Smith, William: A smaller dictionary of Greek and Roman antiquities (London, 1871)

COMITIA.

108

COMITIA.

mentioned in which the proceedings of the
assembly were disturbed, so that it was neces-
sary to defer the business till another day.
This occurred—1, when it was discovered
that the auspices had been unfavourable, or
when the gods manifested their displeasure
by rain, thunder, or lightning ; 2, when a
tribune interceded ; 3, when the sun set be-
fore the business was over, for it was a prin-
ciple that the auspices were valid only for
one day from sunrise to sunset; 4, when a
morbus comitialis occurred, i.e. when one of
the assembled citizens was seized with an
epileptic fit ; 5, when the vexillum was taken
away from the Janieulum, this being a signal
which all citizens had to obey; 6, when any
tumult or insurrection broke out in the city.

(3) Comitia tributa. These assemblies
likewise were called into existence by the
constitution of Servius Tullius, who divided
the Roman territory into thirty local tribes.
It is a disputed question whether the patri-
cians were originally included in these
tribes; but, whether they were or not, it is
certain, that by far the majority of the peo-
ple in the tribes were plebeians, and that,
consequently, the character of these assem-
blies was essentially plebeian. After the
decernvirate, the patricians had certainly
the right of voting in the assemblies of the
tribes, which were then also convened by the
higher magistrates. The assemblies of the
tribes had originally only a local power ; they
were intended to collect the tributum, and to
furnish the contingents for the army ; they
may further have discussed the internal affairs
of each tribe, such as the making or keeping
up of roads, wells, and the like. But their
influence gradually increased, and they at
length acquired the following powers :•—
1. The election of the inferior magistrates,
whose office it was to protect the commonalty
or to superintend the affairs of the tribes.
Hence the tribunes of the plebs were elected
in the comitia tributa. In like manner, the
acdiles were electti by them, though the
curule aediles were elected at a different
time from the plebeian acdiles and under the
presidency of a consul. At a still later time,
the quaestors and tribunes of the soldiers,
who had before been appointed by the con-
suls, were appointed in the assemblies of the
tribes. The proconsuls to be sent into the
provinces, and the prolongation of the jm-
perium for a magistrate who was already in
a province, were likewise points which were
determined by the tribes in later times. The
inferior magistrates elected by the tribes
are :—the triumviri eapitales, triumviri mo-
netales, the curatores viarum, decemviri liti-
bus judicandis, tribuni aerarii, magistri

vicorum et pagorum, praefecti annonae, du-
umviri navales, quinqueviri muris turri-
busque reficiendis, triumviri coloniae dedu-
cendae, triumviri, quatuorviri, Sec., mensarii,
and lastly, after the Domitian law, b. c. 104,
also the members of colleges of priests. The
pontifex maximus had been elected by the
people from an earlier time. 2. The legisla-
tive power of the comitia tributa was at first
very insignificant, for all they could do was
to make regulations concerning the local
affairs of the tribes. But after a time, when
the tribes began to be the real representatives
of the people, matters affecting the whole
people also were brought before them by the
tribunes, which, framed as resolutions, were
laid before the senate, where they might
either be sanctioned or rejected. This prac-
tice of the tributa comitia gradually acquired
for them the right of taking the initiative
in any measure, or the right of originating
measures, until, in b. c. 449, this right was
recognised and sanctioned by a law of L.
Valerius Publicola and M. Horati.ua Barbatus.
This law gave to the decrees passed by the
tribes the power of a real lex, binding upon
the whole people, provided they obtained the
sanction of the senate and the populus, that
is, the people assembled in the comitia cu-
riata or in the comitia eenturiata. In b. c.
339, the Publilian law enacted ut plcbiscita
omnes Quirites tenercitt. This law was either
a re-enactment of the one passed in b. c. 449,
or contained a more detailed specification of
the cases in which plebiscita should be bind-
ing upon the whole nation, or, lastly, it
made their validity independent of the sanc-
tion of other comitia, so that nothing would
be required except the assent of the senate. In
b. c. 287, the Hortensian law was passed,
which seems to have been only a revival and
a confirmation of the two preceding laws, for
it was framed in almost the same terms ; but
it may also be, that the Hortensian law made
the plebiscita independent of the sanction of
the senate, so that henceforth the comitia
tributa were quite independent in their legis-
lative character. 3. The judicial power of
the comitia tributa was much more limited
than that of the comitia eenturiata, inas-
much as they could take cognizance only of
offences against the majesty of the people,
while all crimes committed against the state
were brought before the centuries. Even
patricians, when they had offended against
the commonalty or its members, were tried
and fined by the tribes. This again consti-
tutes a difference between the judicial power
of the centuries and that of the tribes, for
the former could inflict capital punishment,
but the latter only fines. The comitia tri-