d from this; he neither accepted
the royal title himself, nor did he cancel those venerable names
interwoven with the glorious history of the republic. The consuls,
praetors, aediles, tribunes, and quaestors retained substantially
their previous formal powers; nevertheless their position
was totally altered. It was the political idea lying
at the foundation of the republic that the Roman empire was identified
with the city of Rome, and in consistency with it the municipal
magistrates of the capital were treated throughout as magistrates
of the empire. In the monarchy of Caesar that view and this consequence
of it fell into abeyance; the magistrates of Rome formed thenceforth
only the first among the many municipalities of the empire,
and the consulship in particular became a purely titular post,
which preserved a certain practical importance only in virtue
of the reversion of a higher governorship annexed to it. The fate,
which the Roman community had been wont to prepare for the vanquished,
now by means of Caesar befell itself; its sovereignty over
the Roman empire was converted into a limited communal freedom
within the Roman state. That at the same time the number
of the praetors and quaestors was doubled, has been already mentioned;
the same course was followed with the plebeian aediles, to whom
two new "corn-aediles" (-aediles Ceriales-) were added to superintend
the supplies of the capital. The appointment to those offices remained
with the community, and was subject to no restriction as respected
the consuls and perhaps also the tribunes of the people
and plebeian aediles; we have already adverted to the fact,
that the Imperator reserved a right of proposal binding on the electors
as regards the half of the praetors, curule aediles, and quaestors
to be annually nominated. In general the ancient and hallowed
palladia of popular freedom were not touched; which, of course,
did not prevent the individual refractory tribune of the people
from being seriously interfered with and, in fact, deposed and erased
from the roll of senators.

As the Imperator was thus, for the more general and more important
questions, his own minister; as he controlled the finances
by his servants, and the army by his adjutants; and as the old republican
state-magistracies were again converted into municipal magistracies
of the city of Rome; the autocracy was sufficiently established.

The State-Hierarchy

In the spiritual hierarc