Dios Rome, Vol. 4 | Page 9

contend for the prize. Moreover, do not keep up the ancient powers of these positions, for fear history may repeat itself, but preserve the honor attached while abating the influence to such an extent as will enable you to deprive each place of none of its esteem but to forestall any desire of insubordination. This can be done if you require the incumbents to stay in town, and do not permit any of them to handle arms either during their period of office or immediately afterward, but only after the lapse of some time, as much as you think sufficient in each instance. In this way none of them will rebel, because they become to an extent by their title masters of armies, and their irritation will be assuaged by their faring as private citizens for a time. Let these magistrates conduct such of the festivals as would naturally belong to their office, and let them all individually try cases save those of homicide, during their tenure of office in Rome. Courts should also be made up of the senators and knights, but the final appeal should be to the aforesaid officials.
[-21-] "Let a pr?fectus urbi be appointed from the ranks of the prominent men and from such as have previously passed through the necessary offices. His duties should not be to govern when the consuls are somewhere out of town, but to exercise at all times a general supervision of the City's interests and to decide the cases referred to him by all the other magistrates I mentioned, both those demanding final decision and such as may be appealed, together with any that involve the death penalty; and he must have authority in all of them that concern men both in the City (except such as I shall name) and those dwelling outside to the distance of seven hundred and fifty stades.
"Still another magistrate ought to be chosen, himself also from a similar class, to investigate and watch the matters of family, property, and morals of senators and knights, alike of men and of the children and wives belonging to them[6]. He should also set right such behavior as properly entails no punishment, yet if neglected becomes the cause of many great evils. The more important details he must report to you. This duty ought to be assigned to some senator, and to the most distinguished one after the pr?fectus urbi, rather than to one of the knights. He would naturally receive his name from your authority as censor, (for you must certainly be the dictator of the census), so that he might be called sub-censor[7].--Let these two hold office for life, unless either of them deteriorates in any way or becomes sick or superannuated. By reason of the permanence of their positions they would do nothing dangerous, for one would be entirely unarmed and the other would have but a few soldiers and be acting for the most part under your eyes. By reason of their rank they would shrink from coming into collision with any one and would be afraid to do any act of violence, for they would foresee their retirement to ordinary citizenship and the supremacy of others in their stead. Let them also draw a certain salary, to compensate them for the time consumed and to increase their reputation. This is the opinion I have to give you in regard to these officials.
"Let those who have been pr?tors hold some office among the subject nations. Before they have been pr?tors I do not think they should have this privilege. Let those who have not yet been pr?tors serve for one or two terms as lieutenants to such persons as you may have designated. Then, under these conditions, let them be consuls if they continue to govern rightly, and after that let them take the greater positions of command. [-22-] The following is the way I advise you to arrange it. Divide up all of Italy which is over seven hundred and fifty stades from the city and all the rest of the territory which owns our sway, both on the continents and in the islands,--divide it up everywhere according to races and nations; and pursue the same course with as many cities as are important enough to be ruled by one man with full powers. Then establish soldiers and a governor in each one and send out one of the ex-consuls to take charge of all, and two of the ex-pr?tors. One of the latter, fresh from the City, should have the care of private business and the supplying of provisions: the other should be one of those who have had this training, who will attend to the public interests of the cities and will govern the soldiers, except in cases that concern disenfranchisement