Note 1824 — Chapter X · THE PRINCIPATE

Tac. Ann. i. 75 “judiciis adsidebat in cornu tribunalis, ne praetorem curuli depelleret; multaque eo coram adversus ambitum et potentium preces constituta”; Dio Cass. lvii. 7 ἐπεφοίτα δὲ καὶ ἐπὶ τὰ τῶν ἀρχόντων δικαστήρια, καὶ παρακαλούμενος ὑπ’ αὐτῶν καὶ ἀπαράκλητος, καὶ ... ἔλεγεν ὅσα ἐδόκει αὐτῷ, ὡς πάρεδρος. The civil courts are here meant, or at least included; but it is possible that Tiberius may often have appeared in them as a self-constituted adviser, not as an authority to be appealed to; cf. Suet. Tib. 33 “magistratibus pro tribunali cognoscentibus plerumque se offerebat consiliarium; adsidebatque juxtim vel exadversum in parte primori.” According to Suetonius (l.c.) he exercised a similar influence over the jurisdiction of the quaestiones.