The Aerarium and Its Officials 79DebtstotheState
Debtstothestatearosemainlyfromcontractualobligationsorfromtheim-
positionoffines.^47 IntheRepublicthecensorsonleavingofficewouldde-
positattheAerariumalistofpublicdebtors(aerarii).^48 Oneexampleofcen-
sorialactionisthatofCamillusandPostumius,wholaidafineonallthose
whohadattainedoldageincelibacyandreportedthenamestotheAera-
rium.^49 Ina.d.58 we find the quaestors of the Aerarium entering in their
booksfines(multae) imposed bya tribune.^50 Then therewere debts arising
fromcontracts;onOctavian’sabolitionofdebtsin29,whereSuetoniushas
only‘‘heburnttherecordsofolddebtstotheAerarium,whichwerebyfar
themostfrequentsourceof blackmail,’’^51 Diohas‘‘hecancelledallobliga-
tions which had been given to the Aerarium [to dēmosion] previous to the
battle of Actium, except those secured by buildings, and he burnt the old
recordsofthosewhohadbeenindebtedtothepublic.’’^52
Debts to the Aerarium tended to accumulate. Cato theYounger found
manyoutstandingdebtsofprivatepeopletothestate,andviceversa.^53 Inthe
Empire,Vespasian,Hadrian,andMarcusAureliusallcancelledlong-standing
debtstotheAerarium.^54 Thesituationnaturallylentitselftodelation,and
one Paetus appears in Nero’s reign ‘‘whowas notorious for his acquisition
ofconfiscatedpropertyfromtheAerarium.’’Evidentlyhetriedtoprosecute
peoplewhosenamestheAerariumofficialshadinfactcrossedoff—sincethe
storyisroundedoffwiththecommentthat‘‘therecordsinwhichhetraced
backforgottendebtstotheAerariumhadburnt.’’^55
The question nowarises of the role of the Aerarium officials in the re-
coveryofdebts,and,fromthat,thedevelopmentoftheirindependentjuris-
diction. In the early Republicwe find the quaestors seizing and selling up
- Two extant republican laws, the (CILI^2 582Riccobono,FIRAI^2 16Bruns,
Fontes^7 ,no.8,l.11.)and(CILI^2 583Riccobono,FIRAI^2 7Bruns,Fontes^7 ,no.10,l.57),
provideforthenamingofguarantors(tothequaestorsoftheAerariumbyamanwhohas
sufferedafineorcondemnation). - E.g.,Livy29,37,12.
- Val.Max.11,9,1.SeeBroughton,MRRI,82.
- Tac.,Ann.13,28,3.
- Suet.,Div. Aug.32,2.
- 53,2,3.
- Plut.,Cato Minor17,2.
- Dio66,10,2a(Vespasian);69,8,I^2 (Hadrian);71,32,2(MarcusAurelius).See‘‘The
FiscusintheFirstTwoCenturies,’’JRS53(1963):29(chapter3inthisvolume). - Tac.,Ann.13,23.Theinterpretationofthispassageisbynomeanssecure.