L’‘auctoritas’ nell’esperienza giuridica romana. Un’azione rafforzativa esercitata a beneficio del destinatario

Originally aimed at a learned readership extending beyond scholars of ancient and modern law, this essay by Franchini and Mercogliano examines the Roman notion of auctoritas. The authors argue that, from Rome’s earliest period and throughout the Republican age, auctoritas, whether conferred in a public or private context, served to reinforce the actions of individuals who, acting on their own, were unable to produce full legal effects. Drawing on a series of examples, they show that the institution gradually moved away from the paternalistic framework of its origins and underwent a significant transformation, becoming increasingly directed towards the protection of the interests and rights of the beneficiaries of auctoritas. Augustus subsequently carried out a skilful political appropriation of the concept: invoking tradition, he claimed the prerogatives of auctoritas for himself in his capacity as tutor rei publicae. Under his successors in particular, the notion consequently became more rigid and acquired an increasingly authoritarian character.