.[278] The first necessary inquiry is
whether the quinquennales were men who previously had held office as
quaestors or aediles, and the best place to begin such a search is in
the municipal calendars (fasti magistratuum municipalium), which give
the city officials with their rank.

There are fragments left of several municipal fasti; the one which gives
the longest unbroken list is that from Venusia,[279] which gives the
full list of the city officials of the years 34-29 B.C., and the aediles
of 35, and both the duovirs and praetors of the first half of 28 B.C. In
29 B.C., L. Oppius and L. Livius were duoviri quinquennales. These are
both good old Roman names, and stand out the more in contrast with
Narius, Mestrius, Plestinus, and Fadius, the aediles and quaestors.
Neither of these quinquennales had held any office in the five preceding
years at all events. One of the two quaestors of the year 33 B.C. is a
L. Cornelius. The next year a L. Cornelius, with the greatest
probability the same man, is praefect, and again in the year 30 he is
duovir. Also in the year 32 L. Scutarius is quaestor, and in the last
half of 31 is duovir. C. Geminius Niger is aedile in 30, and duovir in
28. So what we learn is that a L. Cornelius held the quaestorship one
year, was a praefect the next, and later a regularly elected duovir;
that L. Scutarius went from quaestor one year to duovir the next,
without an intervening office, and but a half year of intervening time;
and that C. Geminius Niger was successively aedile and duovir with a
break of one year between.

The fasti of Nola[280] give the duovirs and aediles for four years,
29-32 A.D., but none of the aediles mentioned rose to the duovirate
within the years given. Nor do we get any help from the fasti of
Interamna Lirenatis[281] or Ostia,[282] so the only other calendar we
have to deal with is the one from Praeneste, the fragments of which have
been partially discussed above.

The text of that piece[283] which dates from the first years of
Tiberius' reign is so uncertain that one gets little information from
it. But certainly the M. Petronius Rufus who is praefect for Drusus
Caesar is the same as the Petronius Rufus who in another place is
duovir. The name of C. Dindius appears twice also, once with the office
of aedile, but two years later seemingly as aedile again, which must be
a mistake. M. Cominius Bassus is made quinquennalis by order of the
senate, and also made praefect for