Formal Conservatism. When the first emperor, Augustus (then called Octavian), came to power in 31 B.C.E., it was mainly on the strength of superior military force. During the next fifteen years or so, however, steps were taken to put his reign on a legal or at least legalistic footing. On the one hand, nearly the entire apparatus of the Republican government was preserved. There were still courts and a Senate and consuls and praetors and the rest. Many provinces continued to be governed by proconsuls, and municipal governments continued to flourish. Only the assemblies were really eliminated, and even those continued to meet sporadically and symbolically for a time. There were, of course, certain changes to the traditional institutions. The emperor "recommended" candidates for half of the offices, and these men took office unopposed. The effective number...