Roman Law and the Legal World of the Romans

Roman Law and the Legal World of the Romans

population. As with the rules of infamia , one of the main goals here seems to have been to create the association of social hier archy with moral hierarchy. And much the same was done by legislation of the emperor Augustus encouraging marriage and procreation and criminalizing adultery. Adulterers and mem bers of infamous professions (like those just listed) could not (re-)marry the free-born. As just noted, the practical force of the penalties of infamia was weak against those of lower status, who were in fact the majority of the population. Similarly, the restrictions on public life had virtually no effect on women, as they were already largely restricted to private life. For these two major groups, infamia would be a deterrent only if individuals were genu inely invested in their sense of honor in its own right. In fact, honor as such may have been the central issue even for elite men. There are some dramatic stories of breakdowns in the coercive power of disgrace. In ad 19, a woman named Vistilia registered as a prostitute as a means of escaping penalties for adultery. Since prostitution was legal, it is not surprising that prostitutes were exempt from adultery law. What lawmakers had not foreseen was the “loophole” this created for persons who wished to evade the law by “admitting” falsely to dis graceful behavior. (In the event, she was not allowed to use this strategy, but the principles seem clear). There are also multiple stories of early imperial aristocrats deliberately com mitting offenses in order to incur infamia and thus escape legal restrictions on persons of status. The law tied increased status to increased restrictions on behavior, assuming people would

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