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

CONSUL.

115

CONSUL.

power as they could, and reserved these de-
tached portions for themselves. In this man-
ner the censorship was detached from the
consulship in b.c. 443, and the praetorship
in b.c. 367. But notwithstanding all this,
the consuls remained the highest magistrates,
and all other magistrates, except the tribunes
of the plebs, were obliged to obey their com-
mands, and show them great outward re-
spect. The functions of the consuls during
the time of the republic may be conveniently
described under the following heads :—1.
They were in all civil matters the heads of
the state, being invested with the imperium,
which emanated from the sovereign people,
and which they held during the time of their
office. In this capacity they had the right of
convoking both the senate and the assembly
of the people ; they presided in each (in the
comitia of the curies as well as in those of
the centuries), and the}' took care that the
resolutions of the senate and people were
carried into effect. They might also convoke
contitmes, whenever they thought it neces-
sary. In the senate they conducted the dis-
cussions, and put the questions to the vote,
thus exercising the greatest influence upon
all matters which were brought before the
senate either by themselves or by others.
When a decree was passed by the senate, the
consuls were usually commissioned to see that
it was carried into effect; though there are
also instances of the consuls opposing a de-
cree of the senate. 2. The supreme com-
mand of the armies belonged to the consuls
alone by virtue of their imperium. Accord-
ingly, when a war was decreed, they were
ordered by a senatus consultum to levy the
troops, whose number was determined by the
senate, and they appointed most of the other
military officers. While at the head of their
armies they had full power of life and death
over their soldiers, who, on their enrolment,
had to take an oath [saeramentum) to be
faithful and obedient to the commands of the
consuls. When the consuls had entered upon
their office, the senate assigned them their
provinces, that is, their spheres of action,
and the consuls either settled between them-
selves which province each was to have, or,
which was more common, the}- drew lots.
Usually one consul remained at Home, while
the other went out at the head of the army :
sometimes both left the city, and carried on
war in different quarters; and sometimes,
when the danger was very pressing, both
consuls commanded the armies against one
and the same enemy. If it was deemed ad-
visable, the imperium of one or of both con-
suls was prolonged for the particular province
in which they were engaged, in which case

they had the title of proconsuls [Proconsvl],
and their successors either remained at
Kome, or were engaged in other quarters.
During the latter period of the republic the
consuls remained at Rome during the time ot
their office, and on its expiration they had a
foreign province (in the real sense of the
word) assigned to them, where they under-
took either the peaceful administration, or
carried on war against internal or externa'
enemies. While in their provinces, both
the consuls and proconsuls had the power
of life and death over the provincials, for
they were looked upon there as the chief
military commanders; and the provincials,
being percgrini, did not enjoy the privileges
of Roman citizens. 3. The supreme jurisdic-
tion was part of the consular imperium, and
as such vested in the consuls so long as there
were no praetors. In civil cases they admi-
nistered justice to the patricians as well as
plebeians, either acting themselves asjudiccs,
or appointing others as judices and arbitri.
In criminal cases there appears from early
times to have been this difference : that pa-
tricians charged with capital offences were
tried by the curies, while the plebeians came
under the jurisdiction of the consuls, whose
power, however, was in this case rather
limited, partly by the intercession of the tri-
bunes of the people, and partly by the right
of appeal (provocatiu) from the sentence of
the consuls. The consuls might, further,
summon any citizen before their tribunal,
and, in case of disobedience, seize him <j>ren-
dcrc), and fine him up to a certain amount.
After the institution of the praetorship, the
consuls no longer possessed any regular ordi-
nary jurisdiction ; and whenever they exer-
cised it, it was an exception to the general
custom, and only by a special command of
the senate. 4. Previous to the institution
of the censorship the consuls had to perform
all the functions which afterwards belonged
to the censors : they were accordingly the
highest officers of finance, held the census,
drew up the lists of the senators, equites, &c.
After the establishment of the censorship they
still retained the general superintendence of
the public economy, inasmuch as they had
the keys of the acrarium, and as the quaes-
tors or paymasters were dependent on them.
But still in the management of the finances
the consuls were at all times under the con-
trol of the senate. 5. In all relations with
foreign states the consuls were the represen-
tatives of the Roman republic. Hence they
might conclude peace or treaties with foreign
nations, which had, however, to be sanc-
tioned by the senate and people at Rome ;
and unless this sanction was obtained a treaty

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