ABSTRACT
In our day political opinion finds expression or enthusiasm for a cause, or a candidate is stimulated, through the public press, on the platform with its accessories in the way of processions and receptions, and at the elections. In Rome under the Republic the two last-mentioned methods of testing popular sentiment are to be found, but the place which the press holds with us as an organ for the expression of public opinion on political matters seems to have been taken by the theatre, for, as Cicero says in his oration for Sestius, “in three places especially the judgment and desire of the Roman people can be made known, viz., at the contio [or gatherings for public discussion], at the comitia [or meetings of the popular assemblies], and when the people come together at the games and the gladiatorial contests.” 1 He then proceeds to discuss at some length, 2 in the subsequent chapters of his oration, the attitude of the people in their public meetings, at the ballot-box, and at the plays and games, and comes to the conclusion 3 that public opinion found true expression only at the theatrical performances and the gladiatorial contests. Was this true ? Was the theatre such an important political factor and the only correct index of public feeling in Cicero’s day ? His conclusion cannot be accepted without question, because he is not an unprejudiced judge of the matter. The demonstrations in the theatre and at the games during the period of his exile, of which he is speaking here, had favored him, but the contiones and the comitia of that year had been hostile to him. This situation might account for his view that the real sentiments of the people were best indicated in the theatre. It is worth while considering the correctness of his statement by examining very briefly the condition of the contiones and comitia under the late Republic, and by glancing at the part which the theatre played in political life. A complete presentation of all the evidence would be out of place here, nor is it necessary for our purpose.
