Editing Senate of the Roman Republic (section)

==Debates==
[[File:L'Arringatore.jpg|thumb|upright|''[[The Orator]]'', c. 100 BC, an [[Etruscan art|Etrusco]]-[[Roman sculpture|Roman]] [[bronze sculpture]] depicting Aule Metele (Latin: Aulus Metellus), an [[Etruscan civilization|Etruscan]] man of Roman senatorial rank, engaging in [[rhetoric]]. He wears [[senatorial shoes]] and a ''[[toga praetexta]]'' of the "skimpy" ({{lang|la|exigua}}) Republican type.<ref>Ceccarelli, L., in Bell, S., and Carpino, A., A, (Editors) ''A Companion to the Etruscans'' (Blackwell Companions to the Ancient World), Blackwell Publishing, 2016, p. 33</ref> The statue features an inscription in the [[Etruscan alphabet]]]]
[[File:Togatus Barberini 2392.PNG|thumb|upright|The so-called "[[Togatus Barberini]]", a statue depicting a [[Roman senator]] holding the ''[[Roman funerals and burial#Funerary art|imagines]]'' ([[effigies]]) of deceased ancestors in his hands; marble, late 1st century BC; head (not belonging): mid 1st century BC.]]
Meetings usually began at dawn, although occasionally certain events (such as festivals) might delay then
beginning of a meeting. A magistrate who wished to summon the Senate had to issue a compulsory order (a ''cogere''), and senators could be punished if they failed to appear without reasonable cause. In 44 BC for example, consul [[Mark Antony]] threatened to demolish the house of the former consul [[Cicero]] for this very reason.<ref name="Lintott, 75">Lintott, 75</ref> The Senate meetings were technically public<ref name="Byrd, 34" /> because the doors were usually left open, which allowed people to look in, but only senators could speak. The Senate was directed by a presiding magistrate, who was usually either a ''[[Roman consul|consul]]'' (the highest-ranking magistrate) or, if the consul was unavailable, a ''[[Praetor]]'' (the second-highest ranking magistrate), usually the [[urban praetor]].<ref name="Byrd, 42">Byrd, 42</ref> By the late Republic, another type of magistrate, a ''[[Plebeian Tribune|plebeian tribune]]'', would sometimes preside.<ref name="Byrd, 34" />

While in session, the Senate had the power to act on its own, and even against the will of the presiding magistrate if it wished. The presiding magistrate began each meeting with a speech (the ''verba fecit''),<ref name="Lintott, 78">Lintott, 78</ref> which was usually brief, but was sometimes a lengthy oration. The presiding magistrate would then begin a discussion by referring an issue to the senators, who would discuss the issue, one at a time, by order of seniority, with the first to speak, the most senior senator, known as the ''[[princeps senatus]]'' (leader of the Senate),<ref name="Byrd, 34" />  who was then followed by ex-consuls (''consulares''), and then the praetors and ex-praetors (''praetorii''). This continued, until the most junior senators had spoken.<ref name="Byrd, 34" /> Senators who had held magisterial office always spoke before those who had not, and if a ''[[Patrician (ancient Rome)|patrician]]'' was of equal seniority as a ''[[plebeian]]'', the patrician would always speak first.<ref name="Abbott, 228">Abbott, 228</ref>

A senator could make a brief statement, discuss the matter in detail, or talk about an unrelated topic. All senators had to speak before a vote could be held, and since all meetings had to end by nightfall,<ref name="Byrd, 44">Byrd, 44</ref> a senator could talk a proposal to death (a [[filibuster]] or ''diem consumere'') if they could keep the debate going until nightfall.<ref name="Lintott, 78" /> It is known, for example, that the senator [[Cato the Younger]] once filibustered in an attempt to prevent the Senate from granting [[Julius Caesar]] a law that would have given land to the veterans of [[Pompey]].<ref name="Lintott, 78" /><ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.bookrags.com/biography/cato-the-younger/ |title=Cato, the Younger Biography &#124; Encyclopedia of World Biography Biography |publisher=Bookrags.com |access-date=2008-09-19}}</ref>