Rome, the Greek World, and the East, Vol. 1 - The Roman Republic and the Augustan Revolution

 The Roman Republic

theirmostbitterrivalriesbeforejuriesconstitutedbythecitizenassemblies.
Theirabilitytolegislatedependedonthetribalassembly;andthenecessary
persuasionwasapplied,ofteninopenconflictanddebate,bythemeansof
speeches,whichweremadenotonly,orevenprimarily,inthe‘‘sacredSen-
ate,’’ but in the open space of the Forum, before the ever-available crowd
consistingofwhoeverwasalreadythere,orwhoeverturnedup.Itwasthis
crowdwhich,howeverimperfectly,symbolizedandrepresentedthesover-
eigntyoftheRomanpeople.