Page:The City-State of the Greeks and Romans.djvu/96

72 that in war the outlines of authority are likely to be more sharply defined than in peace, and that a long period of war would have a tendency to increase the king's authority, so long as he survived. His normal power at home was probably of a very gentle kind, as might be expected in a society that was so entirely aristocratic.

The King as Judge. — In a full-grown State, such as Athens, Rome, or any modern State, the executive, as we call it, has a large amount of varied business to perform. But in an early state of society, executive government consists almost entirely of the decision of disputes; and even this sphere of judicial action was a limited one, for thieves and adulterers taken in the act could be put to death without ceremony, and the revenge of murder was the duty of the family or clan of the victim, unless a proper indemnity was offered by the murderer. Still disputes would arise, perhaps more often between families than individuals, which could only be settled by bringing the force of the community to bear on them: and wherein was this force to be found concentrated but in the Basileus? It is just here that we see the value of the idea of kingship — of a sanctity arising from noble descent, in the discipline of peoples who are preparing for life in a State. The kings of all degrees, in virtue of their divine ancestry and nurture, are provided with judgments or dooms by Zeus, which are unquestioningly accepted by the people. These judgments do not rest upon