The annals of Tacitus

INTRODUCTION xxv
Suetonius: 'It is the part of a good slieplierd to shear iiis
sheep, not to flay them.'
The following chapters in Ijook iv are also important for
the history of provincial management,— -23-26, 43, 44, 46-51,
72-74.
This passage from Tiberius the Tyrant (p. 380) is useful :
'Tiberius treated the Senate with formal respect, and did his
best to make it worthy of its opportunities. If he could
have avoided interfering with its administration of its own
provinces, he would have done so. Tiberius, like Augustus,
sup23lied himself with an inner Council of the Senate ;
—
and it
is possible that on most occasions the inner Council repre-
sented the whole body. But he did not restrict himself to
Senatorial coiuisellors ;
and we are told that, in dealing with
provincial questions, he was always careful to provide himself
with the expert evidence of men who knew the localities
concerned. The Senate was curiously indifferent to muni-
cipal matters. The rank of senator eventually became little
more than an honourable distinction. The difference between
Senatorial and Imperial Provinces did not last long, the
Imperial administration proving better suited to the needs of
the Empire.'
VIII. MAIESTAS
Maiestas populi Romani and maiestatem minuere or laedere
are phrases belongi ng
inuentione ii 53) gives this definition :
—
to Ilei*"^^^''"^" Rome, Cicero {de
maiestatem minuere
est de dignitate aut amplitudine aut potestate populi aut
eorum, quibus populus potestatem dedit, aliquid derogare.
Compare Verres ii 88 crimen maiestatis, 'charge of treason,'
and pro Cluentio 97 legionem sollicitare res est quae lege
maiestatis tenetur. The scope of maiestas was strictly defined
by a law of Julius Caesar . I t was extended by AuguaLus ;
but he made little use of it.