[Illustration: Greek Head-dresses. (From Ancient Vases.)
The left-hand figure on the top wears a κεκρύφαλος proper
(_reticulum_). Of the two bottom figures, the one on the left-hand
wears a μίτρα, and the one on the right a σάκκος.]
CŎMA (κόμη, κουρά), the hair. (1) GREEK. In the earliest times the
Greeks wore their hair long, and thus they are constantly called in
Homer καρηκομόωντες Ἀχαιοί. The Spartan boys always had their hair
cut quite short (ἐν χρῷ κείροντες); but as soon as they reached
the age of puberty (ἔφηβοι), they let it grow long. Before going
to battle they combed and dressed it with especial care. It seems
that both Spartan men and women tied their hair in a knot over the
crown of the head. The custom of the Athenians was different. They
wore their hair long in childhood, and cut it off when they reached
the age of puberty. The cutting off of the hair, which was always
done when a boy became an ἔφηβος, was a solemn act, attended with
religious ceremonies. A libation was first offered to Hercules,
which was called οἰνιστήρια or οἰνιαστήρια, and the hair after being
cut off was dedicated to some deity, usually a river-god. But when
the Athenians passed into the age of manhood, they again let their
hair grow. In ancient times at Athens the hair was rolled up into
a kind of knot on the crown of the head, and fastened with golden
clasps in the shape of grasshoppers. This fashion of wearing the
hair was called κρωβύλος, and in the case of females κόρυμβος. The
heads of females were frequently covered with a kind of band or a
coif of net-work. Of these coiffures one was called σφενδόνη, which
was a broad band across the forehead, sometimes made of metal, and
sometimes of leather, adorned with gold. But the most common kind of
head-dress for females was called by the general name of κεκρύφαλος,
and this was divided into the three species of κεκρύφαλος, σάκκος,
and μίτρα. The κεκρύφαλος, in its narrower sense, was a caul or coif
of net-work, corresponding to the Latin _reticulum_. These hair-nets
were frequently made of gold threads, sometimes of silk, or the
Elean byssus, and probably of other materials. The σάκκος and the
μίτρα were, on the contrary, made of close materials. The σάκκος
covered the head entirely like a sack or bag; it was made of various
materials, such as silk, byssus, and wool. The μίτρα was a broad band
of cloth of different colours, which was wound round the hair, and
was worn in various ways. It was originally an Eastern head-dress,
and may, therefore, be compared to the modern turban. The Roman
_calautica_ or _calvatica_ is said by Servius to have been the same
as the _mitra_, but in a passage in the Digest they are mentioned as
if they were distinct.--With respect to the colour of the hair, black
was the most frequent, but _blonde_ (ξανθὴ κόμη) was the most prized.
In Homer, Achilles, Ulysses, and other heroes are represented with
blonde hair. At a later time it seems to have been not unfrequent
to dye hair, so as to make it either black or blonde, and this
was done by men as well as by women, especially when the hair was
growing gray.--(2) ROMAN. Besides the generic _coma_ we also find
the following words signifying the hair: _capillus_, _caesaries_,
_crines_, _cincinnus_, and _cirrus_, the two last words being used to
signify curled hair. In early times the Romans wore their hair long,
and hence the Romans of the Augustan age designated their ancestors
_intonsi_ and _capillati_. But after the introduction of barbers into
Italy about B.C. 300, it became the practice to wear the hair short.
The women, too, originally dressed their hair with great simplicity,
but in the Augustan period a variety of different head-dresses came
into fashion. Sometimes these head-dresses were raised to a great
height by rows of false curls. So much attention did the Roman ladies
devote to the dressing of the hair, that they kept slaves especially
for this purpose, called _ornatrices_, and had them instructed by a
master in the art. Most of the Greek head-dresses mentioned above
were also worn by the Roman ladies; but the _mitrae_ appear to
have been confined to prostitutes. One of the simplest modes of
wearing the hair was allowing it to fall down in tresses behind, and
only confining it by a band encircling the head. [VITTA.] Another
favourite plan was platting the hair, and then fastening it behind
with a large pin. Blonde hair was as much prized by the Romans as by
the Greeks, and hence the Roman ladies used a kind of composition or
wash to make it appear this colour (_spuma caustica_). False hair or
wigs (φενάκη, πηνίκη, _galerus_) were worn both by Greeks and Romans.
Among both people likewise in ancient times the hair was cut close in
mourning [FUNUS]; and among both the slaves had their hair cut close
as a mark of servitude.
CŌMISSĀTĬO (derived from κῶμος), the name of a drinking
entertainment, which took place after the coena, from which, however,
it must be distinguished. The comissatio was frequently prolonged to
a late hour at night, whence the verb _comissari_ means “to revel,”
and the substantive _comissator_ a “reveller,” or “debauchee.”
CŎMĬTĬA. This word is formed from _co_, _cum_, or _con_, and _ire_,
and therefore _comitium_ is a place of meeting, and _comitia_ the
meeting itself, or the assembled people. In the Roman constitution
the comitia were the ordinary and legal meetings or assemblies of the
people, and distinct from the _contiones_ and _concilia_. All the
powers of government were divided at Rome between the senate, the
magistrates, and the people in their assemblies. Properly speaking,
the people alone (the _populus_) was the real sovereign by whom the
power was delegated to the magistrates and the senate. The sovereign
people or populus, however, was not the same at all times. In the
earliest times of Rome the populus consisted of the patricians (or
patres) only, the plebs and the clients forming no part of the
populus, but being without the pale of the state. The original
populus was divided into thirty _curiae_, and the assembly of these
curiae (the _comitia curiata_) was the only assembly in which the
populus was represented. A kind of amalgamation of the patricians
and the plebs afterwards appeared in the comitia of the centuries,
instituted by king Servius Tullius, and henceforth the term populus
was applied to the united patricians and plebeians assembled in the
_comitia centuriata_. But Servius had also made a local division
of the whole Roman territory into thirty tribes, which held their
meetings in assemblies called _comitia tributa_, which, in the course
of time, acquired the character of national assemblies, so that the
people thus assembled were likewise designated by the term populus.
We shall examine in order the nature, power, and business of each of
these different comitia. (1) COMITIA CURIATA consisted of the members
of the thirty curiae, that is, the patricians, who formed exclusively
the populus in the early times. They were convened, in the kingly
period, by the king himself, or by his tribunus celerum, and in the
king’s absence by the praefectus urbi. After the death of a king the
comitia were held by the interrex. In the republican period, the
president was always one of the high patrician magistrates, viz. a
consul, praetor, or dictator. They were called together by lictors
or heralds. The votes were given by curiae, each curia having one
collective vote; but within a curia each citizen belonging to it
had an independent vote, and the majority of the members of a curia
determined the vote of the whole curia. The meeting was always held
in the comitium. The comitia curiata did not possess much power in
the kingly period. They could only be called together when the king
(or his representative) chose, and could only determine upon matters
which the king submitted to them. The main points upon which the
populus had to decide were the election of the king, the passing of
laws, declarations of war, the capital punishment of Roman citizens,
and, lastly, certain affairs of the curiae and gentes. The priestly
officers, such as the Curiones, Flamines Curiales, were likewise
either elected by the curiae, or at least inaugurated by them. The
right of finally deciding upon the life of Roman citizens (_judicia
de capite civis Romani_) is said to have been given to the populus
by king Tullus Hostilius. It must further be remarked, that when the
king had been elected, the populus held a second meeting, in which he
was formally inducted into his new office. This formality was called
_lex curiata de imperio_, whereby the king received his _imperium_,
together with the right of holding the comitia. Down to the time of
Servius Tullius, the comitia curiata were the only popular assemblies
of Rome, and remained of course in the undiminished possession of the
rights above described; but the constitution of that king brought
about a great change, by transferring the principal rights which
had hitherto been enjoyed by the curiae to a new national assembly
or the comitia centuriata. But while the patricians were obliged to
share their rights with the plebeians, they reserved for themselves
the very important right of sanctioning or rejecting any measure
which had been passed by the centuries. The sanction of decrees
passed by the centuries is often expressed by _patres auctores
fiunt_, and down to the time of the Publilian law no decree of the
centuries could become law without this sanction. By the Publilian
law (B.C. 339) it was enacted that the curiae should give their
assent before the vote of the comitia centuriata; so that the veto
of the curiae was thus virtually abolished. The comitia curiata thus
became a mere formality, and, instead of the thirty curiae themselves
giving their votes, the ceremony was performed by thirty lictors.
The comitia of the curiae were also called COMITIA CALATA or “the
summoned comitia” (from _calare_, i.e. _vocare_), when summoned for
the purposes mentioned below:--1. On the calends it was proclaimed
to the comitia calata on what day of the new month the nones fell,
and perhaps also the ides as well as the nature of the other days,
namely, whether they were fasti or nefasti, comitiales, feriae,
&c., because all these things were known in the early times to the
pontiffs exclusively. 2. The inauguration of the flamines, and after
the banishment of the kings, also that of the rex sacrorum. 3. The
_testamenti factio_, or the making of a will. 4. The _detestatio
sacrorum_, which was in all probability an act connected with the
testamenti factio, that is, a solemn declaration, by which the heir
was enjoined to undertake the sacra privata of the testator along
with the reception of his property. The comitia calata were summoned
by the college of pontiffs, who also presided in them.
(2) COMITIA CENTURIATA. The object of the legislation of Servius
Tullius was to unite the different elements of which the Roman
people consisted, into one great political body, in which power and
influence were to be determined by property and age. The whole people
was conceived as an army (_exercitus_), and was therefore divided
into two parts, the cavalry (_equites_), and infantry (_pedites_).
The infantry was divided into five classes, or, as Dionysius has
it, into six classes, for he regards the whole body of people,
whose property did not come up to the census of the fifth class,
as a sixth. The class to which a citizen belonged determined the
_tributum_, or war tax, he had to pay, as well as the kind of service
he had to perform in the army and the armour in which he had to
serve. But for the purpose of voting in the comitia, each class was
subdivided into a number of centuries (_centuriae_, probably because
each was conceived to contain 100 men, though the centuries may have
greatly differed in the number of men they contained). Hence the name
of _Comitia Centuriata_. Each century was divided into the _seniores_
and the _juniores_. Each century, further, was counted as one vote,
so that a class had as many votes as it contained centuries. In
like manner, the equites were divided into a number of centuries or
votes. The two principal authorities on these subdivisions are Livy
and Dionysius. The annexed table will show the census as well as the
number of centuries or votes assigned to each class.
_According to Livy._ _According to Dionysius._
I. Classis. Census: 100,000 asses. I. Classis. Census: 100 minae.
40 centuriae seniorum. 40 centuriae seniorum.
40 centuriae juniorum. 40 centuriae juniorum.
2 centuriae fabrum.
II. Classis. Census: 75,000 asses. II. Classis. Census: 75 minae.
10 centuriae seniorum. 10 centuriae seniorum.
10 centuriae juniorum. 10 centuriae juniorum.
2 centuriae fabrum (one
voting with the seniores
and the other with the
juniores).
III. Classis. Census: 50,000 asses. III. Classis. Census: 50 minae.
10 centuriae seniorum. 10 centuriae seniorum.
10 centuriae juniorum. 10 centuriae juniorum.
IV. Classis. Census: 25,000 asses. IV. Classis. Census: 25 minae.
10 centuriae seniorum. 10 centuriae seniorum.
10 centuriae juniorum. 10 centuriae juniorum.
2 centuriae cornicinum and
tubicinum (one voting with
the seniores, and the
other with the juniores).
V. Classis. Census: 11,000 asses. V. Classis. Census: 12½ minae.
15 centuriae seniorum. 15 centuriae seniorum.
15 centuriae juniorum. 15 centuriae juniorum.
3 centuriae accensorum, VI. Classis. Census: below 12½
cornicinum, tubicinum. minae.
1 centuria capite censorum. 1 centuria capite censorum.
According to both Dionysius and Livy, the equites voted in eighteen
centuries before the seniores of the first class; and hence there
were, according to Livy, 194, and, according to Dionysius, 193
centuries or votes. The latter number is the more probable, since
Livy’s even number of 194 centuries would have rendered it impossible
to obtain an absolute majority. In this manner all Roman citizens,
whether patricians or plebeians, who had property to a certain
amount, were privileged to take part and vote in the centuriata
comitia, and none were excluded except slaves, peregrini, women and
the aerarii. The juniores were all men from the age of seventeen to
that of forty-six, and the seniores all men from the age of forty-six
upwards. The order of voting was arranged in such a manner, that if
the eighteen centuries of the equites and the eighty centuries of
the first class were agreed upon a measure, the question was decided
at once, there being no need for calling upon the other classes to
vote. Hence, although all Roman citizens appeared in these comitia
on a footing of equality, yet by far the greater power was thrown
into the hands of the wealthy.--As regards the functions of the
comitia centuriata, they were--(a.) _The election of magistrates._
The magistrates that were elected by the centuries are the consuls
(whence the assembly is called _comitia consularia_), the praetors
(hence _comitia praetoria_), the military tribunes with consular
power, the censors, and the decemvirs. (b.) _Legislation._ The
legislative power of the centuries at first consisted in their
passing or rejecting a measure which was brought before them by the
presiding magistrate in the form of a senatus consultum, so that
the assembly had no right of originating any legislative measure,
but voted only upon such as were brought before them as resolutions
of the senate. (c.) _The decision upon war_, on the ground of a
senatus consultum, likewise belonged to the centuries. Peace was
concluded by a mere senatus consultum, and without any co-operation
of the people. (d.) _The highest judicial power._ The comitia
centuriata were in the first place the highest court of appeal, and
in the second, they had to try all offences committed against the
state; hence, all cases of _perduellio_ and _majestas_: and no case
involving the life of a Roman citizen could be decided by any other
court. The sanction of the curiae to the measures of the centuriae
has been already explained.--The comitia centuriata could be held
only on _dies comitiales_ or _fasti_, on which it was lawful to
transact business with the people, and the number of such days in
every year was about 190; but on _dies nefasti_ (that is, _dies
festi_, _feriati_, comp. DIES), and, at first also on the nundinae,
no comitia could be held, until in B.C. 287 the Hortensian law
ordained that the nundinae should be regarded as dies fasti.--The
place where the centuries met was the Campus Martius, which contained
the septa for the voters, a tabernaculum for the president, and the
villa publica for the augurs.--The president at the comitia was the
same magistrate who convoked them, and this right was a privilege of
the consuls, and, in their absence, of the praetors. An interrex and
dictator also, or his representative, the magister equitum, might
likewise convene and preside at the comitia. One of the main duties
devolving upon the president, and which he had to perform before
holding the comitia, was to consult the auspices (_auspicari_). When
the auspices were favourable, the people were called together, which
was done by three successive and distinct acts: the first was quite
a general invitation to come to the assembly (_inlicium_). At the
same time when this invitation was proclaimed _circum moeros_ or
_de moeris_, a horn was blown, which being the more audible signal,
is mentioned by some writers alone, and without the inlicium. When
upon this signal the people assembled in irregular masses, there
followed the second call by the accensus, or the call _ad contionem_
or _conventionem_; that is, to a regular assembly, and the crowd
then separated, grouping themselves according to their classes and
ages. Hereupon the consul appeared, ordering the people to come _ad
comitia centuriata_; and led the whole _exercitus_--for, in these
comitia, the Roman people are always conceived as an exercitus--out
of the city, to the Campus Martius.--It was customary from the
earliest times for an armed force to occupy the Janiculum, when the
people were assembled in the Campus Martius, for the purpose of
protecting the city against any sudden attack of the neighbouring
people; and on the Janiculum a vexillum was hoisted during the whole
time that the assembly lasted. This custom continued to be observed
even at the time when Rome had no longer anything to fear from the
neighbouring tribes.--When the people were thus regularly assembled,
the business was commenced with a solemn sacrifice, and a prayer of
the president, who then took his seat on his tribunal. The president
then opened the business by explaining to the people the subject
for which they had been convened, and concluded his exposition with
the words, _velitis, jubeatis Quirites_, e.g. _bellum indici_, or
_ut M. Tullio aqua igni interdictum sit_, or whatever the subject
might be. This formula was the standing one in all comitia, and the
whole exposition of the president was called _rogatio_. When the
comitia were assembled for the purpose of an election, the presiding
magistrate had to read out the names of the candidates, and might
exercise his influence by recommending the one whom he thought most
fit for the office in question. If the assembly had been convened
for the purpose of passing a legislative measure, the president
usually recommended the proposal, or he might grant to others, if
they desired it, permission to speak about the measure, either in
its favour or against it (_Contionem dare_). When the comitia acted
as a court of justice, the president stated the crime, proposed the
punishment to be inflicted upon the offender, and then allowed others
to speak either in defence of the accused or against him. When the
subject brought before the assembly was sufficiently discussed, the
president called upon the people to prepare for voting by the words,
_ite in suffragium, bene juvantibus diis_. He then passed the stream
Petronia, and went to the _septa_.--Respecting the mode of voting,
it is commonly supposed that the people were always polled by word
of mouth, till the passing of the leges tabellariae about the middle
of the second century before Christ, when the ballot by means of
tabellae was introduced. [LEGES TABELLARIAE.] It appears, however,
that the popular assemblies voted by ballot, as well as by word of
mouth, long before the passing of the leges tabellariae, but that
instead of using tabellae, they employed stones or pebbles (the Greek
ψῆφοι), and that each voter received two stones, one white and the
other black, the former to be used in the approval and the latter in
the condemnation of a measure. The voting by word of mouth seems to
have been adopted in elections and trials, and the use of pebbles to
have been confined to the enactment and repeal of laws. Previous to
the leges tabellariae, the rogatores, who subsequently collected the
written votes, stood at the entrance of the septa, and asked every
citizen for his vote, which was taken down, and used to determine
the vote of each century. After the introduction of the ballot, if
the business was the passing of a law, each citizen was provided
with two tabellae, one inscribed V. R. _i.e._ _Uti Rogas_, “I vote
for the law,” the other inscribed A. _i.e._ _Antiquo_, “I am for the
old law.” If the business was the election of a magistrate, each
citizen was supplied with only one tablet, on which the names of the
candidates were written, or the initials of their names; the voter
then placed a mark (_punctum_) against the one for whom he voted,
whence _puncta_ are spoken of in the sense of votes. For further
particulars respecting the voting in the comitia, see DIRIBITORES
and SITULA. In judicial assemblies every citizen was provided with
three tabellae, one of which was marked with A. _i.e._ _Absolvo_,
“I acquit;” the second with C. _i.e._ _Condemno_, “I condemn;” and
the third with N. L. _i.e._ _Non Liquet_, “It is not clear to me.”
The first of these was called _Tabella absolutoria_ and the second
_Tabella damnatoria_, and hence Cicero calls the former _litera
salutaris_, and the latter _litera tristis_.--There were in the
Campus Martius septa or inclosures (whether they existed from the
earliest times is unknown), into which one class of citizens was
admitted after another for the purpose of voting. The first that
entered were the eighteen centuries of the equites, then followed
the first class and so on. It very rarely happened that the lowest
class was called upon to vote, as there was no necessity for it,
unless the first class did not agree with the equites. After the time
when the comitia of the centuries became amalgamated with those of
the tribes, a large space near the villa publica was surrounded with
an enclosure, and divided into compartments for the several tribes.
The whole of this enclosure was called _ovile, septa, carceres_, or
_cancelli_; and in later times a stone building, containing the whole
people, was erected; it was divided into compartments for the classes
as well as the tribes and centuries; the access to these compartments
was formed by narrow passages called _pontes_ or _ponticuli_. On
entering, the citizens received their tablets, and when they had
consulted within the enclosures, they passed out of them again by a
_pons_ or _ponticulus_, at which they threw their vote into a chest
(_cista_) which was watched by _rogatores_. Hereupon the _rogatores_
collected the tablets, and gave them to the _diribitores_, who
classified and counted the votes, and then handed them over to the
_custodes_, who again checked them off by points marked on a tablet.
The order in which the centuries voted was determined in the Servian
constitution, in the manner described above; but after the union of
the centuries and tribes, the order was determined by lot; and this
was a matter of no slight importance, since it frequently happened
that the vote of the first determined the manner in which subsequent
ones voted. In the case of elections, the successful candidate was
proclaimed twice, first by the praeco, and then by the president, and
without this renuntiatio the election was not valid. After all the
business was done, the president pronounced a prayer, and dismissed
the assembly with the word _discedite_.--Cases are frequently
mentioned in which the proceedings of the assembly were disturbed,
so that it was necessary 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 before the business was over, for it was a principle 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 Janiculum, 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 patricians were originally included in these tribes; but,
whether they were or not, it is certain, that by far the majority
of the people in the tribes were plebeians, and that, consequently,
the character of these assemblies was essentially plebeian. After
the decemvirate, 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 aediles were elected by them, though the curule
aediles were elected at a different time from the plebeian aediles
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 consuls, were appointed in the assemblies of the tribes. The
proconsuls to be sent into the provinces, and the prolongation of
the imperium 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
capitales, triumviri monetales, the curatores viarum, decemviri
litibus judicandis, tribuni aerarii, magistri vicorum et pagorum,
praefecti annonae, duumviri navales, quinqueviri muris turribusque
reficiendis, triumviri coloniae deducendae, triumviri, quatuorviri,
&c., 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 legislative 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 practice 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. Horatius 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 curiata or
in the comitia centuriata. In B.C. 339, the Publilian law enacted
_ut plebiscita omnes Quirites tenerent_. 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
binding upon the whole nation, or, lastly, it made their validity
independent of the sanction 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
legislative character. 3. _The judicial power_ of the comitia tributa
was much more limited than that of the comitia centuriata, inasmuch
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 constitutes 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 tributa
might assemble either within or without the city, but not farther
from it than 1000 paces, because the power of the tribunes did not
extend farther. For elections the Campus Martius was usually chosen,
but sometimes also the forum, the Capitol, or the Circus Flaminius.
The presidents were commonly the tribunes, who were supported by the
aediles, and no matter could be brought before the tribes without
the knowledge and consent of the tribunes. As the comitia tributa,
however, more and more assumed the character of national assemblies,
the higher magistrates also sometimes acted as presidents, though
perhaps not without previously obtaining the permission of the
tribunes. The preparations for the comitia tributa were less formal
and solemn than for those of the centuries. In the case of elections,
the candidates had to give in their names, and the president
communicated them to the people. When a legislative measure was to
be brought before the assembly, a tribune made the people acquainted
with it in _contiones_, and that on the three preceding nundines. The
same was the case when the people were to meet as a court of justice.
The auspicia were not consulted for the comitia of the tribes, but
the _spectio_ alone was sufficient, and the tribunes had the right
of _obnuntiatio_. In the comitia the tribune who had been chosen to
preside sat on the tribunal supported by his colleagues, and laid
before the people the subject of the meeting, concluding with the
words _velitis, jubeatis Quirites_. The bill was never read by the
tribune himself, but by a praeco, and then began the debates, in
which persons might either oppose or recommend the measure, though
private persons had to ask the tribunes for permission to speak.
When the discussion was over the president called upon the people
_ite in suffragium_, as at the comitia centuriata. They then formed
themselves into their tribes, which, like the centuries, ascertained
their own votes in enclosures (septa). Which of the 35 tribes was
to give its vote first, was determined by lot, and that tribe was
called _praerogativa_ or _principium_ (the others were termed _jure
vocatae_). The vote of the first tribe was given by some person of
distinction whose name was mentioned in the plebiscitum, if it was
of a legislative nature. The manner of collecting the votes was, on
the whole, the same as in the comitia centuriata. The announcing of
the result of the votes was the _renuntiatio_. If it so happened that
two candidates had the same number of votes, the question was decided
by drawing lots. The circumstances which might cause the meeting to
break up and defer its business till another day, are the same as
those which put an end to the comitia centuriata.
(4) _The comitia centuriata mixed with the comitia tributa._--The
Servian constitution was retained unaltered so long as no great
change took place in the republic; but when the coinage and the
standard of property had become altered, when the constitution of
the army had been placed on a different footing, and, above all,
when the plebeians began to be recognized as a great and essential
element in the Roman state, it must have been found inconvenient to
leave to the equites and the first class so great a preponderance in
the comitia of the centuries, and it became necessary to secure more
power and influence to the democratic element. A change, therefore,
took place, and the comitia centuriata became mixed with the comitia
tributa; but neither the time nor the exact nature of this change
is accurately ascertained. Some refer it to the censorship of C.
Flaminius, B.C. 220, others to that of Q. Fabius and P. Decius,
B.C. 304. But there is evidence that it must be assigned to even an
earlier date than this, for the (tribus) praerogativa is mentioned
as early as B.C. 396 in the election of the consular tribunes, where
the pure comitia tributa cannot be meant, and a centuria praerogativa
is a thing unknown. With regard to the manner of the change, the
most probable opinion is, that the citizens of each tribe were
divided into five property classes, each consisting of seniores and
juniores, so that each of the 35 tribes contained ten centuries,
and all the tribes together 350 centuries. According to this new
arrangement, the five ancient classes, divided into seniores and
juniores, continued to exist as before, but henceforth they were
most closely united with the tribes, whereas before the tribes had
been mere local divisions and entirely independent of property. The
union now effected was that the classes became subdivisions of the
tribes, and that accordingly centuries occur both in the classes
and in the tribes. Each tribe contained ten centuries, two of the
first class (one of the seniores and one of the juniores), two of
the second (likewise seniores and juniores), two of the third, two
of the fourth, and two of the fifth class. The equites were likewise
divided according to tribes and centuries, and they seem to have
voted with the first class, and to have been in fact included in it,
so as to be called centuries of the first class. The centuries of
the cornicines, tubicines and fabri, which are no longer mentioned,
probably ceased to exist as distinct centuries. The voting by tribes
can hardly be conceived, except in those cases in which the ten
centuries of every tribe were unanimous; this may have been the
case very often, and when it was so, the tribus praerogativa 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 centuriae 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 _praerogativae_.) The tribe, moreover, to
which those centuries belonged which voted first, was itself likewise
called tribus praerogativa. Of the two centuries, 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 juniorum, Veturia juniorum_. As soon as the praerogativa
had voted, the renuntiatio took place, and the remaining centuries
then deliberated 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 350 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 tributa, 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 distinguished in former
times. Under Augustus the comitia still sanctioned new laws and
elected magistrates, but their whole proceedings were a mere farce,
for they could not venture to elect any other persons than those
recommended by the emperor. Tiberius deprived 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 announced to the people assembled as comitia centuriata
or tributa. Legislation was taken away from the comitia entirely,
and was completely 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
sovereign power formerly possessed by the people was conferred upon
the emperor by the lex regia. [LEX REGIA.]
COMMĔĀTUS, a furlough, or leave of absence from the army for a
certain time.
COMMENTĀRĬUS or COMMENTĀRĬUM, 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.