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

Popular Politics at Rome 

chantingCicero’sname,hehimselfmadeaspeechbeforethem.^57 Diomay
beover-dramatisinginrecordingthatthemobinfactrushedtotheCapitol,
wheretheSenatewasmeetinginthetempleofConcordia,andthreatenedto
slaughterthesenatorsandburndownthetemples.^58 Buttheessentialpoints
areclear:thepresumptionofapublicrighttobeneficialmeasuresonthepart
ofthestate;thehighlyexposedpositionoftheSenatewhenpopularfeeling
was aroused; and (to look forward) the permanent acceptance later, under
theEmpire,bothofafreecorndistributionandofthestate’sobligationto
protectthemarketpriceofcorn.ThedemandsoftheRomanpeoplewere
tofindtheirmostimportantreflectionintheRes GestaeofAugustus.
InthelateRepublic,however,thetermRomanpeoplewasalreadyahighly
ambiguousone.Almostallthebenefitswhichitsuccessfullydemandedwere
feltinthecityitself—theshowsputonbyoffice-holdersandothers,thetri-
umphswhichliterallydemonstratedtheprofitsofEmpirebeforethepeople,
thedistributionsofcorn,theprovisionsforthesupplyofmarketcorn.So
tooofcoursealltheactivefunctionsofacitizencouldonlybeperformedin
Rome,byvotinginpersoninthetraditionallocationsoftheForumorthe
CampusMartius.But,aswasmentionedearlier,theeffectoftheSocialWar
of..hadbeentowinthecitizenshipforeveryoneinItaly—thatis,of
course,allfree,adultmales—livingsouthofthePo,notfarshortofamillion
peopleinall.Theywerenotinpracticeregisteredasvoters,however,until
twentyyearslater,intheconsulshipofPompeyandCrassusin,whichsaw
theeffectivedoublingoftheregisteredcitizenbody.AsCicerowasdeliver-
inghisfirstorationagainstVerresinthesummerof..,hecouldrefer
to‘‘thiscrowd[frequentia]fromalloverItaly,whichhasgatheredatasingle
momentfromalldirections,fortheelections,thegames,andregistrationin
thecensus.’’^59

Asiswellknown,thestructureoftheRomancity-statewasnotchangedin
theslightesttoreflectitsprogressivenumericalandgeographicalexpansion.
AllpoliticalactivitywasstillcarriedoutinRome,inperson.ButwhatLily
RossTaylor,inhermuchunderestimatedbookonRomanpoliticsinthetime
of Caesar, called ‘‘delivering thevote’’ could now involve canvassing as far

. Cic.,Att.,,,Shackleton-Bailey,no.,translates‘‘morehoc
insulsoetnovoplausummeonominerecitandodedisset’’as‘‘thepeopleapplaudedafterthe
sillynew-fangledfashionwhenmynamewasreadout,’’surelywrongly.Thenewfashion
willhavebeenthatofapplaudingbyrepeatinghisname.
. Dio,.
.Verr.,.