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Several ranked as senators; two or three were ex-consuls; ten years ago the last consul of Rome had laid down his shadowy honours; one had held the office of Praetorian Prefect when Theodoric was king; yet, from the political point of view, all were now as powerless as their own slaves.
When no Vestal was present Marcia occupied their box, by their invitation, and filled it with her noblest and wealthiest favorites among the senatorial matrons, often wives of ex-consuls.
Pompey broke his own law by keeping his province, the Spains his position in regard to them was altogether exceptional but, in order to carry out the law in other cases, the senate arranged that ex-consuls and ex-prætors who had not been to provinces should in turn draw lots for vacant governorships.
But Cato used Ennius as soldier while Nobilior employed him as poet. It is difficult, however, to fix the date of this enactment. Some authorities place it after Cato's return from Spain. Livy 34, cc. 1-8. See Livy, 34, 18. i.e. he was legatus consularis. It was at the time a common thing for ex-consuls to take service under their successors. So Liv. 36, 17, 1, but Cic. Cat.
The people in the City, on learning this, though frightened did not even so appoint him consul, for which he was most anxious, but granted him the distinction of consular honors, so that he might now record his vote along with the ex-consuls. When he took no account of this, they voted that he should be made a praetor of the first rank and subsequently also consul.
The Senate was to have been slaughtered; the two Consuls, Cotta and Torquatus, murdered, and the two ex-Consuls, Sulla and Autronius, replaced. Though all the details seem to have been known to the Consuls, Catiline was allowed to go free, nor were any steps taken for the punishment of the conspirators.
As there would naturally come from it a dearth of candidates for the provinces it was further decreed by the Senate that the ex-Prætors and ex-Consuls who had not yet served as governors should now go forth and undertake the duties of government. In compliance with this order, and probably as a specially intended consequence of it, Cicero was compelled to go to Cilicia. Mr.
The adverse sentiment in question was due to the fact that he enrolled certain persons in the ranks of ex-consuls and immediately assigned them to governorships of provinces. Yet he refused the following year to have the reputation of being consul twice because he had the honors of ex-consul: this was a practice begun during the reign of Severus and followed also by the latter's son.
Consequently his influence became even greater than his patron's and it was thought a small thing that his mother, while still a slave, should be brought to Rome by soldiers and be numbered among the wives of ex-consuls.
But whereas under the republic there had been but two consuls holding joint office for the year, under the emperors the post had become to such a degree complimentary, and there were so many nobles who desired the honour or to whom the emperor was minded to grant it, that it became the custom to hold the position only for two months, so that twelve persons in each year might boast of being ex-consuls or having "passed the consul's chair."
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