. The grandeur that was Rome; a survey of Roman culture and civilisation:. dan excess of zeal in Caesars cause which brought down arebuke upon their heads. The senate was used often as amedium of publication. Csesar would go down to the houseand read a speech to them when he intended to reach a widerpublic. When he was abroad, he would send regular reportsand despatches to them. Caesar, like all Roman magistrates,had his consilium or board of advisers. This was noworganised to consist of so many representative senators, whosat in conjunction with the young princes of the imperial house,and any
. The grandeur that was Rome; a survey of Roman culture and civilisation:. dan excess of zeal in Caesars cause which brought down arebuke upon their heads. The senate was used often as amedium of publication. Csesar would go down to the houseand read a speech to them when he intended to reach a widerpublic. When he was abroad, he would send regular reportsand despatches to them. Caesar, like all Roman magistrates,had his consilium or board of advisers. This was noworganised to consist of so many representative senators, whosat in conjunction with the young princes of the imperial house,and any other important people whom Csesar might select forhis privy council. Towards the end, when Augustus grew oldand infirm, a committee of senators sitting in the palace wascompetent to transact business. But as a rule he was verycareful to resjxjct the senatorial traditions. Decrees of thesenate and laws were passed with all the old formalities, butnow they were all in reality Caesars laws and Ccesars the whole, however, we may well believe that the senates176. AUGUSTUS decline into impotence was largely its own fault. So far as therecords show, the Augustan senate never displayed the leasttrace of spirit or, if that is too much to expect, even of initiativeor efficiency. There was grumbling and a little feeble plotting,but if the senate had chosen to take Augustus at his word when-ever he spoke of abdication, they might easily have recoveredreal power, though indeed they could not have done without aprinceps. For one thing the mob would not have sufferedit, Caesar was, and remained, the patron of the inarticulatecommons, and that was not only the origin of the principatebut the main support of its power throughout. When we speakof unpopular emperors such as Nero or Domitian we generallymean only that they were unpopular with the notables of thesenate. If they failed to retain the regard of the commonpeople and the common soldiers their reigns speedily came toan end.
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