devices, as they did in the case of the regal history. However, the constitutional struggle which is under way when more trustworthy history begins is only a continuation of that of the first century of the republic, and from our knowledge of its nature, and of the forces at work, we can make fairly safe inferences concerning similar movements of the early period, and in this way test the truth of the traditional account. In a like manner the character of certain political institutions in the historical period, and the line which they take in their development, enable us to determine their early form with considerable probability. In this way the main features of the constitutional history of the early republic can be made out.
25. The Chief Magistracy. Tradition is probably right in making the transition from the monarchy to the republic a sudden one, — the outcome of a revolution. The most important result of this revolution consisted in the changes which the chief magistracy underwent. In place of the rex, who under the old regal constitution was the choice of the patres, and held office for live, two chief executives, called praetores, or leaders, were chosen annually by the whole body of citizens. Two of three changes just mentioned in the position of the chief magistracy are of immediate importance, while the third is of future significance. A chief executive who holds for a limited period only can be held accountable for his conduct at the close of his term of office. Furthermore, the participation of a colleague in the exercise of supreme power will tend to prevent a magistrate from becoming autocratic. These are the two principal points in which the position of the praetor, or, to give him his later title, the consul, differed from that of the king. The change in the method of choice was of less importance at first, since, as we shall
