III. CHA P. felling his perfon into flavery'. The most facred rights of freedom, confirmed by the Porcian and Sempronian laws, were fufpended by the military engagement. In his camp the general exercifed an abfolute power of life and death; his jurifdiction was not confined by any forms of trial, or rules of proceeding, and the execution of the fentence was immediate and without appeal3. The choice of the enemies of Rome was regularly decided by the legislative authority. The most important refolutions of peace and war were seriously debated in the fenate, and folemnly ratified by the people. But when the arms of the legions were carried to a great distance from Italy, the generals affumed the liberty of directing them against whatever people, and in whatever manner they judged most advantageous for the public fervice. It was from the fuccefs, not from the juftice, of their enterprises, that they expected the honors of a triumph. In the ufe of victory, especially after they were no longer controlled by the commiffioners of the fenate, they exercised the most unbounded defpotifm. When Pompey commanded in the caft, he rewarded his foldiers and allies, dethroned princes, divided kingdoms, founded colonies, and diftributed the treasures of Mithridates. On his return to Rome, he obtained, by a fingle act of the fenate and people, Livy Epitom. 1. xiv. Valer. Maxim. vi. 3. 9 See in the viith book of Livy, the conduct of Manlius Torquatus and Papirius Curfor. They violated the laws of nature and humanity, but they afferted those of military difcipline; and the people, who abhorred the action, was obliged to respect the principle. the univerfal ratification of all his proceed- c H A P. ings. Such was the power over the foldiers, and over the enemies of Rome, which was either granted to, or affumed by, the generals of the republic. They were, at the fame time, the governors, or rather monarchs, of the conquered provinces, united the civil with the military character, administered justice as well as the finances, and exercised both the executive and legislative power of the state. From what has been already obferved in the Lieutefirst chapter in this work, fome notion may be nants of the formed of the armies and provinces thus in- Emperor. trufted to the ruling hand of Auguftus. But as it was impoffible that he could perfonally command the legions of fo many diftant frontiers, he was indulged by the fenate, as Pompey had already been, in the permiffion of devolving the execution of his great office on a fufficient number of lieutenants. In rank and authority these officers feemed not inferior to the ancient proconfuls; but their station was dependent and precarious. They received and held their commiffions at the will of a fuperior, to whofe auSpicious influence the merit of their actions was "By the lavish but unconstrained fuffrages of the people, Pompey had obtained a military command scarcely inferior to that of Auguftus. Among the extraordinary acts of power executed by the former, we may remark the foundation of twenty-nine cities, and the diftribution of three or four millions fterling to his troops. The ratification of his acts met with fome opposition and delays in the senate. See Plutarch, Appian, Dion Caffius, and the first book of the epiftles to Atticus. CHA P. legally attributed. They were the reprefentatives of the Emperor. The Emperor alone was the general of the republic, and his jurifdiction, civil as well as military, extended over all the conquefts of Rome. It was fome fatisfaction, however, to the fenate, that he always delegated his power to the members of their body. The imperial lieutenants were of confular or prætorian dignity; the legions were commanded by fenators, and the præfecture of Egypt was the only important truft committed to a Roman knight. Divifion of the provinces be and the fe nate. Within fix days after Augustus had been compelled to accept fo very liberal a grant, he refolved tween the to gratify the pride of the fenate by an easy faEmperor crifice. He reprefented to them, that they had enlarged his powers, even beyond that degree which might be required by the melancholy condition of the times. They had not permitted him to refufe the laborious command of the armies and the frontiers; but he must infift on being allowed to restore the more peaceful and fecure provinces, to the mild administration of the civil magiftrate. In the divifion of the provinces, Auguftus provided for his own power, and for the dignity of the republic. The proconfuls of the fenate, particularly those of Asia, Under the commonwealth, a triumph could only be claimed by the general, who was authorized to take the Aufpices in the name of the people. By an exact confequence drawn from this principle of policy and religion, the triumph was reserved to the Emperor; and his moft fuccefsful lieutenants were fatisfied with fome marks of diftinction, which, under the name of triumphal honours, were invented in their favour. III. Greece, and Africa, enjoyed a more honourable C ́H A P. character than the lieutenants of the Emperor, who commanded in Gaul or Syria. The former were attended by lictors, the latter by foldiers. A law was paffed, that wherever the Emperor was prefent, his extraordinary commiffion fhould fuperfede the ordinary jurifdiction of the governor; a custom was introduced, that the new conquests belonged to the Imperial portion; and it was foon difcovered, that the authority of the Prince, the favourite epithet of Auguftus, was the fame in every part of the empire. mer pre command itfelf. In return for this imaginary conceffion, Au- The forguftus obtained an important privilege, which ferves his rendered him mafter of Rome and Italy. By military a dangerous exception to the ancient maxims, and guards he was authorized to preferve his military com- in Rome mand, fupported by a numerous body of guards, even in time of peace, and in the heart of the capital. His command, indeed, was confined to thofe citizens who were engaged in the fervice by the military oath; but fuch was the propenfity of the Romans to fervitude, that the oath was voluntarily taken by the magiftrates, the fenators, and the equeftrian order, till the homage of flattery was infenfibly converted into an annual and folemn proteftation of fi delity. and tribu Although Auguftus confidered a military force Confular as the firmeft foundation, he wifely rejected it, nitian as a very odious inftrument of government. It powers. was more agreeable to his temper, as well as to his policy, to reign under the venerable names III. CHA P. of ancient magiftracy, and artfully to collect, in his own perfon, all the scattered rays of civil jurifdiction. With this view, he permitted the fenate to confer upon him, for his life, the powers of the confular" and tribunitian offices", which were, in the fame manner, continued to all his fucceffors. The confuls had fucceeded to the Kings of Rome, and reprefented the dignity of the state. They fuperintended the ceremonies. of religion, levied and commanded the legions, gave audience to foreign ambaffadors, and prefided in the affemblies both of the fenate and people. The general controul of the finances was intrusted to their care; and though they feldom had leisure to adminifter juftice in per fon, they were confidered as the fupreme guardians of law, equity, and the public peace. Such was their ordinary jurifdiction; but whenever the fenate empowered the first magistrate to confult the fafety of the commonwealth, he was raised by that degree above the laws, and exercised, in the defence of liberty, a temporary defpotifm". The "Cicero (de Legibus, iii. 3.) gives the confular office the name of Regia poteftas: and Polybius (1. vi. c. 3.) observes three powers in the Roman Conftitution. The monarchical was reprefented and exercised by the Confuls. 12 As the tribunitian power (diftinct from the annual office) was firft invented for the Dictator Cæfar (Dion, l. xliv. p. 384.), we may eafily conceive that it was given as a reward for having so nobly afferted, by arms, the facred rights of the tribunes and people. See his own commentaries, de Bell. Civil. I. i. 13 Auguftus exercised nine annual confulfhips without interruption. He then most artfully refused that magiftracy, as well as the dictator |