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

]1020 SENATUS. SENATUS.
before the senate the subjects for deliberation. and such ambassadors wvere gencrally senators
Tilhe power of the senate was at first the same as themselves and ten in number. (Polyb. vi. 13;
under the kings, if not greater: it had the general Liv. passim.) The senate alone carried on the ne,
care of the public welfare, the superintendence of gotiations with foreign ambassadors (Polyb. 1. c.
all matters of religion, the management of all af- Cic. c. Tatinz. 15), and received the complaints of
fairs with foreign nations; it commanded the levies subject or callied nations, who always regarded the
of troops, regulated the taxes and duties, and had senate as their common protector. (Liv. xxix. 16,
in short the supreme control of all the revenue and xxxix. 3, xlii. 14, xliii. 2; Polyb. 1. c.) By
expenditure. The order in which the senators virtue of this office of protector it also settled all
spoke and voted was determined by their rank as disputes which might arise among the municipia
belonging to the majores or minores. (Cic. de Re and colonies of Italy (Dionys. ii. 1; Liv. ix. 20
P2tbl. ii. 20; Dionys. vi. 69, vii. 47.) This dis- Varro, dce Re Rust. iii. 2; Cic. ad Alt. iv. 15, (de
tinction of rank however appears to have ceased OfT. i. 10), and punished all heavy crimes cornafter the decemvirate, and even under the decem- mitted in Italy, which might endanger the public
virate we have instances of the senators speaking peace and security. (Polyb. 1. c.) Even in Rome
without any regular order. (Dionys. vi. 4, 16, 19, itself the judices to whom the praetor referred im21; Liv. iii. 39, 41.) It is also probable that after portant cases, both public and private, were talcen
the decenimvirate vacancies in the senate were gene- from among tile senators (Polyb. vi. 17), and in
rally filled with ex-magistrates, which had now extraordinary cases the senate appointed especial
become more practicable as the number of magis- commissions to investigate them (Liv. xxxviii. 54,
trates had been increased. The tribunes of the xxxix. 14, xl. 37, 44, &c.); but such a commispeople likewise obtained access to the deliberations sion, if the case in question was a capital offence
of the senate (Liv. iii. 69, vi. 1); but they had no committed by a citizen, required the sanction of
seats in it yet, but sat before the opened doors of the people. (Polyb. vi. 16; Liv. xxvi. 33, &c.)
the curia. (Val. Max. ii. 2. ~ 7.) The senate had When the republic was in danger the senate might
at first had the right to propose to the comitia the confer unlimited power upon the magistrates by
candidates for magistracies, but this right was now the formula, " videant consules, ne quid respublost: the comitia centiuriata had become quite free lica detrimenti capiat " (Sallust. Cat. 29; Caes.
in regard to elections and were no longer dependent B. C. i. 5, 7), which was equivalent to a deupon the proposal of the senate. The curies only claration of martial laiw within the city. This
still possessed the right to sanction the election; general care for the internal and external welf;lre
but in the year B. c. 299 they were compelled to of the republic included, as before, the right to dissanction any election of magistrates which the co- pose over the finances requisite for these purposes.
mitia might make, before it took place (Cic. Brut. Hence all the revenue and expenditure of the re14; Aurel. Vict. de Vie. llzeestr. 33), and this public were under the direct administration of the
soon after became lawby the lex Maenia. (Orelli, senate, and the censors and quaestors were onlyv
Oonoe. Tull. vol. iii. p. 215.) When at last the its ministers or agents. [CENSOR; QuAESTOR.]
curies no longer assembled for this empty show of All the expenses necessary for the maintenance of
power, the senate stept into their place, and hence- the armies required the sanction of the senate, beforth in elections, and soon after also in matters of fore anything could be done, and it might even
legislation the senate had previously to sanction prevent the triumph of a returning general, by rewhatever the comitia might decide. (Liv. i. 17.) fusing to assign the money necessary for it. (Polyb.
After the lex Hortensia a decree of the comitia vi. 15.) There are, however, instances of a general
tributa became law even without the sanction of triumphing without the consent of the senate. (Liv.
the senate. The original state of things had thus iii. 63, vii. 17, ix. 37.)
gradually become reversed, and the senate had lost How many members were required to be present
very important branches of its power, which. had in order to constitute a legal meeting is uncertain,
all been gained by the comnitia tributa. [TPIBUNUS though it appears that there existed some regulaPLEnIS.] In its relation to the comitia centu- tions on this point (Liv. xxxviii. 44, xxxix. 4
riata, however, the ancient rules were still in force, Cic. ad Fanz. viii. 5; Fest s. v. Numera), and
as laws, declarations of war, conclusions of peace, there is one instance on record, in which at Icast
treaties, &c. were brought before them and decided one hundred senators were required to be present.
by them on the proposal of the senate. (Walter, (Liv. xxxix. 18.) The presiding magistrate
p. 132.) opened the business, and as the senators sat in the
The powers of the senate after both orders were following order,-princeps senatus, consulares, cenplaced upon a perfect equality may be thus briefly sorii, praetorii, aedilicii, tribunicii, quaestorii, - it
summed up. The senate continued to have the is natural to suppose, that they were asked their
supreme superintenldence in all matters of religion opinion and voted in the same order. (Suo loco
(Gellhis, xiv. 7); it determined upon the manner sentenattisma dicere, Cic. Pkilip. v. 17, xiii. 13, &c.,
in which a war was to be conducted, what legions adcl At. xii. 21.) Towards the end of the republic
were to be placed at the disposal of a commander, the order ins which the question was put to the
and whether new ones were to be levied; it decreed senators, appears to have depended upon the disinito what provinces the consuls and praetors were cretion of the presiding consul (Varro, ap. Gell. xiv.
to be sent [PRo vINCIA], and whose imperiumr was 7), who called upon each member by pronouncing
to be prolonged. The commissioners who were his name (nomninzatim, Cic. c. VTerr. iv. 64), but he
generally sent out to settle the administration of a usually began with the princeps senatus (Cic. Itwo
newly conquered country, were always appointed Sext. 32), or if consules designati were present.
by the senate. (Liv. xlv. 17; Appian. de Reb. Ilisp. with them. (Sallust, Cat. 50; Appian, B. C.
99, de Reb. Pun. 135; Sallust. Jug. 16.) All ii. 5.) The consul generally observed all the year
embassies for the conclusion of peace or treaties round the same order in which he had commenced
with foreign states were sent oult by the senate, on the first of January. (Suet. Caes. 21.) A