Beacon Lights of History, Volume 03 | Page 5

ascendency. Some modification of

the laws was then made. The political franchise was extended to all free
native Athenians. The command of the military forces was given to ten
generals, one from each tribe, instead of being intrusted to one of the
archons. The Ecclesia, a formal assembly of the citizens, met more
frequently. The people were called into direct action as dikasts, or
jurors; all citizens were eligible to the magistracy, even to the
archonship; ostracism,--which virtually was exile without
disgrace,--became a political necessity to check the ascendency of
demagogues.
Such were the main features of the constitution and jurisprudence of
Athens when the struggle between the patricians and plebeians of
Rome began, to which we now give our attention. It was the real
beginning of constitutional liberty in Rome. Before this time the
government was in the hands either of kings or aristocrats. The
patricians were descendants of the original Latin, Sabine, and Etruscan
families; the plebeians were the throng of common folk brought in by
conquest or later immigration,--mostly of Latin origin. The senate was
the ruling power after the expulsion of the kings, and senators were
selected from the great patrician families, who controlled by their
wealth and influence the popular elections, the army and navy, and all
foreign relations. Consuls, the highest magistrates, who commanded
the armies, were annually elected by the people; but for several
centuries the consuls belonged to great families. The constitution was
essentially aristocratic, and the aristocracy was based on wealth. Power
was in the hands of nobles, whether their ancestors were patricians or
plebeians, although in the early ages of the Republic they were mostly
patricians by birth. But with the growth of Rome new families that
were not descended from the ancient tribes became prominent,--like the
Claudii, the Julii, and the Servilii,--and were incorporated with the
nobility. There are very few names in Roman history before the time of
Marius which did not belong to this noble class. The plebs, or common
people, had at first no political privileges whatever, not even the right
of suffrage, and were not allowed to marry into patrician rank. Indeed,
they were politically and socially oppressed.
The first great event which gave the plebs protection and political

importance was the appointment of representatives called "tribunes of
the people,"--a privilege extorted from the patricians. The tribunes had
the right to be present at the deliberations of the senate; their persons
were inviolable, and they had the power of veto over obnoxious laws.
Their power continually increased, until they were finally elected from
the senatorial body. In 421 B.C. the plebs had gained sufficient
influence to establish the connubium, by which they were allowed to
intermarry with patricians. In the same year they were admitted to the
quaestorship, which office entitled the possessor to a seat in the senate.
The quaestors had charge of the public money. In 336 B.C. the
plebeians obtained the praetorship, a judicial office.
In the year 286 B.C. the distinctions vanished between plebeians and
patricians, and the term populus instead of plebs, was applied to all
Roman people alike. Originally the populus comprised strictly Roman
citizens, those who belonged to the original tribes, and who had the
right of suffrage. When the plebeians obtained access to the great
offices of the state, the senate represented the whole people as it
formerly represented the populus, and the term populus was enlarged to
embrace the entire community.
The senate was an august body, and was very powerful. It was both
judicial and legislative, and for several centuries was composed of
patricians alone. Its members always belonged to the aristocracy,
whether of patrician or plebeian descent, and were supposed to be rich.
Under Augustus it required one million two hundred thousand sesterces
annually to support the senatorial dignity. The senate, the members of
which were chosen for life, had the superintendence of matters of
religion and foreign relations; it commanded the levies of troops; it
regulated duties and taxes; it gave audience to ambassadors; it
determined upon the way that war should be conducted; it decreed to
what provinces governors should be sent; it declared martial law in the
appointment of dictators; and it decreed triumphs to fortunate generals.
The senators, as a badge of distinction, wore upon their tunics a broad
purple stripe, and they had the privilege of the best seats in the theatres.
Their decisions were laws _(leges)._ A large part of them had held
curule offices, which entitled them to a seat in the senate for life. The

curule officers were the consuls, the praetors, the aediles, the quaestors,
the tribunes; so that an able senator was sure of a great office in the
course of his life. A man could scarcely be a senator unless he had held
a great office,