The historians' history of the world in twenty-five volumes, volume 05 : $b the Roman Republic
History
The historians' history of the world in twenty-five volumes, volume 05 : $b the Roman Republic
World history
The matter was finally adjusted by a further compromise. The plebeian
consul was invested with the imperium; but the judicial power was now
taken from the consuls and put into the hands of a supreme patrician
judge, called the Prætor of the City (_Prætor Urbanus_), and Sp.
Camillus, son of the dictator, was the first prætor. A hundred men
(_centumviri_) were named, to whom he might delegate all difficult cases
not of a criminal nature. At the same time also another magistracy, the
curule ædileship, was created, to be filled by patricians and plebeians
in alternate years. These curule ædiles shared the duties of the plebeian
ædiles, and besides this, had to superintend the great games, for which
they were allowed a certain sum from the treasury. At the same time a
fourth day was added to these games in honour of the plebeians.
Thus the patricians lost one of the consulships, but retained part of
the consular functions under other titles. And when Camillus had thus
effected peace between the orders, he vowed a temple to Concord; but
before he could dedicate it, the old hero died. The temple, however, was
built according to his design; its site, now one of the best known among
those of ancient Rome, can still be traced with great certainty at the
northwestern angle of the Forum, immediately under the Capitoline. The
building was restored with great magnificence by the emperor Tiberius;
and it deserved to be so, for it commemorated one of the greatest events
of Roman history,--the final union of the two orders, from which point
we must date that splendid period on which we now enter. By this event
was a single city enabled to conquer, first of all Italy, and then all
the civilised countries of the known world, that is, all the peoples
bordering on the Mediterranean Sea.
Various causes were for some time interposed to prevent the due execution
of the Licinian laws. Indeed the first two of these measures, which
aimed at social improvements, may be said to have failed. Social abuses
are always difficult to correct. The evils are, in these cases, of slow
growth; their roots strike deep; they can only be abated by altering
the habits and feelings of the people, which cannot be effected in the
existing generation; they will not give way at once to the will of a
law-giver, however good his judgment, however pure his motives, however
just his objects. But the common difficulty of removing social evils was
increased in Rome at this time by circumstances.
[Sidenote: [367-343 B.C.]]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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