The Roman Republic
entinthesystem.Thisremainssoinspiteofanumberofobviouslimitations:
therestrictionofactualoffice-holdingtoanarrowsocialclass;^74 thehighly
imperfectfitbetweenthecustomofcollectivevotinginRomeandthegeo-
graphicalspreadofthecitizenbody;theclassstratificationofthecenturiate
assembly;theprimitivesystemofopenoralvoting;thelimitedproportion
ofthetotalcitizenbodywhicheitherdidvote,orcouldhavevoted,inthe
establishedvotingareas;^75 andtheevidentabsenceofclass-consciousnessand
presence of political acquiescence and deference to rank which character-
izedtheperiod.^76 Thereisalsothefact,whichhasoftenbeenstressed,that
theassemblies(liketheSenate)hadnofixedagendaordatesofmeeting,and
couldbecalledonlybyamagistrate;theycouldalsoonlyvoteonmatters
which a magistrate put before them. But to emphasize all these aspects is
alsotomiss,firstly,thesheerrangeofissuesoverwhichapopularvote,how-
everwechoosetocharacterizeit,wasindispensable.Democracy,asGuarino
hasemphasised,isfirstofallastrictlyconstitutionalconcept.^77 Secondly,it
istomiss,ashasbeenstressedrepeatedly,theextentoftherhetoricalper-
suasion and thevisible display which were directed,often in a context of
mutualcompetitionoraccusationorconflict,bytheoffice-holdingclassto
thepopulaceatlarge.But,thirdlyandmostimportantofall,itistomissthe
symbolicimportanceofthepublicspacesofRomeandoftheperformance
ofcommunalactstherebeforewhateverpersonshappenedtobepresent.
ThecentralimportanceofpublicityintheGracchanextortion(repetundae)
lawhasrecentlybeenbroughtout,forthefirsttime,bySherwin-White.^78
SimilarconceptionsinformtheLatinlawofBantia.^79 Withinfivedaysoffice-
holdersweretotakeanoathstanding‘‘beforethetempleofCastorinpublic
duringdaylight,facingtheForum’’(ll.–);senatorsweretodoso‘‘be-
forethequaestorattheaerariuminpublicduringdaylight’’(ll.–).This
documentaryevidencemaygiveaddedsignificancetoliteraryreportsfrom
thefirsthalfofthecentury:thecensorsof/resolvingadisputebyagree-
ingtoselectanurbantribeforthefreedmentovoteinbylot,publicly,in
. NoteonthisaspectthepertinentremarkbyFinley(n.),,n.:‘‘Itsurelydoes
notrequireargumentationtorejecttheview...thatpopularparticipationisreducedto
acharadebythefactthatleadershipwasmonopolisedbytheélite.’’
. SeeR.MacMullen,‘‘HowManyRomansVoted?,’’Athenaeum():.
. Forsomeinterestingobservationsonthisaspect,seeW.G.Runciman,‘‘Capitalism
withoutClasses:TheCaseofClassicalRome,’’Brit. Journ. Sociol.():.
. See,e.g.,A.Guarino,LademocraziaaRoma().
. A. N. Sherwin-White, ‘‘The Lex Repetundarum and the Political Ideas of Gaius
Gracchus,’’JRS(),,onpp.–.
.FIRA^2 I,no.;Girardetal.(n.),no..SeenowCrawford(n.),no..