Brunt, The Roman Mob

The Past and Present Society
The Roman Mob

Author(s): P. A. Brunt
Source: Past & Present, No. 35 (Dec., 1966), pp. 3-27
Published by: Oxford University Press on behalf of The Past and Present Society
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THE ROMAN MOB1
I
IN FEBRUARY 56 B.C., PUBLIUS CLODIUS, THE PATRICIAN LEADER OF
theurbanproletariatat Rome,had indictedhis enemy,Titus Annius
Milo, on a chargeof seditiousviolencebeforethepopularassembly.
(Milo had successfullydisputedClodius' controlof the streetsby
hiringgladiatorsand otherbravados.) Pompeyhad undertaken to
appearforMilo at a preliminary hearing.
Pompey spoke [wroteCicero] or intendedto; in fact,as soon as he rose, the
Clodian gang raised a clamour,and throughouthis speech he was interrupted
not onlyby shoutingbut by loud abuse and insults. When he had finished-
in this he certainlyshowed courage; he was not frightenedaway, said his
piece to the end, and now and again secured silence by his authority- up
got Clodius. Our people made such a clamour - we had decided to show
him the same courtesy - that he could not control his mind, tongue or
expression. Pompey had barely finished at noon; this went on till two
o'clock; every kind of insult and the most bawdy verses were shouted at
Clodius and his sister. Livid with fury,Clodius asked his followerswho
was starving the people to death. The gang replied: "Pompey". Who
wanted to go to Alexandria? "Pompey." Whom did they want to go?
"Crassus" .... At about threeo'clock, as if at a signal, Clodius' people began
to spit in unison at ours. A crescendo of anger. They began to shove our
people out. We charged; the gangstersfled; Clodius was thrown off the
platform,and I too took to flight;theremighthave been an accident.2
This was a relativelypeacefulscene in the 5os. In 58, when
Clodiuswas drivingCicerointotemporary exile,a senatorwas killed
in streetfighting.The dayafterCiceroleftRome,beforehe hadbeen
condemnedin law,his houseon thePalatinewas sackedand burned,
and themob marchedoutto treathis Tusculanvillain thesameway.
Later thatyear,Pompeykeptto his housein fearforhis life. In 57
theefforts of Milo and Sestiusas tribunesto restoreCiceroweremet
by violence;Sestiuswas leftfordead in the street;Clodiusbrought
gladiatorsinto the senate-house. Milo and Sestius repelledforce
withforce,untilat lastthegentryand bourgeoisieofall Italycamein
1
Many statementscan readily be verifiedin standard historiesof Rome, or
for the period covered, in Greenidge and Clay, Sources for Roman History
I33-70 B.C., revised by E. W. Gray (Oxford, 1960), or under the year named
in T. R. S. Broughton,?Magistrates of the Roman Republic(New York, I95I).
All dates are B.C. unless otherwisestated. For all mattersconcerningthe rural
plebs and veterans mentioned see my article in Jl. of Rom. Stud., lii (1962),
pp. 7C-86. Before revisingthis paper I could read only parts of Ch. Meier,
Res Publica Amissa (Wiesbaden, 1966), esp. pp. 95-II5. J. W. Heaton, Mob
Violencein thelate RomanRepublic(Illinois Studiesin Soc. Science,xxiii,4, 1939)
is inaccurate in details and superficialin interpretation.
2ad Quintumfratrem,ii. 3. 2.
4 PAST AND PRESENT NUMBER 35
to voteforCicero'sreturn. In November,an armedband droveoff

theworkmen whowererebuilding hishouse,demolished a neighbour-
ing porticoand set fireto the mansionof his brother"withthe city
lookingon". A week later,Cicerowas going down the Sacra Via,
the principalstreetin the city centrewhichran fromwherethe
Colosseumnow standsto thefootof the Capitoland was linedwith
greathousesand luxuryshops,whenClodius' gangattacked:"there
were shouts,stones,clubs,swords,all withouta moment'snotice".
Cicero was saved by his escort. Next day Clodius triedto storm
Milo's housein a fashionable residentialquarter. "Quite openlyin
themiddleofthemorning, he broughtup menwithshieldsand drawn
swordsand otherswith lightedtorches". A successfulcounter-
attackwas made and Clodiusfledforhis life.3
Such violencereached a climaxin early 52 when Milo at last
succeededin murdering Clodius outsideRome and a frenziedmob
brought the body into the senate-house,tore down tribunaland
benches,seized the clerk'spapers and burnedeverything up, the
senate-houseitselfand the adjacent Porcian basilica, in a great
funeralpyre. A rathersimilarscene recurredin 44 when Caesar's
bodywas burned,and themobtoreto piecesthepoet,HelviusCinna,
underthe misapprehension thathe was a praetorwho had publicly
sympathized withCaesar's assassins.4 But, thoughthe proportions
of violencewere unprecedented, violenceitselfwas not something
novel in Rome; for almost a centuryit had been growingmore
frequent.
I proposehereto examinetheconditions whichfavouredor caused
it (II-Iv), to sketchits progress(v), and to considerthe composition
of the mobs and theiraims (vi-vII); I shall concludeby assessing
whatthemob achieved(VIII).
II
The truegoverning organof the Roman Republicwas the senate
whichacted throughannual magistrateselectedby the people but
drawnfromitsownranks. The senateitselfwas dominatedbya few
noble familieswhose power reposed on theirwealthand on the
3 T. Rice
Holmes, Rom. Republic (Oxford, 1923), i, pp. 330-3; ii, pp. 54-6I;
esp. Cic., ad Atticum,iv. 3. 2-3. Sacra Via, S. B. Platner, Topograph.Dict. of
Anc. Rome,revised by T. Ashby (Oxford, 1929), pp. 456 ff.
4 For 52 Asconius, 32-3 (Oxf. text); Appian, Civil Wars, ii. 20 ff.; (Cassius)
Dio, xl. 48 ff.; for 44 Appian, ii. 143-8; Dio, xliv. 35-5I; Plutarch,Caesar, 68;
Antony, 14; Brutus, I8; 20. The people were inflamed by the reading of
Caesar's will in which he lefthis gardensforpublic use and a sum of moneyto
everycitizendomiciled at Rome.
THE ROMAN MOB 5
numberof theirdependents,and on the prestigetheyderivedfrom
theirpastservicesto thestate. Candidatesforoffice seldomstoodon
programmes,and organized parties did not exist. Men were
returnedto officeoccasionallyforpersonalmerits(talentcould carry
outsiderslike Ciceroto the highestplace), moreoftenby reasonof
theirmunificence and lavishbribes,in generalbecauseoftheirfamily
and connections. Birthand wealthusuallywenttogether. Cicero
describesLucius DomitiusAhenobarbusas a man destinedforthe
consulshipsince he was born; in 49 he could offerfarmsof thirty
acres apiece to some thousandsof soldiers. Such nobles had
numerousdependentsor clientswho were morallyexpectedand
ofteneconomicallycompelledto supportthem.5 They used their
powerto growricherfromthe profitsof war and empire,and to
oppose everymeasureto relievethe poor, the provisionof cheap
grain,the distributionof land or the remissionof debt. Here they
had the backingof the upper class in general,whose spokesman,
Cicero,declaredthatthe primedutyof government was to ensure
"thateverymankepthis own". Andpubliclargesses,whichdid not
infringepropertyrights,could be rejectedon the groundthatthey
were more than the treasurycould bear, the treasuryfromwhich
senatorsdrewhandsomeallowancesforthemselves.6
In theorythepeopleat Romepossessedgreatpower. Theyelected
the magistrates,declaredwar and ratifiedtreaties,passed laws, and
until the creationof standingcourts in the late second century
decidedthemostimportant criminalcases; to theend oftheRepublic
some politicalchargescame beforethem. From the late second
centurytheyvoted by ballot; this naturallydiminishedaristocratic
control.
There was morethanone popularassembly. Of thesethecomitia
centuriatawas timocratically organized. Decisions were taken by
a majoritynot of heads, but of votingunits called centuries;the
well-to-do,if theywere of one mind,could decide the issues; the
citizenswithno property at all,and whoaresaidto haveoutnumbered
all therestputtogether bythetimeofAugustus,formedonlya single
century, whichmightneverevenbe called.7 The ruralpoortherefore
5 H.
Jolowicz,Hist. Introd.to theStudyofRomanLaw, 2nd edn. (Cambridge,
1952), chaptersii and iv, gives an excellentintroductionto the Roman constitu-
tion. For the workingof the political systemsee L. R. Taylor, Party Politicsin
the Age of Caesar (Berkeley, 1949). Domitius: Cic., ad Atticum,iv. 8a, 2.
Caesar, Civil War, i. 17. Clients; see esp. M. Gelzer, Kleine Schriften,i
(Wiesbaden, 1962), pp. 68 ff.
6 de officiis,
ii. cf. Brunt (n. I), pp. 69 ff.
7Dionysius of72-end,
Halicarnassus, Rom. Antiquities,iv. 20. 5; 21. I (based on
personal observation,21. 3, after30 B.C., i. 7. 2).
had littleinfluencein thisbodythe importance of whichwas great,

forit electedthechiefmagistrates; and it was menwhohad heldthe
highestoffices whodominatedthesenateitself.
This assemblywas also competent to legislate,butlaws weremore
generallypassed by a less cumbrousbody,in whichthe votingunits
werethirty-five tribes. The tribeswerelocal divisionsofthepeople;
thirty-one were ruraland foururban,thoughall freedmen(except
such as were substantiallandowners)were registered,wherever
domiciled,in the urban tribes. In the tribes,rich and poor had
equal votes.8
At all timesby far the greaternumberof citizenslived in the
country, and it mightseemthattheorganization ofthetribalassembly
ensuredthatthe wishesof theruralmajoritywouldprevail,perhaps
even to an undue extent;thirty-one to fourwas not the truepro-
portionbetweentownand country dwellers.9 However,as Professor
Toynbeehas recently pointedout,thesystemofprimarydemocracy,
in whichthecitizencanexercisehisvotingrightsonlybyattending the
sovereignassemblyin person,can onlyworkdemocratically ifvoters
havenotto spendmorethantwonightsawayfromhome.10 Even in
the thirdcenturymanycitizenswerea hundredmilesdistantfrom
Rome,and after80 theycomprisedthefreepopulationof Italysouth
ofthePo. It was onlyon rareoccasionsthatthepeasantscamein to
vote. If the censorswho held officeeveryfiveyearswerecarefulto
register everycitizenwhomovedfromthecountryintothecityin an
urbantribeinsteadof a rural,thevotesoftheruraltribesmusthave
been exercisedby theminority oftheirmemberswho had theleisure
and means to visit Rome forthe purpose,the verysame class of
wealthylandownerswho controlled thecenturiate assembly."
It seems,however, thatthecensorsdidnotdo theirworkthoroughly.
Dionysiusof Halicarnassussharplycontrasts thecenturiate assembly
controlledby the respectableclasses and the tribal,composedof
artisanswithno hearthsoftheirown.12 He purports to be describing
theearlyRepublic,but thepictureis imaginary and drawnfromthe
conditionsknown to the annalistsof the firstcentury. In the
Principateurbandwellersare attestedin ruraltribes. One piece of
8 L. R. Taylor, Voting Districts of the Roman Republic (Rome, I960) is
fundamentalon the tribes.
9 In 70, 9o0,000 adult male citizens were returned; there might have been
much failureto register,but I hope to argue elsewherethat about I,200,000 is
a realisticfigure;of these in the 4os about a quarterlived in Rome (III below).
10Hannibal's Legacy (Oxford, 1965), i, p. 297.
11Taylor (n. 5), 57 ff.; cf. Brunt,Ji. of Rom. Studies,Iv (1965), pp. I03 ff.
12
iv. 16-21; vii. 59; viii. 6; x. 17.
THE ROMAN MOB 7
evidencesuggeststhatthis was possibleas earlyas I33. Tiberius

Gracchus,whohad hitherto reliedon theruralvoters(one ofthefew
knowninstancesin whichtheyswarmedin to vote),beganto courtthe
urbanplebs, as his followerswere occupiedwiththe harvest. His
actionwould have had littlepurpose,if the urbanplebs had been
confinedto thefoururbantribes. It maybe indeedthatevena few
immigrants who had movedintoRome sincethelast censusand had
not yet been reregisteredmighthave balanced or outvotedthe
wealthier membersoftheirtribes,and thatit was to sucha handfulof
citizensthathe appealed. Even so, urbandwellerswere evidently
in theruraltribes.13 And between70 and 28 it is notclear
influential
that any census was completed.4 It seems probable then that
normally theurbanplebshad a majority in thetribalassembly.
However, the assemblies could do nothingexcept with the
collaborationofa magistrate.Theycouldmeetonlyon hissummons,
and only vote "Yea" or "Nay" on his proposals;a privatecitizen
could not evenspeakexcepton his invitation. The plebs could not
obtainredressof its grievances,unlessa magistrate drawnfromthe
upper classes was prepared to take the initiative. Genuine social
concernor personalambitionled nobleslikethe Gracchi,Caesarand
Clodiusto comeforward as "popular"leadersfromtimeto time,but
therewas no consistent and continuousopposition,no organizedand
enduringpopularparty.'5
Even ifa magistrate submitted a popularproposal,it did notfollow
thatitwouldgo through. It couldbe obstructed on religiouspretexts,
or vetoed. A singletribunecould vetowhatall his nine colleagues
proposed. The tribunatehad arisenin the class strugglesof the
early Republic forthe protectionof popular interests,and in the
secondcenturyPolybiuscould stillsay thatit was thetribune'sduty
to do alwayswhat the people approved. To the end most of the
championsof the commonsacted as tribunes. None the less,
Polybius'statement did not correspondto the constitutional practice
13H. Dessau, Inscript.Lat. Selectae,168; 176; 286; 6045 f.; 6063 f.; Appian,
i. I4. Taylor (n. 5), p. 53 cites Cicero, pro Sestio, I09, but the assertionhere
that not more than fivemen mightvote in a tribe could referto uncontroversial
legislation. Cic., de legeagraria,ii. 71 treatsthe votingrightsof citydwellersas
an importantprivilege, though motions to redistributefreedmenamong the
ruraltribesin 88-7, 84 (Periocheof Livy, lxxxiv) and 66 (cf. Clodius' plan in 52,
Asconius, 52) suggestthatvotes in the urban tribes were not much regarded.
14 G. Tibiletti, Studia et DocumentaHist. et Iuris,xxv (I959), pp. 94 ff.thinks
that Sulla and Caesar as dictatorsrevised the lists. I do not feel certainthat
use was not made of the incompleterevisions effectedby some censors in the
interveningyears.
15Ch. Meier, Paulys Realencyclopddie derclass. Altertumswissenschaft,Suppl.
x (I965), pp. 550-67.
thathad evolvedby his time. The senatecould almostalwaysfind

at leastone tribuneto act on its behalfand (as Livyputit) to use the
tribunicianveto to dissolvethe tribunicianpower. Tribuneswere
oftennoblesthemselves, or in Livy'swords"chattelsofthenobility".
Marcus Octaviuswho vetoedTiberius Gracchus'agrarianbill (see
below page 18) was, for the middle and late Republic,the more
typicaltribuneof the two.16
Accordingto Burke"a statewithoutthe meansof some changeis
withoutthe means of its conservation".At Rome therewere too
many checksand balances in the constitution, which operatedin
practiceonlyin theinterest oftherulingclass. Reformers had to use
force,or at leastto createconditionsin whichthe senatehad reason
to fearitsuse (see belowpagesI8 ff.). This was thefirstfactorwhich
favouredthegrowthofviolenceat Rome.
III
In the second place, Rome was even by modernstandardsa
populouscity,in whichtherewas no garrisonand no policeto control
the multitude.
To the totalsize of the populationthereis no directtestimony.
But thenumberofrecipients offreegrainhad risento 320,000in the
40s.17 Only adult males were normallyeligible,18 and we therefore
have to estimatethe numberof womenand childrenin this class.
The grainrecipients werepartlyfreeborn,partlyfreedmen. Appian
impliesthatin 133thepoorwereunableto raisechildren.19Abortion
and infanticidewerenotforbidden bythelaw,and manyparentsmust
haveexposedtheirbabies,someofwhommightthenbe broughtup as
slaves by the finders. The infanticide
of femaleinfantsmusthave
been commonevenin thesenatorialclass,amongwhomin Augustus'
reignmenoutnumbered women;if we makethereasonableassump-
tionthatit wasstillmoreprevalentwiththepoor,thebirth-rate
would
also have been depressedby a scarcityof reproductivewomen.20
There is some ground,however,forthinkingthatthe urbanplebs
16Polyb., vi. i6; Livy, v. 2. I4; x. 37. 8 (both texts that reflectlater con-
ditions). Cicero, de legibus,iii. 24 describesthe tribunateas "temperamentum
quo tenuiorescum principibusaequari se putarent". On its role in the middle
Republic see J. Bleicken,Das Volkstribunat der klass. Republik(Munich, I955).
17 Suetonius, Caesar, 41; cf.Dio, xliii. 21. 4.
18
Trajan included some children,and Augustusmade moneygiftsto children
(Pliny, Panegyricus,26; Suetonius, Aug., 4I); these seem exceptional, contra
D. van Berchem,Les distributions de ble et d'argenta la plebe rom.sous l'empire
(Geneva, 1939), pp. 32 ff.
19Civil Wars, i. 7.
20 T. Mommsen, Rom. Strafrecht(Leipzig, I899), pp. 617-20; 637; Dio,
liv. i6. 2.
THE ROMAN MOB 9
consistedpreponderantly of freedmen(see below pages 15 f.), and

after
particularly Clodius made graindistributions freein 58 masters
wereveryreadyto manumitslaves,who could stillbe requiredto
workfor them,while obtainingrationsfromthe state.2 Now it
seems to me unlikelythat there were so many femaleslaves or
freedwomen as maleslavesor freedmen. In thisperiodslave-women
werenot neededto keep up the stockof slaves,mostof whomwere
"made" bycapturein warorkidnapping. Andtheywereemployable
onlyforhouseholddutiesandto someextentin spinning, weavingand
makingclothes,occupationsperhaps more common on country
estatesthan in town houses.2° Slaves mightenterinto a quasi-
marriage,but bothspouseswerenot necessarily freedtogether,and
any children born in slavery, who were slavesthemselves, mightbe
manumittedonly at a later date. In many thousandsepulchral
of freedmen
inscriptions at Rome (mainlyimperial)underthirtyper
centrecordoffspring, and stillfewermarriage.23For thesereasons
I doubtifwe need morethandoublethefigureof 320,000to include
bothwomenand childrenof corn-recipients.
Well-to-doresidentswerepresumablynot numerically significant.
There remainthe slaves. A rich man required a large staffof
domesticservants,secretaries etc; and hisstandingmightbe measured
by thenumberof his attendants and flunkeys.There mightalso be
womenengagedin textilework. UnderNero an eminentsenatorhad
fourhundredslaves in his town-house.24However,in the 5os the
scale of manumissions shouldhave diminishedthe slave population.
I guessthatIOO,OOO wouldbe a liberalestimate. The citypopulation
mightthen have been more or less than 750,000. Clodius' bill
probablyacceleratedthedriftfromthecountry, butit had beengoing
on before,and thenumberof slavesand freedmen had beenprogres-
sivelyincreasing. However, no numerical estimatecan be ventured
foranyearlierdate.25
21 Dionysius of Halicarnassus, iv. 24. 5; Dio, xxxix. 24. The services
freedmenowed patrons are best discussed by C. Cosentini, Studi sui liberti,
(I948-50).
22 T.
Frank, Econ. Surveyof Anc. Rome (Baltimore, I933-40), i, pp. 374 f.;
v, pp. 199 ff.;H. J. Loane, Industryand Commercein theCity of Rome,50 B.C.-
200 A.D. (Baltimore, 1938), pp. 69 ff.; cf. Dessau (n. I3), 8393 (30), where
assiduity in wool-makingis commemoratedamong the virtues of a great lady
in Augustus' time; Asconius, 43 (Oxf.) forweaving "ex veteremore" in a town
house.
23
T. Frank,Amer.Hist. Rev., xxi (1915/6),pp. 689 ff.
24
Tacitus, Ann., iii. 55; xiv, 43; cf. n. 22.
'2 Brunt (op. cit. in n. I), pp. 69 f.; here I underestimatedthe opportunities
of employmentforfree men (cf. p. i6 below), and went too far in minimizing
the driftbefore58. The building of the Marcian aqueduct in 144 is a notable
indicationof increased population.
IO PAST AND PRESENT NUMBER 35
In theearlyPrincipatethegovernment had at least 12,000soldiers

in Rome,notto speakofsevencohorts,whichultimately and perhaps
fromthe firstcomprised7,000 men,raisedto deal withfires;they
weremilitary unitsand couldalso be used as police. Even so, it was
hard to keep order. In 39 B.C., thoughthereweretroopsat hand
whichsaved himin the end, Octavianwas almostlynchedin a riot,
and Claudiuslaterwas onlyrescuedbysoldiersfroma famishedmob.
The narrow,windingstreetsand highbuildings(see belowpage I2)
did not help in suppressingriots. In A.D. 238 the populace,armed
by the senate,besiegedthe depletedpraetorianguardin its camp;
whenthesoldierssalliedoutand pursuedthemintothestreets,
the people climbed up into the houses and harassed the soldiers by throwing
down on themtiles, stones and pots of all kinds; the soldiers dared not go up
afterthem, not knowingtheir way about the houses; but as the houses and
workshopshad theirdoors barred,theyset fireto the manywooden balconies;
the tenementswere set close together,and large parts of the buildings were
wooden; so the flames soon devastated a very great part of the city, one
section afteranother.
Somethingof the same kind nearlyoccurredin 88, when Sulla

marchedintothecity. No doubtit was such dangersthatmadethe
emperorsreadyto spend largesums on "bread and circuses". In
othertownstheyhad no suchmotiveto careforthepoorand did not
do so.26
The aristocraticgovernmentof the Republic had no police
available;themagistrateshad buta fewattendants. Nor weretroops
normally foundin thecity,thoughin 121theconsulhappenedto have
at his disposal Cretan archerswhom he used in suppressingthe
Gracchans.27 -ow could the nobilityever hold the mob in check,
whenit was inflamedagainstthe government ?
The mob was generallyunarmedand reliedon sticksand stones.
and in anyeventthepoorwould
To carryarmswas a capitaloffence,28
possessnone,exceptknives. Moreover,as legionswererecruitedin
thecountry, notthecity,the urbanpoorwerenottrainedin the use
ofarms. The well-to-dowouldhavetheirownequipment, including
26 Imperial police: A. Passerini, Le coortipretorie(Rome, 1939), pp. 44-66
(esp. on Dio, Iv. 24. 6 and Tac., Ann., iv. 5); P. K. Baillie Reynolds, Vigilesof
ImperialRome (Oxford, 1926); fortheirpolice duties see Digest,i. I5. 3. Riots:
Appian, v. 68; Tac., Ann., xii. 43; Hierodian,vii, 12. 5; cf. Appian i. 58. Ch.
Meier (n. I), pp. 157 ff.is interestingon the lack ofa police forcein the Republic.
27 Plutarch,C. GracchusI6; Orosius, v. 12. 7.
28 W. zur Entwicklhng des rom.Kriminalverfahrens in
Kunkel, Untersuchungen
vorsullanischerZeit (Munich, I962), pp. 64 ff.shows that Sulla's law (cf. Cicero,
pro Milone, Ii) has much earlier antecedents (Plautus, Aulularia, 415 ff.).
Arms were given to the "mob" in 121, o00, 88, 87, 62 (Plutarch, Cato Minor,
27 f.) and of course by Clodius; by the senate in 121 to senators,equitesand
their servants (Plutarch, C. Gracchus,I4), to the plebs or "populus" in oo00
(Cic., pro C. Rabirio,20; Oros., v. 17. 7), presumablyonly to reliable elements.
THE ROMAN MOB II
body-armour, and had mostlyseen militaryservice;and the senate

couldauthorizethearmingoftheirfollowers. On occasionspopular
leadersdistributedarmsillegallyto the mob,but eventhen,manfor
man, their followerswere probablyunequal to their opponents.
Though armed,the partisansof Gaius Gracchusin 121 put up but
a feebleresistance. The numerousclientsofthegreathousesin the
cityitselfoftenenabledthegoverning classto makea standagainstthe
mob,reciprocating or even initiating
violence(see below pages 17,
21-2).
Given time,the senateor magistrates or individualnobles could
call up clientswithmilitaryexperiencefromthe country. In Ioo,
menfromPicenumtookpartin thesuppressionof Saturninus. The
armedfollowerswithwhomCicero surroundedhimselfduringthe
Catilinarian of63 includedchosenyoungmenfromReate.
conspiracy
In 59 he was hopingto resistClodiusby force;his friendsand their
clients,freedmenand slaves would band togetherin his defence.
A greatconcourseof substantialcitizensfromall overItalyensured
thathe was recalledfromexile in 57, althoughhis enemy,Clodius,
remained dominantover the city proletariate.In 56 Pompey
summonedfollowersfrom Picenum and the Po valley for his
protection. To end the uproarensuingon Clodius' murderin 52,
thesenateauthorizeda levyall overItaly,and soldiersrestoredorder
in thecity. Butbetween59 and 52 thesenatewasgenerally impotent,
becausePompeywithhis veteransand Caesarwithhis greatarmyin
the north could marshal forces strongerthan the senate could
command.29
IV
The thirdfactorin the turbulenceof the citypopulationmaybe
foundin themiseryand squalorin whichtheylived,whichnaturally
made themresponsiveto politicianswho promisedto improvetheir
conditions
and engendered hostility to theupper
(ifonlyintermittent)
classeswho showedlittlecare fortheirinterests.30
29
Cic., pro C. Rabirio,22 (IOO); in Catilinam,i. II; ii. 5; iii. 5; pro Murena,
52; cf. Sail., Cat., 26. 4; 30. 7; 50. 4 (63). Cicero was accused of using armed
slaves but claims to have mobilized in December all the upper classes, and all
true citizens, indeed "omnis ingenuorum multitudo, etiam tenuissimorum"
(implausible), Phil., ii. 16; cf. in Cat., iv. I5 f.; theytook a militaryoath, Dio,
xxxvii.35. Rice Holmes, Rom. Rep., ii, p. 60 (57); Cic., ad Quinturn fr.,i. 2. i6
(59); ii. 3. 4 (56); Holmes, ii, p. 167 (52).
30In this section where references are omitted, the texts are cited
by
J. Carcopino, Daily Life in Anc. Rome(London, I94I), mainlybased on imperial
evidence; in the Republic things were worse. Z. Yavetz, Latomus, xvii
(I958), pp. 500 ff.gives furtherdetails forRepublic (e.g. on fearfulconditions
createdby plagues); his referencesand interpretation of textsare not all reliable.
For lackof modernmeansof transport, thepeoplewerecrammed

into a small built-uparea, not much largerthan that of modern
Oxford,witha densityseven or eighttimesas great. The streets
were windingand narrow,even main thorough-fares undertwenty
feet wide. While the rich had theirluxuriousmansionson the
Palatineor spaciousgardensin the suburbs,mostinhabitants were
penned into tinyflatsin tenements,whichhad to be built high;
Augustusimposeda limitof seventyfeet(whichsuggeststhatthis
had beenexceeded),and Trajanpronounced thatdangerous, reducing
it to sixty. Cicero constrastsa newly planned city with Rome
"situatedon hillsand in valleys,liftedup and suspendedin the air,
withno finestreetsto boastofbut onlynarrowpaths".
The lowerpartsofthecityweresubjectto periodicfloods,and the
collapse and conflagration of buildingswere commonoccurrences.
In the Principateit is said thatnot a day passed withouta serious
fire,yetthentherewere7,000vigilesto putthemout,in theRepublic
onlya smallforceof publiclyownedslaves. Crassushad a gangof
five hundredbuilders,and bought up houses that were afireor
adjacentto a blaze at knock-down priceswitha viewto rebuildingon
the sites.31 These dangerswere aggravatedby bad methodsof
construction.Owners would not or could not affordto employ
skilledarchitects or suitablematerials. The local travertine cracked
in fires,but it was too costlyto bringbetterstoneevenfifty milesby
land. A thinfacingof stonemightconceala fillingof softrubble.
To conservespace, partywalls had to be not morethana footand
a halfthick;giventhislimit,onlybakedbrickwas strongenoughfor
high buildings,yet sun-driedbrick was oftenused. Walls were
sometimesofwattlework, themoredangerousas it was too expensive
to bringlarchwood, relativelyimpervious to fire,all thewayfromthe
Adriatic. In 44 Ciceroreportedto Atticusthattwoofhistenements
had fallendown,and thatcrackswereshowingin others;thetenants
-and the mice- had all fled.32
The houses of the poor mustalso have been ill-lit,ill-ventilated
and unwarmed;facilitiesforcookingwereinadequate;waterhad to
be fetchedfromthe public fountains,and the supplycannothave
been abundant until the old conduits were repaired and new
aqueductsbuilt under Augustus;further, the tenementswere not
31 Catullus,
23. 9; Digest,i. 15. 2; Plutarch,Crassus,2.
Vitruvius, i. 3. 2; ii. 3. 2; 7. 3 f.; 8. 7-9; 8. I6 f.; 8. 20; 9. 14-17; Vi. 8. 9;
32
x. pr. 2; Cicero, de divinatione,ii. 99; ad Att., xiv. 9. i. Yavetz thinksthat
many of Vitruvius' precepts are directed against common bad practices in
building.
THE ROMAN MOB I3
connectedwiththepublicsewers. We mayfairlysupposethatmost
of the inhabitants of Rome lived in appallingslums. They offered
shelter,but littlemore. As forfurniture, Cicerospeaksof thepoor
manas havingno morethana stooland a bed wherehe lived,worked
and slept.33
From such tenementsmen like Cicero drewas landlordsa good
income. Cicero's propertyon the Aventineand in the Argiletum,
probablytwo lowerclass districts, was in 44 bringinghimin 80,000
HSS, enoughto havepaid 6o legionaries fora yearundertheratesthat
had obtaineduntilrecently;he appropriated it to the allowancefor
hisundergraduate sonat Athens,and was anxiousto havetenantswho
would pay on the nail.34 Perhapsthatwas not so easy to ensure.
Then, as later,it is probablethatthereturnon investment in house-
property was highpreciselybecausetheriskwas great.35
In the40s therewas a prolongedagitationabout urbanrents. In
48 thepraetor,MarcusCaelius,whoproposeda year'sremission, was
drivenoutofthecitybytheconsul,butonlyafterbloodshed. Caesar,
however,grantedthe remissionin the same year, and perhaps
extendedit in 47, afterfurthertumults,whenbarricadeswereraised,
soldierscalledin and eighthundredrioterskilled. It appliedto rents
up to 2,000 sestercesin Rome,and 500 elsewhere,an indicationthat
the cost of livingin Rome was exceptionally high.36 (A generation
earlier,Cicerogave the dailywage foran unskilledlaboureras three
sesterces;obviouslyhe couldnothaveafforded 2,000fora year'srent.
We cannotsaywhetherwageshad risenin theinterim, or whether the
remissionwas intendedto benefit peopleat a ratherhigherlevel,such
as shopkeepers.) Cicero'scommentis characteristic."There is no
equityin abolishingor suspendingrents. Am I to buyand buildand
repairand spend,and you to have the benefitagainstmywill? Is
thisnot to takeawaythe propertyof some and giveto otherswhat
does not belong to them ?"37
How did the people of Rome live? Rome was never a great
industrialcity;indeedthereneverwas anylarge-scaleindustry
in the
ancientworldofthekindfamiliarsincetheindustrial revolution:the
33 Cic., in Catilinam,iv.
34Cic., ad Att., xii. 32. 2;17.
xv. I7. I; 20. 4; xvi. I. 5.
36 Gellius, xv. I. 3. But F. Schulz, Classical Roman Law (Oxford, I95I),
pp. 542 ff.shows how the law favouredownersagainsttenants.
38 Caesar, Civil Wars, iii. 20 f.; Dio, xli. 37 f.; Appian, ii. 48 (Caelius); Dio,
xlii. 29-33 (riotsof 47). The Fasti Ostienses under 48 recorda year's remission
of rents; Dio, xlii. 51 puts remissionin 47; other details in Suetonius, Caesar,
38; 42.
37 Cicero, pro Rosciocomoedo, 28; de officiis,
ii. 83 f.
I4 PAST AND PRESENT NUMBER 35
highcost of transport alone forbadethe productionof factory goods

fora world-wide market.38Adjacentto Rometherewereno abundant
suppliesof fuel or raw materials. The Tiber is not well suitedto
navigation,and the port of Ostia had not yet been developed;the
largerships had to dischargein an open roadsteadinto lighters.
None thelessfarmoreuse was madeoftheriverand itsaffluents (for
downstream traffic
as well as fortransport fromthe mouth)thanwe
should expect frompresentconditions;the growthof the urban
populationleftno alternative.39 The supplyofthispopulationcreated
a greatdemandforwholesaleand retailtraders,docklabour,carters
and so on. So too largenumbersmusthave been employedin the
buildingtrade:morefinepublicedificeswerenow beingput up; the
rich were continuallyerectingmore luxurioustown-housesand
villasin the vicinityof Rome,and the increaseof the populationin
itselfrequiredmoretenementsand shops,a demandaugmentedby
the frequencyof firesand collapses. Evidencefrompre-industrial
citiesin othertimesmayhelpto supplythelackof ancientstatistics.
In I586 up to 6,000 workmenwereengagedon public buildingsat
Rome,ofwhom800 with150 horseswereneededto movetheobelisk
intothePiazza of St Peter's;at thetimethetotalpopulationseemsto
have been under oo00,000. In 1791 a thirdof all Pariswage-earners
were occupied in the buildingtrade.40 In addition,there were
artisansand shopkeepers of all kinds,manyof whommusthave sold
goodstheymadethemselves, perhapstotheorderofclients. Beggars,
curiously,are hardlyever mentioned,perhapsbecause the Romans
(unliketheJews,and theChristians afterthem)recognizedno special
obligationto relievethe poor as such; it was anothermatterif the
greathousessupportedidle dependents, whosevotesand strongarms
theycould employ;on themtheyconferred benefitsin accordance
withthe usual principleof Romanmorality:"do ut des".41
Accordingto traditionkingNuma had organizedcraftsmen into
or
Collegia corporations of -
goldsmiths,carpenters the
flautists,
wordfabricame to mean buildersin all sortsof material- dyers,
shoemakers,coppersmithsand potters. If only these particular
38 See e.g. A. H. M. Jones,Later RomanEmpire(Oxford, I964), ii, pp. 84I ff.

39See R. Meiggs, Roman Ostia (Oxford, I960), chapters iii, iv and viii;
J. le Gall, Le Tibre, fleuve de Rome dans l'antiquite (Paris, I953), passim;
L. Casson,Jl. of Rom. Stud., lv (I965), pp. 31 ff.
40J. Delumeau, Vie econ. et sociale de Rome dans la secondemoitiedu XVIe
siecle(Paris, I959), i, pp. 366 f.; cf. p. 28I. G. Rude, The Crowdin theFrench
Revolution(Oxford, I959), p. I9.
41 H. Bolkestein, Wohltatigkeit u. Armenspflege im vorchristlichen
Altertum
(Utrecht, I939), passinm; forbeggars,pp. 339-41; add Seneca, de beata vita, 25.
THE ROMAN MOB I5
corporationswerein factancient,theygo backto a veryremotetime,

whenforinstancethe use of ironwas stillunknown;in the historic
periodtheremusthave been manyironworkers, especiallyto make
armsforthelegionswhichwereregularly enrolledand equippedjust
outsidethecity. The listalso does notincludebakers;accordingto
Plinytherewerenonedownto themiddleofthesecondcentury;the
womenused to grindand bake at home; presumably theyceased to
do so, when so manyof the poor were lodged in houses without
suitableovens. In thecourseoftimemanymorecorporations came
intoexistence. The fishermen who fishedin the Tiber had an old
festival. Fulling ceased to be a domesticcraft. Plautus casually
mentionsa score of other trades. Cato in the second century
recommended buyingat Rome tunics,togas,cloaks,patchwork cloth
and woodenshoes(thoughsomeofthesethingswerealso madeon his
estates),and in additionjars, bowls,ploughs,yokes,locksand keys
and thefinestbaskets.42
As in medievaltowns men of one crafttended to congregate.
There was a potterydistrict,and streetswere named afterthe
silversmiths, grain merchants,sandal-makers,timber merchants,
log-sellers,perfumersand scythemakers, probablymany more.43
Collegiaof artisanswould thus be composed of neighbours.
Many tradersand artisanswere not of freebirth. Slaves were
employedin everytrade, craftand profession. Freedom was a
necessaryincentiveto good work and seems oftento have been
grantedfairlysoon,or boughtby theslavefromthewageor shareof
the profitshe was allowed. The freedmannaturallyworkedat his
old trade and was probablyoftenstill financedby his old master.
Most of our evidencecomesfromepitaphs,whichtendno doubtto
givetheimpression thatmorecraftsmen werefreethanwas thecase;
mostslaves who appear had probablybeen unluckyenoughto die
early. Of jewellersand goldsmithsat Rome, to take one instance,
35/0 are slaves, 58% freedmen, only 7,o/ of free birth. The last
figureis astoundingly
low. But the inscriptionsonly fortify
the
42For trades at Rome see Loane (n. 22); for collegiaJ-P. Waltzing, Pt. hist.
sur les corporationsprofessionelles chez les romains,i-iv (Louvain, I895-I900),
esp. i, pp. 62-92 (Republic); W. Liebenam, Zur Gesch. u. Organisationdes rinm.
Vereinswesens(Leipzig, I89o); F. M. de Robertis, II Diritto Associativo
Romano (Bari, I938). Numa, Plutarch, Numa, I7; arms factories,Livy, xxi.
57. Io; Cic., Phil., vii. 13; bakers, Pliny, Nat. Hist., xviii. Io7; fishing,Festus,
232; 274L; Horace, Sat., ii. 2, 31 if.; fulling, Pliny, xxxv. I97 (220 B.C.);
Vitruv., vi. pr. 7 (no longer domestic); Cato: see his de agricultura,I35.
Waltzinggives a list of knowncollegiaat Rome; forRepublican collegiathereand
in Italian towns attested in inscriptions,see A. Degrassi, Inscr. Lat. liberae
reipublicae(Florence, I963), ii, pp. 476 if.
43 Liebenam (n. 42), p. 9 f.
I6 PAST AND PRESENT NUMBER 35
evidencewe have fromliterary sourcesthatin the urbanpopulation

as a whole,as well as in the craftsand trades,men of servileorigin
preponderated.The statisticsmay exaggeratethe preponderance;
the freebornmay have been less readyto indicatemanualemploy-
mentsin whichtheytookno prideor evento commemorate theirlives
at all (a freedmancould be proud of havingbeen freed);theymay
evenhavebeen too poor to leave a record,havingbeen confinedto
unskilledand unremunerative work.44
Many freedmen (perhaps most in Rome) came fromthe east and
probablybroughtwiththemnewskills;withthecapitaltheirpatrons
provided,they thus had an advantageover native workmen.45
FreebornItalians,someofwhomweredisplacedpeasants,wouldthen
have had no meansof employment exceptcasual, unskilledlabour.
They couldgo outintothecountry fortheharvest,vintageand olive-
picking,justas Londonersgo outtodayto picktheKenthops. This
is well attested,and can be explained. The Roman landowner
preferred to relyon a permanent labour-force of slaves,but as Cato
makes clear, he did not wish to feed idle mouths. For seasonal
operations, therefore,he requiredsupplementary labourprovidedby
freehiredmen.46 On thesameprinciplewe mustsupposethatmost
docklabourand the ancillarycartingof supplieswas free;therewas
littlesailingforhalftheyear,and workmusthavebunchedin a few
monthsor weeks.47 And it requiredno special skill. Similarly
buildingcontractors, whose businessis likelyto have fluctuated,
wouldnothavefoundit profitable to keepenoughslavesthroughout
theyearforall theirwork. The builderson Cicero'sTusculanvilla
wentback to Rome to collecttheirfreegrainrationsas citizens. It
has been plausiblyconjecturedthatthe distressTiberius Gracchus
soughtto alleviatehad been newlyaggravatedby unemployment
resultingfrom the completionof the Marcian aqueduct. The
emperorVespasianwas to refuseto adopta labour-saving device; if
he did so, he asked,howcouldhe feedhispoorcommons?48
44 L. R. Taylor, Amer.Jl. of Philology, lxxiii (1961), pp. 113 ff.,with earlier
literature;add A. M. Duff,Freedmenin theEarly RomanEmpire(Oxford, 1928),
ch. vi.
45 Also, like Jews and Quakers at other times, theywere barred frommany
otheractivitiesand theirenergieswere directedinto economic advancement.
46 Brunt (n. I), p. 72. Toynbee (n. IO), ii, pp. 296 ff.on Cato.
47 J. Rouge, Rev. des Et. anc., liv (I954), pp. 316 ff. Piracy or hope of great
profitsmade merchantssail in winter; Claudius had to assume the riskof storm
damage, to induce shipownersto bring grain to Rome in winter (Pliny, Nat.
Hist., ii. 125; Suetonius, Claud., I8).
48
Cic., ad Art.,xiv.3.I; H. C. Boren, Amer.Ji. of Philol., lxxix (I958), pp.
140 ff; Amer. Hist. Rev., Ixiii (1957-8), pp. 890 ff; Suetonius, Vespasian, I8.
See Loane (n. 22), pp. 79 ff;builders naturallyhad permanent gangs of slaves
too.
THE ROMAN MOB 17
Sallust and otherstell of the driftof countryfolk into Rome;

Sallustspeaksof youngmen who had barelymade a livelihoodwith
labour in the fieldsand were attractedby the privateand public
largessesin thecity,and Cicerocouldurgetheurbanplebswithsome
successin 63 not to forsakethe advantagesof lifethere,theirvotes
(whichcould of coursebe sold), games,festivalsand so on, forland
allotmentsin barrenor malarialplaces. What Sallust says of the
privatelargessesis probablyimportant; thegreathousescould afford
to maintainclients,and theymightevenbe givenrent-free lodgings.49
Sometimesmagistrates, distributed
to enhancetheirpopularity, grain
or oil at low prices,bearingthe costthemselves.50Above all there
were the cheap or free public corn-dolesinstitutedgenerallyby
popularleaders,partlyperhapsto reducethedependenceoftheplebs
on noblepatrons. However,thedistributions werenotfreeuntil58,
the liberalityof the cheap distributionsprovided under Gaius
Gracchus'law in 123 was soon reducedand not restoredtill Ioo,
and distributions werein abeyancefrom80 to 73 and restricted to
onlysome 40,000recipientsfrom73 to 62.51 Moreovermen could
notliveon breadand showsalone; therewas otherfood,and clothes
to be paid for,andrent. Augustuswas to introducea quickermethod
ofdistributing freegrainwhichdid nottaketherecipients awayfrom
theirworkso longas in thepast.52 The peopleofRomehad to earn
muchoftheirliving,andformanyofthemcasualemployment wasthe
only means. Gaius Gracchus must have won much supportby his
programmeforbuildingroads and granaries.53
The feedingof the city populationwas also a grave problem.
There were largeimportsfromSicily,Sardiniaand Africa,but the
supplywas precarious,liable to be interruptedby piracyand wars.
Much grainmuststillhave come fromItaly,or else the population
49 Sail., Catiline,
37 (cf. Varro, de re rustica, ii. pr. 3; Appian, ii. 120;
Suetonius, Augustus,42); Cic., de lege agraria,ii. 72. Rent paid, Trebatius in
Dig., ix. 3. 5. I.
50 E.g. Cicero, in Verrem, ii. 3. 215, de officiis,
ii. 58; Pliny,Nat. Hist., xv. 2;
xviii. i6.
51 Brunt (n. I), p. 70 n. Io. R. J. Rowland Jr.,Acta Antiqua,xiii. 8I denies
the restrictionin 73 withoutexplainingthe evidence forit (Sallust Oratio Macri,
I9 with Cicero in Verrem,ii. 3. 72) on the ground that Sicilian surpluses in the
late 70S acquired by the governmentsufficedfor I8o,ooo (in Verrem,ii. 3. I63);
but some of this grainwas probablyneeded forlarge armies in Italy and Spain,
and the rest sold at marketprices, which fluctuated(ibid., 215).
"2Suetonius,
53Plutarch,C.Aug., 42.
Gracchus,6. About 85 a praetor,Marius Gratidianus,gained
great popularityby tryingto eliminate debased coinage, see Broughton(n. I),
ii, p. 57; this seems to imply that the masses were interestedin stopping an
inflationary rise in prices.
i8 PAST AND PRESENT NUMBER35
couldnothavesurvivedtheyears43-36,formostofwhichit was cut

offfromoverseasupplies.54 The public rationsdid not sufficefor
a family,55and some,if onlya minority, of therecipientsmusthave
had wivesand children. Some grainhadto be boughton themarket,
evenin theyearswhentherewerepublicdistributions to mostofthe
freepopulation. In 57-6it seemslikelythattherewas notenoughin
thepublicgranariesto honourthestate'sobligation;themarketprice
was a matterof generalconcernand mightsoar to faminerates(see
belowpages 25 f.). And marketpricesfluctuatedsharply,soaring
when the harvestswere poor and when hoardingby growersand
merchants aggravatedthe shortage. It is an illusionthatin the late
Republicthe urbanplebs was usuallywell and cheaplyfed by the
state. As formodernscholarswhorepeatancientgibesthatthedoles
corruptedthe urbanpopulation,one mustwonderiftheywouldalso
condemnall modernmeasuresof socialwelfare;in Rometherewere
no charitablefoundationsfor the poor, and no unemployment
benefits.
V
The progressof violencemaynow be sketched. In 133 Tiberius
Gracchusproposedto redistribute amongthepoorpubliclandswhich
the richhad occupied. His colleague,Octavius,interposeda veto;
Gracchushad himdeposedbyvoteoftheassembly, an unprecedented
act whichset aside the mostimportant of the constitutional
checks.
His bill was then carried. Actual violencewas not used, but the
menacingattitudeof the peasantrywho had flockedin to back
GracchusmayexplainwhyOctaviusdid notdareto vetothemotion
for his own deposition. Later in the year the senatorscharged
Gracchuswithaspiringto tyranny and lynchedhimin public. The
firstopenactofillegalpoliticalviolencecamefromthenobility.
In I23-2 Gaius Gracchusas tribunecarriedmanyanti-senatorial
measures. (In 123no othertribunehad thewillorcourageto oppose
him; he had the backingof both urbanand ruralplebs and of the
richmenoutsidethesenate,on whomhe conferred
equites, important
benefits;he did not need to use force.) But eventuallyhe lost
popularfavourand office, and as a privatepersonin 121 armedhis
54 M. Rostovtzeff, vii (I9IO), pp. 126 if., who like
Paulys Realencyclopddie,
all writers(esp. Toynbee, Hannibal's Legacy,ii, pp. 296 ff.;pp. 585 if.) unduly
depreciates the continuanceof cereal cultivationin Italy; I hope to show this
elsewhere.
55 modii(about 41 litres) a month. Cato gave his slaves 3-4-, accordingto
5
the heaviness of theirwork: de agric.,56.
THE ROMAN MOB 19
followersto obstructthe repealof one of his laws; he and theywere

massacredby senatorialforcesquitelegally.56
In Io3 and Ioo the tribune,Saturninus,who also proposedland-
distribution and revivedthegraindole on theGracchanscale,did not
scrupleto murderopponentsand rivals;he too was suppressedbythe
senate. In 88 the tribuneSulpicius,promoting the interestsof the
newly enfranchisedItalians, and also of the freedmenwhom he
proposedto redistribute amongall the tribes,drovehis opponents
fromthe forumby force;the consul, Sulla, appealed to his army
(wherehis abilityand generosity assuredhimofsupport),marchedon
Rome and proscribedSulpiciusand his friends. This was the first
occasionon whichthearmywas employedto overturn decisionsmade
at Rome; once again,it was a noble and conservative who tookthe
fatalstep. Sulla's successor,Cinna, revivedSulpicius' proposals;
the streetsran withblood in conflict betweenhimand his colleague,
Octavius. Defeatedin thecity,CinnaimitatedSulla in appealingto
thearmyand withlikesuccess. Onlya greatcivilwarconcludedthis
phase of the revolutionand enabledSulla to restoreand consolidate
thesenate'scontrolofthestate.
So farit is not clear thatthe urbanproletariate, even thoughit
owed cheap grainto popularleaders,took a strongpart againstthe
senate,whichin Ioo and 87 is said to have had the supportof the
townsmen. The Gracchiand Saturninusreliedchieflyon the rural
poor, Cinna and perhaps Sulpicius on the new Italian citizens.
Sulla, however,severelylimitedthe powersof tribunesand put an
end to corn doles. The lattermeasuredirectlyinjuredthe urban
poor,and theformer deniedthemhopeofredressfortheirgrievances.
In the70s theprevalenceofpiracybeganto affect thecorn-supply.
In 75 the price of grainwas cruel,and a mob attackedthe consuls
proceedingalongthe Sacra Via and put themto flight;thisriotdoes
not seem to have been "incited by demagogues".57 The senate
itselfre-institutedcorndoles in 73, but on a miserablylimitedscale
(see above note 5I). Pompeyin 70 forcedthroughthe restoration
of the tribunes'powers; he probablyenvisagedthat tribunician
legislationcouldbe advantageous to him(as itproved);and hiswishes
couldnotbe denied,as he had a largeand loyalarmyoutsidethecity.
Three years later, the tribune Gabinius had a great command
56
The biased and contradictoryevidence hardly enables us to decide the
extentto which eitherof the Gracchi was to blame. Amid the tumultsthe true
facts may never have been known.
57 Sallust, Hist. fragments,iii. 45 f. Shipping had been divertedfromthe
corn-trade,and the treasurywas short of money, Oratio Cottae, 6 f. Cf. also
Oratio Macri, I9.
conferredon Pompey to put down the pirates. Almost all the

senatorsopposedthebill; themob stormedthesenate-house and put
them to flight. Tribunes who tried to interposetheirveto were
overawedby a threatof deposition. The people wouldnot tolerate
anyoppositionto a measurethatmightend thescarcity. Pompey's
mereappointment resultedin factin an immediateand abruptfall
in the priceof grain,and withina fewweekshe clearedthe seas of
pirates.58 His prestigewas suchthathe couldnotbe debarredfrom
anothergreatcommandin theeast. It could be foreseenthaton his
returnwitha largearmyhe wouldbe potentially masterofthestate.
This was whythesenatehad resistedtheproposalin 67 to granthim
extraordinary powers.
The yearsfrom67 to 62 (whenPompeycame back) werefullof
violenceand threatsofviolence. In 63 Catilinerosein armsagainst
the government witha band of discontented peasants. The urban
plebs had at first
favouredhim,perhaps because hisproposalto cancel
debtswould haverelievedthemof some paymentsof rent-arrears.
Cicerowon themoverto the government by allegingthatCatiline's
friendsin thecityintendedto burnit downand deprivethemoftheir
miserableshelterand fewpersonalbelongings.59But his execution
withouttrialof Catiline'saccomplicesviolatedtheprincipleon which
the humblestRoman relied forthe protectionof his own person.
Ciceroincurredthelastinghatredofthemasses. WhenClodiushad
him banishedin 58, he erecteda shrineto Libertyon the site of
Cicero'stownhouse; he hadvindicated thefreedom ofcitizensagainst
arbitraryill-treatmentby magistrates.60
Earlyin 62 MarcusCato greatlyextendedthescale of distribution
of cheap grain. He was the staunchestchampionof the senate's
power. It seems paradoxicalthathe should be the authorof this
measure. But the urbanmasseswerevolatile,and it was necessary
to assuagetheirdiscontents,whenCatilinewas stillin armsand there
was a proposalto bringPompeybackto deal withthecrisis.61
The fearsentertained ofPompeyprovedunjustified.On hisreturn
he disbandedhis army. But he neededto rewardhis veteranswith
land-allotments.Senatorialobstruction threwhimintoalliancewith
58 Cicero, de imperioCn. Pompeii,31-5; 44, cf. Rice Holmes i, pp. 167 ff.
59 Cicero, in Catilinam,iii. 15; 21; 25;iv. 17; Sallust, Catiline,48. 2.
60Ch. Wirszubski,Libertas as a Political Idea at Rome (Cambridge, 1950),
pp. 24-7; 55-61; Rice Holmes, i, pp. 82 f. Cicero's unpopularity,ad Att.,
i. i6. II; ii. 3. 4; viii. II D. 7; Asconius, 37 (Oxf.); in Phil., vii. 4 he refersto
himself as a well-known adversary of the multitude. Temple of Liberty,
Plutarch,Cic., 33.
61
Plutarch,Cato Minor, 26-9.
THE ROMAN MOB 21
Caesar, who had consistentlyidentifiedhimselfwithpopularaims,

and as consulin 59 Caesar carriedagrarianlaws by the help of the
strongarmsof Pompey'sveterans. In return,he receivedthegreat
commandin Gaul. To checksenatorial onceCaesarhad left
reaction,
forhis province,Pompeyand Caesar promotedthe electionto the
tribunateofPubliusClodius,and it was Clodiuswhofinally madethe
grain free.
distributions This was theprime sourceof the enormous
popularityhe enjoyedwiththe plebs so long as he lived. Another
measure,to be consideredpresently,ensuredthathe, unlikeprevious
demagogues,remainedpowerfulin the cityeven whenout of office.
VI
This sketchwillhaveshownthatviolenceat Romedid notproceed
fromany single section of the people. Before Sulla "popular"
leaders drew supportmainlyfromcitizenswho came in fromthe
countryto voteand fightin the streets;in 70 it was Pompey'sarmy
(recruitedin the country)that made the restoration of tribunician
powerirresistible; in 59 it was againhis veteranswhoforcedthrough
Caesar'sbills. On theotherhand,in 67 it was theurbanplebswhich
broketheoppositionto Gabinius'law,and in mostofthepost-Sullan
periodit is theirriotsthatwe hearof. Butthesenatealso,or someof
its members,initiatedillegalviolencefromtimeto time,or at least
met forcewithforce. They could mobilizetheirclientsnot only
fromotherpartsof Italy (see above page I ), but withinthe city
itself. The urbanplebswas notan unitedbody,and sometimeswe
are nottoldwhatsectionofit tookthisor thataction.62
In annalisticaccountsof the class-strugglesin the earlyRepublic,
whichare colouredin detailbytheexperienceofthesecondand first
centuries,we hear muchof the dependents(clients)of the nobility
supporting themagainstplebeianleaders.63 In 133 theassailantsof
Tiberius Gracchusincluded,besidesmembersof the upperclasses,
"the plebs uncontaminated by perniciousschemes".64 The nobility
drewsupportwithinthe cityagainstSaturninusin Ioo and Cinnain
87; and it maybe thatwe shouldthinkof thiscomingratherfrom
theirown clientsthan fromthe urban masses in general(though
Saturninus'followerswere countrymen, and Cinna's new citizens
fromItaly,and neitheris knownto have had muchurbanbacking).
Cicero'sclaimsthathis returnin 57 was popular,if trueat all, may
62 Meier
(n. I), pp. 112 f. is too ready to assume that where the people is
mentioned,the urban plebs is meant.
63
E.g. Livy, ii. 35. 4; 56. 3; 64. 2; iii. I4. 4; i6. 4; v. 32. 8; 30. 4; vi. I8. 5;
37. 6 f.; Dionysius, vii. I8. 2; viii. 71. 3; ix. 41. 5; 44. 7 etc.
64
Velleius, ii. 3. 2.
be so onlyinthesensethatthedependents ofthenobility demonstrated

in his favour.65Tacitus' distinctionforA.D. 69 between"the sound
sectionofthepopulace,attachedto thegreathouses"and the"sordid
plebs,habituesof the circusand theatres"maybe relevant.66But
perhapssome Republicanacclamationsof "anti-popular"figuresin
the theatresmightbe explainedby the hypothesisthat theywere
crowdedwithclients,forwhomtheirpatronshad procuredplaces.67
Sallustassertsthatin 63 the wholeplebs was at firston Catiline's
side against the government, which he explains by saying that
invariably men who have nothingare enviousof the "good" - the
termis in practiceindistinguishablefrom"rich"; "theyhatethe old
orderand yearnfora new;in detestation oftheirownlottheyworkfor
totalchange;to themturmoiland riotsarea sourcenotofanxiety, but
of nourishment;for the destitutecannot easily sufferany loss".
Cicerotoo morethanonce saysthattheproperty and fortunesofthe
richwereendangeredby Clodius' gangs; and the existenceof class-
hatredin Rome can hardlybe doubted;it is significant thatin 52 the
mobkilledanyonetheymetwearinggoldringsor fineclothes.68 But
it was not feltor evincedby all the poor there; a large number
dependedon theupperclasses.
Sallustthoughtthatthe plebs was at a disadvantageagainstthe
nobilityin thatit was less organized. It could do nothingexcept
withleadershipfrominsidetherulingclass.69 It was also notoriously
volatile,and could be persuadedto desertits leadersbytheplausible
demagogyof senatorialspokesmen,as in 122 and 33.70 And no
popularleader beforeClodius soughtto organizehis supportersin
such a waythattheywouldeffectively supporthimbeyondthe brief
period forwhich he held office.
The Twelve Tables, the ancientcode of Roman law, apparently
allowedfreedomof association,if therewas no conflictwithpublic
65 ad
Att.,iv. i. 5. His claim thatall collegiasupportedhis returncannot be
accepted (de domo,74); somemust have done so, perhaps those with upper-class
officers(for whom see ad Quintumfratrem,ii. 6. 2; Dessau (n. I3) 2676).
Cicero also boasts of the popularityof his policy in 43 (Phil., vii. 22; xiv. I6);
improbable,as it was likelyto resultin corn-scarcity(xiv. 5); viii. 8 is significant:
"omnes idem volunt .... cum omnis dico, eos excipio quos nemo civitatedignos
putat". Cf. pro Milone, 3: "reliqua multitudo,quae quidem civium est, tota
nostra est"; Asconius, 32; 37; 40; 42 shows that the masses were against Milo.
66 Hist., i.
4.
67
E.g. Cic., ad Att., ii. I9. 3.
68
Sail., Cat., 37; Cic., pro Sestio, 49; III; de domo, I2 f.; pro Plancio, 86;
pro Milone, 95; cf. Appian, ii. 22 with modern parallels in G. Rude, Crowd in
History(New York, I964), pp. 224 f.
69Jugurthine War, 41. 6 as interpretedby J. Hellegouarc'h, VocabulaireLatin
des relationset des partis . . . (Paris, 1963), p. IOI; Cic., pro Murena, 50.
70
Cf. Livy, vi. I7.
THE ROMAN MOB 23
law.71 Many collegiaof artisansas such or of personslivingin the

samedistrict(vicus)thusarose,someat a veryearlydate. Evidently
someofthemwereimplicatedin riotsin the6os, and in 64 thesenate
dissolvedall "excepta fewnamedcorporations requiredbythepublic
interest". At thetimeCatilinewas standingfortheconsulship,and
it was probablyfearedthattheywouldexertthemselves on his behalf.
In 58 a law ofClodiusrestoredtherightofassociation, and he himself
organizedcollegia,old and new,on a local basisin para-militaryunits
and provideda supplyof arms. The proximity of Caesar's army
and thebackingtheconsulswhoalso had somesoldiersgave Clodius,
made it impossibleforthe senateto resist;and henceforth Clodius
was an independent powerin Rome,evenwhena privateindividual,
thanksto his controlofthecollegia.72
Only fromCicero do we know anythingof the compositionof
Clodius' bands. He speaksof slaves,includingrunawaysand thugs
whom Clodius had boughthimselffor the purpose of terrorism,
criminals- "assassinsfreedfromthejail", whichClodius"emptied
into the forum"- foreigners;at best theywere hirelings(operae,
conducti, mercennarii).Clodius was a rich man, and accordingto
Cicero he acquired illicitfundsto distribute;no doubt he could
affordto buy or hire armedescorts. Freedmenand indeed slaves
wereadmittedto collegiain largenumbers(as inscriptions show),and
such people,foreigners by extraction,naturally formeda substantial
elementin his gangs. Whereverslaveryis found,thereare always
runaways,and in the unpolicedpurlieusof Rome theycould easily
lurk. Rome must also have providedarmed robberswith ample
opportunities, thoughit maybe notedthatin Romanlaw imprison-
mentwas nota penalty,and ifClodiusfreedprisoners, theymayhave
been not onlypersonsmerelyawaitingtrialbut also men seized for
debt.73 Cicero's descriptionsare, however,suspect; he admits
71Digest,xlvii. 22. 4.
72
Asconius, 7; 45; 59 f.; 75 (Oxf.); Cic., pro Murena, 71. If the Com-
mentariolum Petitionisis by Q. Cicero, or at least well-informed,the suppression
must be laterin 64; cf. sect. 30. Clodius' law: e.g. Ascon., 8; Cic., Sest., 33 f.;
55; de domo, 54; in Pisonem,8-II. Caesar's army, Sest., 40 f.; dom., I3I;
cf. E. Meyer, Caesars Monarchieu. das Principatdes Pompeius(Stuttgart,I922),
3rd edn., p. 94. Consuls' soldiers, dom., 55; II9.
73See e.g. Sest., 6; 27; 34; 38; 53; 57; 59; 65; 75; 78; 8i f.; 84 f.; 89; 95;
Io6; II2; I26 f.; de domo,5-7; 13; 45; 53 f.; 75; 79; 89 f.; 92; 129; in Pisonem,
8-II. Clodius' funds, de haruspicumresponsis,28. Runaways, W. Buckland,
Rom. Law of Slavery (Cambridge, 1908), pp. 257 ff. Dionysius, iv. 24. 5
atteststhe practiceof liberatingthugs; Augustus was to bar such freedmenfrom
citizenship or fromliving within Ioo miles of Rome. For riots ascribed to
slaves, freedmenand hirelings before 58, cf. Ascon., 45; 66; Cic., ad Att.,
i. I. I3; I4. 5; ii. I. 8.
himselfthat it was a commonrhetoricaldevice to vilifyall who

attendedpoliticalmeetings as "exiles,slaves,madmen",and we know
ofat leastoneoccasionwhenhe choseto speakoffreedmen as slaves74.
In his view Clodius was Catiline'sheirand enjoyedthe supportof
survivorsfromhis movement;we may recall that Catiline had
originally had thefavourofthewholeurbanpopulation.
Cicerowritesof Clodius' followers muchas contemporaries of the
betterclasseswroteof the mobswhichriotedin Parisin 1789-95or
1848, or in Englishtownsof the eighteenthand earlynineteenth
centuries;theywere,it was said, banditti,desperadoes,ragamuffins,
convictsand the like. ProfessorRude has shown that wherever
recordsexistto checkthesedescriptions theyproveto be largelyfalse.
Men with criminalconvictionswere nevermore than a minority
amongtherioters;mostlytheyweremenof "fixedabode and settled
occupation";forinstance,all the 662 "vainqueursde la Bastille"
weresmallworkshopmastersand journeymen, artisansand
retailers,
labourersofall kinds.75 In RometheCatilinarians triedto raise"the
artisansand slaves", and Cicero lets out that Clodius' following
includedshopkeepers;whenhe wishedto gathera mob,he had the
shops closed, a practicecommonwith seditioustribunes.76We
should not assumeon his biased testimony thatartisansand shop-
keepersneededto be incitedor hiredon everyoccasionto give up
theirday'searningsand risktheirlivesand limbsin a demonstration,
withoutreal grievancesto demonstrate about. In 4I, whenfamine
was raging,"the peopleclosedtheirshopsand drovethemagistrates
fromtheirplaces,thinking thattheyhad no need of magistrates or
craftsin a citysuffering fromwant and robbery[by soldiers]".77
Then at leasttheyactedwithoutanydemagogueto instigateand pay
them. I suspect that when Shakespearemakes a carpenterand
a cobblertypicalmembersof the Romanmob,he was, by intuition,
right,and thatClodiuswouldhavehad littlepoweroversuchpeople
but thattheyhad complaintsand lookedon himas theirchampion.
But even if most of them (freedmenincluded)were artisansand
shopkeepers, thatwould not have endearedthemto Cicero; he had
oncespokenof"artisans,shopkeepers and all thescumin citieswhom
it is so easyto excite". He characterizes theClodiansas "destitute"
(egentes);but theirplightdid not evokehis compassion;the wordis
7
Cic., Academica,ii. Ascon., 52, cf. 8. 23.
75Rud6 (n. 68), pp. 7 144;
f.; pp. 195 if.
50. I; Cic., de domo, I3; 54; 89 f.; Academica,
78 Sallust, Catiline, ii. 144;
Asconius, 40 f.
77Appian, v. 18.
THE ROMAN MOB 25
almosta synonymwiththe epithetwhichoftenaccompaniesit -

"scoundrels"(perditi). He recognizedthattheplebs was "wretched
and half-starved",
but added at once thatit was "the bloodsuckerof
the treasury".78It was such attitudeson the partof the governing
classwhichgaveClodiushisopportunity.
VI
Violencewas actuatedby manydifferent aims. The clientsofthe
greathousesused it simplyin theirpatrons'interest,
thefollowersof
popularleaderssometimesmerelyfromloyaltyto theirleaders. But
theywereattachedto the"demagogues"becausethedemagogues were
active for theirwelfare. Countrypeople, includingthe veterans,
usuallysoughtland distributions.The burdenof rent,indignation
at arbitrarypunishments, proposalsto redistribute
freedmen among
all thetribescouldsometimes raisean urbanmob. But in 75, 67, in
the heydayof Clodius' ascendancyand again in 41 and 39 hunger
seemsto havebeenthechiefmotiveforce.7
When Cicerowas banished,therewas a scarcity;his sarcasmthat
the bandswho pulled downhis housewerenotgoingto satisfytheir
appetite on tiles and cement implies that they were hungry.80
Clodius' grainlaw mayhave increasedthe effective demand,which
certainlyoutranthesupply. In July57 therewas a foodriot. A few
dayslater,whenthesenatevotedforCicero'srestoration, thepriceof
grain providentiallysank. It was but a temporaryimprovement.
For daystogetherthe senatedebatedthe cornsupply. Cicerogave
threepossibleexplanations fortheshortage:exporting provinceshad
no surplus,or theysent it elsewhereto get higherprices,or the
suppliersheld grainin storein theexpectationof faminerates. On
the 5th Septemberhe boastedthatplentyhad returnedwithhim.
This was an illusion. Prices continuedto oscillate (a familiar
phenomenonin manyages). On the nexttwo daystheywentsky-
high,and themobrose; Ciceroacknowledged thattherewas suffering
and hunger. He and othersdid not ventureto the senate-house.
But a dayor twolaterhe riskedattendance;thestreetswereevidently
78 Pro
Flacco, 18; ad Att.,i. I6. II; I9. 4; ii. I. 8. "Egentes" and "perditi",
e.g. de domo,45.
79The locust plague in Africain I25 (Orosius, v. II. 2) may also have paved
the way for Gaius Gracchus; for hungerin the Gracchan period: cf. Lucilius,
fragment214 (Loeb edn.). In the 40S too the rent-burdenmust have been the
greater,as Africawas under Pompeian controland grain must have been scarce
and dearer,leaving less moneyto pay the rent.
80De domo, 61. For what follows see de domo, 9-17 with Asconius, 48;
Cic., post reditumin senatu,34; ad Quirites,I8; ad Att., iv. I. 6; ad Quintum
fratrem,ii. 5. I; de hartspicumresponsis,31.
quiet again. If the riotershad been merelyClodius' hirelings,

out
forCicero'sblood, this would be strange;if theywereexasperated
artisansand shopkeepers, withworkto do, theycould notbe keptin
the streetscontinuously.On Cicero's motionPompey was now
investedwith the procurementof grain and given wide powers,
probablyenablinghimto requisition grainfromrecalcitrant
suppliers.
Plutarchthoughthe securedabundanceas by magic,butsoonall was
notwellagain,and nowtheblamecouldbe laid on Pompey. Hence,
in thescenewithwhichI opened,themobshoutedthatPompeywas
starvingthem. In April56 therewerereneweddebateson thehigh
price of grain,and Pompey was voted more money. In August
Cicerodeploredhighcosts,theinfertility
ofthefields,thepoorharvest.
Persistentscarcitywas the backgroundto continualviolence.
Rude has shownthatin eighteenth-and nineteenth-centuryFrance
and Englandriotswereoften(notalways)provokedby,or associated
whatever
withscarcities, theiravowedaims. In OctoberI789, when
the Paris mob wentto bringthe royalfamilyfromVersailles,they
said thattheywouldfetch"the baker,thebaker'swifeand thelittle
bakerboy"; theythoughtthattherewouldbe plentywiththekingin
theirmidst.81 Ifwe had dataforthefluctuatinggrainpricesat Rome,
it mightwellbe thatwe couldplota correlationwiththeoutbreaksof
mob violence. But thismustremaina speculation.
VII
If we look beyondthe ambitionsand machinations of the great
figuresofthelateRepublic,themaincauseofitsfallmustin myview
be foundin agrariandiscontents;it was the soldiers,who were of
peasantorigin,whosedisloyalty to theRepublicwas fatal. The r6le
oftheurbanmobwas morerestricted. Still,it was theirclamourthat
gavePompeyhis extraordinary commandin 67 and setin motionthe
eventsthatled to his alliancewithCaesar in 59. And the violence
in thecityfrom58 to 52, whichwas itselfone resultof thatalliance,
producedsuchchaosthatit finally broughtPompeyand thesenatorial
leaderstogetheragain,andhelpedto severhisconnection withCaesar;
hencethecivilwarsin whichtheRepublicfoundered.
Popular leaders sometimesproclaimedthe sovereigntyof the
people. But thepeoplewhocouldactuallyattendmeetingsat Rome
were not trulyrepresentative and were incapableof governingan
empire. The onlyworkablealternative to thegovernment ofthefew
81Rude (n. 67), ch. I4.
THE ROMAN MOB 27
was thegovernment ofone man. The interventions ofthepeoplein

led on to monarchy.82
affairs
To the urbanproletariatethis was no disadvantage. It was the
aristocracywho from
suffered loss of liberty. Tacitus says that
Augustuswon overthe people withbread,and thiswas the greatest
need.83 They also benefitedfromimprovements in the supplyof
water,frombetterfire-protection,
betterpreservationof water,more
splendidshows,moreexpenditure on buildingswhichgave employ-
ment. The emperorsfor their own securityhad to keep them
content,and theirmiserywas somewhatreduced. This was all they
could expectin a worldwhosematerialresourcesremainedsmall.
OrielCollege,Oxford P. A. Brunt
82
Wirszubski(n. 59), pp. 47 ff. Cf. Sallust,Jug. War, 3I: "sane fueritregni
paratio plebi sua restituere".
83
Ann., i. 5; cf. Augustus' Res Gestae,5.

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The Past and Present Society

The Roman Mob

to voteforCicero'sreturn. In November,an armedband droveoff

had littleinfluencein thisbodythe importance of whichwas great,

evidencesuggeststhatthis was possibleas earlyas I33. Tiberius

thathad evolvedby his time. The senatecould almostalwaysfind

consistedpreponderantly of freedmen(see below pages 15 f.), and

In theearlyPrincipatethegovernment had at least 12,000soldiers

Somethingof the same kind nearlyoccurredin 88, when Sulla

body-armour, and had mostlyseen militaryservice;and the senate

For lackof modernmeansof transport, thepeoplewerecrammed

highcost of transport alone forbadethe productionof factory goods

38 See e.g. A. H. M. Jones,Later RomanEmpire(Oxford, I964), ii, pp. 84I ff.

corporationswerein factancient,theygo backto a veryremotetime,

evidencewe have fromliterary sourcesthatin the urbanpopulation

Sallust and otherstell of the driftof countryfolk into Rome;

couldnothavesurvivedtheyears43-36,formostofwhichit was cut

followersto obstructthe repealof one of his laws; he and theywere

conferredon Pompey to put down the pirates. Almost all the

Caesar, who had consistentlyidentifiedhimselfwithpopularaims,

be so onlyinthesensethatthedependents ofthenobility demonstrated

law.71 Many collegiaof artisansas such or of personslivingin the

himselfthat it was a commonrhetoricaldevice to vilifyall who

almosta synonymwiththe epithetwhichoftenaccompaniesit -

quiet again. If the riotershad been merelyClodius' hirelings,

81Rude (n. 67), ch. I4.

was thegovernment ofone man. The interventions ofthepeoplein

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