Page:A history and description of Roman political institutions (IA historyanddescri00abbo).pdf/38

26 shortly find, the popular assembly, in which the consul was chosen, was controlled by the patricians, just as was the senate, which had practically chosen the king. The consul was invested with the imperium, as the king had been, and the strictly political power of the new magistrate was identical with that of the old one. If the experience of the Roman people were not a matter of history, the practicability of a system of government, in which the supreme power was placed in the hands of two magistrates, elected for the same term of office, and could be exercised by each of them at any moment, might well be questioned by any one. However, the system did prove a workable one, although the Romans found it wise a few years after the founding of the republic to modify it slightly by establishing the dictatorship. The incumbent of this office, who was to be appointed at moments of great danger, had no colleague. We have said that the full political power of the king descended to the consul. The new chief magistrate lost some of the religious functions of the old one. Such religious duties as were not necessary preliminaries to political action were assigned to the pontiffs and to a new priest, the.

26. The Senate. The positions of the senate was essentially unchanged, but its composition underwent a change. A certain number of plebeians were admitted to membership in it. The plebeian senators, called, could, however, take no part in passing the , or in choosing an. These duties were always the prerogative of the patrician senators.

27. The People. The centuriate comitia was at the outset a military organization solely, and it was slow in acquiring political functions, but the growth was a natural one. In fact, it was inevitable that in matters touching the