DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.13855#0118
COMITIA.
110
COMOEDIA.
raous; this may have heen the case very
often, and when it was so, the tribus prae-
rogativa was certainly the tribe chosen by
lot to give its unanimous vote first. But if
there was any difference of opinion among the
centuries making up a tribe, the true majority
could only be ascertained by choosing by lot
one of the 70 ccnturiae of the first class to
give its vote first, or rather it was decided by
lot from which tribe the two centuries of the
first class were to be taken to give their vote
first. (Hence the plural piaeroyativae.) The
tribe, moreover, to which those centuries
belonged which voted first, was itself likewise
called tribus praerogativa. Of the two cen-
turies, again, that of seniores gave its vote
before the juniores, and in the documents
both were called by the name of their tribe,
as Galeria juniorum, i. e. the juniores of the
first class in the tribus Galeria, Aniensis ju-
niorum, Veturia juniorum. As soon as the
praerogativa had voted, the renuntiatio took
place, and the remaining centuries then de-
liberated whether they should vote the same
way or not. When this was done all the
centuries of the first tribe proceeded to vote
at once, for there would not have been time
for the 3.30 centuries to vote one after another,
as was done by the 193 centuries in the
comitia centuriata. — These comitia of the
centuries combined with the tribes were far
more democratical than the comitia of the
centuries ; they continued to be held, and
preserved their power along with the comitia
tribute, even after the latter had acquired
their supreme importance in the republic.
During the time of the moral and political
corruption of the Romans, the latter appear
to have been chiefly attended by the populace,
which was guided by the tribunes, and the
wealthier and more respectable citizens had
little influence in them. When the libertini
and all the Italians were incorporated in the
old thirty-five tribes, and when the political
corruption had reached its height, no trace of
the sedate and moderate character was left by
which the comitia tributa had been distin-
guished in former times. Under Augustus
the comitia still sanctioned new laws and
elected magistrates, but their whole proceed-
ings were a mere farce, for they could not
venture to elect any other persons than those
recommended by the emperor. Tiberias de-
prived the people even of this shadow of their
former power, and conferred the power of
election upon the senate. "When the elections
were made by the senate the result was an-
nounced to the people assembled as comitia
centuriata or tributa. Legislation was taken
away from the comitia entirely, and was com-
pletely in the hands of the senate and the
emperor. From this time the comitia may be
said to have ceased to exist, as all the sove-
reign power formerly possessed by the people
was conferred upon the emperor by the lex
regia. [Lex Regia.]
COMMEATUS, a furlough, or leave of ab-
sence from the army for a certain time.
COMMENTARIES or COMMENTAMUM,
a book of memoirs or memorandum-book,
whence the expression Caesaris Commentarii.
It is also used for a lawyer's brief, the notes
of a speech, &c.
COMMERCIUM. [Civitas (Roman).]
COMOEDIA (Kwnw&Ca), comedy. (1)
Greek. Comedy took its rise at the vintage
festivals of Dionysus. It originated with
those who led off the phallic songs of the
band of revellers (kw/xo?), who at the vintage
festivals of Dionysus gave expression to the
feelings of exuberant joy and merriment which
were regarded as appropriate to the occasion,
by parading about, partly on foot, partly in
waggons, with the symbol of the productive
powers of nature, singing a wild, jovial song
in honour of Dionysus and his companions.
These songs were commonly interspersed
with, or followed by petulant, extemporal
witticisms with which the revellers assailed
the bystanders. This origin of comedy is
indicated by the name (tw/xuSia, which un-
doubtedly means " the song of the xui/ios,"
though it has sometimes been derived from
ku>ix7], as if the meaning were " a village
song." It was among the Dorians that
comedy first assumed any thing of a regular
shape. The Megarians, both in the mother
country and in Sicily, claimed to be consi-
dered as its originators, and so far as the
corned}' of Athens is concerned, the claim of
the former appears well founded. Among
the Athenians the first attempts at comedy
were made at Icaria by Susarion, a native of
Megara, about b. c. 578. Susarion no doubt
substituted for the more ancient improvisa-
tions of the chorus and its leader premedi-
tated compositions. There would seem also
to have been some kind of poetical contest,
for we learn that the prize for the successful
poet was a basket of figs and a jar of wine.
It was also the practice of those who took
part in the comus to smear their faces with
wine-lees, either to prevent their features
from being recognised, or to give themselves
a more grotesque appearance. Hence comedy
came to be called rpvyoiSCix, or ■ lee-song.
Others connected the name with the circum-
stance of a jar of new wine (rpuf) being the
prize for the successful poet. It was, how-
ever, in Sicily, that comedy was earliest
brought to something like perfection. Epi-
charmus was the first writer who gave it a
110
COMOEDIA.
raous; this may have heen the case very
often, and when it was so, the tribus prae-
rogativa was certainly the tribe chosen by
lot to give its unanimous vote first. But if
there was any difference of opinion among the
centuries making up a tribe, the true majority
could only be ascertained by choosing by lot
one of the 70 ccnturiae of the first class to
give its vote first, or rather it was decided by
lot from which tribe the two centuries of the
first class were to be taken to give their vote
first. (Hence the plural piaeroyativae.) The
tribe, moreover, to which those centuries
belonged which voted first, was itself likewise
called tribus praerogativa. Of the two cen-
turies, again, that of seniores gave its vote
before the juniores, and in the documents
both were called by the name of their tribe,
as Galeria juniorum, i. e. the juniores of the
first class in the tribus Galeria, Aniensis ju-
niorum, Veturia juniorum. As soon as the
praerogativa had voted, the renuntiatio took
place, and the remaining centuries then de-
liberated whether they should vote the same
way or not. When this was done all the
centuries of the first tribe proceeded to vote
at once, for there would not have been time
for the 3.30 centuries to vote one after another,
as was done by the 193 centuries in the
comitia centuriata. — These comitia of the
centuries combined with the tribes were far
more democratical than the comitia of the
centuries ; they continued to be held, and
preserved their power along with the comitia
tribute, even after the latter had acquired
their supreme importance in the republic.
During the time of the moral and political
corruption of the Romans, the latter appear
to have been chiefly attended by the populace,
which was guided by the tribunes, and the
wealthier and more respectable citizens had
little influence in them. When the libertini
and all the Italians were incorporated in the
old thirty-five tribes, and when the political
corruption had reached its height, no trace of
the sedate and moderate character was left by
which the comitia tributa had been distin-
guished in former times. Under Augustus
the comitia still sanctioned new laws and
elected magistrates, but their whole proceed-
ings were a mere farce, for they could not
venture to elect any other persons than those
recommended by the emperor. Tiberias de-
prived the people even of this shadow of their
former power, and conferred the power of
election upon the senate. "When the elections
were made by the senate the result was an-
nounced to the people assembled as comitia
centuriata or tributa. Legislation was taken
away from the comitia entirely, and was com-
pletely in the hands of the senate and the
emperor. From this time the comitia may be
said to have ceased to exist, as all the sove-
reign power formerly possessed by the people
was conferred upon the emperor by the lex
regia. [Lex Regia.]
COMMEATUS, a furlough, or leave of ab-
sence from the army for a certain time.
COMMENTARIES or COMMENTAMUM,
a book of memoirs or memorandum-book,
whence the expression Caesaris Commentarii.
It is also used for a lawyer's brief, the notes
of a speech, &c.
COMMERCIUM. [Civitas (Roman).]
COMOEDIA (Kwnw&Ca), comedy. (1)
Greek. Comedy took its rise at the vintage
festivals of Dionysus. It originated with
those who led off the phallic songs of the
band of revellers (kw/xo?), who at the vintage
festivals of Dionysus gave expression to the
feelings of exuberant joy and merriment which
were regarded as appropriate to the occasion,
by parading about, partly on foot, partly in
waggons, with the symbol of the productive
powers of nature, singing a wild, jovial song
in honour of Dionysus and his companions.
These songs were commonly interspersed
with, or followed by petulant, extemporal
witticisms with which the revellers assailed
the bystanders. This origin of comedy is
indicated by the name (tw/xuSia, which un-
doubtedly means " the song of the xui/ios,"
though it has sometimes been derived from
ku>ix7], as if the meaning were " a village
song." It was among the Dorians that
comedy first assumed any thing of a regular
shape. The Megarians, both in the mother
country and in Sicily, claimed to be consi-
dered as its originators, and so far as the
corned}' of Athens is concerned, the claim of
the former appears well founded. Among
the Athenians the first attempts at comedy
were made at Icaria by Susarion, a native of
Megara, about b. c. 578. Susarion no doubt
substituted for the more ancient improvisa-
tions of the chorus and its leader premedi-
tated compositions. There would seem also
to have been some kind of poetical contest,
for we learn that the prize for the successful
poet was a basket of figs and a jar of wine.
It was also the practice of those who took
part in the comus to smear their faces with
wine-lees, either to prevent their features
from being recognised, or to give themselves
a more grotesque appearance. Hence comedy
came to be called rpvyoiSCix, or ■ lee-song.
Others connected the name with the circum-
stance of a jar of new wine (rpuf) being the
prize for the successful poet. It was, how-
ever, in Sicily, that comedy was earliest
brought to something like perfection. Epi-
charmus was the first writer who gave it a