Note 13 — Chapter III

The Dictator was an extraordinary magistrate appointed by one of the Consuls in seasons of great peril. He possessed absolute power. Twenty-four lictors attended him, bearing the axes in the fasces, even in the city; and from his decision there was no appeal. He could not hold the office longer than six months, and he usually laid it down much sooner. He appointed a Magister Equitum, or Master of the Horse, who acted as his lieutenant. From the time of the appointment of the Dictator, all the other magistrates, even the Consuls, ceased to exercise any power.