Popular Politics at Rome commandsweretransferred,anddetailedquestionsrelatingtotheprovinces
settled.Itwassurelybymeansofalawthat,in,theprovinceofCiliciawas
removedfromLucullus’commandandgiventoQ.MarciusRex;^33 anditis
virtuallycertainthatthelawontheprivilegesofTermessosinPisidia,putto
theplebsbyagroupoftribunes,alsobelongsto;amongotherthingsthe
textofthislawdeclaresthatthepeopleofTermessosaretobe‘‘friendsand
allies’’oftheRomanpeople,anditinstructsmagistratesandpromagistrates
nottobilletsoldiersthere,ormakeanyillegaldemandsonthem.^34
Thisphasecametoaheadin.OnelawpassedbythetribuneGabinius
gavetotheconsul,M’.AciliusGlabrio,theprovinceof BithyniaandPon-
tus, and another gave Pompey his historic Mediterranean-wide command
againstthepirates.InthefollowingyearCicero,speakingtothepeople,was
torecallthescenewhenthislatterlawwaspassed.^35
Doyouthinkthatthereisanyshoresodeserted,thatthefameofthat
dayhasnotreachedit,whenthewholeRomanPeople,withtheforum
packed,andeverytemplecrowdedfromwhichthisplace[theRostra]
canbeseen,demandedCn.Pompeiusassoleimperatorforthecommon
waronbehalfofallpeoples?It would be possible to devote an entire paper to the complex patterns of
popularpolitics—orofpublicpoliticsconductedintheopeninacentralpub-
licplace,theForumRomanum—astheyshowedthemselvesinthislaw,and
otherlegislationoftheyear.Butafewepisodeswillsufficebywayofillus-
tration.Thetwoprominentex-consuls(consulares),HortensiusandCatulus,
bothspokeagainstthelaw,tothepeople.^36 Catulusdidsoinpartbyquestion-
and-answertothecrowd,asCicerorecalls:^37
Whenheaskedofyou(thepeople),ifyouweretoconferallpoweron
Pompey,andifanythinghappenedtohim,inwhomyouwouldrepose
yourhopes,hegainedastrikingrewardforhisownvirtueanddignity,
whenyouallwithonevoicesaidthatitwouldbeinhimhimself.Here, as in the following year, a fundamental argument about the nature
oftheconstitutionontheonehand,andtheneedsof imperialsecurityon
theother,wasbeingconductedinpublicthroughthemediumofspeeches.
.Dio,,.
. SeeJ.-L.Ferrary,‘‘LaLexAntoniadeTermessibus,’’Athenaeum():.
. Cic.,Man..
.Man.–,.
.Man..