Secespita, Culter, and Simpuvium. (Coin of Sulpicia Gens.)
Secespita, Culter, and Simpuvium. (Coin of Sulpicia Gens.)
SECTĬO, the sale of a man’s property by the state (publice). This was done in consequence of a condemnatio, and for the purpose of repayment to the state of such sums of money as the condemned person had improperly appropriated; or in consequence of a proscriptio. Sometimes the things sold were calledsectio. Those who bought the property were calledsectores. The property was soldsub hasta.
SECTOR. [Sectio.]
SĔCŪRIS (ἀξινη,πέλεκυς), an axe or hatchet. The axe was either made with a single edge, or with a blade or head on each side of the haft, the latter kind being denominatedbipennis. The axe was used as a weapon of war chiefly by the Asiatic nations. It was a part of the Roman fasces. [Fasces.]
SĔCŪTŌRES. [Gladiatores.]
Sellae Curules. (The top figure from the Vatican collection;the two bottom figures from the Museum at Naples.)
Sellae Curules. (The top figure from the Vatican collection;the two bottom figures from the Museum at Naples.)
SELLA, the general term for a seat or chair of any description.—(1)Sella Curulis, the chair of state.Curulisis derived by the ancient writers fromcurrus, but it more probably contains the same root ascuria. The sella curulis is said to have been used at Rome from a very remote period as an emblem of kingly power, having been imported, along with various other insignia of royalty, from Etruria. Under the republic the rightof sitting upon this chair belonged to the consuls, praetors, curule aediles, and censors; to the flamen dialis; to the dictator, and to those whom he deputed to act under himself, as themagister equitum, since he might be said to comprehend all magistracies within himself. Afterthe downfall ofthe constitution, it was assigned to the emperors also, or to their statues in their absence; to the augustales, and perhaps, to the praefectus urbi. It was displayed upon all great public occasions, especially in the circus and theatre; and it was the seat of the praetor when he administered justice. In the provinces it was assumed by inferior magistrates, when they exercised proconsular or propraetorian authority. We find it occasionally exhibited on the medals of foreign monarchs likewise, as on those of Ariobarzanes II. of Cappadocia, for it was the practice of the Romans to present a curule chair, an ivory sceptre, a toga praetexta, and such-like ornaments, as tokens of respect and confidence to those rulers whose friendship they desired to cultivate. The sella curulis appears from the first to have been ornamented with ivory; and at a later period it was overlaid with gold. In shape it was extremely plain, closely resembling a common folding camp-stool with crooked legs. The sella curulis is frequently represented upon the denarii of Roman families. In the following cut are represented two pair of bronze legs, belonging to a sella curulis, and likewise a sella curulis itself.—(2)Sella Gestatoria, orFertoria, a sedan used both in town and country, and by men as well as by women. It is expressly distinguished from theLectica, a portable bed or sofa, in which the person carried lay in a recumbent position, while thesellawas a portable chair, in which the occupant sat upright. It differed from thecathedraalso, but in what the difference consisted, it is not easy to determine. [Cathedra.] It appears not to have been introduced until long after the lectica was common, since we scarcely, if ever, find any allusion to it until the period of the empire. The sella was sometimes entirely open, but more frequently shut in. It was made sometimes of plain leather, and sometimes ornamented with bone, ivory, silver, or gold, according to the fortune of the proprietor. It was furnished with a pillow to support the head and neck (cervical); the motion was so easy that one might study without inconvenience, while at the same time it afforded a healthful exercise.—(3) Chairs for ordinary domestic purposes have been discovered in excavations, or are seen represented in ancient frescoes, many displaying great taste.
Sellae, Chairs. (The right-hand figure from the Vatican collection;the left-hand figure from a Painting at Pompeii.)
Sellae, Chairs. (The right-hand figure from the Vatican collection;the left-hand figure from a Painting at Pompeii.)
SĒMIS, SĒMISSIS. [As.]
SĒMUNCĬA. [Uncia.]
SĒMUNCIĀRĬUM FĒNUS. [Fenus.]
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 ofaffairs, 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 (senatoresorpatres; comparePatricii), 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 appellationpatres 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 ofConscripti; 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 peopleOrcini 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 theDecem 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 theprinceps 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 calledPraeteriti 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 thesesenators 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 calledSenatores 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 discussedwhatever 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 yearB.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 wordsQuod 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 thepresident 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 bynumeratioordiscessio; 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 calledsenatus consultum, because the consul, who introduced the business, was saidsenatum consulere. In the enacting part of a lex the populus were saidjubere, and in a plebiscitumscire; in a senatusconsultum the senate was saidcensere. 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 theauctoritates, 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 presentscribendo, 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 phrasescribendo adesse, there areesse ad scribendumandponi ad scribendum. When a S. C. was made on the motion of a person, it was said to be madein 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. Adecretumof the senate was a rule made by the senate as to some matter which was strictly within its competence, and thus differed from asenatusconsultum, 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 theauctoritasof 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, seeProvincia. 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 meancentum, and to refer to theoriginal 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, 194B.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 thejus publice epulandi. 5. Thejus liberae legationis. [Legatus,p. 224.]
SĔNĬŌRES. [Comitia.]
SEPTEMVĬRI ĔPŬLŌNES. [Epulones.]
SEPTĬMONTĬUM, a Roman festival which was held in the month of December. It was celebrated by the montani, or the inhabitants of the seven ancient hills or rather districts of Rome, who offered on this day sacrifices to the gods in their respective districts. These sacra were, like the Paganalia, not sacra publica, but privata. They were believed to have been instituted to commemorate the enclosure of the seven hills of Rome within the walls of the city, and must certainly be referred to a time when the Capitoline, Quirinal, and Viminal were not yet incorporated with Rome.
SEPTUM. [Comitia,p. 107.]
SEPTUNX. [As.]
SĔPULCRUM. [Funus.]
SĔRA. [Janua.]
SĒRĬCUM (σηρικόν), silk, also calledbombycinum. Raw silk was brought from the interior of Asia, and manufactured in Cos, as early as the fourth centuryB.C.From this island it appears that the Roman ladies obtained their most splendid garments [Coa Vestis], which were remarkably thin, sometimes of a fine purple dye, and variegated with transverse stripes of gold. Silk was supposed to come from the country of the Seres in Asia, whence a silk garment is usually calledSerica vestis. Under the empire the rage for such garments was constantly on the increase. Even men aspired to be adorned with silk, and hence the senate, early in the reign of Tiberius, enactedne vestis Serica viros fœdaret. The eggs of the silkworm were first brought into Europe in the age of Justinian,A.D.530, in the hollow stem of a plant from “Serinda,” which was probably Khotan in Little Bucharia, by some monks who had learnt the method of hatching and rearing them.
SERTA. [Corona.]
SERVUS (δοῦλος), a slave. (1)Greek.Slavery existed almost throughout the whole of Greece; and Aristotle says that a complete household is that which consists of slaves and freemen, and he defines a slave to be a living working-tool and possession. None of the Greek philosophers ever seem to have objected to slavery as a thing morally wrong; Plato in his perfect state only desires that no Greeks should be made slaves by Greeks, and Aristotle defends the justice of the institution on the ground of a diversity of race, and divides mankind into the free and those who are slaves by nature; under the latter description he appears to have regarded all barbarians in the Greek sense of the word, and therefore considers their slavery justifiable. In the most ancient times there are said to have been no slaves in Greece, but we find them in the Homeric poems, though by no means so generally as in later times. They are usually prisoners taken in war, who serve their conquerors: but we also read as well of the purchase and sale of slaves. They were, however, at that time mostly confined to the houses of the wealthy. There were two kinds of slavery among the Greeks. One species arose when the inhabitants of a country were subdued by an invading tribe, and reduced to the condition of serfs or bondsmen. They lived upon and cultivated the land which their masters had appropriated to themselves, and paid them a certain rent. They also attended their masters in war. They could not be sold out of the country or separated from their families, and could acquire property. Such were the Helots of Sparta [Helotes], and the Penestae of Thessaly [Penestae]. The other species of slavery consisted of domestic slaves acquired by purchase, who were entirely the property of their masters, and could be disposed of like any other goods and chattels: these were theδοῦλοιproperly so called, and were the kind of slaves that existed at Athens and Corinth. In commercial cities slaves were very numerous, as they performed the work of the artisans and manufacturers of modern towns. In poorer republics, which had little or no capital, and which subsisted wholly by agriculture, they would be few: thus in Phocis and Locris there are said to have been originally no domestic slaves. The majority of slaves was purchased; few comparatively were born in the family of the master, partly because the number of female slaves was very small in comparison with the male, and partly because the cohabitation of slaves was discouraged, as it was considered cheaper to purchase than to rear slaves. It was a recognised rule of Greek national law that the persons of those who were taken prisoners in war became the property of the conqueror, but it was the practice for Greeks to give liberty to those of their own nation on payment of a ransom. Consequently almost all slaves in Greece, with the exception of the serfs above-mentioned, were barbarians.The chief supply seems to have come from the Greek colonies in Asia Minor, which had abundant opportunities of obtaining them from their own neighbourhood and the interior of Asia. A considerable number of slaves also came from Thrace, where the parents frequently sold their children.—At Athens, as well as in other states, there was a regular slave-market, called theκύκλος, because the slaves stood round in a circle. They were also sometimes sold by auction, and were then placed on a stone, as is now done when slaves are sold in the United States of North America: the same was also the practice in Rome, whence the phrasehomo de lapide emtus. [Auctio.] At Athens the number of slaves was far greater than the free population. Even the poorest citizen had a slave for the care of his household, and in every moderate establishment many were employed for all possible occupations, as bakers, cooks, tailors, &c.—Slaves either worked on their masters’ account or their own (in the latter case they paid their masters a certain sum a day); or they were let out by their master on hire, either for the mines or any other kind of labour, or as hired servants for wages. The rowers on board the ships were usually slaves, who either belonged to the state or to private persons, who let them out to the state on payment of a certain sum. It appears that a considerable number of persons kept large gangs of slaves merely for the purpose of letting out, and found this a profitable mode of investing their capital. Great numbers were required for the mines, and in most cases the mine-lessees would be obliged to hire some, as they would not have sufficient capital to purchase as many as they wanted. The rights of possession with regard to slaves differed in no respect from any other property; they could be given or taken as pledges. The condition, however, of Greek slaves was upon the whole better than that of Roman ones, with the exception perhaps of Sparta, where, according to Plutarch, it is the best place in the world to be a freeman, and the worst to be a slave. At Athens especially the slaves seem to have been allowed a degree of liberty and indulgence which was never granted to them at Rome. The life and person of a slave at Athens were also protected by the law: a person who struck or maltreated a slave was liable to an action; a slave too could not be put to death without legal sentence. He could even take shelter from the cruelty of his master in the temple of Theseus, and there claim the privilege of being sold by him. The person of a slave was, of course, not considered so sacred as that of a freeman: his offences were punished with corporal chastisement, which was the last mode of punishment inflicted on a freeman; he was not believed upon his oath, but his evidence in courts of justice was always taken with torture. Notwithstanding the generally mild treatment of slaves in Greece, their insurrection was not unfrequent: but these insurrections in Attica were usually confined to the mining slaves, who were treated with more severity than the others. Slaves were sometimes manumitted at Athens, though not so frequently as at Rome. Those who were manumitted (ἀπελεύθεροι) did not become citizens, as they might at Rome, but passed into the condition ofmetoici. They were obliged to honour their former master as their patron (προστάτης), and to fulfil certain duties towards him, the neglect of which rendered them liable to theδίκη ἀποστασίου, by which they might again be sold into slavery. Respecting the public slaves at Athens, seeDemosii. It appears that there was a tax upon slaves at Athens, which was probably three oboli a year for each slave.—(2)Roman.The Romans viewed liberty as the natural state, and slavery as a condition which was contrary to the natural state. The mutual relation of slave and master among the Romans was expressed by the termsServusandDominus; and the power and interest which the dominus had over and in the slave was expressed byDominium. Slaves existed at Rome in the earliest times of which we have any record; but they do not appear to have been numerous under the kings and in the earliest ages of the republic. The different trades and the mechanical arts were chiefly carried on by the clients of the patricians, and the small farms in the country were cultivated for the most part by the labours of the proprietor and of his own family. But as the territories of the Roman state were extended, the patricians obtained possession of large estates out of the ager publicus, since it was the practice of the Romans to deprive a conquered people of part of their land. These estates probably required a larger number of hands for their cultivation than could readily be obtained among the free population, and since the freemen were constantly liable to be called away from their work to serve in the armies, the lands began to be cultivated almost entirely by slave labour. Through war and commerce slaves could easily be obtained, and at a cheap rate, and their number soon became so great, that the poorer class of freemen was thrown almost entirely out of employment. This state of things was one of the chief arguments used by Licinius and the Gracchi forlimiting the quantity of public land which a person might possess. In Sicily, which supplied Rome with so great a quantity of corn, the number of agricultural slaves was immense: the oppressions to which they were exposed drove them twice to open rebellion, and their numbers enabled them to defy for a time the Roman power. The first of these servile wars began inB.C.134 and ended inB.C.132, and the second commenced inB.C.102 and lasted almost four years. Long, however, after it had become the custom to employ large gangs of slaves in the cultivation of the land, the number of those who served as personal attendants still continued to be small. Persons in good circumstances seem usually to have had one only to wait upon them, who was generally called by the name of his master with the wordpor(that is,puer) affixed to it, asCaipor,Lucipor,Marcipor,Publipor,Quintipor, &c. But during the latter times of the republic and under the empire the number of domestic slaves greatly increased, and in every family of importance there were separate slaves to attend to all the necessities of domestic life. It was considered a reproach to a man not to keep a considerable number of slaves. The first question asked respecting a person’s fortune wasQuot pascit servos, “How many slaves does he keep?” Ten slaves seem to have been the lowest number which a person could keep in the age of Augustus, with a proper regard to respectability in society. The immense number of prisoners taken in the constant wars of the republic, and the increase of wealth and luxury, augmented the number of slaves to a prodigious extent. A freedman under Augustus, who had lost much property in the civil wars, left at his death as many as 4,116. Two hundred was no uncommon number for one person to keep. The mechanical arts, which were formerly in the hands of the clients, were now entirely exercised by slaves: a natural growth of things, for where slaves perform certain duties or practise certain arts, such duties or arts are thought degrading to a freeman. It must not be forgotten, that the games of the amphitheatre required an immense number of slaves trained for the purpose. [Gladiatores.] Like the slaves in Sicily, the gladiators in Italy rose inB.C.73 against their oppressors, and under the able generalship of Spartacus, defeated a Roman consular army, and were not subdued till B.C. 71, when 60,000 of them are said to have fallen in battle.—A slave could not contract a marriage. His cohabitation with a woman wascontubernium; and no legal relation between him and his children was recognized. A slave could have no property. He was not incapable of acquiring property, but his acquisitions belonged to his master. Slaves were not only employed in the usual domestic offices and in the labours of the field, but also as factors or agents for their masters in the management of business, and as mechanics, artisans, and in every branch of industry. It may easily be conceived that, under these circumstances, especially as they were often entrusted with property to a large amount, there must have arisen a practice of allowing the slave to consider part of his gains as his own; this was hisPeculium, a term also applicable to such acquisitions of a filius-familias as his father allowed him to consider as his own. [Patria Potestas.] According to strict law, thepeculiumwas the property of the master, but according to usage, it was considered to be the property of the slave. Sometimes it was agreed between master and slave, that the slave should purchase his freedom with hispeculiumwhen it amounted to a certain sum. A runaway slave (fugitivus) could not lawfully be received or harboured. The master was entitled to pursue him wherever he pleased; and it was the duty of all authorities to give him aid in recovering the slave. It was the object of various laws to check the running away of slaves in every way, and accordingly a runaway slave could not legally be an object of sale. A class of persons calledFugitivariimade it their business to recover runaway slaves. A person was a slave either jure gentium or jure civili. Under the republic, the chief supply of slaves arose from prisoners taken in war, who were sold by the quaestors with a crown on their heads (sub corona venire, vendere), and usually on the spot where they were taken, as the care of a large number of captives was inconvenient. Consequently slave-dealers usually accompanied an army, and frequently after a great battle had been gained many thousands were sold at once, when the slave-dealers obtained them for a mere nothing. The slave trade was also carried on to a great extent, and after the fall of Corinth and Carthage, Delos was the chief mart for this traffic. When the Cilician pirates had possession of the Mediterranean, as many as 10,000 slaves are said to have been imported and sold there in one day. A large number came from Thrace and the countries in the north of Europe, but the chief supply was from Africa, and more especially Asia, whence we frequently read of Phrygians, Lycians, Cappadocians, &c. as slaves. The trade of slave-dealers (mangones) was considered disreputable; but it was very lucrative,and great fortunes were frequently realised from it. Slaves were usually sold by auction at Rome. They were placed either on a raised stone (hencede lapide emtus), or a raised platform (catasta), so that every one might see and handle them, even if they did not wish to purchase them. Purchasers usually took care to have them stripped naked, for slave-dealers had recourse to as many tricks to conceal personal defects as the horse-jockeys of modern times: sometimes purchasers called in the advice of medical men. Newly imported slaves had their feet whitened with chalk, and those that came from the East had their ears bored, which we know was a sign of slavery among many eastern nations. The slave-market, like all other markets, was under the jurisdiction of the aediles, who made many regulations by edicts respecting the sale of slaves. The character of the slave was set forth in a scroll (titulus) hanging around his neck, which was a warranty to the purchaser: the vendor was bound to announce fairly all his defects, and if he gave a false account had to take him back within six months from the time of his sale, or make up to the purchaser what the latter had lost through obtaining an inferior kind of slave to what had been warranted. The chief points which the vendor had to warrant, were the health of the slave, especially freedom from epilepsy, and that he had not a tendency to thievery, running away, or committing suicide. Slaves sold without any warranty wore at the time of sale a cap (pileus) upon their head. Slaves newly imported were generally preferred for common work: those who had served long were considered artful (veteratores); and the pertness and impudence of those born in their master’s house, calledvernae, were proverbial. The value of slaves depended of course upon their qualifications; but under the empire the increase of luxury and the corruption of morals led purchasers to pay immense sums for beautiful slaves, or such as ministered to the caprice or whim of the purchaser. Eunuchs always fetched a very high price, and Martial speaks of beautiful boys who sold for as much as 100,000 or 200,000 sesterces each (885l.8s.4d.and 1770l.16s.8d.). Slaves who possessed a knowledge of any art which might bring profit to their owners, also sold for a large sum. Thus literary men and doctors frequently fetched a high price, and also slaves fitted for the stage.—Slaves were divided into many various classes: the first division was into public or private. The former belonged to the state and public bodies, and their condition was preferable to that of the common slaves. They were less liable to be sold, and under less control, than ordinary slaves: they also possessed the privilege of the testamenti factio to the amount of one half of their property, which shows that they were regarded in a different light from other slaves. Public slaves were employed to take care of the public buildings, and to attend upon magistrates and priests. A body of slaves belonging to one person was calledfamilia, but two were not considered sufficient to constitute afamilia. Private slaves were divided into urban (familia urbana) and rustic (familia rustica); but the name of urban was given to those slaves who served in the villa or country residence as well as in the town house; so that the words urban and rustic rather characterised the nature of their occupations than the place where they served. Slaves were also arranged in certain classes, which held a higher or a lower rank according to the nature of their occupation. These classes areordinarii,vulgares, andmediastini.—Ordinariiseem to have been those slaves who had the superintendence of certain parts of the housekeeping. They were always chosen from those who had the confidence of their master, and they generally had certain slaves under them. To this class theactores,procuratores, anddispensatoresbelong, who occur in the familia rustica as well as the familia urbana, but in the former are almost the same as thevillici. They were stewards or bailiffs. To the same class also belong the slaves who had the charge of the different stores, and who correspond to our house-keepers and butlers: they are calledcellarii,promi,condi,procuratores peni, &c.—Vulgaresincluded the great body of slaves in a house who had to attend to any particular duty in the house, and to minister to the domestic wants of their master. As there were distinct slaves or a distinct slave for almost every department of household economy, as bakers (pistores), cooks (coqui), confectioners (dulciarii), picklers (salmentarii), &c., it is unnecessary to mention these more particularly. This class also included the porters (ostiarii), the bed-chamber slaves (cubicularii), the litter-bearers (lecticarii), and all personal attendants of any kind.—Mediastini, the name given to slaves used for any common purpose, was chiefly applied to certain slaves belonging to the familia rustica.—The treatment of slaves of course varied greatly, according to the disposition of their masters, but they were upon the whole, as has been already remarked, treated with greater severity and cruelty than among the Athenians. Originally the master could use the slave as he pleased; under the republicthe law does not seem to have protected the person or life of the slave at all; but the cruelty of masters was to some extent restrained under the empire by various enactments. In early times, when the number of slaves was small, they were treated with more indulgence, and more like members of the family: they joined their masters in offering up prayers and thanksgivings to the gods, and partook of their meals in common with their masters, though not at the same table with them, but upon benches (subsellia) placed at the foot of the lectus. But with the increase of numbers and of luxury among masters, the ancient simplicity of manners was changed: a certain quantity of food was allowed them (dimensumordemensum), which was granted to them either monthly (menstruum) or daily (diarium). Their chief food was the corn calledfar, of which either four or five modii were granted them a month, or one Roman pound (libra) a day. They also obtained an allowance of salt and oil: Cato allowed his slaves a sextarius of oil a month and a modius of salt a year. They also got a small quantity of wine, with an additional allowance on the Saturnalia and Compitalia, and sometimes fruit, but seldom vegetables. Butcher’s meat seems to have been hardly ever given them. Under the republic they were not allowed to serve in the army, though after the battle of Cannae, when the state was in imminent danger, 8000 slaves were purchased by the state for the army, and subsequently manumitted on account of their bravery. The offences of slaves were punished with severity, and frequently with the utmost barbarity. One of the mildest punishments was the removal from the familia urbana to the rustica, where they were obliged to work in chains or fetters. They were frequently beaten with sticks or scourged with the whip. Runaway slaves (fugitivi) and thieves (fures) were branded on the forehead with a mark (stigma), whence they are said to benotatiorinscripti. Slaves were also punished by being hung up by their hands with weights suspended to their feet, or by being sent to work in the Ergastulum or Pistrinum. [Ergastulum.] The carrying of the furca was a very common mode of punishment. [Furca.] The toilet of the Roman ladies was a dreadful ordeal to the female slaves, who were often barbarously punished by their mistresses for the slightest mistake in the arrangement of the hair or a part of the dress. Masters might work their slaves as many hours in the day as they pleased, but they usually allowed them holidays on the public festivals. At the festival of Saturnus, in particular, special indulgences were granted to all slaves, of which an account is given underSaturnalia. There was no distinctive dress for slaves. It was once proposed in the senate to give slaves a distinctive costume, but it was rejected, since it was considered dangerous to show them their number. Male slaves were not allowed to wear the toga or bulla, nor females the stola, but otherwise they were dressed nearly in the same way as poor people, in clothes of a dark colour (pullati) and slippers (crepidae). The rights of burial, however, were not denied to slaves, for, as the Romans regarded slavery as an institution of society, death was considered to put an end to the distinction between slaves and freemen. Slaves were sometimes even buried with their masters, and we find funeral inscriptions addressed to the Dii Manes of slaves (Dis Manibus).
SESCUNX. [As.]
SESTERTĬUS, a Roman coin, which properly belonged to the silver coinage, in which it was one-fourth of the denarius, and therefore equal to 2½ asses. Hence the name, which is an abbreviation ofsemis tertius(sc.nummus), the Roman mode of expressing 2½. The wordnummusis often expressed withsestertius, and often it stands alone, meaningsestertius. Hence the symbol HS or IIS, which is used to designate the sestertius. It stands either for LLS (Libra Libra et Semis), or for IIS, the two I’s merely forming the numeral two (sc.assesorlibrae), and the whole being in either case equivalent todupondius et semis. When the as was reduced to half an ounce, and the number of asses in the denarius was made sixteen instead of ten [As,Denarius], the sestertius was still ¼ of the denarius, and therefore contained no longer 2½, but 4 asses. The old reckoning of 10 asses to the denarius was kept, however, in paying the troops. After this change the sestertius was coined in brass as well as in silver; the metal used for it was that calledaurichalcum, which was much finer than the commonaes, of which the asses were made. The sum of 1000sestertiiwas calledsestertium. This was also denoted by the symbol HS, the obvious explanation of which is “IIS (2½ millia).” Thesestertiumwas always a sum of money, never acoin; thecoinused in the payment of large sums was the denarius. According to the value we have assigned to theDenarius, up to the time of Augustus, we have—
The sestertius was the denomination of money almost always used in reckoning considerable amounts. There are a very few examples of the use of the denarius for this purpose. The mode of reckoning was as follows:—Sestertius=sestertius nummus=nummus. Sums below 1000sestertiiwere expressed by the numeral adjectives joined with either of these forms. The sum of 1000 sestertii =mille sestertii= Msestertium(forsestertiorum) = Mnummi= Mnummum(fornummorum) = Msestertii nummi= Msestertium nummum=sestertium. These forms are used with the numeral adjectives below 1000: sometimesmilliais used instead ofsestertia: sometimes both words are omitted: sometimesnummumorsestertiumis added. For example, 600,000 sestertii =sescenta sestertia=sescenta millia=sescenta=sescenta sestertia nummum. For sums of a thousandsestertia(i.e.a millionsestertii) and upwards, the numeral adverbs inies(decies, undecies, vicies, &c.) are used, with which the wordscentena millia(a hundred thousand) must be understood. With these adverbs the neuter singularsestertiumis joined in the case required by the construction. Thus,decies sestertium=decies centena millia sestertium=ten times a hundred thousand sestertii= 1,000,000 sestertii = 1000sestertia:milliesHS =millies centena millia sestertium= a thousand times one hundred thousand sestertii = 100,000,000sestertii= 100,000sestertia. When the numbers are written in cypher, it is often difficult to know whethersestertiiorsestertiaare meant. A distinction is sometimes made by a line placed over the numeral whensestertiaare intended, or in other words, when the numeral is an adverb inies. Thus
Sesterceis sometimes used as an English word. If so, it ought to be used only as the translation ofsestertius, never ofsestertium.
SĒVIR. [Equites.]
SEX SUFFRĀGĬA. [Equites.]
SEXTANS. [As.]
SEXTĀRĬUS, a Roman dry and liquid measure. It was one-sixth of the congius, and hence its name. It was divided, in the same manner as the As, into parts nameduncia, sextans, quadrans, triens, quincunx, semissis, &c.The uncia, or twelfth part of the sextarius, was theCyathus; itssextanswas therefore two cyathi, itsquadransthree, itstriensfour, itsquincunxfive, &c. (SeeTables.)
SĬBYLLĪNI LIBRI. These books are said to have been obtained in the reign of Tarquinius Priscus, or according to other accounts in that of Tarquinius Superbus, when a Sibyl (Σίβυλλα), or prophetic woman, presented herself before the king, and offered nine books for sale. Upon the king refusing to purchase them, she went and burnt three, and then returned and demanded the same price for the remaining six as she had done for the nine. The king again refused to purchase them, whereupon she burnt three more, and demanded the same sum for the remaining three as she had done at first for the nine; the king’s curiosity now became excited, so that he purchased the books, and then the Sibyl vanished. These books were probably written in Greek, as the later ones undoubtedly were. They were kept in a stone chest under ground in the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, under the custody of certain officers, at first only two in number, but afterwards increased successively to ten and fifteen, of whom an account is given underDecemviri. The public were not allowed to inspect the books, and they were only consulted by the officers, who had the charge of them, at the special command of the senate. They were not consulted, as the Greek oracles were, for the purpose of getting light concerning future events; but to learn what worship was required by the gods, when they had manifested their wrath by national calamities or prodigies. Accordingly we find that the instruction they give is in the same spirit; prescribing what honour was to be paid to the deities already recognised, or what new ones were to be imported from abroad. When the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus was burnt inB.C.82, the Sibylline books perished in the fire; and in order to restore them, ambassadors were sent to various towns in Italy, Greece, and Asia Minor, to make fresh collections, which on the rebuilding of the temple were deposited in the same place that the former had occupied. The Sibylline books were also calledFata SibyllinaandLibri Fatales. Along with the Sibylline books were preserved, under the guard of the same officers, the books of the two prophetic brothers, the Marcii, the Etruscan prophecies of the nymph Bygoe, and those of Albuna or Albunea of Tibur. Those of the Marcii, which had not been placed there at the time of the battle of Cannae, were written in Latin.
SĪCA,dim.SĪCĪLA, whence the Englishsickle, a curved dagger, adapted by its form to be concealed under the clothes, and therefore carried by robbers and murderers.Sicamay be translateda scimitar, to distinguishit fromPugio, which denoted a dagger of the common kind.Sicarius, though properly meaning one who murdered with the sica, was applied to murderers in general. Hence the formsde sicariisandinter sicarioswere used in the criminal courts in reference to murder. Thusjudicium inter sicarios, “a trial for murder;”defendere inter sicarios, “to defend against a charge of murder.”
SĬGILLĀRĬA. [Saturnalia.]
SIGNA MĪLĬTĀRĬA (σημεῖα,σημαίαι), military ensigns or standards. The most ancient standard employed by the Romans is said to have been a handful of straw fixed to the top of a spear or pole. Hence the company of soldiers belonging to it was calledManipulus. The bundle of hay or fern was soon succeeded by the figures of animals, viz. the eagle, the wolf, the minotaur, the horse, and the boar. These appear to have corresponded to the five divisions of the Roman army as shown onp. 165. The eagle (aquila) was carried by theaquiliferin the midst of thehastati, and we may suppose the wolf to have been carried among theprincipes, and so on. In the second consulship of Marius,B.C.104, the four quadrupeds were entirely laid aside as standards, the eagle being alone retained. It was made of silver, or bronze, and with expanded wings, but was probably of a small size, since a standard-bearer (signifer) under Julius Caesar is said in circumstances of danger to have wrenched the eagle from its staff, and concealed it in the folds of his girdle. Under the later emperors the eagle was carried, as it had been for many centuries, with the legion, a legion being on that account sometimes calledaquila, and at the same time each cohort had for its own ensign the serpent or dragon (draco,δράκων), which was woven on a square piece of cloth, elevated on a gilt staff, to which a cross-bar was adapted for the purpose, and carried by thedraconarius. Another figure used in the standards was a ball (pila), supposed to have been emblematic of the dominion of Rome over the world; and for the same reason a bronze figure of Victory was sometimes fixed at the top of the staff. Under the eagle or other emblem was often placed a head of the reigning emperor, which was to the army the object of idolatrous adoration. The minor divisions of a cohort, calledcenturies, had also each an ensign, inscribed with the number both of the cohort and of the century. By this provision every soldier was enabled with the greatest ease to take his place. The standard of the cavalry, properly calledvexillum, was a square piece of cloth expanded upon a cross in the manner already indicated, and perhaps surmounted by some figure. The following cut, containingseveral standards, represents the performance of the sacrifice calledsuovetaurilia. The imperial standard from the time of Constantine was calledlabarum; on it a figure or emblem of Christ was woven in gold upon purple cloth, and this was substituted for the head of the emperor. Since the movements of a body of troops and of every portion of it were regulated by the standards, all the evolutions, acts, and incidents of the Roman army were expressed by phrases derived from this circumstance. Thussigna inferremeant to advance,referreto retreat, andconvertereto face about;efferre, orcastris vellere, to march out of the camp;ad signa convenire, to re-assemble. Notwithstanding some obscurity in the use of terms, it appears that, whilst the standard of the legion was properly calledaquila, those of the cohorts were in a special sense of the term calledsigna, their bearers beingsigniferi, and that those of the manipuli or smaller divisions of the cohort were denominatedvexilla, their bearers beingvexillarii. In time of peace the standards were kept in theAerarium, under the care of theQuaestor.