The Roman Republic
Butiftheimportanceofdirectdescentfromformerholdersofofficewas
ever more emphatically stressed to the public, the more general presump-
tionsofmodernscholarshipcannowbeseentobeexaggerated.Firstly,there
is no clear proof, as regards the historical period, that a Romangenswas a
significant element in society,with a known membership and boundaries,
defined functions or common interests. Recent demolitions of the long-
supposedfundamentalimportanceofthegenosinGreeksocietyshouldmake
usverycautioushere.^39
Secondly,ithasrecentlybeendemonstratedbyBrunt,andinevenmore
detailbyHopkinsandBurton,thattherewasmorefluidityintheoccupa-
tionofofficeovergenerationsthanprevioustheoriespresupposed.^40 These
analyses of course confirm what is undeniable, that the higher the offices
reachedbyaman’simmediateancestorsthebetterhischancesofhighoffice
himself.Yetsuccessiontooffice-holdinginthesamefamilydependedonthe
birthofsonsandontheirsurvivaltotherightage,onthefinancialresources
ofthefamily,andonwillingnesstoenterpubliclife.Asaresult,forinstance,
whiletwo-fifthsofconsulswerethesonsofconsuls,asmanyasone-third
hadnoconsularancestorinthepreviousthreegenerations;onlyone-third
ofconsulshadasonwhowasalsoconsul.Thisveryfigure,however,demon-
stratesasubstantialdegreeofsocialbiasintheoccupationoftheconsulate.
Theprestigeoffamiliesandtheimportanceofdescentcertainlymadehigh
officehardertoobtainthelowertherankachievedbyimmediateancestors.
Buttherewasconstantfluidity;andinexceptionalcases,likethatofCato,
amanwithnooffice-holdingancestorscouldrise,byelection,tobeconsul
andcensor.
Thirdly,themuch-usedterm‘‘thepatrician-plebeiannobility’’isvariously
misleading.Nobilis,ornobilitas,wasneveratechnicalterm,likepeerage,re-
ferringtoaclosedandlegallydefinedgroup;thesewordsaredescriptions,ap-
pearinginlaterepublicanliterature.Eventhelate-republicansemi-technical
usage—whetherconfined,asGelzerthought,todescendantsofconsulsor
theirequivalents,orapplied,asBrunthasshown,tothoseofawidergroup
ofoffice-holders—happensnottobespecificallyattestedinthe(admittedly
slight)survivingliteratureofourperiod.^41 Wearenotentitledtoassumethat
. SeeF.Bourriot,RecherchessurlanatureduGenos();D.Roussel,Tribuetcité().
SeeS.C.Humphreys,‘‘FusteldeCoulangesandtheGreek‘Genos,’’’Sociologia del Diritto
():.
.P.A.Brunt,‘‘NobilitasandNovitas,’’JRS():;Hopkins(n.),chap.:‘‘Politi-
calSuccessionintheLateRepublic,–B.C.’’(withG.P.Burton).
. Brunt (n. ).Thewordnobilitasis attested, Plautus,Captivi, but in a related,
non-specificsense.