Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1895-02-23
Life in Ancient Rome
Third Lecture Of tho Utah Unvrsys Popular Series Do
ivorod January gath, 1906 by Professor
Byron Cummings.

!
mile col territory; but gradually WIN
/ corr4re and conviction chat uas invIu-
] chile. extended their borders until iHcy
/ not only Included the acknowledgements
on the north. the hardy mounAinlcs
/ ON the cast. and the Greek colonies ON
| lhc south, boz leapci beyond these and
] oncumpla ed the whole peninsula aud
+, Sicily H1u steadily marched over SOUTH
] western aui southern Europe and then,
not satisfied. set slii aud planted their
! standards Iu Asia Minor and northern
! Africa. paving the way Tor the mighty
empire that was Go bc.
Uut Rome ever remained thc ccni.t
! The scat uI government She was me
| ancient CLUB Of the earth" From her
! mImted 800 those political aud ociaI joe
lUeuggs that made the empire what %
/ came TO De.
Here were gathered the wealth, the
culture, the manhood and womauhuHd
of the nations whom the Roman
Terminus. ilu gods of b3uud8rIgs, bad
surrounded. iuC vast spells OF mgrg..g.g
conquest ht her dict1uon states lived
and tluyHl, or yielded up their stores
uI treasure and beauty Co 900 tuC golfers
Ui Rome aud aIUm hgr temples auI
palaces. aud sent their inhabitants Co
grace the triumph OF ambitious citizens
and 600 the slave mafg OF ile proud
giy, Such boo general was Rome. mise
ifea of Che Mediterranean and dictator
of tUc world.
In the Roman state the rights Of
cIueu Wrfs ut TWO huIl public and
private. The private rights Wgrei|t tHe
power of legal marriage With le iAmi.
hes of all other citizens; CAB thcp1wgr of
making legal purchases aud sales ani ui
holding property .5I the right % bee
gu.lih and tl inherit property. The
public rights wJeU. ,Il thc power OF yot
ing wherever "a citizen was permitted Co
vote. and .lI ihe right tu Dee elected Co
any office. For some time ihe p.uh.lau,
were excluded from 400 these privilege
The pliuCi1u, were the lopulu8 Eo.
mans the citizens. The plsbeiJns were
| free, but llUY had no political rights and
uu social standing 100 tug eyes OF the
ruling class. But they gained one alter
! another ui the above named rights until
! they fought their way tu iull political
| aud social recognition, 20 iull citizenship
/ iu the state. The inhabitants OF munigi.
pal cities lmuugp.al aud of Roman
/ colonies could exercise the iull rights of
| citizens when at Rome; while the boz.
hlbIunts of municipal cities of 90 lower
| rank, and Latin colonies possessed tlr
private right OF citizens. The FIRST
general assembly OF the pltigilu
citizens was called the Comua
| Cuulu.
The people were divided into thirty
districts called CuUn aud each district
into ten families or gentes. The Comit.a
Curiata elected the Sings and afterwards
/ the congu.s The senate represented
| the gcnteg Or families; and at hmt was
/ mldc up OF the fathers OF the iamilies
| the oldest repre- aenUtiyes of the diff
| lercut gcnic5 aud probably numbered
| three hundred. The Clusuls, however,
seem 10 have had the power OF giving
citizens q seat boo the senate; and soon
the number was increased by the iuilia'
ton of other patricians; and after q time,
wealthy plubclu5 were thus honurcd in
return Tor their aid or influence a
senator held bis office during life, The
senate discussed measures, made laws.
aud formed an advisory council TO the
! cousul5. In the last days of the rcpub
| lie /. numbered about six hundred, aud
was chiefly charged with legislation ON
| foreign affairs, religion and finance.
| but accordiugto the Scryian cousuluuon,
! given Boy Slrwus Julius, who was elect
ed king in SIS B. c., new division OF
the people was brought about The
| equities, or knights lthe cavalTy,l which
before bad consisted Of six pllrlcIau
compluies, were increased by the 1d-
| dltiun of twelve companies OF wealthy
plcbC.aus. The iaisuty was rcoWaulzei
without reference Co rank. The soldiers
were graded according 90 the amount of
landed property they possessed. The
| whole people who owned any taxable
land were thus divided according 10 the
! auaiucnCy Of agmuiu wealth into five
| CLASSES, aud when they came together
| formed the Cumitil C,uWHata or enc
! bly, OF hundreds. In Cicgrus time there
| were three hundred and fifty centuries.
! This assembly eve long acquired the
| night 90 glgg, the cousul8, 90 hcarappells
/ from the con,gls verdict capital cases,
! aud accept or reject bills laid before o.
! This gave the land owning plcbcians %
| recognition and wa, the first step IN the
! direction o' plcbgian citizenship. But
| in the assembly the vast majority OF
votes was given 90 the highest classes
$40 that The p1lucians were able 10 con-
! uol affairs TO suit ,hcmscNc1.
Another division brought about O
] little later was tha tribal AZ uTst there
| were twenty, luerWri tWpUty.ouc, aud
! finally thtty.Uyc tribes. These formed
/ tEg Comita Iubua boo which lor long
] time,lt luastthc plelgiaus were the sole
| voters. The Office OF Iribuncs Of the
/ people was established. and the
| p.rhc.lH5 were allowed TO elect their
/ representative Boo the Tuhuta. This was
! "a Iuug stride ior lua plgbgaus, The
/ Tribune, had the right 90 utepos9 au
absolute veto on aug legislative or ad'
| mUnuat've measure they thought harms
GOD To- iHa people, and lu secure them iu
! t1s right tHe.r persons were held lu
| yi1llble. Whoever did them volguc.
WAS considered 1900 outlaw Their power
no first WAS merely protective, hut d
! came 90 De controlling and the Tribune.
gNerteg "a mighty influence in Rome
! The OomllIa Iubula became more and
moe important. The other assemblies
lost tuglT grasp ON affairs and gradually
sank INFO comparative insiguinclnCu, lu
prgrogltyta were increased from time
90 time unit. Boo tiCeru's day. DO elected
the lesser magistrates and enacted laws
plch.sgita, which were binding upon thl
whole people. There was mo- mou
class legislation after the drawing up v
the twelve tables" by the Doccmyis.
was, Sd Quis lt auyongl Zoe alI the law
| enacted. "NNnat the people shall hly,
ordained fully shall be law" SO said th
statute.
The presiding aud chief aiministrahy
officers of the state We're two consul
. ola. o % I.