The Roman Republic
ontheprestigetheyderivedfromtheirpastservicestothestate.’’Hegoes
ontotalkofthetheoreticalpowerofthepeople,thepracticalrestrictions
imposedontheirvoting,andthemanipulationofthoseconditionsbythe
rulingclass:‘‘AtRomethereweretoomanychecksandbalancesinthecon-
stitution,whichoperatedinpracticeonlyintheinterestoftherulingclass.
Reformershadtouseforce,oratleasttocreateconditionsinwhichthesenate
hadreasontofearitsuse.’’^5
I think that most people would accept this as a fair description of the
structureofpoliticsinthelateRepublic:anoligarchicalsystem,dominated
bynoblefamilies;astablesystemprogressivelydestabilised,inpartatleast,
byeruptionsofmobviolence.Itissignificantindeedthatthewell-known
articlefromwhichthesequotationsaredrawniscalled‘‘TheRomanMob,’’
and ends with a catalogue of acts of political violence in Rome in the last
centuryoftheRepublic.
Iamnotgoingtosuggestthatthisstandardviewiswhollywrong.Indeed
itliesinthenatureofanalysesofpoliticalsystemsthattheycannotbe,inany
simplesense,rightorwrong.ButIdowanttosuggestthatwecouldseethe
wholesysteminratherdifferentterms.Forastartweneedtoestablishsome
differentperspectives.
Firstly,thetraditionalmodelassumesthatpopularquiescenceorpassivity
wasthenorm;popularactionrunningcountertotheinterestsorthewishes
of the Senate, or of the upper classes as a whole, represents a breakdown,
normallyaccompaniedbyviolence.Noonewilldisputethatgroupviolence,
fuelled by various political motivations, often occurred in the politics of
thelateRepublic.Alternatively,JohnNorth’sveryvaluablediscussionofthe
natureandlimitsofdemocraticpoliticsatRomeasserts‘‘Thepopularwill
oftheRomanpeoplefoundexpressioninthecontext,andonlyinthecon-
text,ofdiscussionwithintheoligarchy.’’^6 Theformulationseemsconvinc-
ing.Butbyimportingthewords‘‘theoligarchy’’itpresupposesthatwecan
definesuchagroupinawaywhichisnotcircular,thatis,whichdoesnot
dependonthemerefactofelectiontooffice.Italsopresupposesthatmass
reactionshad,andcouldhave,noinfluence.Andit(again)invitestotakeas
thenormastateofaffairs(when?)inwhichtherewerenodivisionsamong
. ThequotationsarefromP.A.Brunt,‘‘TheRomanMob,’’Past and Present():,
onpp.–and;thisarticlewasunfortunatelynotreprintedwithotherimportantpapersin
The Fall of the Roman Republic(),.ButitwasSocial Conflicts in the Roman Republic(),
whichtookthefirstsignificantstepinremovingthestereotypeswhichhaveobscuredthe
realityofcommunalpoliticsatRome.
. J.A.North,‘‘DemocraticPoliticsinRepublicanRome,’’Past and Present():,
onp..