Spartan Constitution. 53 Dr Arnold on the Gerusia; which in the times anterior to the great power of the ephors was in fact the most prominent feature in the Spartan constitution, and wielded the chief part of the legislative and executive sovereignty^^. It was a council of 28 members, chosen ^^ for life by the Spartans from all the Spartans above 60 years of age, who were candidates for this dignity. The office of councillor was considered as the reward of virtue, that is, of the qua- lities considered as virtuous by the Spartan community, and enjoined by their laws ; and the choice appears to have been conducted on aristocratical principles, and to have generally fallen (in later times at least) on a narrow privileged class within the body of Spartans'^. The gerusia could alone initiate laws and decrees, which it debated with the kings, who presided in it by virtue of their office ; and any legislative proposal carried by a majority of voices was then laid before the assembly of all the Spartans, convened by the magistrates for that purpose, which had only power to adopt or reject it as a whole : but no amendment could be made, nor could any private citizen speak in the assembly. Moreover the councillors were the supreme court in all criminal offences, and they decided not according to written laws, but accord- ing to their own discretion. Having therefore the most im- portant part of the legislative and judicial sovereignty, being appointed for life and subject to no legal responsibility, the gerusia was justly considered by the Greeks as an oligarchical institution, and as inconsistent with any considerable influence ^^ OL yipovTe? — ol €7rLori-aTovvT€9 airacTL toTs nrpdyfxacri Isocrat. Pan. p. 265. A. Tti3V yepovTcov 0V9 eKeivoi koL aKryyvovn-ai Kal deolacTL Kal tyjv dp)(rv /iX€yL<yTt]v elvat vofxiX,ov(TL, Aeschin. in Tim. p. 25. 36. ?i yepovcrta irdv eixe tujv kolvcov to Kpdro's Dion. Hal. II. 14. »/ fxhv 5tJ yepovcrta avveSpLOV AaKeSaLfxovloL^ KvpicSi-aTov tyj^ 7roLi-€La9, Pausan. iii. 11. 2. and other passages in Wolf on Dem. Lept. p. 489. 18. Mliller, Vol. ii. p. 98. n. n. Cicero de Rep. ii. 28. says that " [Lycurgus yepovTas La]cedaemone appellavit nimis is quidem paucos xxviii. quos penes summam consilii voluit esse, cum imperii summam rex teneret:" but the powers of the Spartan Kings are more correctly described by Aristotle Pol. iii. 14. auT?; (ij KaKuiviKi] fiacTLkela) ecrn-lv ojs dirXco's eiTrelu orTpan-riyla KaTa yivos d'tSLO^, and Isocrates JNic. p. ol 1). AaKcdaL/uLOVLov^ — o'lkol /ulcv oXLyapxov/JLeuov^, irapd dh tov iroXep-ov pao-ievofx€vov9. J5 The mode of election does not clearly appear : but it is strongly censured by Aristotle, KaTa ti]v KpicTLv ecrTt Trat^a/otcoo?;?, Pol. II. 9. 16 Mliller, b. iii. c. vi. § 1. Aristotle says of the gerons of Elis Ttji; a'lpeaiv cvva<jTevTuo]v elvai naX ofxoiav rti tcov ef/ AaKedaipioui yepouTwv, Pol. V. 6.
