The History of Rome, Book I: The Period Anterior to the Abolition of the Monarchy — John Shaqi
The History of Rome, Book I: The Period Anterior to the Abolition of the MonarchyMommsen, Theodor
History
The History of Rome, Book I: The Period Anterior to the Abolition of the Monarchy
Mommsen, Theodor
Rome -- History
Sternly defined as was the contrast between burgess and non-burgess,
the equality of rights within the burgess-body was complete. No
people has ever perhaps equalled that of Rome in the inexorable
rigour with which it has carried out these principles, the one as
fully as the other. The strictness of the Roman distinction between
burgesses and non-burgesses is nowhere perhaps brought out with
such clearness as in the treatment of the primitive institution
of honorary citizenship, which was originally designed to mediate
between the two. When a stranger was, by resolution of the community,
adopted into the circle of the burgesses, he might surrender his
previous citizenship, in which case he passed over wholly into the
new community; but he might also combine his former citizenship with
that which had just been granted to him. Such was the primitive
custom, and such it always remained in Hellas, where in later
ages the same person not unfrequently held the freedom of several
communities at the same time. But the greater vividness with which
the conception of the community as such was realized in Latium
could not tolerate the idea that a man might simultaneously belong
in the character of a burgess to two communities; and accordingly,
when the newly-chosen burgess did not intend to surrender his
previous franchise, it attached to the nominal honorary citizenship
no further meaning than that of an obligation to befriend and protect
the guest (-jus hospitii-), such as had always been recognized as
incumbent in reference to foreigners. But this rigorous retention
of barriers against those that were without was accompanied by an
absolute banishment of all difference of rights among the members
included in the burgess community of Rome. We have already mentioned
that the distinctions existing in the household, which of course
could not be set aside, were at least ignored in the community; the
son who as such was subject in property to his father might thus,
in the character of a burgess, come to have command over his father
as master. There were no class-privileges: the fact that the Tities
took precedence of the Ramnes, and both ranked before the Luceres,
did not affect their equality in all legal rights. The burgess
cavalry, which at this period was used for single combat in front
of the line on horseback or even on foot, and was rather a select
or reserve corps than a special arm of the service, and which
accordingly contained by far the wealthiest, best-armed, and
best-trained men, was naturally held in higher estimation than the
burgess infantry; but this was a distinction purely -de facto-, and
admittance to the cavalry was doubtless conceded to any patrician.
It was simply and solely the constitutional subdivision of the
burgess-body that gave rise to distinctions recognized by the law;
otherwise the legal equality of all the members of the community
was carried out even in their external appearance. Dress indeed
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