The History of Rome, vol 2 | Page 6

this respect placed on a

like footing with the latter; nevertheless, in the event of his not having
exercised the power, the interrex stepped in as before, and the
necessary continuity of the office subsisted still undiminished under the
republican government. The right of nomination, however, was
materially restricted in favour of the burgesses, as the consul was
bound to procure the assent of the burgesses for the successors
designated by him, and, in the sequel, to nominate only those whom the
community designated to him. Through this binding right of proposal
the nomination of the ordinary supreme magistrates doubtless in a
certain sense passed substantially into the hands of the community;
practically, however, there still existed a very considerable distinction
between that right of proposal and the right of formal nomination. The
consul conducting the election was by no means a mere returning
officer; he could still, e. g. by virtue of his old royal prerogative reject
particular candidates and disregard the votes tendered for them; at first
he might even limit the choice to a list of candidates proposed by
himself; and--what was of still more consequence--when the collegiate
consulship was to be supplemented by the dictator, of whom we shall
speak immediately, in so supplementing it the community was not
consulted, but on the contrary the consul in that case appointed his
colleague with the same freedom, wherewith the interrex had once
appointed the king.
Change In The Nomination Of Priests
The nomination of the priests, which had been a prerogative of the
kings,(8) was not transferred to the consuls; but the colleges of priests
filled up the vacancies in their own ranks, while the Vestals and single
priests were nominated by the pontifical college, on which devolved
also the exercise of the paternal jurisdiction, so to speak, of the
community over the priestesses of Vesta. With a view to the
performance of these acts, which could only be properly performed by
a single individual, the college probably about this period first
nominated a president, the -Pontifex maximus-. This separation of the
supreme authority in things sacred from the civil power--while the
already-mentioned "king for sacrifice" had neither the civil nor the
sacred powers of the king, but simply the title, conferred upon him

--and the semi-magisterial position of the new high priest, so decidedly
contrasting with the character which otherwise marked the priesthood
in Rome, form one of the most significant and important peculiarities
of this state-revolution, the aim of which was to impose limits on the
powers of the magistrates mainly in the interest of the aristocracy.
We have already mentioned that the outward state of the consul was far
inferior to that of the regal office hedged round as it was with reverence
and terror, that the regal name and the priestly consecration were
withheld from him, and that the axe was taken away from his
attendants. We have to add that, instead of the purple robe which the
king had worn, the consul was distinguished from the ordinary burgess
simply by the purple border of his toga, and that, while the king
perhaps regularly appeared in public in his chariot, the consul was
bound to accommodate himself to the general rule and like every other
burgess to go within the city on foot.
The Dictator
These limitations, however, of the plenary power and of the insignia of
the magistracy applied in the main only to the ordinary presidency of
the community. In extraordinary cases, alongside of, and in a certain
sense instead of, the two presidents chosen by the community there
emerged a single one, the master of the army (-magister populi-)
usually designated as the -dictator-. In the choice of dictator the
community exercised no influence at all, but it proceeded solely from
the free resolve of one of the consuls for the time being, whose action
neither his colleague nor any other authority could hinder. There was
no appeal from his sentence any more than from that of the king, unless
he chose to allow it. As soon as he was nominated, all the other
magistrates were by right subject to his authority. On the other hand the
duration of the dictator's office was limited in two ways: first, as the
official colleague of those consuls, one of whom had nominated him,
he might not remain in office beyond their legal term; and secondly, a
period of six months was fixed as the absolute maximum for the
duration of his office. It was a further arrangement peculiar to the
dictatorship, that the "master of the army" was bound to nominate for

himself immediately a "master of horse" (-magister equitum-), who
acted along with him as a dependent assistant somewhat as did the
quaestor along with the consul, and with him retired from office--an
arrangement