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

Politics, Persuasion, and the People 

theplebscreated,northeconsularpower[potestas]havesooftenbeen

limitedbyplebiscita[lawspassedbytheplebeianassembly—theconci-

lium plebis],northerightofappeal[provocatio]grantedtotheRoman

people,guardianofthestateandthedefenceofitsfreedom.

Theargumentfromhistoricalprecedentwasfundamentaltothenatureof
thepublicpoliticalprocess.Buttherewasalsoanotheraspecttotheissueat
stakeinthiscase,anargumentwhichwasmorespecificinitstermsandof
moreimmediatecontemporaryrelevancethanthat.Theentirecase(tota illa
causa) depended on the definition of ‘‘damage to the majestyof the state’’
(maiestas minuta),aslaiddown—forthefirsttimeever—intheLexAppuleia
passed by Saturninus, probably in his second tribunate in .^6 What then
werethetermsinwhichmaiestaswasdefinedinSaturninus’law,theearliest
togiveformallegalexpressiontothisconcept?Cicerosuppliesthedefinition
intheDe inventione,:

Todetractinanywayfromthedignity(dignitas)orthegreatness(am-

plitudo)orthepower(potestas)ofthepeople,orofthosetowhomthe

peoplehasgivenpower.

It might be worth considering in what light we would understand these
words if wewere told that theyderived from the political life of a Greek
city.Indeeditmighthelpustoescapefromtheshacklesofwhatwethink
weknowabouttheRomanRepublicifweweretoreadalltheinformation
whichwearegivenaboutRomebetweenand..asifitrelatedtoa
Greekcity.Norwouldthisbewhollyinappropriate.Polybius,whoshould
haveknown,didsupposethatthecategoriesofpoliticalanalysisrelevantto
Greek cities could be applied to Rome. Moreover, there had never been a
time,fromtheeighthcenturyonwards,whenRomehadnotbeenwithinthe
orbitoftheGreekworld,andprofoundlyaffectedbyGreekinfluences.^7 And,
specificallyfromthisperiod,thereisperfectlyclearevidencethatprecedents
fromGreekhistorywereregularlydeployedinpoliticalreasoninginRome.
Evenwithouttheseinnumerablerealinterconnectionsandinfluences,it
wouldbeausefullogicaldeviceforustorelocatetheavailableevidenceina
contexttowhichwewouldapplydifferentpresuppositions.Nothingcould

. FortheideologicalcontentandrevolutionaryimplicationsofSaturninus’legislation
seeabovealltheveryimportantarticlesofJ.-L.Ferrary,‘‘Recherchessurlalégislationde
Saturninus et de Glaucia,’’MEFR(A) (): ; ‘‘Les origines de la loi de majesté à
Rome,’’CRAI():.
. Notenowesp.A.D.Momigliano,‘‘TheOriginsofRome,’’Settimo Contributo():
.