the introduction, and as has been noticed from time to time in these
notes, one of his great aims is to represent himself as a conservative,
moving within constitutional limits. Coins of the period emphasize the
view set forth in the opening sentence of this chapter with regard to
the restoration of the republic. Cf. Eckhel, VI, 83: _imp. Cæsar
divi f. cos. VI, libertatis p. R. vindex_; “The imperator, Cæsar,
son of the divine (Cæsar) consul for the sixth time, (726) restorer of
the freedom of the Roman people.” Cf. C. I. L. VI, 1527: “the whole
world pacified, the republic restored.” Also, C. I. L. I, p. 384; the
date referred to is Jan. 13, 727: “The senate decreed that an oaken
crown should be fixed above the door of the imperator, Cæsar Augustus,
because he restored the Roman republic.” Contemporary Roman writers
simply echo the views of Augustus. Cf. Ovid, _Fasti_, I, 589,
for Jan. 13, 727, Velleius, II, 89, says: “When the civil wars were
finished in the twentieth year, (724) and the foreign wars brought to
a close, peace was brought back, power restored to the laws, authority
to the tribunals, majesty to the senate, the _imperium_ of the
magistrates reduced to its old time form, the original and ancient
form of the state restored.” Cf. Livy, _Epit._, CXXXIV. The
Greek Strabo, also a contemporary, writes, XVII, 3, 25: “The country
committed to him the headship of her sovereignty, and made him lord of
peace and war for life.” Later writers, even the Romans, are equally
free in their judgments. Dio, LII, I, says: “From this time (725) the
affairs of Rome began to be in the control of one man (μοναρχεῖσθαι).”
Cf. Suet. _Aug._, 28; Tac. _Ann._, III, 28. Dio’s account of
the conference in which Agrippa advises a real abdication by Augustus,
and Mæcenas urges a bold assumption of supreme power (LII, 1-40) is
regarded as fictitious.
The facts in the case are these: In 711 the Titian law gave the
triumvirs a five years’ lease of power. In 716 this was renewed not
by formal legislation, but “by universal consent.” Cf. App., _B. C._ V, 95. This triumviral power Augustus wielded till his sixth
consulship, 726, though there was a pretence of its cessation in 721.
Cf. c. 7, N, 1, and Mommsen, _Röm. St._, II, 698. In this and the
following years he divested himself gradually of one extraordinary
power after another. He could not at once fall back to the position
of an ordinary magistrate. The armies, the laws, the provinces, the
revenues had all been in his control. These he must gradually restore
Cf. Dio, LII, 13; LIII, 4, 9, 10. In 726 he began his return to older
customs by alternating with Agrippa, his colleague, in the consulship,
in having the fasces borne before him by the lictors for a month. Cf.
Dio, LIII, 1. The restoration of the censorship was part of the same
programme. Dio, LIII, 2, says that by an edict he declared all the
revolutionary and extraordinary acts of the triumviral period should
cease to be effective with the expiration of his sixth consulship
(726). The inscription of Jan. 13, 727, above alluded to, C. I. L. I,
p. 384, marks that date as that on which the business of restoring the
provinces was finally given over to the senate.
From this time on the senate divided the control of the provinces
with him. Augustus took the troublesome provinces and the frontier
ones, leaving to the senate the older and more peaceable. Over these
provinces he received a proconsular imperium for ten years, which was
renewed at the expiration of that term. In c. 7 he says that he found
the tribunitial power a sufficient basis for all the measures which
he wished to put through. Now the proconsulship and tribuneship were
both ordinary and constitutional offices. Augustus’ occupancy of each
affords an illustration of the way in which he held ordinary offices in
an extraordinary way. For by the old customs a proconsul must exercise
his _imperium_ in his province, and never at Rome. Augustus could
not be in ten provinces at once, and must be at Rome most of the time.
Hence a violation of the constitution was necessary. The tribuneship,
instituted for the protection of plebeians could be held only by a
plebeian. But Augustus was a patrician. For this reason he did not
take the tribuneship in the ordinary way, nor by the ordinary title,
but designated himself as _tribunicia potestate_, “of tribunitial
authority.”
The title _princeps_, “prince” is never used by Augustus as an
official designation in laws and inscriptions, but indicates simply his
primacy of rank and is so used throughout the _Res Gestæ_. Cf. cc.
13, 30, 32.
[152] Cf. C. I. L. 1, p. 384; X. 8375; Livy, _Ep._, 134; Cass. ad.
an. 727; Oros. VI, 20, 8; Vell. II, 91; Suet. _Aug._ 7; Dio, LIII,
16.
[153] Cf. coins in Eckhel, VI, 88; Cohen, _Aug._ nos. 43-48, 50,
207-212, 301, 341, 356, 385, 426, 476-8, 482. All these show either
the crown or the laurels and many of them have both. With the crown is
generally _ob civis servatos_, “for preserving the citizens.” The
civic crown being the reward of any soldier who saved a citizen’s life,
Augustus was pre-eminently deemed worthy of it, because he had saved so
many by putting an end to the civil wars, and by his clemency. Cf. Dio,
LIII, 16; Suet. _Claud._ 17; Sen. _De Clem._ I, 26, 5; Ovid,
_Tr._ III, 1, 39, 41, 47; _Fasti_ IV, 953; III, 137; Val.
Max. II, 8, 7; Juv. VI, 52, 79; X, 65; XII, 91; Tac. _Ann._ XV, 71.
[154] No ancient writer mentions this shield, but a number of coins and
inscriptions portray it. Cf. C. I. L. IX, 5811, wherein two Victories
carry a shield inscribed: “The senate and Roman people have given
to Augustus a shield on account of his valor, clemency, justice and
piety;” the very words of the _Res Gestæ_. For coins, cf. Eckhel,
VI, 95, 103, 121; Cohen, _Aug._ nos. 50-53, 213-216, 253, 264-267,
283, 286-297, 332. The Victory, which is frequently associated with the
shield, probably indicates that the latter was placed by Augustus near
the altar of Victory erected by him in the Curia Julia.
[155] Cf. Note 151.
[156] This title was given Feb. 5, 752. Cf. C. I. L. I, p. 386; II,
No. 2107. As in the case of the title, prince of the youth, conferred
upon Gaius and Lucius, and of the continuance of his supreme power by
universal consent (cf. cc. 14 and 34), the appellation, father of the
fatherland, was given by general acclamation, leaving to the senate
only the formal ratification of the popular will. Suet. _Aug._ 58,
expressly states this. Cf. also Ovid, _Fasti_, II, 128.
The Augustan Forum was dedicated this same year, 752. Cf. c. 21, Note.
In all probability the quadriga had been in existence some time before
this, inasmuch as it appears on a coin of uncertain date with the
inscription: “the senate and Roman people to Cæsar Augustus, parent and
presever.” If the quadriga had been made at the time this inscription
was ordered, the coin would surely have borne the formal title, “father
of the fatherland,” not the designation, “parent.” Cf. Eckhel, VI, 113.
[157] The seventy-sixth year of Augustus began Sept. 23, 766. Chapter
8 mentions his third census, which was completed one hundred days
before his death, hence May 11, 767. The _Res Gestæ_ must have
been written, then, in the interval between this date and his start for
Campania, on his last journey, as we know he left this document in the
hands of the Vestal Virgins. Cf. Suet. _Aug._ 97.
SUPPLEMENT.
For a discussion of this supplement, see the Introduction.
[158] Equivalent to 2,400,000,000 sesterces, about $120,000,000. This
does not exactly correspond with the sum of the items mentioned in the
_Res Gestæ_. These sum up 2,199,800,000 sesterces.
[159] A mere summary of c. 19, with a bit from c. 20, the only
principle of arrangement being to put temples first, and the rest
haphazard. The difference in the Greek and Latin is curious. No attempt
is made to reproduce _pulvinar_ in Greek, although in c. 19 it had
been rendered ναόν.
[160] A summary of c. 20.
[161] A summary of cc. 22, 23.
[162] For aid given to Naples, cf. Dio, LV, 10; to Venafrum, in
Campania, C. I. L. X, 4842.
[163] For aid to Paphos, cf. Dio, LIV, 23; to a number of towns in
Asia, Dio, LIV, 30; to Laodicea and Tralles, Strabo, XII, 8, 18; to
Thyatira and Chios, Suet. _Tib._ 8.
[164] Cf. Suet. _Aug._ 41. The estate necessary to qualify a
senator he raised from 800,000 sesterces to 1,200,000, and where
senators were worthy, though poor, he made up their fortunes to that
sum. Cf. Dio, LI, 17; LII, 19; LIII, 2; LIV, 17; LV, 13; LVI, 41.
Transcriber’s Notes:—
The printer is thought to be Anvil Printing Company
(see front matter).
In Footnote 58, Cf. Dio, XLIT is taken as a typo for
Cf. Dio, XLIV.
On Page 28 the number of Roman citizens is given as four million,
two hundred and thirty thousand. In the associated footnote this
is given as 4,233,000.
Typographical errors in the Greek (All corrected).
Page 10 πρυκατηλειμένας changed to read προκατηλειμένας
Page 13 ψηψίσμασι changed to read ψηφίσμασι
Page 23 τόν changed to read τὸν
Page 25 οίας changed to read σίας
Page 33 ῷ changed to read ᾦ
Page 37 θαλὰσσης changed to read θαλάσσης
Page 43 ἑξὴκοντα changed to read ἑξήκοντα
Page 45 οὕς changed to read οὓς
Page 51 ἐπιγαφῆς changed to read ἐπιγραφῆς
Page 53 Ἂ[ρεω]ς changed to read Ἄ[ρεω]ς
Page 55 ᾷ changed to read ᾳ
Page 57 Ὑρὲρ changed to read Ὑπὲρ
Page 57 Γαίῷ changed to read Γαίῳ
Page 57 Ιαύῳ changed to read Γαίῳ
Page 57 Σε[ι]λανῳ changed to read Σε[ι]λανῷ
Page 59 τρ[ί]σχ[ε]ί[λ]ιοι changed to read τρ[ι]σχ[ε]ί[λ]ιοι
Page 61 ῷ changed to read ᾧ
Page 61 Αιβύη changed to read Λιβύη
Page 61 τοῦς changed to read τοὺς
Page 61 οὅ changed to read οἳ
Page 67 μείοζονος changed to read μείσζονος
Page 69 ρᾴ changed to read ρα
Page 69 αἵ changed to read αἳ
Page 69 ἔμοῦ changed to read ἐμοῦ
Page 73 ποτομοῦ changed to read ποταμοῦ
Page 77 ἐθνη changed to read ἔθνη
Page 85 εν changed to read ἐν
Typographical errors in the Latin (All corrected).
Page 39 turmœ changed to read turmæ and optious changed to read optios