Note 316 — BOOK II.
Charles Duke Yonge translation
The Lex Curiata de Imperio, so often mentioned here, was the same as the Auctoritas Patrum, and was necessary in order to confer upon the dictator, consuls, and other magistrates the imperium, or military command: without this they had only a potestas, or civil authority, and could not meddle with military affairs.