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

ACTA. ACTA. 7
namely, for the sloping roof of a building, and moare Formulis, v. ~ 113.) They were taken by clerks
particularly for the ornamental front or gable of such (ab actis fori), whose titles and duties occur in
a roof, that is, the pediment. (Plut. Cues. 63, corn- Lydus (de Mcagistr. ii. 20, &c.) and the Notitia
pared with Cic. Philipp. ii. 43, and Suet. Cues. 81.) Dignitatunm.
The usual meaning of acroteria, however, is the 3. ACTA MILITARIA, contained an account of
pedestals placed on the summit of a pediment to the duties, numbers, and expences of each legion
receive statues or other ornamental figures. There (Veget. ii. 19), and were probably preserved in
were three acroteria, one above each angle of the the military treasury founded by Augustus (Suet.
pediment. Vitruvius says that those over the outer Aug. 49; Tac. Ann. i. 78; Dion Cass. Iv. 25.)
angles (actorot. angelarie) should be as high as the The soldiers, who drew up these acta, are freapex of the tympanum, and the one over the high- quently mentioned in inscriptions and ancient wriest angle one-eighth part higher. (Vitruv. iii 3, ters under various titles, as, libraries legionis; acor iii. 5. ~ 12, ed. Schneider.) Some writers in- zuarius or actarius legionis; tabulcarius castrensis,
clude the statues themselves as well as the bases &c.
under the name; but the only authority for this 4. AcTA SENATUS, called also COMMENTARII
seems to be an error of Salmasius. (In Ael. Spart. SENATUS (Tac. Ann. xv. 74) and ACTA PATRUM
Pescen. Nig. 12.) 2. The extremities of the prow (Ann. v. 4), contained an account of the various
of a vessel, which were usually taken from a con- matters brought before the senate, the opinions of
quered vessel as a mark of victory: the act of doing the chief speakers, and the decision of the house.
so was called &ICPWrT7?pLdELV. (Xen. Hell. ii. 3. ~ 8, It has been usually inferred from a passage of
vi. 2. ~ 36; Herod. iii. 59, viii. 121.) 3. The ex- Suetonius (" Inito honore primus omnium instituit,
tremities of a statue, wings, feet, hands, &c. (Dem. ut tam senatus quam populi diurna acta conficerenc. Timeocr. p. 738; Athen. v. p. 199, c.) [P. S.] tur et publicarentur," Caes. 20), that the pro..
ACTA. 1. Signified the public acts and orders ceedings of the senate were not published till the
of a Roman magistrate, which after the expiration first consulship of Julius Caesar, B. C. 59; but this
of his office were submitted to the senate for ap- was not strictly the case; for not only had the deproval or rejection. (Suet. Caes. 19, 23; Cic. crees of the senate been written down and pubPhil. i. 7, &c.) After the death of Julius Caesar lished long previously, but the debates on the
the triumvirs swore, and compelled all the other Catilinarian conspiracy had been widely circulated
magistrates to swear, to observe and maintain all by Cicero (p. Sull. 14, 15.) All that Suetonius
his acta (in acta jurare, comp. Tac. Ann. i. 72; Suet. means to say is, that the proceedings of the senate,
Tib. 67); and hence it became the custom on the which had been only occasionally published before
accession of each emperor for the new monarch to and by private individuals, were for the first time,
swear to observe and respect all the acta of his by the command of Caesar, published regularly
predecessors from Julius Caesar downwards, with every day (senatus acta diurena) under the authority
the exception of those who had been branded with of government as part of the daily gazette. Augustus
infamy after death, such as Nero and Domitian. forbade the publication of the proceedings of the
Every year all the magistrates upon entering upon senate, but they still continued to be preserved,
their office on the 1st of January swore approval of and one of the most distinguished senators, who rethe acts of the reigning emperor: this oath was ori- ceived the title ab actis senzatus, was chosen by the
ginally taken by one magistrate in each department emperor to compile the account. (Tac. Ann. v. 4;
on behalf of his colleagues, but subsequently it was Spart. Hadr. 3; Orelli, Inser. No. 2274, 3186.)
the usual practice for each magistrate to take the The persons entrusted with this office must not be
oath personally. (Dion Cass. xlvii. 18, liii. 28; confounded with the various clerks (actuarii, servi
Tac. Ann. xvi. 22, with the Excursus of Lipsius; publici, scribae, censuales), who were present in the
Dion Cass. lviii. 17, lx. 25.) senate to take notes of its proceedings, and who
2. ACTA FORENSIA were of two kinds: first, were only excluded when the senate passed a
those relating to the government, as leges, ple- senatusconsultunm tacitum, that is, when they debiscita, edicta, the names of all the magistrates, &c., liberated on a subject of the greatest importance,
which formed part of the tabulae publicae; and respecting which secresy was necessary or advisasecondly, those connected with the courts of law. ble. (Capit. Gord. 12.) It was doubtless from
The acta of the latter kind contained an account notes and papers of these clerks that the Acta were
of the different suits, with the arguments of the compiled by the senator, who was entrusted with
advocates and the decisions of the court. In the this office. The Acta were deposited in some of
time of the republic the names of those who were the record offices in particular departments of the
acquitted and condemned were entered on the public libraries, to which access could only be obrecords of the court (in tabulas absolutule non tained by the express permission of the praefectus
rettulit, Cic. ad Famr. viii. 8. ~. 3), and it appears urbi. They were consulted and are frequently refrom the quotations of Asconius from these Acta, ferred to by the later historians (Vopisc. Prob. 2;
that they must have contained abstracts of the Lamprid. Sever. 56; Capitol. Opil. Maer. 6), and
speeches of the advocates as early as the time of many extracts from them were published in the
Cicero. (In Scaurnian. p. 19, in Milonian. pp. 32, Acta Diurna. Tacitus and Suetonius never refer
44, 47, ed. Orelli.) Under the empire the pro- to the Acta Senatus as authorities, but only to the
ceedings of the higher courts seem to have been al- Acta Diurna.
ways preserved, and they are frequently referred to 5. ACTA DIURNA, a gazette published daily at
in the Digest. They are sometimes called Gesta; Rome by the authority of the government during
and they commenced with the names of the consuls the later times of the republic, and under the emfor the year, and the day of the month. (Amm. pire, corresponding in some measure to our newsMarc. xxii. 3; August. Acta c. Fortun. Manich. papers. (Tac. Ann. iii. 3, xiii. 31, xvi. 22.) In
Retract. i. 16; Cod. Theod. 2. tit. 29. s. 3.) Spe- addition to the title Acta Diurna, we find them
cinens of these Acta are given by Brissonius. (De referred to under the names of Diurna, Acta PubB 4