The Roman Republic
fish for more than slaves employed as ploughmen.The sumptuary laws of
this period may indeed be understood ‘‘in the context of the urgent need
ofthesecond-centuryaristocracytopreservethecohesionofthegroup.’’^34
Butpopularattitudesarerelevantalso.AsCicerowastosay,commentingon
anincidentin,theRomanpeopleappreciatedpublicmagnificenceand
hatedprivateluxury(Mur.–).Plutarch,however,allegesthatCatoalso
spoke to the people against the distribution of corn or money (Cato, ).
Theoccasionforsomeorallofthesespeechesmayhavebeenhiscensorship,
when we know that he justified in a speech to the people his omission of
L. Quinctius Flamininus from the Senate.^35 Similarly, in the Bacchanal af-
fairtheactualstepsweretakenbytheSenate(seetexttonn.–);butthe
consulsstillascendedtheRostra,addressedthepeopleontheissueandan-
nouncedrewardsforinformers(Livy,,–,).Fortheserewardsthe
Senatehadbeenabletovotemoneyfromthestatetreasury(aerarium);buton
thequestionofallowingP.Aebutiusexemptionfrommilitaryservice,and
from being assigned a public horse (equus publicus), and of granting special
rightsinprivatelawtoFaeceniaHispala,atribuneoftheplebshadtoput
aplebiscitumtothepeople(,,–).Forthesewereexceptionsasagainst
thenormalrulesofthecommunity.
ElectiontoPublicOffice
Idoindeedwishtosuggestthatwehavesomehowleftoutofourconcep-
tionsoftheworkingoftheRomanstatebothopenconflictonissuesandthe
importance of all forms of oratoryaddressed to the people.The second of
theseatleast,soithasoftenbeenheld,doesnotapplytoelections.Theelec-
tions,onthisview,weredeterminedfromabovebytheoperationsofclientela
andotherformsofdependence.Notprogrammesorpoliticalattitudes,but
persons—orevenmembershipofaparticularfamiliaorgens—decidedthere-
sults;itisasignofthisthatthecandidatesdidnotmakeelectionspeechesto
thepeople.Theentireprocess,therefore,althoughformallydemocraticin
varyingdegrees,dependingonwhetheritinvolvedthetribalassemblyorcen-
turiata,wasinrealityacharade,determinedbyaself-perpetuatingoligarchy,
thenobiles.^36
. M.Crawford,The Roman Republic(),.
. Plut.,Flam.–;Livy,,–,doesnotmakeitexplicitthatthespeechwas
tothepeople.
. Fortheconventionalview,see,e.g.,J.Suolahti,The Junior Officers of the Roman Army
in the Republican Period(), : ‘‘For in the elections no real freedom of choice existed