Politics, Persuasion, and the People oftheSenateenjoiningactionforthesafetyofthestateconstitutedalegal
justificationforthemurderofGaiusGracchusandtheimprisonmentofciti-
zens(Livy,Epit.).Asiswellknown,Opimiuswasacquitted.Sotoowere
thetwoex-consulsagainstwhomCn.DomitiusAhenobarbus,astribunein
,broughtactionsfortheimpositionofafine(multa),beforethethirty-
fivetribes.Bothconcernedthesafetyofthestate.M.IuniusSilanus,consul
of,wastriedforhisdefeatbytheCimbriinthatyear:thechargewasthat
hehadactedwithoutbeingauthorizedtodosobythepeople(iniussupopuli),
andthathisdefeathadbeenthebeginningofthedisasterswhichthepeople
had since suffered (Asconius C). Aemilius Scaurus, probably then apon-
tifex,wasaccusedonthegroundsthatthepublicritesoftheRomanpeople
hadbeendamagedbyhisfault;tobeprecise,theritesoftheDei Penatesat
Laviniumhadbeenimproperlyconducted.Hetoowasacquitted,butmore
narrowly:onlythreeofthethirty-fivetribesvotedforcondemnation,but
intheremainingthirty-twoamajorityforacquittalwasachievedbyonlya
fewvotes(AsconiusC).
ItwasinthissameyearthatDomitiusAhenobarbuscarriedhislawthatthe
priestlycollegesshouldbefilledbypopularelection,ameasurealreadypro-
posedunsuccessfullyin,whenLaelius,speakingagainstthelaw,haddis-
coursedtothepeople,goingintothedetailsofreligiousobservance‘‘which
Numalefttous’’(Nat.Deor.,).Domitius’law,whenfinallypassed,obliged
anyonenominatinganewaugurforelection,intheplaceof(toreplace)one
whohasdied,todosoatapublicmeeting.
Theprincipleoftheaccountabilityofoffice-holders,andthepopularsus-
picion of improprietyand profiteering, themes which run through all the
politicsofthisperiod,hadtheirplaceintheregulationofreligiousobser-
vances also.Thus when L. Caecilius Metellus as pontifex maximus, along
withtheCollegeofPontifices,triedthreeVestalVirginsforbreakingtheir
vows, acquitting two, a tribune of , Sextus Peducaeus, accused them of
corruptjudgement(male iudicasse),andthepeoplevotedtoappointL.Cas-
siustoenquireintotheissue.Hereaselsewhere,nooneneedsupposethat
Romanpoliticiansweredevoidofpersonalmotives.Onthecontrary,these
motivescouldevenbeopenlyparadedbeforethepeople.WemayrecallGaius
GracchusatapublicmeetingtellingtheattendanttogoandsummonPiso
toappear,thatisbeforethepeople.‘‘WhichPiso?’’enquiredtheattendant.
‘‘Youforcemetosay,myenemy,Frugi’’(Cicero,Font.).But,‘‘enmities’’or
not,itisessentialnottoforget,firstly,thattheproposaloflawsandopposi-
tiontothem,thesetting-upofadhocorpermanentcourts,andtheconduct
oftrialsbeforethepeoplemightallinvolvebasicissuesofthenatureofthe
state,orsovereigntywithinit,orthedispositionofitsresourcesandofthe