Rome, the Greek World, and the East, Vol. 2 - Government, Society, and Culture in the Roman Empire

Emperors at Work 19

onlyconcreteevidencewehave.Itisnoteworthy,however,thatinthesec-
ondandthirdcenturiesthepostwasoftenheldbyjurists,firstVolusiusMae-
cianus,^108 thenAureliusPapiriusDionysiusunderCommodus,^109 Papinian,^110
andpossiblyUlpian.^111 A.M.Honoréhasbasedabrilliantarticleontheas-
sumptionthatthea libelliswrotetheimperialanswershimself^112 —andin-
deedfindssomecorrelationsbetweentheverbalstyleofeachlawyerinhis
ownworksandthatoftherescriptsintheperiodwhenheisthoughttohave
held office. But the thing is toovague for real proof (and for lack of evi-
denceoncareerstheargumentissometimescircular);moreover,whatmakes
itmoredifficult,noneoftheworksofanyofthesejuristsbelongsindisput-
ablytoaperiodbeforeheheldoffice.Hereagainwejustdonotknow.Who
actuallywrotetheimmensenumberofrescriptsintheCodexofJustinian
remainsamajortopicofdebate.^113
Theevidenceisthusverysparse.Butifweuseforinstancetheanalogy
ofthead legationesora cognitionibus,weshouldbecarefulabouttakingtoo
elevatedaviewoftheformalfunctionsoftheseofficials.Thead legationesof
Gaius, Homilus, as he appears in Philo, attends the emperorand is sent to
telltheJewishdelegationthattheywillbeheardsoon.^114 Thea cognitionibus
appearsinDioandPhilostratuswiththejobofarrangingtheorderofcases
beforetheemperorandsummoninglitigantsintotheauditorium(audience
hall).^115 Suchfunctionscouldstillgiveamanstatus,influence,andwealth.
Luciangivesthisdescriptionofthecomparablepostwhichheoccupiedin
thecourtoftheprefectofEgypt:‘‘theinitiationofcourtcasesandtheirar-
rangement, the recording of all that is done and said, guiding counsels in
theirspeeches,keepingtheclearestandmostaccuratecopyofthegovernor’s
[archōn] decisions in all faithfulness and putting them on public record to
bepreservedforalltime.’’^116 MoreoverPhilodescribesinconsiderabledetail
howaprominentAlexandrian,calledLampon,‘‘wouldstandbesidethepre-

108. Kunkel,Herkunft,174–75;Pflaum,Carrières,no.141.


109. Pflaum,Carrières,no.181.


110. Kunkel,Herkunft,224–25;Pflaum,Carrières,no.220.
     111.HA,Pesc. Nig.7,4.


111. ‘‘TheSeveranLawyers:APreliminarySurvey,’’Stud.etDoc.Hist.etIur.28(1962):


112. 
     


113. I have left this paragraph as originally written,while of coursewanting to men-
     tionhereT.Honoré,Emperors and Lawyers(1981)andtherevisededition(1994),aswellas
     referringtochapter19inthisvolume(reviewarticleonHonoré’swork).


114. Philo,Legatio181.


115. Dio75,15,5;Philost.,VS2,30(bothofwhichshowthattheacognitionibusnormally
     actedontheemperor’sinstructions);VS2,32.Cf.Hirschfeld,Verwaltungsbeamten^2 ,331.


116. Lucian,Apology12.