Where was the first senate assembled? What does the word mean?
The first senate was the ancient Roman one.
You can find the etymology in your nearest dictionary.
It’s from senatus, the Latin word for ‘senate’ (a council of elders), from senex ‘old’, ‘old man’.
Roman senators were wealthy men, the heads of their families, although later they called upon commoners to become senators also. They didn’t actually create laws of their own, they just recommended other people to approve their recommendations. (All the real decisions were made by committees.) They also talked a lot, and occasionally someone talked so much that they didn’t get anything done. They were forbidden to participate in certain businesses, but often ignored the rule. Occasionally, when the Republic was in danger, they’d let someone be a dictator.
One tradition of the Roman senate that hasn’t survived to the present is that senators were entitled to wear togas with a purple stripe.* One wonders how close the Founding Fathers, who adored the ideals of the Roman Republic, came to deciding on a toga-wearing senate. It’s not that much more absurd than powdered wigs.
*: Recent issues concerning a member of the US Senate and the color purple would make further discussion of this subject inappropriate in this forum.
Beautiful job, Roches; I opened the thread to give very much the same answer as you. May I also compliment you on the work of art that is your second paragraph; I suggest people reread that description of the Roman Senate with eyes attuned to what Roches is not overtly saying based on his phrasing there.
Thanks, Polycarp. While I was referring to the US Senate, maybe I should note that I’m actually Canadian. Our Senate is hardly worth making fun of, though – they barely ever mention it on the news, and it has practically no power. Essentially the only thing it can do is send legislation back to the lower house to be reconsidered. There are a few historical examples of important things the Senate has done, but for the most part they do rather little. Members aren’t elected; they’re appointed for life (actually to age 75) by the prime minister. When someone leaves the Senate, the prime minister replaces them with an accomplished person that favors his own party, and they stay there until they turn 75. The result is that the Canadian Senate isn’t just named after the Roman Republican institution. It really does reflect the Latin derivation – it’s a council of old people.
To add to quote Roches (and Poly Carp’s sentiments)
QUOTE:
“One tradition of the Roman senate that hasn’t survived to the present is that senators were entitled to wear togas with a purple stripe.* One wonders how close the Founding Fathers, who adored the ideals of the Roman Republic, came to deciding on a toga-wearing senate. It’s not that much more absurd than powdered wigs.”
I would add, "or the de rigeur RED NECKTIES that they’ all sporting now with the white shirt and blue suits. And the flagwear, it makes them look like “middle-aged flags!” (to quote a lady named Dolly C from Boston, c. 1972.)
By the way, I’m brand new to this. How do I insert a quote by the system instead of copy and paste as I did here?
Oh, now I understand that – it’s a red-white-and-blue thing. During the debates, I thought it was strange that both Bush and Kerry wore red ties. In the last debate they wore nearly identical ties, and I thought maybe they were trying to guess which tie their opponent would wear and make them look foolish for choosing the same tie (as well as the same American flag pin). I would’ve thought that maybe Republicans would wear red ties and Democrats would wear blue ties.
Find the post you want to quote, then hit that little “Reply” button in the lower right-hand corner of the post. The whole post will appear within {QUOTE=(name)} {/QUOTE} brackets - but with the curly brackets replaced with straight. Cut out the parts you don’t want to quote, and add your comments after the remainder.