to us by the state of the public buildings, and by
the amount of cash in the treasury. We find in
times of peace a fifth, in times of war a tenth, of
the revenues expended on public buildings; which,
in the circumstances, does not seem to have been a
very copious outlay. With these sums, as well
as with fines which were not directly payable into
the treasury, much was doubtless done for the repair
of the highways in and near the capital, for the formation
of the chief Italian roads,(23) and for the construction
of public buildings. Perhaps the most important
of the building operations in the capital, known to
belong to this period, was the great repair and extension
of the network of sewers throughout the city, contracted
for probably in 570, for which 24,000,000 sesterces
(240,000 pounds) were set apart at once, and to which
it may be presumed that the portions of the -cloacae-
still extant, at least in the main, belong.
To all appearance however, even apart from the severe
pressure of war, this period was inferior to the last
section of the preceding epoch in respect of public
buildings; between 482 and 607 no new aqueduct was
constructed at Rome. The treasure of the state,
no doubt, increased; the last reserve in 545, when:
they found themselves under the necessity of laying
hands on it, amounted only to 164,000 pounds (4000
pounds of gold);(24) whereas a short time after the
close of this period (597) close on 860,000 pounds
in precious metals were stored in the treasury.
But, when we take into account the enormous extraordinary
revenues which in the generation after the close of
the Hannibalic war came into the Roman treasury, the
latter sum surprises us rather by its smallness than
by its magnitude. So far as with the extremely
meagre statements before us it is allowable to speak
of results, the finances of the Roman state exhibit
doubtless an excess of income over expenditure, but
are far from presenting a brilliant result as a whole.
Italian Subjects
Passive Burgesses
The change in the spirit of the government was most
distinctly apparent in the treatment of the Italian
and extra-Italian subjects of the Roman community.
Formerly there had been distinguished in Italy the
ordinary, and the Latin, allied communities, the Roman
burgesses -sine suffragio- and the Roman burgesses
with the full franchise. Of these four classes
the third was in the course of this period almost
completely set aside, inasmuch as the course which
had been earlier taken with the communities of passive
burgesses in Latium and Sabina, was now applied also
to those of the former Volscian territory, and these
gradually—the last perhaps being in the
year 566 Arpinum, Fundi, and Formiae—obtained
full burgess-rights. In Campania Capua along
with a number of minor communities in the neighbourhood
was broken up in consequence of its revolt from Rome
in the Hannibalic war. Although some few communities,
such as Velitrae in the Volscian territory, Teanum
and Cumae in Campania, may have remained on their
earlier legal footing, yet, looking at the matter in
the main, this franchise of a passive character may
be held as now superseded.