Pinnock's improved edition of Dr. Goldsmith's History of Rome. Oliver Goldsmith
terrible noise, so that the very spoils of the conquered could not be beheld without dread. After these wagons loaded with armour, there followed three thousand men, who carried the silver that was coined, in seven hundred and fifty vessels, each of which weighed three talents, and was carried by four men. Others brought silver bowls, and goblets, and cups, all disposed in such order as to make the best show, and all valuable, as well for their magnitude as the thickness of their engraved work. On the third day, early in the morning, first came the trumpeters, who did not sound as they were wont in a procession or solemn entry, but such a charge as the Romans use when they encourage their soldiers to fight. Next followed young men, girt about with girdles curiously wrought, who led to the sacrifice one hundred and twenty stalled oxen, with their horns gilded, and their heads adorned with ribbons and garlands, and with these were boys that carried dishes of silver and gold. After these was brought the gold coin, which was divided into vessels that weighed three talents each, similar to those that contained the silver; they were in number fourscore, wanting three. These were followed by those that brought the consecrated bowl which Emil'ius caused to be made, that weighed ten talents, and was adorned with precious stones. Then were exposed to view the cups of Antig'onus and Seleu'cus, and such as were made after the fashion invented by The'ricles, and all the gold plate that was used at Per'seus's table. Next to these came Per'seus's chariot, in which his armour was placed, and on that his diadem. After a little intermission the king's children were led captives, and with them a train of nurses, masters, and governors, who all wept, and stretched forth their hands to the spectators, and taught the little infants to beg and intreat their compassion. There were two sons and a daughter, who, by reason of their tender age, were altogether insensible of the greatness of their misery; which insensibility of their condition rendered it much more deplorable, insomuch that Per'seus himself was scarce regarded as he went along, whilst pity had fixed the eyes of the Romans upon the infants, and many of them could not forbear tears; all beheld the sight with a mixture of sorrow and joy until the children were past. After his children and attendants came Per'seus himself, clad in black, and wearing slippers after the fashion of his country; he looked like one altogether astonished, and deprived of reason, through the greatness of his misfortune. Next followed a great company of his friends and familiars, whose countenances were disfigured with grief, and who testified, to all that beheld them, by their tears and their continual looking upon Per'seus, that it was his hard fortune they so much lamented, and that they were regardless of their own. After these were carried four hundred crowns of gold, sent from the cities by their respective ambassadors to Emil'ius, as a reward due to his valour. Then he himself came, seated on a chariot magnificently, adorned, (a man worthy to be beheld even without these ensigns of power) clad in a garland of purple interwoven with gold, and with a laurel branch in his right hand. All the army in like manner, with boughs of laurel in their hands, and divided into bands and companies, followed the chariot of their commander; some singing odes according to the usual custom, mingled with raillery; others songs of triumph and the praises of Emil'ius's deeds, who was admired and accounted happy by all men, yet unenvied by every one that was good.
Questions for Examination.
1. What political change has frequently resulted from improved military tactics?
2. Was Rome a military state?
3. Why are we led to conclude that the Romans considered cavalry an important force?
4. By whom was the phalanx instituted?
5. How was the phalanx formed?
6. What were the defects of the phalanx?
7. By whom was the legion substituted for the phalanx?
8. Of what troops was a legion composed?
9. What was a cohort?
10. What was the Roman form of battle?
11. In what manner was an army levied?
12. How was the sanctity of the military oath proved?
13. What advantages resulted from the Roman form of encampment?
14. How long was the citizens liable to be called upon as soldiers?
15. How was the army paid?
16. What power had the general?
17. On what occasion did the soldiers receive rewards?
18. How was the navy supplied with sailors?
19. What fact concealed by the Roman historians is established by Polybius?
20. How did the Romans form a fleet?
21. What were the several kinds of ships?
22. What naval tactics did the Romans use?
23. How did an ovation differ from a triumph?
24. Can you give a general description of a triumph?
CHAPTER VIII.
ROMAN LAW – FINANCE
Then equal laws were planted in the state, To shield alike the humble and the great. —Cooke.
1. In the early stages of society, little difficulty is felt in providing for the administration of justice, because the subjects of controversy are plain and simple, such as any man of common sense may determine; but as civilization advances, the relations between men become more complicated, property assumes innumerable forms, and the determination of questions resulting from these changes, becomes a matter of no ordinary difficulty. In the first ages of the republic, the consuls were the judges in civil and criminal matters, as the kings had previously been;43 but as the state increased, a new class of magistrates, called prætors, was appointed to preside in the courts of law. Until the age of the decemvirs, there was no written code to regulate their decisions; and even after the laws of the twelve tables had been established, there was no perfect system of law, for the enactments in that code were brief, and only asserted a few leading principles. 2. The Roman judges did not, however, decide altogether according to their own caprice; they were bound to regard the principles that had been established by the decisions of former judges; and consequently, a system of law was formed similar to the common law of England, founded on precedent and analogy. In the later ages of the empire, the number of law-books and records became so enormous, that it was no longer possible to determine the law with accuracy, and the contradictory decisions made at different periods, greatly increased the uncertainty. To remedy this evil, the emperor Justinian caused the entire to be digested into a uniform system, and his code still forms the basis of the civil law in Europe.
3. The trials in courts refer either to the affairs of the state, or to the persons or properties of individuals, and are called state, criminal, or civil trials. The two former are the most important in regard to history.
4. The division of the Roman people into two nations, made the classification of state offences very difficult. In general, the council of the patricians judged any plebeian who was accused of conspiring against their order; and the plebeians on the other hand, brought a patrician accused of having violated their privileges before their own tribunal. 5. Disobedience to the commands of the chief magistrate was punished by fine and imprisonment, and from his sentence there was no appeal; but if the consul wished to punish any person by stripes or death, the condemned man had the right of appealing to the general assembly of his peers.44 6. To prevent usurpation, it was established that every person who exercised an authority not conferred on him by the people, should be devoted as a victim to the gods.45 This, was at once a sentence of outlawry and excommunication; the Criminal might be slain by any person-with impunity, and all connection with him was shunned as pollution. 7. No magistrate could legally be brought to trial during the continuance of his office, but when his time was expired, he could be accused before the general assembly of the people, if he had transgressed the legal limits of his authority. The punishment in this case was banishment; the form of the sentence declared that the criminal "should be deprived of fire and water;" that is, the citizens, were prohibited from supplying
Niebuhr, however, is of opinion, that judicial officers were elected by the "comitia curiata," from the earliest ages.
This privilege was conceded to the plebeians by the Valerian law, but must have been possessed by the patricians from the earliest times; for Horatius, when condemned for the murder of his sister, in the reign of Tullus Hostilius, escaped by appealing to the comitia curiata. The Valerian law had no sanction, that is, no penalty was annexed to its transgression; and during the two centuries of patrician usurpation and tyranny, was frequently and flagrantly violated. On this account the law, though never repealed, was frequently re-enacted.
The formula "to devote his head to the gods," used to express the sentence of capital punishment, was derived from the human sacrifices anciently used in Rome; probably, because criminals were usually selected for these sanguinary offerings.