The Roman Republic
centuries,wasnotprotestingagainsttheactionseitherofalegalsovereignor
ofaneffective‘‘governingorgan.’’Foritwasitselfthesovereignbody,and
inmanyrespectsitwasalsothegoverningorgan.Moreover,andthisismy
finalpoint,weunderestimatehowlargeapartinallthiswasplayedbyper-
suasion,mainlyintheformoforatory,butalsobyquestion-and-answer,or
byvariousformsofvisualpresentation.Inallofthiswearelookingatvari-
ousaspectsofthecontio—awordwhich,dependingonthecontext,means
aninformalpublicmeetingcalledbyanoffice-holder,aspeechdeliveredat
suchameeting,ortheactualcrowdattendingit.
ItisimportanttostressthattheSenateitselffunctionedwithinthiscontext
ofcrowdpolitics.AsImentionedearlier,itmetinexposedlocationsinthe
centreofthecity,normallyofcourseinthecuriaontheedgeoftheForum
itself.ThenoiseofanangrycrowdgatheredaroundtheComitiumoutside
couldbeheardinside.Moreover,interestedpersonsfromwithintheSenate
couldalsoeasilystepoutsideandreporttothecrowdonwhathadbeensaid
inside.Soin,onthedayafterthemurderofClodius,T.MunatiusPlancus
deliveredapublicspeechtoexplainwhatdecreetheSenatehadintendedto
pass,whohadaskedforadivision,whohadinterposedaveto,andwhy.^68 Or,
again,Clodiuscouldreportinapublicmeetingthatthecollegeofpontifices
hadruledthatthedestructionofCicero’shousewaslegal,andthatCicero
wastryingtoregainpossessionofitbyforce;thepeopleshouldfollowhim
indefenceoftheirliberty.^69 Alternatively,prominentpersons,office-holders
ormembersofthecollegesofpriests,couldbebroughtbeforepublicmeet-
ingstogivepublictestimonyinperson.SoCicero,speakingasifaddressing
Clodius,recallswhatthelatterhaddoneastribunein:^70
YouproducedBibulusbeforeapublicmeeting,asyoudidalsotheau-
gurs; in response toyour interrogation the augurs replied that when
someonewaswatchingtheheavensforauspicia,itwasnotlegaltoput
measuresbeforethepeople.Twoyears later, C. Cato, as tribune of , compelled members of the col-
lege of fifteen people calledQuindecimviri sacris faciundisto read out verses
from the Sibylline Books before a public meeting.^71 In the same year the
consul,Cn.CorneliusLentulusMarcellinus,complainedinapublicmeeting
. Asconius,ed.Clark,–.
. Cic.,Att.,(Shackleton-Bailey,no.).
. Cic.,Dom..
. Dio,,–,.