Dictionary of Greek and Roman antiquities. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

I 0b0 SOCII. SOCIT.
sidered equivalent, it would seem to follow that mus, that a for'eign individual was honourcd by:tli
until the partnership property were exhausted by senate by being registered among the Italian Socii
the payment of the debts, there should be no pe- (in sociorumi' formuldeza rseferre), and in this casa
cuniary contribution by the person who supplied the senate provided him with a house and-lands ir
the labour. This principle is a consequence of some part of Italy. (Liv. xliv. 16.)
what:Gaius states that the capital of one and the Although the allies had their own laws, the:
labour of another might be considered equal, and senate, in cases where it appeared conducive to the
the gain might be divided, and if there was a loss generalwelfare,. might command them to submit to
the loss must be divided in the same proportion. any ordinance it might issue, as in the case of the
Societates were formed for the purposes of farm- Senatusconsultum de Bacchanalibus. (Liv. xxxix.,
ing the public revenues. [PUBaICAN1.] 14.) Many regulations also, which were part of
(Gaius, iii. 148-1 54; Dig. 17. tit. 2; Inst. 3. the Roman law, especially such as related to usury,
tit. 26; Cod. 4. tit. 37 ~ IMiihlenbruch, Dectrinca sureties, wills, and innumerable other things (Liv.
Pandectarsztmn; Mackeldey, Lelrsbsch,&ce.; Hasse, xxxv. 7; Gains, iii. 121, &c. Cic. pro Bal. 8),
Die Culpa des Mins. Reclits. s. 46, 49.) [G. L.] were introduced among the. Socii, and nominally
SO'CII (eVuicaXol). In the early times, when received by them voluntarily. (Cic. 1. c.; Gell. xvi.
Rome formed equal alliances with any of the sur- 13, xix. 8.) The Romans thus gradually -mited
rounding nations, these niations were called Socii. the Italians with themselves, by introducing their
(Liv. ii. 53.) After the dissolution of the Latin own laws among them; but as they did not grant
league, when the name Latini, or NATole? Iatbnums, to them the same civic rights the Socii ultimately
was artificially applied to a great number of Ita- demanded them arms in their hands.
lians, few only of whom were real inhabitants of Among the duties which the Italian Socii had to
the old -Latin towns, and the majority of a whom perform towards Rome the following are the prinhad been made Latins by the will and the law of cipal ones: they had to send subsidies in troops,
Rome, there necessarily arose a difference between money, corn, ships, and other things, whenever
these Latins and the Socii, and the expression Rome demanded them. (Liv. xxvi. 39, xxviii. 45,
SAocii ANomen Lati/umis is one of the old asyndeta, xxxv. 16, &c.) The number of troops requisite
instead of Socii et Aromen Latinln. The Italian for completing or increasing the Roman armies wnas
allies again must be distinguished from foreign al- decreed every year by the senate (Liv. passii),
lies. Of the latter we shall speak hereafter. The and the consuls fixed the amount which each allied
Italian allies consisted, for the nlost part, of such nation had to send, in proportion to its population
nations as had either been conquered by the Ro- capable of bearing arms, of which each nation was
mans, or had come under their dominion by other obliged to draw up accurate lists, called fermsulae.
circumstances. Wlien such nations formed an (Liv. xxxiv. 56; Polyb. ii. 23, &c.; Liv. xxii. 57,
alliance with Rome, they generally retained their xxvii. 10.) The consul also appointed the place
own laws; or if at first they were not allowed this and time at which the troops of the Socii, each part
privilege, they afterwards received them back again. under its own leader, had to meet him and his
The condition of the Italian allies varied, and legions. (Polyb. vi. 21, 26; Liv. xxxiv. 56,
mainly depended upon the manner in which they xxxvi. 3, xli. 5.) The infantry of the allies in a
had come under the Roman dominion (Liv. viii. 25, consular army was usually more numerous than
ix. 20); but in reality they were always depend- that of the Romans; the: cavalry was,generally
ent upon Rome.' Niebuhr (Hlist. of Rome, vol. iii. three times the number of the Romans (Polyb. iii.
p. 616) considers that there were two main con- ]08, vi. 26, 30): but these numerical proportions
ditions of the Socii, analogous or equal to those of were not always observed. (Polyb. ii. 24, iii. 72.)
the provincials, that is, that they were either The consuls appointed twelve praefects as comJbederati or literi (in/sciuses, Cic. c. Ve3r. iii. 6). mianders of the Socii, and their power answered to
The former were such as had formed an alliance that of the twelve military tribunes in the consular
with Rome; whlich was sworn to by both parties; legions. (Polyb. vi. 26, 37.) These praefects, who
the latter were those people to whom the senate were probably taken from the allies themselves, and
had restored their autonomy after they were con- not from the Romans, selected a third of the cavalry,
quered, such as the ITernican towns. (liv. ix. 43.) and a fifth of the infantry of the Socii, who formed
But the condition of each of these classes must a select detachment for extraordinary cases' and
again have been modified according to circum- who were called the extraordinarii. The - rastances. The cases in which Rome had an equal maininig body of the Socii was then divided into
alliance with nations or towns of Italy became two parts, called the right and the left wing.
gradually fewer in number: alliances of this kind (Polyb. i. c.; Liv. xxxi. 21, xxxv. 5.) - The inexisted indeed for a long time with Tibur, Prae- fantry of the wings was, as usualh divided into
neste, Naples, and others (Polyb. vi. 14; Liv. cohorts, and tlhe cavalry into turiae. In some
xliii. 2; Cic. pro Balbs. 8); but these places were, cases also legions were formed of the Socii. (Liv.
nevertheless, in reality as dependent as the other xxxvii. 39.) Pay and clothing were given to the
Socii. It was only a few people, such as the allied troops by the states or townis to which they
Camertes and Heracleans, that maintained the belonged, and which appointed quaestors or payrights of their equal alliance with Rome down to masters for this purpose (Polyb. vi. 21;:Cic. c. - Verr.
a very late time. (Liv. xxviii. 45; Plnt. Mlar. v. 24); blut Rome furnished them with provisions
28; Cic. pro Balb. 20, pro,Arc/. 4.) With these at the expense of the republic: the infantry refew exceptions,' most of the Italians were either ceived the same as the Roman infantry, but tlhe
Socii (in the later sense) or Latini. Du)ring the cavalry only received twvo-thirds of what was given
latter period of the republic they had the connru- to the Roman cavalry. (Polyb. vi. 39; Cic. pro
bium with Rome (Diodor. Exceipt. Iirai, xxxvii. 6), Blelb. 20.) In the distribution of the spoil and of
hbut not the suffrage of the Latins. It sometimes conquered lands they frequently received the same
happened, as ii the case of the lMacedonian Onesi- share as the ornmans. (Liv. xl. 43, x!i. 7, 13,