SĔNĀTUS. In all the republics of antiquity the government was divided
between a senate and a popular assembly; and in cases where a king
stood at the head of affairs, as at Sparta and in early Rome, the
king had little more than the executive. A senate in the early times
was always regarded as an assembly of elders, which is in fact the
meaning of the Roman senatus, as of the Spartan (γερουσία), and its
members were elected from among the nobles of the nation. The number
of senators in the ancient republics always bore a distinct relation
to the number of tribes of which the nation was composed. [BOULE;
GEROUSIA.] Hence in the earliest times, when Rome consisted of only
one tribe, its senate consisted of one hundred members (_senatores_
or _patres_; compare PATRICII), and when the Sabine tribe or the
Tities became united with the Latin tribe or the Ramnes, the number
of senators was increased to two hundred. This number was again
augmented to three hundred by Tarquinius Priscus, when the third
tribe or the Luceres became incorporated with the Roman state. The
new senators added by Tarquinius Priscus were distinguished from
those belonging to the two older tribes by the appellation _patres
minorum gentium_, as previously those who represented the Tities had
been distinguished, by the same name, from those who represented
the Ramnes. Under Tarquinius Superbus the number of senators is
said to have become very much diminished, as he is reported to have
put many to death and sent others into exile. This account however
appears to be greatly exaggerated, and it is probable that several
vacancies in the senate arose from many of the senators accompanying
the tyrant into his exile. The vacancies which had thus arisen were
filled up immediately after the establishment of the republic, when
several noble plebeians of equestrian rank were made senators. These
new senators were distinguished from the old ones by the name of
_Conscripti_; and hence the customary mode of addressing the whole
senate henceforth always was: _Patres Conscripti_, that is, _Patres
et Conscripti_.--The number of 300 senators appears to have remained
unaltered for several centuries. The first permanent increase to
their number was made by Sulla, and the senate seems henceforth
to have consisted of between five and six hundred. Julius Caesar
augmented the number to 900, and raised to this dignity even common
soldiers, freedmen, and peregrini. Augustus cleared the senate of
the unworthy members, who were contemptuously called by the people
_Orcini senatores_, and reduced its number to 600.--In the time
of the kings the senate was probably elected by the gentes, each
gens appointing one member as its representative; and as there
were 300 gentes, there were consequently 300 senators. The whole
senate was divided into decuries, each of which corresponded to a
curia. When the senate consisted of only one hundred members, there
were accordingly only ten decuries of senators; and ten senators,
one being taken from each decury, formed the _Decem Primi_, who
represented the ten curies. When subsequently the representatives
of the two other tribes were admitted into the senate, the Ramnes
with their decem primi retained for a time their superiority over
the two other tribes, and gave their votes first. The first among
the decem primi was the _princeps senatus_, who was appointed by
the king, and was at the same time custos urbis. [PRAEFECTUS URBI.]
Respecting the age at which a person might be elected into the senate
during the kingly period, we know no more than what is indicated
by the name senator itself, that is, that they were persons of
advanced age.--Soon after the establishment of the republic, though
at what time is uncertain, the right of appointing senators passed
from the gentes into the hands of the consuls, consular tribunes,
and subsequently of the censors. At the same time, the right which
the magistrates possessed of electing senators was by no means an
arbitrary power, for the senators were usually taken from among
those whom the people had previously invested with a magistracy,
so that in reality the people themselves always nominated the
candidates for the senate, which on this account remained, as before,
a representative assembly. After the institution of the censorship,
the censors alone had the right of introducing new members into
the senate from among the ex-magistrates, and of excluding such
as they deemed unworthy. [CENSOR.] The exclusion was effected by
simply passing over the names, and not entering them on the lists of
senators, whence such men were called _Praeteriti Senatores_. On one
extraordinary occasion the eldest among the ex-censors was invested
with dictatorial power for the purpose of filling up vacancies in
the senate.--As all curule magistrates, and also the quaestors, had
by virtue of their office a seat in the senate, even if they had not
been elected senators, we must distinguish between two classes of
senators, viz., real senators, or such as had been regularly raised
to their dignity by the magistrates or the censors, and such as had,
by virtue of the office which they held or had held, a right to
take their seats in the senate and to speak (_sententiam dicere_,
_jus sententiae_), but not to vote. To this ordo senatorius also
belonged the pontifex maximus and the flamen dialis. Though these
senators had no right to vote, they might, when the real senators
had voted, step over or join the one or the other party, whence they
were called _Senatores Pedarii_, an appellation which had in former
times been applied to those juniores who were not consulars. When at
length all the state offices had become equally accessible to the
plebeians and the patricians, and when the majority of offices were
held by the former, their number in the senate naturally increased in
proportion. The senate had gradually become an assembly representing
the people, as formerly it had represented the populus, and down to
the last century of the republic the senatorial dignity was only
regarded as one conferred by the people. But notwithstanding this
apparently popular character of the senate, it was never a popular
or democratic assembly, for now its members belonged to the nobiles,
who were as aristocratic as the patricians. [NOBILES.] The office of
princeps senatus, which had become independent of that of praetor
urbanus, was now given by the censors, and at first always to the
eldest among the ex-censors, but afterwards to any other senator
whom they thought most worthy; and unless there was any charge to
be made against him, he was re-elected at the next lustrum. This
distinction, however, great as it was, afforded neither power nor
advantages, and did not even confer the privilege of presiding at the
meetings of the senate, which only belonged to those magistrates who
had the right of convoking the senate.--During the republican period
no senatorial census existed, although senators naturally always
belonged to the wealthiest classes. The institution of a census for
senators belongs to the time of the empire. Augustus first fixed
it at 400,000 sesterces, afterwards increased it to double this
sum, and at last even to 1,200,000 sesterces. Those senators whose
property did not amount to this sum received grants from the emperor
to make it up. As regards the age at which a person might become a
senator, we have no express statement for the time of the republic,
although it appears to have been fixed by some custom or law, as
the aetas senatoria is frequently mentioned, especially during the
latter period of the republic. But we may by induction discover the
probable age. We know that, according to the lex annalis of the
tribune Villius, the age fixed for the quaestorship was 31. Now as
it might happen that a quaestor was made a senator immediately after
the expiration of his office, we may presume that the earliest age
at which a man could become a senator was 32. Augustus at last fixed
the senatorial age at 25, which appears to have remained unaltered
throughout the time of the empire.--No senator was allowed to carry
on any mercantile business. About the commencement of the second
Punic war, some senators appear to have violated this law or custom,
and in order to prevent its recurrence a law was passed, with the
vehement opposition of the senate, that none of its members should
be permitted to possess a ship of more than 300 amphorae in tonnage,
as this was thought sufficiently large to convey to Rome the produce
of their estates abroad. It is clear, however, that this law was
frequently violated.--Regular meetings of the senate (_senatus
legitimus_) took place during the republic, and probably during the
kingly period also, on the calends, nones, and ides of every month:
extraordinary meetings (_senatus indictus_) might be convoked on any
other day, with the exception of those which were atri, and those on
which comitia were held. The right of convoking the senate during the
kingly period belonged to the king, or to his vicegerent, the custos
urbis. This right was during the republic transferred to the curule
magistrates, and at last to the tribunes also. If a senator did not
appear on a day of meeting, he was liable to a fine, for which a
pledge was taken (_pignoris captio_) until it was paid. Towards the
end of the republic it was decreed, that during the whole month of
February the senate should give audience to foreign ambassadors on
all days on which the senate could lawfully meet, and that no other
matters should be discussed until these affairs were settled.--The
places where the meetings of the senate were held (_curiae_,
_senacula_) were always inaugurated by the augurs. [TEMPLUM.] The
most ancient place was the Curia Hostilia, in which alone originally
a senatus-consultum could be made. Afterwards, however, several
temples were used for this purpose, such as the temple of Concordia,
a place near the temple of Bellona [LEGATUS], and one near the porta
Capena. Under the emperors the senate also met in other places: under
Caesar, the Curia Julia, a building of extraordinary splendour, was
commenced; but subsequently meetings of the senate were frequently
held in the house of a consul.--The subjects laid before the senate
belonged partly to the internal affairs of the state, partly to
legislation, and partly to finance; and no measure could be brought
before the populus without having previously been discussed and
prepared by the senate. The senate was thus the medium through which
all affairs of the whole government had to pass: it considered and
discussed whatever measures the king thought proper to introduce,
and had, on the other hand, a perfect control over the assembly
of the populus, which could only accept or reject what the senate
brought before it. When a king died, the royal dignity, until a
successor was elected, was transferred to the Decem Primi, each of
whom in rotation held this dignity for five days. Under the republic,
the senate had at first the right of proposing to the comitia the
candidates for magistracies, but this right was subsequently lost:
the comitia centuriata became quite free in regard to elections, and
were no longer dependent upon the proposal of the senate. The curies
only still possessed the right of sanctioning the election; but in
the year B.C. 299 they were compelled to sanction any election of
magistrates which the comitia might make, before it took place, and
this soon after became law by the Lex Maenia. When at last the curies
no longer assembled for this empty show of power, the senate stepped
into their place, and henceforth in elections, and soon after also
in matters of legislation, the senate had previously to sanction
whatever the comitia might decide. After the Lex Hortensia a decree
of the comitia tributa became law, even without the sanction of
the senate. The original state of things had thus gradually become
reversed, and the senate had lost very important branches of its
power, which had all been gained by the comitia tributa. In its
relation to the comitia centuriata, however, the ancient rules were
still in force, as laws, declarations of war, conclusions of peace,
treaties, &c., were brought before them, and decided by them on the
proposal of the senate.--The powers of the senate, after both orders
were placed upon a perfect equality, may be thus briefly summed up.
The senate continued to have the supreme superintendence in all
matters of religion; it determined upon the manner in which a war was
to be conducted, what legions were to be placed at the disposal of a
commander, and whether new ones were to be levied; it decreed into
what provinces the consuls and praetors were to be sent [PROVINCIA],
and whose imperium was to be prolonged. The commissioners who were
generally sent out to settle the administration of a newly-conquered
country, were always appointed by the senate. All embassies for the
conclusion of peace or treaties with foreign states were sent out by
the senate, and such ambassadors were generally senators themselves,
and ten in number. The senate alone carried on the negotiations with
foreign ambassadors, and received the complaints of subject or allied
nations, who always regarded the senate as their common protector.
By virtue of this office of protector it also settled all disputes
which might arise among the municipia and colonies of Italy, and
punished all heavy crimes committed in Italy, which might endanger
the public peace and security. Even in Rome itself, the judices to
whom the praetor referred important cases, both public and private,
were taken from among the senators, and in extraordinary cases the
senate appointed especial commissions to investigate them; but
such a commission, if the case in question was a capital offence
committed by a citizen, required the sanction of the people. When
the republic was in danger, the senate might confer unlimited power
upon the magistrates by the formula, _Videant consules, ne quid
respublica detrimenti capiat_, which was equivalent to a declaration
of martial law within the city. This general care for the internal
and external welfare of the republic included, as before, the right
of disposing of the finances requisite for these purposes. Hence all
the revenue and expenditure of the republic were under the direct
administration of the senate, and the censors and quaestors were
only its ministers or agents. [CENSOR; QUAESTOR.] All the expenses
necessary for the maintenance of the armies required the sanction
of the senate, before anything could be done, and it might even
prevent the triumph of a returning general, by refusing to assign the
money necessary for it. There are, however, instances of a general
triumphing without the consent of the senate.--How many members were
required to be present in order to constitute a legal assembly, is
uncertain, though it appears that there existed some regulations on
this point, and there is one instance on record, in which at least
one hundred senators were required to be present. The presiding
magistrate opened the business with the words _Quod bonum, faustum,
felix fortunatumque sit populo Romano Quiritibus_, and then laid
before the assembly (_referre_, _relatio_) what he had to propose.
Towards the end of the republic the order in which the question was
put to the senators appears to have depended upon the discretion of
the presiding consul, who called upon each member by pronouncing his
name; but he usually began with the princeps senatus, or if consules
designati were present, with them. The consul generally observed
all the year round the same order in which he had commenced on the
first of January. A senator when called upon to speak might do so
at full length, and even introduce subjects not directly connected
with the point at issue. It depended upon the president which of the
opinions expressed he would put to the vote, and which he would pass
over. The majority of votes always decided a question. The majority
was ascertained either by _numeratio_ or _discessio_; that is, the
president either counted the votes, or the members who voted on the
same side separated from those who voted otherwise. The latter mode
seems to have been the usual one. What the senate determined was
called _senatus consultum_, because the consul, who introduced the
business, was said _senatum consulere_. In the enacting part of a
lex the populus were said _jubere_, and in a plebiscitum _scire_;
in a senatusconsultum the senate was said _censere_. Certain forms
were observed in drawing up a senatusconsultum, of which there is an
example in Cicero: “S. C. Auctoritates Pridie Kal. Octob. in Aede
Apollinis, scribendo adfuerunt L. Domitius Cn. Filius Ahenobarbus,
&c. Quod M. Marcellus Consul V. F. (_verba fecit_) de prov. Cons. D.
E. R. I. C. (_de ea re ita censuerunt Uti, &c._)” The names of the
persons who were witnesses to the drawing up of the senatusconsultum
were called the _auctoritates_, and these auctoritates were cited
as evidence of the fact of the persons named in them having been
present at the drawing up of the S.C. There can be no doubt that
certain persons were required to be present _scribendo_, but others
might assist if they chose, and a person in this way might testify
his regard for another on behalf of whom or with reference to whom
the S. C. was made. Besides the phrase _scribendo adesse_, there are
_esse ad scribendum_ and _poni ad scribendum_. When a S. C. was made
on the motion of a person, it was said to be made _in sententiam
ejus_. If the S. C. was carried, it was written on tablets, and
placed in the Aerarium. Senatusconsulta were, properly speaking,
laws, for it is clear that the senate had legislative power even
in the republican period; but it is difficult to determine how far
their legislative power extended. A _decretum_ of the senate was a
rule made by the senate as to some matter which was strictly within
its competence, and thus differed from a _senatusconsultum_, which
was a law; but these words are often used indiscriminately and with
little precision. Many of the senatusconsulta of the republican
period were only determinations of the senate, which became leges
by being carried in the comitia. One instance of this kind occurred
on the occasion of the trial of Clodius for violating the mysteries
of the Bona Dea. A rogatio on the subject of the trial was proposed
to the comitia ex senatusconsulto, which is also spoken of as the
_auctoritas_ of the senate. A senate was not allowed to be held
before sunrise or to be prolonged after sunset: on extraordinary
emergencies, however, this regulation was set aside.--During the
latter part of the republic the senate was degraded in various ways
by Sulla, Caesar, and others, and on many occasions it was only an
instrument in the hands of the men in power. In this way it became
prepared for the despotic government of the emperors, when it was
altogether the creature and obedient instrument of the princeps. The
emperor himself was generally also princeps senatus, and had the
power of convoking both ordinary and extraordinary meetings, although
the consuls, praetors and tribunes continued to have the same right.
The ordinary meetings, according to a regulation of Augustus, were
held twice in every month. In the reign of Tiberius the election of
magistrates was transferred from the people to the senate, which,
however, was enjoined to take especial notice of those candidates who
were recommended to it by the emperor. At the demise of an emperor
the senate had the right of appointing his successor, in case no one
had been nominated by the emperor himself; but the senate very rarely
had an opportunity of exercising this right, as it was usurped by the
soldiers. The aerarium at first still continued nominally to be under
the control of the senate, but the emperors gradually took it under
their own exclusive management, and the senate retained nothing but
the administration of the funds of the city (_arca publica_), which
were distinct both from the aerarium and from the fiscus. Augustus
ordained that no accusations should any longer be brought before the
comitia, and instead of them he raised the senate to a high court
of justice, upon which he conferred the right of taking cognisance
of capital offences committed by senators, of crimes against the
state and the person of the emperors, and of crimes committed by the
provincial magistrates in the administration of their provinces.
Respecting the provinces of the senate, see PROVINCIA. Under the
empire, senatusconsulta began to take the place of leges, properly so
called, and as the senate was, with the exception of the emperor, the
only legislating body, such senatusconsulta are frequently designated
by the name of the consuls in whose year of office they were
passed.--The distinctions and privileges enjoyed by senators were:
1. The tunica with a broad purple stripe (_latus clavus_) in front,
which was woven in it, and not, as is commonly believed, sewed upon
it. 2. A kind of short boot, with the letter C. on the front of the
foot. This C. is generally supposed to mean _centum_, and to refer
to the original number of 100 (_centum_) senators. 3. The right of
sitting in the orchestra in the theatres and amphitheatres. This
distinction was first procured for the senators by Scipio Africanus
Major, 194 B.C. 4. On a certain day in the year a sacrifice was
offered to Jupiter in the Capitol, and on this occasion the senators
alone had a feast in the Capitol; the right was called the _jus
publice epulandi_. 5. The _jus liberae legationis_. [LEGATUS, p. 224.]