The sun., 1909-02-28

alike. are adequately protected by q
sound system Of police and by courts ol
the first instance. which are sitting eyerJ
day. Assault and murder. theft and bur
glary are exceptional oooursnces. Our
author would scarcely 60 % far a. to say
that at Rome they were the rule. but he
points out that In what may be called the
slums OF Rome there was no machinery
for checking them. No such machinery
had been invented. because according
TO the old rules OF Roman law, still In
force. q father might punish his children
q master his slaves. and q murderer or
thief might be killed by his intended
victim IL caught red handed. This rude
Justice may have sufficed in q small city
under a simple social system. but It was
totally inadequate 10 protect life and
property In huge population such as was
that OF Rome in tho last century b. c.
II 10 extremely doubtful whether either
the person or the property OF tho lower
class Of freeman could be said TO be prop
erly protected In the city. Tho same
anarchy prevailed all over ltaly-from
the suburbs OF Rome. infested by rob-
bers. to the sheep farms Of the great capi-
talist. whore the traveller might be kid
mapped by runaway slaves to vanish
from the sight OF men without leaving a
trace OF his fate. II 10 here pronounced
tho great merit Of Augustus that he made
Rome not only city Of marble but city
In which the person and property OF all
citizens were fairly secure. BY new and
rational bankruptcy Law and by q we'll
organized system OF police he made life
endurable even for the poorest
Iii.
Let US turn now to the men OF business.
or members Of the equestrian order,
whose true status and function In the
State are often misconceived through
being confounded with the so-oalled
knight Of medieval Europe. The 80
called knight Of the Middle Ages would
have deemed Il beneath him 10 engage
in any kind Of business: In Rome a men,
Der of the equestrian order was. so to
speak. a business man or nothing. As
a matter Of fact, under the later repub-
lie. the equities, or 'knights7 were the
most unmilitary part OF the Roman popu-
lation. and they inherited the title only
because the property qualification for
the cavalry. who served in war with their
own horses. had been taken as tho quail
fication also for these persons to whom
certain judicial functions had been en-
trusted by Gaius Gracious. This law
OF Gracious had had the result Of CON-
an equestrian order, alongside Of
the Senatorial order. with property quail
fioation Of about 1900. not Of income
but OF capital. Any one who had this sum
could call himself an equss provided he
were not a Senator. even II he had never
served in the cavalry or mounted horse.
As matter Of fact. in the age OF Cicero
the equities did by far the greatest part
Of the money making work that was done
in the empire. The property qualiflcs-
ton mentioned may seem to US TO be small.
but It was Of course no real index TO the
amount OF capital which a wealthy eques
might possess or control.
Nothing is more astonishing in the his
tory OF the last century OF the republic
than the vast SUI II money in the hands
Of individuals and the enormous amounts
ent and borrowed in private dealings
by the men whose names are familiar
to us as statesman. II is told of Julius
Cesar that as a very. young man he owed
4 sum equivalent to about ESQ 900; OF
Crassus that he had Eloo,0oO invested
in land alone. Cicero. though from time
10 time in difficulties. always found Il
possible TO borrow the large sums which
he spent on houses. libraries, &c. These.
10 be sure. were mon Of the Senatorial
order; OF tho equities proper. the men who
iealt rather in lending than borrowing. We
have no such explicit account. for they
we're not in the same degree before the
public eye. OF Atticus. however, the
.ype OF the sources Of his wealth. We
happen 10 know a good deal from Cioero's
numerous letters to him and from the lit
lie biography Of him written by his con- |
temporary and friend, Cornelius Sepos. |
IN him we see the best type OF the Roman |
business man; not the bloated million |
lire living in coarse luxury. but the man
Who loved to he always busy for himself
NJ his friends and whose knowledge |
" men and things was 50 thorough that
,e could make a fortune without anxiety |
o himself or discomfort to others. What |
AMOUNT OF capital he realized for himself |
~e do not know. but the mass of his for
une came to him after many years in |
he form OF a legacy from an uncle.
There is no doubt as to the fact OF the
presence Of capital on large scale in the
Rome Of the last century B. c.. or Of the |
business talents Of many OF its holders. |
" again Of the many profitable ways In
which IL might be invested. II was in
he period OF the great wars beginning !
With those against Carthage. so unwhole-
,ome and perilous for the State economi- |
ally. that the men OF business, whom We
nave defined as the men OF capital out
,ide the Senatorial order, first rose TO real
Importance; N the century that followed |
md as we see them more specially in |
Jicero's correspondence they became a |
,reat power in the State. and not only in |
Rome but in every corner bf the empire. |
These men OF business may be divided |
nto two classes. according as they under |
ook work for the State or on their own |
.ccount entirely. IL does not follow, OF |
course. that the two classes we're mutu-
lily exclusive; man might very well in
rest his money in both kinds OF under |
aking, but the two kinds we're called by |
iifferent names. A public undertaking |
vas called publioum, and the men who
undertook it publicapi; private under
aking was negotium, and all private
business men we're known as ncgotiatores.
The publicani were always organized In
oint stock companies (societates publioa-
,orum): the negotiatores might be in pri-
-ate partnership with one or moro part