The Romans never devised any method of choosing a chief magistrate other
than acclamation by an army and confirmation by the Senate, creating an
Emperor. If two commanders at about the same time were separately saluted
"Imperator," as were Septimius Severus and Pescennius Niger, there was no
method of adjudicating their conflicting claims except by Civil War and
the survival of one Imperator only.
B. THE FISCUS
From this word comes our "confiscate," "to turn totally into the Fiscus."
A fiscus was a large basket, such is were used by all Roman financial
concerns to contain live vouchers. The fiscus was the organization
managing the pubic property, income and expenditures of the Roman Emperor.
It controlled the proceeds of the taxes of all the imperial provinces and
of the domains, mines, quarries, fisheries, factories, town property and
whatever else the fiscus held for the Emperors, impersonally. It gathered
in all moneys and possessions forfeited for suicide, crime or treason.
C. THE ROMAN CALENDAR
All primitive calendars went by the moon. Moon and month are the same word
in English. No more than Hengist and Horsa could the early Romans have
conceived of a month not beginning with the day of the new moon, as all
months begin yet in the Jewish and Mohammedan calendars.
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