d
the jury then gave their verdict by ballot.

10. In cases tried before the general assembly of the people, it was
allowed to make use of artifices in order to conciliate the popular
favour. The accused and his friends put on mourning robes to excite
pity; they went into the most public places and took every opportunity
of showing their respect for popular power. When Cicero was accused by
Clo'dius for having illegally put to death the associates of Cataline,
the entire senatorian rank changed their robes to show the deep
interest they felt in his fate. At these great trials, the noblest
specimens of forensic eloquence were displayed by the advocates of the
accuser and the accused; but the decisions were usually more in
accordance with the spirit of party than strict justice.

11. The accused, however, might escape, if he could prevail on any of
the tribunes to interpose in his behalf, or the accuser to relinquish
his charge; if unfavourable omens appeared during the trial, it was
usually adjourned, or sometimes the accusation withdrawn; and up to
the very moment of the commencement of the trial, the criminal had the
option of escaping a heavier penalty by going into voluntary exile.

12. The punishments to which state criminals were sentenced, were
usually, in capital cases, precipitation from the Tarpeian rock,
beheading, or strangulation in prison; when life was spared, the
penalties were either exile or fine. Under the emperors severer
punishments were introduced, such as exposure to wild beasts, or
burning alive; and torture, which, under the republic, could not be
inflicted on free citizens, was exercised unsparingly.

13. The punishment of parricides was curious; the criminal having
been beaten with rods, was sown up in a sack together with a serpent,
an ape and a cock, and thrown either into the sea or a river, as if
even the inanimate carcase of such a wretch would pollute the earth.

14. Masters had an absolute, authority over their slaves, extending to
life or limb; and in the earlier ages patrons had similar power over
their clients. The condition of slaves in Rome was most miserable,
especially in the later ages; they were subject to the most
excruciating tortures, and when capitally punished, were generally
crucified. Except in this single particular, the Roman criminal code,
was very lenient and sparing of human life. This was chiefly owing to
the exertions of the plebeians, for the patricians alway