A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology. By various writers. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

942 SULLA. SULLA.
pensesto which the provincials were put in sending vol. ii. pt. ii. p. 290). To degrade the tribunate
embassies to Rome to praise the administration of still lower, Sulla enacted, that whoever had held this
their governors. (Cic. ad.Far. iii. 8, 10.) office forfeited thereby all right to become a candiWith respect to the magistrates, Sulla renewed date for any of the higher curule offices, in order
the old law, that no one should hold the praetorship that all persons of rank, talent, and wealth, might
before he had been quaestor, nor the consulship be deterred from holding an office which would be
before he had been praetor (Appian, B. C. i. 100; a fatal impediment to rising any higher in the
Cic. Phil. xi. 5); nor did he allowof any deviation state. (Appian, B. C. i. 100; Ascon. in Cornel.
from this law in favour of his own party, for p. 78, ed. Orelli.) The statement that Sulla rewhen Q. Lucretius Ofella, who had taken Prae- quired persons to be senators before they could
neste, presuming upon his services, offered himself become tribunes (Appian, 1. c.), is explained by
as a candidate for the consulship, without having the circumstance that the quaestorship and the
previously held the offices of quaestor and praetor, aedileship, which usually preceded the tribunate
he was assassinated in the forum by the order of gave admission to the senate; and it would therethe dictator. Sulla also re-established the ancient fore appear that Sulla required all persons to hold
law, that no one should be elected to the same the quaestorship before the tribunate.
magistracy till after the expiration of ten years. II. Laws relating to the Ecclesiastical Corpora(Appian, B. 0. i. 101; comp. Liv. vii. 42, x. 31.) tions. - Sulla repealed the Lex Domitia, which
Sulla increased.the number of Quaestors from gave to the comitia tributa the right of electing
eight to twenty (Tac. Ann. xi. 22), and that of the members of the great ecclesiastical corporations,
the Praetors from six to eight. Pomponius says and restored to the latter the right of co-optatio or
(De Orig. Juris, Dig. 1. tit. 2. s. 32) that Sulla self-election. At the same time he increased the
added four new praetors, but this appears to be a number of pontiffs and augurs to fifteen respecmistake, since Julius Caesar was the first who in- tively (Dion Cass. xxxvii. 37; Liv. Epit. 89). It
creased their number to ten. (Suet. Caes. 41; Dion is commonly said that Sulla also increased the
Cass. xlii. 51.) Thisincrease in the number of the number of the keepers of the Sibylline books from
praetors was necessary on account of the new ten to fifteen; and though we have no express
quaestiones, established by Sulla, of which we authority for this statement (for the passage of
shall speak below. Servius, ad Virg. Aen. vi. 73, does not prove it), it
One of the most important of Sulla's reforms is probable that he did, as we read of Quindecemrelated to the tribunate. It is stated in general viri in the tinie of Cicero (ad Fanz. viii. 4) instead
by the ancient writers, that Sulla deprived the of decemviri as previously.
tribunes of the plebs of all real power (Vell. Pat. III. Laws relating to the Administration of Jusii. 30; Appian, B. C. i. 100; Cic. de Leg. iii. 9; tice. - Sulla established permanent courts for the
Liv. Epit. 89); but the exact nature of his altera- trial of particular offences, in each of which a
tions is not accurately stated. It appears certain, praetor presided. A precedent for this had been
however, that he deprived the tribunes of the right given by the Lex Calpurnia of the tribune L.
of proposing a rogation of any kind whatsoever to Calpurnius Piso, in B. C. 149, by which it was
the tribes (Liv. Epit. 89), or of impeaching any enacted that a praetor should preside at all trials
person before them, inasmuch as he abolished al- for repetundae during his year of office. This was
together the legislative and judicial functions of called a Quaestio Pe?-petua, and nine such Quaesthe tribes, as has been previously stated. The tiones Perpetuae were established by Sulla, namely,
tribunes also lost the right of holding conciones De Repetundis, Majestatis, De Sicariis et Vene(Cic. pro Cluent. 40), as has likewise been shown, ficis, De Parricidio, Peculatus, Ambitus, De Numand thus could not influence the tribes by any mis Adulterinis, De Falsis or Testamentaria, and
speeches. The only right left to them was the De Vi Publica. Jurisdiction in civil cases was
Intercessio. It is, however, uncertain to what left to the praetor peregrinus and the praetor urextent the right of Intercessio extended. It is banns as before, and the other six praetors presided
hardly conceivable that Sulla would have left the in the Quaestiones; but as the latter were more
tribunes to exercise this the most formidable of all in number than the praetors, some of the praetors
their powers without any limitation; and that he took more than one quaestio, or a judex quaesdid not do so is clear from the case of Q. Opimius, tionis was appointed. The praetors, after their
who was brought to trial, because, when tribune of election, had to draw lots for their several juristhe plebs, he had used his intercessio in violation dictions. Sulla enacted that the judices should be
of the Lex Cornelia (Cic. Verr. i. 60). Cicero taken exclusively from the senators, and not from
says (de Leg. iii. 9) that Sulla left the tribunes only the equites, the latter of whom had possessed this
the potestas auxilii ferendi; and from this we may privilege, with a few interruptions, from the law
infer, in connection with the case of Opimius, that of C. Gracchus, in B. c. 123. This was a great
the Intercessio was confined to giving their protec- gain for the aristocracy; since the offences for
tion to private persons against the unjust decisions which they were usually brought to trial, such as
of magistrates, as, for instance, in the enlisting of bribery, malversation, and the like, were so comsoldiers. Caesar, it is true, states, in general, that monly practised by the whole order, that they
Sulla left to the tribunes the right of intercessio, were, in most cases, nearly certain of acquittal from
and he leaves it to be inferred in particular that men who required similar indulgence themselves.
Sulla allowed them to use their intercessio in re- (Tac. Ann. xi. 22; Vell. Pat. ii. 32; Cic. Verr.
ference to seinatusconsulta (Caes. B. C. i. 5, 7); Act. i. 13, 16; comp. Dictionary of Antiquities, art.
but it is not impossible, as Becker has suggested, Judex.)
that Caesar may have given a false interpretation Sulla's reform in the criminal law, the greatest
of the right of intercessio granted by Sulla, in and most enduring part of his legislation, belongs
order to justify the course he was himself adopt- to a history of Roman law, and cannot be given
ing. (Becker, Handbuch der imn. -Alterthiimer, here. For further information on this subject the