 172, was sent out to put an end to the war and to investigate the whole situation.621 When Popillius met the king at Eleusis,622 four miles from Alexandria, the battle of Pydna had already been fought. The king called out a greeting when Popillius was still some distance away and stretched out his right hand to him. Popillius however held out the letter which contained the decree of the senate and told him to read that first. On doing so Antiochus announced that he must deliberate with his friends. Thereupon Popillius drew a circle round the king with his vinewood staff and ordered him to give his answer inside this circle. The king, taken aback by this arrogant behaviour, promised after a short and embarrassed pause to accept all Rome's demands. The Romans then shook him amicably by the hand. The king had to withdraw at once from Egypt. Popillius organised the Egyptian government and then betook himself to Cyprus, where the Egyptian troops had just been defeated by the Syrians. He remained there until the last Syrian soldier had left the island. Thanks to the Romans the kingdom of Egypt stood again in its place as if nothing had happened.623 Great kings had to put up with such treatment. General conclusions may be drawn from this about the position of Roman senators abroad. There they were treated with the same respect as the mightiest monarchs, and it was inevitable that at home too their behaviour should take on an increasingly princely character. In this too they learnt eagerly from the conquered, the Hellenistic kings.
620 621 622 623
Pol. 16.34.1-7. Pol. 29.2. Liv. 45.12.3. Pol. 29.27; Wilcken, RE 1.2474.
CONCLUSION
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CONCLUSION The entire Roman people, both the ruling circle and the mass of voters whom they ruled, was, as a society, permeated by multifarious relationships based on fides and on personal connections, the principal forms of which were patrocinium in the courts and over communities, together with political friendship and financial obligation. These relationships determined the distribution of political power. To maintain their rights citizens and subjects alike were constrained to seek the protection of powerful men, and the beginner in politics had need of a powerful protector to secure advancement. Political power was based on membership of the senate, which was composed of the magistrates elected by the people. Thus the most powerful man was he who by virtue of his clients and friends could mobilise the greatest number of voters. From the character of the nobility (the descendants of the most successful politicians) arose the hereditary nature of political power in the great aristocratic families. The forces of political life were concentrated in them, and political struggles were fought out by the nobiles at the head of their dependents. It made no difference in what way these dependents had been acquired, or with what means and in what field the struggle was being conducted, and if from time to time in the course of events a new man was brought to the fore, the overall picture did not change. The growth of the empire gave the conflict ever greater dimensions. The bounds of the old Roman morality were easily overstepped by the modern Hellenistic outlook. The unchecked drive for personal power created ever higher goals for the political leader. At the end of the titanic conflict the opposition lay annihilated or utterly exhausted at the feet of a single victor, and the predominance of the nobility gave way to absolute monarchy.
The Nobility of the Principate1 i
PLINY SAYS IN his Panegyric of Trajan (69.4fF.): an aliud a te quam senatus reuerentia obtinuit ut iuuenibus clarissimae gentis debitum generi honorem, sed antequam deberetur, offenes? tandem ergo nobilitas non obscuratur, sed inlustratur a principe, tandem illos ingentium uirorum nepotes, illos posteros libertatisnectenet Caesar nee pauet; quin immo festinatis honoribus amplificat atque auget et maioribus suis reddit. si quid usquam stirpis antiquae, si quid residuae claritatis, hoc amplexatur ac refouet et in usum rei publicae promit. sunt in honore hominum et in ore famae magna nomina<excitatd>ex tenebris obliuionis indulgentia Caesaris, cuius haec intentio est, ut nobiles et conseruet et efficiat (MSS afficiat). The concept nobilitas is here applied to a specific class of people: illi ingentium uirorum nepotes, illi posted libertatis, that aristocracy whose origins and standing went back to the days of the republic. Trajan himself is also of distinguished descent: patricio et consulari et triumphali patre genitus (9.2). But he is not nobilis; in 70.2 he is contrasted with the nobility: cur enim te principe, qui generis tux claritatem uirtute superasti, deterior esset condicio eorum, qui posteros habere nobile mererentur, quam eorum, qui parentes habuissent? Pliny does not mean that in Trajan's time a new nobility was created, but only that in his own day too there were men who deserved to have their descendants described as nobiles. Wilhelm Baehrens, the editor of the Panegyrici Latini, misunderstood this, when in 69.6 he printed in his text: haec intentio est, ut nobiles et conseruet et faciat, as he says, 'clausulae causa'. The emendation is unacceptable on factual grounds. The emperor does not create new nobiles; he does on the other hand ensure their continued existence and secure them recognition. The afficiat of the MSS is therefore to be corrected to et efficiat, as has
1 [A resume of the problem dealt with in this article: R. Syme, Tacitus (1958), 654 nn. 2-4.]
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hitherto been the practice.111 A further reason why Baehrens' emendation seems to have little in its favour is that Pliny, throughout the whole passage, uses 'and', not to link contrasted ideas, but to express the same idea pleonastically: amplificat atque augetf amplexatur ac refouet, in honore hominum et in orefamae. If my interpretation is correct, nobilitas to Pliny meant only the republican aristocracy. It would follow that under the principate the concept had suffered a restriction. In the free republic any man whose ancestor had been consul counted as a member of the nobility. My arguments in proof of this contention have never yet been refuted.2 C. Bardt declares himself in favour of adhering to the old interpretation of the ius imaginum;3 I should like in all modesty to refer him once again to p. 26 of my book [ = supra p. 33J and ask once again why Cicero, in the speeches for Fonteius and Murena, refrains from presenting his clients as nobiles. Whether Pliny's view cited above is of general application, only an examination of the other literary evidence can show. The younger Pliny himself offers another remark which must be taken into account here. Characteristically, of the many individuals whom we encounter in his letters, he ascribes nobility to one alone, Calpurnius Piso (RE no. 59). He writes to his friend (5.17.1): scio . . . quantum gaudii capias, si nobiles iuuenes dignum aliquid maioribus suisfaciant 4: Übet plura, quo suntpulchriora de iuuene, rariora de nobili, 6: mire cupio, ne nobiles nostri nihil in domibus suis pulchrum nisi imagines habeant. These are the well-known commonplaces, to the rehearsal of which Juvenal devoted a satire. We do not know the relationship of this Piso to the other branches of the gens Calpurnia, but it is certain that this nobilis of the principate belonged to a republican noble family. The richest source of material is Pliny's friend Tacitus in his Histories and Annals. Hist. 1.14.2: L. Calpurnius Piso Frugi Licinianus (thus the full la [The author would now agree that Stein's assumption of a lacuna before aßciat (Hermes 52,1917, 566 n.l) is the most likely solution. Cf. numerous other lacunae in the speech, including one noted by all editors in the same section. It will be clear that the argument on the use otnobilis under the empire is in no way affected by thisj 2 Die Nobilität der römischen Republik, 22ff. 1= supra p. 28ff.]|. 3 BPh ^1913,18.
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4
nomenclature in the elogium ILS 240 ; RE no. 100), M. Crasso et Scribonia genitus, nobilis utrimque. Nobilis utrimque illustrates the fact that under the principate the maternal side of the family-tree was also taken into account, a firmly established principle which had nevertheless been unknown under the republic. This outlook helps to explain the development of nomenclature as we meet it in this example. Groag gives Piso's stemma in RE 3.1375. His father was M. Licinius Crassus Frugi (PIR II, 276; 5 elogium ILS 954), obviously a Licinius only by adoption, originally a Calpurnius, married to a Scribonia. [But see Syme, JRS 50, 1960, 13ff.J His four sons bore the names: (1) Cn. Pompeius Magnus (ILS 955): because his mother Scribonia (PIR S 221) was a great-granddaughter of Pompey the Great; (2) M. Licinius Crassus Frugi; (3) Licinius Crassus Scribonianus; (4) L. Calpurnius Piso Frugi Licinianus. His daughter was Licinia Magna (PIR L 185). Our Piso is therefore nobilis on his father's side as a member of the gentes Calpurnia and Licinia, and on his mother's side through the gentes Pompeia and Scribonia. The names of his brothers and sister best show how all these elements contributed. Similarly, in Hist. 1.15.1, Tacitus makes the emperor Galba, who adopted Piso, say: mihi egregium erat Gnaei Pompei et M. Crassi subolem in penates meos adsciscere et tibi insigne Sulpiciae ac Lutatiae decora nobilitati tuae adiecisse. When uetus nobilitas is ascribed to Galba (Tac. Hist. 1.49.2), one must think not only of the gens Sulpicia but also of the fact that Q. Lutatius Catulus, the well-known contemporary of Cicero, was his great-grandfather (Suet. Galba 2.3; stemma in Lehmann, Claudius und Nero und ihre Zeit I, App. 6). In Hist. 1.30.1 Piso says with reference to Otho: nihil adrogabo mihi nobilitatis aut modestiae; neque enim relatu uirtutum in comparatione Othonis opus est. The argument in the second clause shows that nobilitas and modestia are qualities which Otho lacks, although he has pater consularisy auus praetorius (Tac. Hist. 2.50.1) and the emperor Claudius had raised his father to the patriciate (PIR III, 167f.). This agrees with what Tacitus says of him in 1.78.2: creditus est etiam de celebranda Neronis memoria agitauisse spe uulgum adliciendiy etfuere, qui 4 H. Dessau, Inscriptions Latinae Selectae. 5 Prosopographia Imperii Romani saec. J, J7, J/J, by Klcbs, Dessau, v. Rohden | 2 (in progress) ed. Groag, Stein, PctersenJ.
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imagines Neronis proponerent; atque etiam Othoni quibusdam diebus populus et miles, tamquam nohilitatem ac decus adstruerent, Neroni Othoni adclamauit. Only the addition of Nero's name to his own could invest him with nobility. He says to his nephew in 2.48.2: satis sibi nominis9 satis postetis suis nobilitatis quaesitum, again a clear proof that he himself was not nobilis. In his opinion his principate will secure nobility for his family. So he goes on: post Iulios Claudios Seruios se primum in familiam nouam imperium intulisse. He is a homo nouns, because he is not of the republican nobility. Hist. 2.76.3: Nero nobilitate natalium Vitellium anteibat9 to be translated: 'Nero was superior to Vitellius on account of his noble birth*. Vitellius' father had been censor and three times consul (Tac. Hist, 3.66.4); his grandfather, however, was a mere Roman eques from Luceria (Suet. Vit, 2.2; Tac. Hist. 3.86). Not until one of his sons became quaestor did a scholar bestir himself to prove the family's nobility by demonstrating that it was descended from the union of King Faunus with the goddess Vitellia (Suet. Vit. 1.2). In his obituary notice (Hist. 3.86.1) Tacitus says of the emperor: cuncta patris claritudine adeptus, but avoids the word nobilitas. Ann. 1.29.1: Drusus, son of the emperor Tiberius, is characterised as rudis dicendi nobilitate ingenita. Ann. 1.53.3: Sempronius Gracchus familia nobili. Ann. 2.13.1: nobilitas of Germanicus. Ann. 2.37.1: M. Hortensius Hortalus, nobilis iuuenis, nepos oratoris; 2.38.5: auita nobilitas. Ann. 2.43.3: nobilitas of Plancina, no doubt going back to her father or grandfather L. Munatius Plancus, cos. 42 B.C., already of course designated by Caesar in 44 (Nie. Dam. vit. Caes. 22; elogium ILS 886). The emphasis placed on her nobility is all the more striking, as immediately afterwards Tacitus says that Plancina's husband, Cn. Calpurnius Piso (RE no. 70), considered Tiberius' sons his inferiors. This may refer primarily to Drusus, for we are told in the same chapter: Germanico alienatio patrui amorem apud ceteros auxerat, et quia claritudine materni generis anteibat, auum M. Antonium, auunculum Augustum ferens. contra Druso proauus eques Romanus Pomponius Atticus dedecere Claudiorum imagines uidebatur. That Drusus' mother Vipsania Agrippina (ILS 165) was the daughter
THE NOBILITY OF THE PRINCIPATE
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of the great Agrippa is not mentioned at all. It is well known that Caligula too did not like to be reminded that he was Agrippa's grandson (Suet. Cal. 23.1). Three consulships and the tribunician power could not compensate for his ignobilitas. The difference in esteem between Plancus and Agrippa can be explained only on the assumption that for contemporaries Plancus' consulship still belonged to the republic, whereas Agrippa was the type of the creature of imperial favour. Moreover, we must not forget the possibility that Plancina's nobility derived from her mother's side. Ann. 2.48.1: nobilitas of M. Aemilius Lepidus (RE no. 75) and M. Servilius (PIR S 419 [[see Syme, Hermes 92, 1964, 41 If.]). Ann. 2.75.1: Agrippina, wife of Germanicus, femina nobilitate princeps as Augustus' granddaughter. Ann. 3.5.1: Germanicus described as nobilis] similarly in 3.8.1 M. Calpurnius Piso (RE no. 85). Ann. 3.17.1: nobilitas domus Pisonum. Ann. 3.24.3: M. Iunius Silanus [PIR 2 I 832J, qui per insignem nobilitatem et eloquentiam praecellebat. Ann. 3.29A: aduersis animis acceptum, quodfilio Claudii (the future emperor) socer Seianus destinaretur.6 polluisse nobilitatem familiae uidebatur (sc. Tiberius). Ann. 3.31.3: L. Cornelius Sulla (RE no. 393), nobilis iuuenis. Ann. 3.32.2: nobilitas of [M'.] 6 a Aemilius. Ann. 3.76: death of Iunia, Catone auunculo genita, C. Cassi uxor, M. Bruti soror. At the funeral: uiginti clarissimarum familiarum imagines antelatae sunt, Manlii, Quinctii aliaque eiusdem nobilitatis nomina. 6 Cichorius (Hermes 39, 1904, 461 ff.) shows on the strength of an inscription from Volsinii \ILS 8996] that Sejanus' mother was Cosconia GalHtta, daughter of Cn. Lentulus Maluginensis (RE no. 181), and combines this with Veil. 2.127.3. |The attribution of ZLS 8996 to Seius Strabo has been questioned, with strong arguments, by Sumner (Phoenix 19, 1965, 134ff.).] He rightly says (p. 471) that the usual picture of Sejanus as a parvenu is entirely without justification. However, we should not assume that the passage of Tacitus quoted was written in ignorance of this distinguished connection. It rather confirms the impression that the man of merely equestrian birth was separated from the nobilis by a far wider gulf than was the son of a senator. 6a [Cf. Symc,JRS 45,1955, 22ff., whose conclusions are followed throughout with the author*s approval.j|
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Ann. 4.21.1: L. Calpurnius Piso (RE no. 74), nobilis acferox uir. Ann. 4.44.1: Cn. Cornelius Lentulus (RE no. 180) and L. Domitius Ahenobarbus (RE no. 28), uiri nobiles. Ann. 4.66: nobilitas of P. Cornelius Dolabella (RE no. 143). Ann. 5.1.1: Iulia Augusta nobilitatis per Claudiam familiam et adoptione Liuiorum Iuliorumque clarissimae. Ann. 6.7A: M. Aurelius Cotta Maximus Messalinus (REno. Ill), nobilis quidem sed egens ob luxum. Ann. 6.27A: [M.] Aemilius Lepidus (RE no. [75| 6b ): apart from his moral virtues neque nobilitas diutius demonstranda est, quippe Aemilium genus fecundum bonorum ciuium et qui eadem familia corruptis moribus inlustri tarnen fortuna egere. Ann. 6.29.3: Mam. Aemilius Scaurus (RE no. 139), insignis nobilitate et orandis causis. Ann. 11.11.2: Britannicus and L. Domitius, the future emperor Nero, named among pueri nobiles. Ann. 11.12.2: Iunia Silana {PIR2 I 864], nobilis femina. Ann. 12.1: Lollia Paulina, Iulia Agrippina and Aelia Paetina, the three women who wanted to marry the emperor Claudius after Messalina's death, suam quaeque nobilitatem formam opes contendere ac digna tanto matrimonio ostentare. The next chapter shows that nobilitas is to be referred in particular to Agrippina, whose son Nero is called stirps nobilis. It could also be applied to Aelia Paetina, but not to Lollia, whose family-tree (PIR III, 487) included no consulars of the republican period. Therefore in 12.22.2 Tacitus speaks only of claritudo: sororeL. Volusii genitam, maiorem eipatruum Cottam Messalinum esse, Memmio quondam Regulo nuptam. Ann. 13.1.1: M. Iunius Silanus (PIR2 I 8331, killed at the instigation of Agrippina: uirum aetate composita, insontem, nobilem et quod tunc spectaretur e Caesarum posteris, quippe et Silanus diui Augusti abnepos erat. Ann. 13.12.2: Octavia, Claudius' daughter, nobilis. Ann. 13.19.2: Sextius Africanus (PIR S 464), nobilis iuuenis. He bore the cognomen Africanus in memory of his ancestor who governed 6b [For the identification of this Lepidus c(. Syme, JRS 45, 1955, 22ff. (See p. 145 n. 6a.)]
THE NOBILITY OF THE PRINCIPATE
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Africa Nova c. 44-40 B.C. (Dio 48.23; App. BC 5.12). These Sextii Africani are connected with other members of the gens, who called themselves Sextii Laterani (PIR S 463, 464, 471, 472). Lateranus is the cognomen borne in the Capitoline Fasti by the first plebeian consul of 366 B.C. Ann. 13.34,1: Valerius Messalla (PIR V 91), from a nohilis familia. Ann. 13.46.1: Otho is alleged to have said of his wife Poppaea Sabina: sibi concessam nobilitatem, pulchritudinem, uota omnium et gaudiafelicium. She derived her name from her maternal grandfather Q. Poppaeus Sabinus (PIR P 627), the consularis et triumphalis (Tac. Ann. 13.45.1). According to my thesis this ancestry did not create genuine nobility. The words of a lover, however, should not be weighed in the scale of social nuances. Ann. 14.22.1: Rubellius Plautus, cui nobilitas per matrem ex lulia familia (stemma in PIR III, 136). His mother lulia was a daughter of Drusus and granddaughter of Tiberius. Tac. Ann. 6.27.1 says of her: denupsit in domum Rubella Blandi, cuius auum Tiburtem equitem Romanum plerique meminerant. At that time Rubellius Blandus was already a consular (Tac. Ann. 3.51.1). But for the nobility of the son only the mother is relevant here. Ann. 14.46.2: Q. Volusius Saturninus (PIR V 644) and Sextius Africanus (= 13.19.2), aemuli inter se per nobilitatem. Volusius was the nephew of the Lollia Paulina treated above. Plin. NH 7.62 gives as his mother Cornelia Scipionum gentis. Ann. 14.57.1: nobilitas of the Rubellius Plautus mentioned above and of Faustus Cornelius Sulla Felix (RE no. 391). Ann. 15.48.2: C. Calpurnius Piso (RE no. 65), Calpumio genere ortus ac multas insignesque familias paterna nobilitate complexus. Ann. 15.52.2: L. Iunius Silanus {PIR2 I 838J, eximia nobilitate; 16.7.2: iuuenis genere nobilis. Among historians, besides Tacitus, Velleius Paterculus and Suetonius are also relevant. Veil. 2.75.3: Livia, nobilissimi etfortissimi uiri Drusi Claudiani filia. 2.112.2: M. Valerius Messalla Messallinus, uir animo etiam quam gente nobilior. Suet. Tib. 25.1: L. Scribonius Libo (M. Scribonius Libo Drusus, PIR S 214, is meant), uir nobilis. The Scribonii Libones, unlike the II +
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Scribonii Curiones, did not reach the consulate in the republican period. In Ann. 2.27.2 Tacitus makes his friend describe him in the following words: dum proauum Pompeium, amitam Scriboniam, quae quondam Augusti coniunx fuerat, consobrinos Caesares, plenam imaginibu domum ostentat. (Stemma in PIR III, 185.) Cal. 12.1: M. Iunius Silanus [PIR2 I 832J, nobilissimus uir. Cah 35.1: uetera familiarum insignia nobilissimo cuique ademit: Torquato torquem, Cincinnato crinem9 Cn. Pompeio stirpis antiquae Magni cognomen. A bearer of the cognomen Cincinnatus, presumably a Quinctius (PIR III, 121 no. 36), is not known in this period. Claud. 27.2: Cn. Pompeius Magnus (PIR P 477, cf. supra p. 143 on Tac. Hist. 1.14.2), the man whom Gaius forbade to use the cognomen Magnus (Sen. apocol. 11.2: Gaius Crassifilium uetuit Magnum uocari), and Faustus Sulla (cf. supra on Tac. Ann. 14.57.1), nobilissimi iuuenes. Galba 2: of the emperor Galba (=Tac. Hist. 1.15): hand dubie nobilissimus magnaque et uetere prosapia9 ut qui statuarum titulis pronepotem se Quinti Catuli Capitolini semper ascripserit. Galba 3.4: Galba's father nobilitatis causa appetitus by his second wife. His first wife, the emperor's mother, was Mummia Achaica, granddaughter of Catulus and great-granddaughter of L. Mummius, the destroyer of Corinth. Galba 17: Galba's adopted son Piso (cf. supra on Tac. Hist. 1.14), nobilis egregiusque iuuenis. The elder Seneca quotes from Porcius Latro the sentence (contr. 2.1.17): Fabriciorum imagines Metellis patuerunt; Aemiliorum (et) Scipionum familias adoptio miscuit; etiam abolita saeculis nomina per successores nouos fulgent, sic ilia patriciorum nobilitas fundamentis urbi *habet usque in haec tempora constitit. 2.4.11: Fabius Maximus (RE no. 102) nobilissimus uirfuit. 2.4.13: Latro said in a declamation, alluding to Agrippa, who was present: iam iste ex imoper adoptionem nobilitati inseritur. The adoption referred to is that of Agrippa's sons, Gaius and Lucius, by Augustus. Seneca comments (s. 12): erat M. Agrippa inter eos> qui non nati sunt nobiles, sed facti, then (s. 13): tanta sub diuo Augusto libertas fuit> ut praepotenti tum M. Agrippae non defuerint qui ignobilitatem exprobrarent (cf. supra p. 144f. on Tac. Ann. 2.43.3).
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9.4.18: Domitius (presumably RE no. 28), nobilissimus uir. The younger Seneca (ben. 2.27.2) ascribes nobilitas to Cn. Cornelius Lentulus (RE no. 181). In ben. 4.30.1 he remarks that nobilitas sometimes gives a just advantage in campaigning for office: Ciceronemfiliumquae res consulem fecit nisi pater? Cinnam (RE 'Cornelius' no. 108) nuper quae res ad consulatum recepit ex hostium castris, quae Sex. Pompeium aliosque Pompeios, nisi unius uiri magnitudo . . . quid nuper Fabium Persicum (RE no. 120)... sacerdotem non in uno collegio fecit nisi Verrucosi et Allobrogici et Uli trecenti etc. In clem. 1.9.3 he calls the L. Cornelius Cinna just mentioned, the grandson of Pompeius, adulescens nobilis. He had planned to assassinate Augustus, but the emperor contented himself with opening his eyes in a conversation which lasted two hours. In the course of it Seneca makes him say (s. 10): cedo9 si spes tuas solus impedio, Paulusne te et Fabius Maximus et Cossi7 et Seruilii ferent tantumque agmen nobilium non inania nomina praeferentium sed eorum, qui imaginibus suis decori sint? Ep. 70.10: Scribonia ... amita Drusi Libonis adulescentis tarn stolidi quam nobilis (cf. supra p. 147f. on Suet. Tib. 25.1). Apocol. 11.2: occidit (Claudius) in una domo Crassum, Magnum, Scriboniam, [Tristionias, Assarionems], nobilis tarnen, Crassum uero tarn fatuum, ut etiam regnare posset. The reference is to the family treated above (p. 143 on Tac. Hist. 1.14.2): the father Crassus, the son Magnus and the wife Scribonia. Finally, an important source for our problem is the eighth satire of Juvenal. As nobiles in his day he mentions (1.26) Gaetulicus and Silanus. The Gaetulici are a stirps of the Cornelii Lentuli (Stein, RE 4.1384). 38: Creticus aut Camerinus: Creticus is the cognomen of a stirps of the Caecilii Metelli (Groag, RE 3.1212), Camerinus a cognomen of the Sulpicii (PIR III, 282). 39: Rubellius Blandus is addressed: tumes alto Drusorum stemmate, tamquam feceris ipse aliquid, propter quod nobilis esses, ut te conciperet 7 Under the principate a praenomen of the Cornelii Lentuli (Groag, RE 4.1365). 8 The bracketed words are corrupt. Bücheier proposed: tris homines assarhs.
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quae sanguine fulget lulu For all that needs to be said on this passage c£ supra p. 147 on Tac. Ann. 14.22.1. 71 is interesting: haec satis ad iuuenem9 quern nobis fama superbum tradit et inßatum plenumque Nerone propinquo. The two verses show that Juvenal took these examples too from literature, not from the present. 73: sed te censeri laude tuorumy Pontice, nolueris sic ut nihil ipse futurae laudis agas. The entire satire is addressed to Ponticus (11.1, 179). Juvenal is claiming, as the lines quoted show, to be speaking to a member of the nobility. If the name is not a fictitious cognomen, as I believe it probably is, then we may think of Valerius Ponticus, mentioned by Tac. Ann. 14.41, and also of the Ponticus called a great man by Mart. 9.19. 147fF.: Lateranus (perhaps PIR S 472). On this gens cf. supra p. 147f. on Tac. Ann. 13.19.2. 187: Lentulus; 191: Fabii; 192: Mamerci (praenomen and cognomen of the Aemilii: Klebs, RE 1.568); 201fF.: Gracchus. The following are the names, whose bearers, on the evidence of the passages discussed, were accepted under the pfincipate as nobiles: Aelius Paetus Iulius Caesar Aemilius Lepidus Iunius Brutus Aemilius Paullus Iunius Silanus Aemilius Scaurus Licinius Crassus Aurelius Cotta [Livius Drusus] Caecilius Metellus Creticus Lutatius Catulus Calpurnius Piso Manlius Torquatus Claudius Nero Pompeius Magnus Cornelius Cinna Scribonius Libo Cornelius Dolabella Sempronius Gracchus Cornelius Lentulus ([Servilius] Cornelius Lentulus Gaetulicus Sextius Africanus Cornelius Scipio Sextius Lateranus Cornelius Sulla Sulpicius Camerinus Domitius Ahenobarbus Sulpicius Galba Fabius Maximus Tullius Cicero Fabius Persicus Valerius Messalla. Hortensius Hortalus
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In the case of these names the nobility is republican. The following names are also securely attested: Munatius Plancus Rubellius Plautus Volusius Saturninus. It is expressly stated of Rubellius and Volusius that nobilitas matcrna is in question,8* whilst the consulate of Munatius Plancus, the ancestor of Plancina, can be reckoned as belonging to the republic. Moreover, the possibility cannot be excluded that here too the mother's side is relevant. We may surely conclude that the passages cited show the truth of the words of the younger Pliny, who equated nobilitas with ingentium uirorum nepotes, posteri libertatis.
II I should like at once to dispel the false impression that I want to 'squeeze profound constitutional consequences out of turns of phrase*, as Bardt thinks {BPh W1913, 18). Neither under the republic nor under the principate did the concept of nobilitas have anything to do with constitutional law; it conveyed no legal privileges of any kind. It was only a qualitative indication of distinction within the senatorial order,9 an honorific claimed under the republic by the descendants of consuls, which by virtue of their social influence passed into common usage. The development of the concept under the principate makes its purely social function very clear. On the one hand the circle of the republican nobility was by that time regarded as closed, on the other the claims of distinguished senatorial families to nobility on the strength of their maternal ancestry was accepted. The imperial authors cited above do not themselves belong to the circle of the 8a [Cic. Phil 3.15 of Antonius: ignobilitatem obicit C. Caesarisfilio; 17: qui autem euenit, ut tibi lulia natus ignobilis uideatur, cum tu eodem materno genere soleasgloriari? Julia was Octavianus* grandmother. Cf. also Liv. 1.34.6.] 9 Cf. Tac. Agr. 4.1: Agricola... utrumque auum procuratorem Caesarum habuitf quae cquestris nobilitas est. Tacitus coins this phrase by analogy with senatoria nobilitas.
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nobility, but they preserve the classification which the nobility cherished. In their works nobilitas indicates, not distinction in general, but a particular form of distinction. In support of this the language of Tacitus may once more be adduced. Agr. 6.1: Domitia Decidiana (Agricola's wife), splendidis natalibus orta. ) Hist. 1.49.3: of the emperor Galba: claritas natalium. 1.85.1: militibus maligna cura in omnes, quos nobilitas aut opes aut aliqua insign claritudo rumoribus obiecerat. 2.59.2: Iunius Blaesus, genere illustri; cf. 3.39.3: super claritatem natalium. 2.76.3: Corbulo, splendidior origine. 2.86.3: Cornelius Fuscus, claris natalibus. prima iuuenta quaestus cupidine senatorium ordinem exuerat. 3.9: Vipstanus Messalla, claris maioribus. 3.66.4 of Vitellius: ut censuram patris, ut tres consulatus, ut tot egregiae domus honores deceret. 3.86.1: cuncta patris claritudine adeptus Ann. 1.41.1: feminae inlustres. 2.43.5 of Germanicus: claritudo materni generis. 3.24.1: inlustres domus of Piso and Lepida. 3.30.1 of L. Volusius: uetusfamilia neque tarnen praetura egressa, ipse consulatum intulit, censoria etiam potestate legendis equitum decuriis functus. 3.48.1 of Sulpicius Quirinius: nihil ad ueterem et patriciam Sulpiciorum familiam pertinuit. ortus apud municipium Lanuuium. 3.55.2: dites olim familiae nobilium aut claritudine insignes. 3.65.2: non modo primores ciuitatis, quibus claritudo sua obsequiis protegenda erat, sed omnes consulares, magna pars eorum, qui praetura fundi multique etiam pedarii senatores. 3.75.1: uiri inlustres Asinius Saloninus M. Agrippa et Pollione Asinio auis fratre Druso insignis Caesarique progener destinatus et Capito Ateius principem in ciuitate locum studiis ciuilibus adsecutus sed auo centurione Sullano, patre praetorio. I have noted a further 27 similar examples from the remaining books of the Annals, which all show that Tacitus rendered the general notion of 'distinguished, old-established, renowned' by splendidus, egregius, uetus, clams, illustris. This includes members of the nobility, as well as other members of the senatorial order with famous forebears, and men who had risen by their own efforts. He also specifies the degree of distinction more precisely by giving the rank of a man's ancestors within the senate, zsfamilia consulari or praetoria. Similarly in other contemporary writers: Plin. pan. 70.2 of Trajan: qui generis tui claritatem uirtute superasti. Ep. 4.15.10: quaestor
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patre praetorio propinquis consularibus. Suet. Aug. 62.2: Vinicio claro decoroque iuueni. Cal. 36.1: Valerius Catullus consulari familia iuuenis. Nero 35.1: Nero married Poppaeam Sabinam quaestorio patre natam et equiti Romano antea nuptam, deinde Statiliam Messalinam Tauri bis consults ac triumphalis abneptem. There can be no doubt whatever that under the principate too the holding of a curule magistracy conferred the ius imaginum (Mommsen, Staatsr. I, 442). Tacitus says of Eprius Marcellus and Vibius Crispus (dial. 8.3f.): sine commendatione nataliumy sine substantia facuUatum . . . per multos iam annos potentissimi sunt ciuitatis ac> donee libuity principes fori, nunc principes in Caesaris amicitia agunt... Vespasianus... bene intellegit... Marcellum et Crispum attulisse ad amicitiam suam quod non a principe aeeeperint nee accipi possit. minimu inter tot ac tanta locum obtinent imagines ac tituli et statuae, quae neque ipsa tarnen negleguntur, tarn hercule quam diuitiae et opes.... his igitu et honoribus et ornamentis et facultatibus refectas domos eorum uidemus qui se ab ineunte adulescentia causis forensibus et oratorio studio dederun Suet. Aug. 4.1 on Augustus' grandfather Atius Balbus: paterna stirpe Aricinus multis in familia senatoriis imaginibus. Vesp. 1.7: gens Flauia obscura ac sine ullis maiorum imaginibus. But Friedländer's dictum10 that the right to exhibit the images of one's ancestors in the atrium was the proper criterion of nobility is even less justified for the principate than for the republic. No doubt the atria of the nobiles were the most richly equipped with ancestral portraits (Sen. ben. 3.28.2, ep. 44.5; Plin. ep. 5.17.6), but nevertheless the ius imaginum extended to a circle wider than that of the nobility alone. Nobilitas must further be distinguished from the rank within the aristocracy which the emperors granted by adlection to the patriciate. Under the principate the number of patricians was far higher than that of nobiles. The proportion had suffered a complete reversal. Whereas at the end of the republic only fifteen patrician gentes were still represented in the senate and some of the most important noble families were not in fact patrician, the nobiles now formed a small and steadily decreasing minority within the patriciate.11 Pliny 10 Darstellungen aus der Sittengeschichte Roms8 I, 243 [ 9 117]. 11 Mommscn, R. Forsch. I, 112; Heiter, De patrieiisgentibus quae imperii Romani sacculis I, II, IlljuerinU Diss. Berlin 1909; Stech, Senatores Romani quifuerint inde
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(pan. 9.2) calls Trajan patricio et consulari et triumphali patre gentium; this is the highest rank which imperial favour could confer, but nobilitas he could not ascribe to him. The emperor Otho was patrician (Suet. Otho 1.3), but not nobilis (Tac. Hist. 2.48.2). It is very likely, too, that at the beginning of the principate not all the noble families (which at thai time were still fairly numerous) belonged to the patriciate, for instance the Licinii Crassi (PIR II, 275) and the Pompeii (PIR III, 64). At all events Heiter (p. 46ff.) is wrong to deduce patrician status as a matter of course from the appellation nobilis.
Ill Wherever we look, we always find the view that nobility under the principate was based on descent from consulars of the free republic. Neither the holding of the consulship nor adlection to the patriciate could create new nobility. Only once do we come across the opinion that a new man who attained the principate ennobled his descendants in the process (Otho in Tac. Hist. 2.48.2). But there is nothing to suggest that this should be regarded as more than a unique exception to the rule. In the principles on which this class was constituted a tendency opposed to the monarchical transformation of the Roman state found expression. On the surface the surviving members of the nobility made their peace with the principate, but with strict exclusiveness they preserved their aristocratic station from the influence of monarchy or court. Now as before, the nobility formed the upper stratum of society; the princeps might belong to it, but he did not stand above it. The fact that this point of view prevailed is the strongest proof of the social and political importance of the men who upheld it. Friedländer (I, 243 [9117fT.]) has already pointed to the evidence for the general respect in which the old nobility was held during the principate. Seneca often has occasion to speak of this (dial. 4.21.7, 5.10.4, 6.10.1, 9.10.3, 10.4.6; ben. 3.28.1fF., 4.30.1; clem. 1.9.10; a Vespasiano usque ad Traiani exitum (Klio, Beiheft 10,1912). Cf. the lists of imperial patricians in Heiter (p. 40ff.) and Stech (p. 131ff.).
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ep. 44.5, 47.17, 120.3). On this point the emperors did not oppose public opinion. High posts of honour, even the very highest in the state, were bestowed on the nobility with a generous hand. The first two principes were distinctly well-disposed towards the nobility, Augustus out of political astuteness,12 Tiberius because he felt himself to be a member of the same class.13 Nor was there any fundamental change in this relationship under the first two of their successors. In Caligula's time a decree of the senate was passed, that every year, in honour of the emperor, a golden shield should be borne in a procession led by the priestly colleges to the Capitol, to the accompaniment of singing by a choir of boys and girls of the nobility (Suet. Cal. 16.4). The end of his reign was no worse for the nobility than it was for other classes. Claudius was predisposed to benevolence towards the nobility by his antiquarian interests. In his surviving speech to the senate (ILS 212II 24) he mentions his friend Paullus Fabius Persicus, nobilissimum uirum, who felt no regret inter imagines maiorum suorum Allobrogici nomen legere. At his secular games in 47 he had the lusus Troiae performed by noble youths, among them the princes Britannicus and Domitius, the future Nero (Tac. Ann. 11.11). It was probably these same young members of the nobility who shared in the meal at which Britannicus was poisoned (Tac. Ann. 13.16.1: mos habebatur principum liberos cum ceteris idem aetatis nobilibus sedentes uesci in aspectu propinquorum propria et par dore mensa). Nero is the first of whom it is said: nobilissimo cuique exitium destinauit (Suet. Nero 36.1). But even here we cannot in fact speak of a systematic persecution. In the speech which Tacitus (Ann. 14.53) puts into the mouth of Seneca, the latter singles out as a remarkable circumstance, entirely due to the emperor's unmerited favour: inter nobiles et longa decora praeferentes nouitas mea enituit. What brought the nobility into danger was the widespread opinion that it alone had the right to supply the princeps. The proclamation of Otho and the Flavian dynasty put an end to this prejudice. But it was in this belief that Agrippina first of all eliminated M. Iunius 12 Tac. Ann. 1.2; Sen. clem. 1.9. 13 Tac. Ann. 2.48, 3.8, 4.6; RE 10.520.
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Silanus as rival to Nero (Tac. Ann. 13.1.11), and then, when she had fallen out with her son, placed her hopes on the young nobiles 'who at that time still survived' (Tac. Ann. 13.18.2). It was thanks to such intrigues that Faustus Cornelius Sulla (Tac. Ann. 13.23,47; 14.57, 59) and Rubellius Plautus (Tac. Ann. 13.19; 14.22, 57-59) lost their lives. Piso himself wks the only nobilis involved in the so-called Pisonian conspiracy. The distinction of his name secured him the honourable status of pretender without any effort on his part (Tac. Ann. 15.48f.). At that stage, significantly, he chiefly feared the competition of L. Silanus, who, however, had no inkling of the fact (Tac. Ann. 15.52). It is no wonder that Silanus shared Piso's doom (Tac. Ann. 16.9). If we combine this with the many other incidents about which, through lack of sources, we do not know, we do indeed reach the conclusion that at that time the ranks of the nobility were severely thinned by enforced suicides, executions and banishments. Galba and Otho alike, on the other hand, endeavoured to compensate the survivors and restore them to a place of honour (Suet. Galba 10.1; Tac. Hist. 1.77, 2.92). It was precisely this, no doubt, which provoked Vitellius to further hostile action (Suet. Vit. 14.1). Later there came a difficult time under Domitian (Tac. Agr. 45). Tacitus characterises it briefly (Hist. 1.2.3): nobilitas opes omissi gestique honores pro crimine et ob uirtutes certissimum exitium. In his Panegyric of Trajan Pliny exclaims (50.3): ergo in uestigia sedesque nobilium immigrant pares domini nee iam clarissimorum uirorum receptacula habitatore seruo teruntur autfoeda uastitate procumbunt. It should be noticed that in this passage Pliny does not say that it is the nobiles who are returning to their former palaces, but merely 'men of equal standing', men of distinction and repute. As Pliny's subsequent remarks show, the point is that Trajan put up for auction and sold large sections of the imperial estates, which had grown to monstrous proportions through Domitian's confiscations. The nobility, however, was by that time so diminished that it will scarcely have been able to secure an important share. Trajan honoured as best he could such few heirs as there were of the distinguished republican nobility, and for this too he is praised by Pliny (pan. 69.5). But the nobility was no longer called on to play any part. About the middle of the
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second century Apuleius says (for. 8.1): ex innumeris hominibus pauci senatoresy ex senatoribus pauci nobilesgenere et ex its (pauci consulates, ex) consularibus pauci boni et adhuc ex bonis pauci eruditL Whether in this passage he is really thinking of a representative of the old nobility seems to me very doubtful. Commodus was the first to call himself nobilissimus omnium principum (ILS 397). From the time of Septimius Severus nobilissimus Caesar becomes the official title of the co-regent (Mommsen, Staatsr. II, 1141 n. 1; ILS 457). At that period, moreover, the powerful Fulvius Plautianus, Caracalla's father-in-law, is called nobilissimus praefectus praetorio necessarius Augustorum (ILS 456; cf. Stein, RE 7.273). This titulature is quite unique. Nobilissimus obviously alludes to the link with the imperial house. This is also its force in the titulature of the Caesar. Commodus likewise described himself thus, because he was the son by birth of an emperor (Herod. 5.1.6). Otho's conception, whereby the father's principate ennobles the son, was thus revived at the end of the second century. At all events the official adoption of the predicate nobilissimus attests that by this time no other nobility any longer existed. Gradually and quietly, in the course of the second century, the nobility disappeared from history. Not a few branches of the republican aristocracy fell to the will of emperors. However, as I have said, it was not a deliberate extermination. Nor must we confuse with the nobility the Stoic republican opposition, which in our sources at least has such an air of importance and against which the emperors often had to take strong measures. Their heroes and martyrs—Thrasea Paetus, Barea Soranus, Helvidius Priscus—bore names of little distinction. It is known that the last of these was the son of a primus pilus (cf. Gaheis, RE 8.217). Tacitus formulates his Stoic creed (Hist. 4.5.2) as potentiam nobilitatem ceteraque extra animum neque bonis neque malis adnumerare. Naturally there were also nobiles who subscribed to these views. C. Cassius Longinus, the jurist, and his pupil L. Iunius Silanus Torquatus deserve mention here (Tac. Ann. 15.52, 16.7, 9; Plin. ep. 1.17). But they are no more typical representatives of their class than were doctrinaire figures like Cato and Brutus at the end of the republic. The nobility which flocked to join Pompcius against Caesar was not fighting for a few philosophical principles, but for the foundations of its social and political
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position, for the mastery of the Roman empire. That Augustus eventually took over Caesar's position was an advantage for them, in that, as we saw, this preserved their social pre-eminence. But the following period proved that this pre-eminence could not in the long run be maintained without the enjoyment of political power. To a certain ^xtent the nobility of the principate can be compared with the mediatised princes of the German empire, though with the important difference that it received no financial compensation for the loss of political power (which it, of course, had held only de facto). That, however, was the key point. As soon as the opportunity of restoring exhausted finances by military operations or apt exploitation of provincial government was withdrawn, the nobles' position of power in society was sooner or later bound to come to an end of its own accord. By this time public opinion in the Roman world had come fully under the spell of the ideal of the rentier. Census senatorium gradum ascendit, census equitem Romanum a plebe discernit, census in castris ordinem promouet, census iudices inforo legit, exclaims Porcius Latro, the rhetorician of the Augustan period (Sen. contr. 2.1.17). Alongside this principle of timocratic hierarchy there stood just as firmly established the view that the member of the highest class, the senator, must be able to live on his unearned income, that is, in the main, on the revenues of his estates (Friedländer, 1,246-267 [9121ff. ]). But as a senator a man could not become rich—for that, special circumstances must operate, as for instance Seneca's connection with Nero, which helped him to a princely income (Tac. Ann. 13.18, 42; 14.52). The senator's son who wanted to make a fortune had to do what Tacitus (Hist. 2.86) reports of Cornelius Fuscus: prima iuuenta quaestus cupidine senatorium ordinem exuerat.14 This outlook on life brought with it, as the other side of the coin, childlessness, restriction of families to two children, legacy-hunting: phenomena which of course claim a great deal of space in the writings of the moralists and satirists of the principate. What held good for the senatorial order as a whole applied even more strongly to the nobility. For the nobles a brilliant mode of life 14 Cf. also Tac. Ann. 16.17.3 on Seneca's brother Mela.
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had become a sine qua non. In the republican period an impoverished nobilis could restore his fortunes in a province. Under the principate this was made more difficult, not only by superior government control, but even more by the fact that numerous other elements were disputing his place at the public manger. The helplessness which some of the nobility displayed in the face of changed circumstances is shown by a case which was discussed in the senate in the year A.D. 16. M. Hortensius Hortalus, the grandson of the orator, brought his four sons before the threshold of the senate-house and begged the princeps for a subsidy. He justified his request on the ground that he had brought up his sons not of his own desire but at Augustus* insistence. Augustus had in his time made his marriage possible by the gift of a million sesterces, the minimum senatorial census. Tiberius rejoined that such matters were not dealt with at meetings of the senate, that a gift on a single occasion did not create a claim to continuing support, and that a man's own industry was blunted by such waiting on outside assistance. Finally, with the senate's approval, he granted each male descendant of Hortensius HS 200,000. More significant than the incident itself is the verdict of Tacitus: he shows no trace of understanding for the princeps9 words and regards the sum granted (half the equestrian census each) as an insult (superbius accipere).15 If a man did not possess the census, he had no chance of a career appropriate to his class. The idea of earning money by some form of honest work never entered these gentlemen's heads. In 58 Nero bestowed on the noble Valerius Messalla an annual pension of HS 500,000 'to sustain him in his undeserved poverty' (Tac. Ann. 13.34.1). From this sum we may deduce what financial demands were made on the great families (cf. Friedländer, I, 251 [9123]), and that the salaries which since Augustus' time had been paid to all officials employed outside Rome (Mommsen, Staatsr. I, 302), vanished like a drop of water on a hot stone. The nobility lived exclusively off inherited property, and new fortunes were hardly ever amassed. Yet at the same time their mode of living stood if possible at a higher level than before. This was the only way in which social distinction could find expression. Tacitus 15 Tac. Ann. 2.37, 38.
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stresses that the various relationships based on personal connections and on fides, on which the power of the nobility had rested in the republican period—patronage over plebeians, subjects and minor oriental monarchs—were maintained in all their old complexity: ut quisque opibus domo paratu speciosus, per nomen et clientelas inlustrior habebatur (Ann. 3.55.2). The daily life of clients in the city is a constant theme in contemporary poets (Friedländer, I, 384 [9223]). But it should be clearly noted that under the principate these clients were simply a luxury. They were the proof of a family's distinction, but political significance was lacking,16 returning only in the late empire (Fustel, 244). In other words, they were merely a burden on their patrons, able to make themselves useful only in exceptional cases, as when in the civil war they hid their patrons in their homes.17 Consideration of these facts makes us see the economic collapse of the nobility as an inevitable consequence of their circumstances. In the century from Augustus to Vespasian this destiny fulfilled itself. What Tacitus (Ann. 3.55.1f.) says of the luxuries of the table has general application: luxus mensae a fine Actiaci belli ad ea arma, quis Seruius Galba rerum adeptus est, per annos centum profusis sumptibus exerciti paulatim exoleuere. Among the causes, he himself cites: dites olimfamiliae nobilium aut claritudine insignes studio magnificentiae prolabebantur.ls It would be superficial, however, to rest content with an explanation on purely economic grounds. There is an element of tragedy in the fact that the decline of the Roman nobility, under whose leadership the Roman empire had been built, was above all a matter of economics. The point, however, can only be touched on here, again in connection with a phrase of Tacitus. He calls the nobility of the year of the four emperors, insofar as it was not zfiebilis et egens turba (2.92.2), segnis et oblita bellorum (Hist. 1.88.2). It was this inertia which Tiberius reprimanded in the symptomatic case of Hortensius. If it is permissible to pass judgment on an entire class in a few sen16 Remnants in Tac. Ann. 2.55.5, 80.1; 3.57, 58. 17 Tac. Hist. 3.73.3, 74.1, 86.3. In 2.72.1 it is rumoured of Scribonianus Camerinus (PIR III, 183 no. 205) that under Nero he remained hidden in Histria, quod illic clientelae et agri ueterum Crassorum ac nominisfauor manebat. 18 Further examples: Tac. Ann. 6.7.1; 13.34.1; 14.14.
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tences, on the strength of a general impression, I should be inclined to say that already at the end of the republic abysses of moral degeneration were yawning on every side, but that there still existed a capacity for vigorous action and a streak of greatness in the passions. Gradually, however, there appeared, besides the more or less crude depravity, a feeble laisser-aller. It is easy to put the blame for this on the principate. But a deeper insight will not fail to recognise that those who succumbed were also reaping what they had sown. The lack of moral discipline in the earlier period produced a moral and spiritual incapacity to meet new challenges. If we look back to the point with which this section began, we may say that the nobility did not understand how to reinforce to their further advantage the position they had won vis-a-vis Augustus. But in conclusion we must not fail to remark that the idea, whose concrete expression the nobility embodied, did not die out along with the nobility as a class. Augustus maintained the aristocratic and timocratic character of society, and so it continued all through the principate as a corner-stone in the structure of the empire.
Subject Index ager publicus 21, 129 ambitus 58ff., 65, 79, 113, 132 amicitia 65f., 102ff., 109E clientele* 63ff., 80, 93ff., 124, 135,160 coitio 123 collegia 55f., 64 commendatio 67ff., 106, 108 consilium 102 contubernium 103, 106, 109 eloquentia 80ff. equites 4ff., 72fF., 131f. factio 123ff. fides 65fE, 139, 160 gloria gratia
81, 135 75ff.
honestus 26 hospitium 67, 89ff. imagines 27f. ius imaginum 142, 153 latifundia 72 lex Acilia 10f., 25f., 64, 70 Atinia 26
lex Amelia 10, 35 Cincia 63 Claudia 18, 25 Cornelia de sicariis 25 Flaminia 19 Gabinia 23 Iulia de modo credendi possidendique 23 Iunia 51 Licinia Sextia 3, 20 Mamilia 133 Maria 131 Sempronia agraria 21, 129 Sempronia de abactis 131 Sempronia de prouocatione 131 Sempronia iudiciaria 10 Sempronia tie quis iudicio circumueniatur 25 Voconia 23 ludi 57,61,111,115 money 23ff., 106£, llOff., 158f. municipium 55£, 60, 97f., 108 necessitudo 67 nobiles 27ff., 55fF., 75,109,135, 141ff. nobilissimus 157 nouitas 28, 33ff., 39, 54ff, 155
164
SUBJEC
occupatio 21 officium 66ff. optimales 55, 124 patriciate 153 patrocinium 62ff., 77, 86ff., 139 pauci 135f. publicani 15f., 60f., 72, 74, 92, 98, 100
INDEX
quaestorship 13, 61, 76, 101
scribae 14, 58 Stoicism 157
tribuni aerarii 72 tribuni militum 9
