The Roman Republic
theydevoted themselves to speaking in court and greeting people, spend-
ingtheirtimeintheForum,‘‘andbythesemeansattemptedtorecommend
themselvestothemany.’’
The people enjoyed the three basic constitutional rights of direct vot-
ing on legislation, including declarations of warand the making of peace
treaties;ofelectingalltheannualholdersofpoliticalandmilitaryoffice;and
ofjudginginpopularcourtsconstitutedbythecenturiateassemblyandtribal
assembly(comitia tributa).Thislastelementisnotgivenitsfullsignificancein
modernwork.Gelzer,forinstance,couldlistasa‘‘strugglebetweencliques’’
whatwereinfactprosecutionsbeforethepopularcourts(iudicia populi).^3
IntheendIwillwanttosaynomorethanwhatPolybiussaid:thatwecan-
notunderstandRomanpoliticsifourviewdoesnotencompass,alongwith
thepowerofindividualsholdingofficeandthecollectivepoweroftheSen-
ateasabody,thepowerofthepeopleasrepresented,howeverimperfectly,
in their assemblies.This is not to say that it is worth trying to argue that
Romewasademocracy.Itistosaythatinmanyrespectsitwasmorelike,say,
theclassicalAtheniandemocracythanwehaveallowedourselvestothink.
Certainlythepeopleweresubjecttoinfluencefromabove.Butitwasina
largenumberofcasesamatterofcompeting,conflicting,orcontradictory
influences:invariablywhentheyactedasjurorsordecidedelectiontooffice,
andveryfrequentlywhentheyvotedonlaws,thepeoplewereexercisingthe
powertodecidebetweenclaimsorproposalsmadetothemfromabove.This
bringsustothethirdreasonwhythetraditionalpictureismisleading.The
vehiclethroughwhichsuchclaimsorproposalsreachedthemwasoratory.
Itisthegreatestweaknessofthepresuppositionsaboutsocialandpolitical
structurewhichhavedominatedmuchmodernwriting—atleastinEnglish
andGerman—ontheRomanRepublicformorethanhalfacentury,thatthey
havemadeusdeafbothtothevoiceoftheoratorandtothereactionsofthe
crowdgatheredintheComitium(thearchaicmeetingplace),andForum,
ontheCapitolorintheCampusMartius.
Polybius witnessed the exercise of Roman political and military power
firstfromadistance,asanincreasinglyimportantmemberofanalliedstate,
theAchaeanLeague,andthen,fromcloseup,asadeporteeinRome.Itwill
beconvenienttodolikewiseandcomegraduallytotherealcentresofpower,
theSenatehouse,theComitium,andtheForum.
. M.Gelzer,Die Nobilität der römischen Republik(),The Roman Nobility,trans.
R.Seager(),.