I. Originally, the inhabitants of the Sabine town Cures, the Quirites (very rare): “prisci Quirites,” Verg. A. 7, 710 Serv.: veteres illi Sabini Quirites, Col. praef. § 19. —After the Sabines and the Romans had united in one community, under Romulus, the name of Quirites was taken in addition to that of Romani, the Romans calling themselves, in a civil capacity, Quirites, while, in a political and military capacity, they retained the name of Romani: post foedus Titi (Tatii) et Romuli placuit, ut quasi unus de duobus fieret populus. Unde et Romani Quirites dicti sunt, quod nomen Sabinorum fuerat a civitate Curibus; “et Sabini a Romulo Romani dicti sunt,” Serv. Verg. A. 7, 710; cf. Liv. 1, 13.— Joined with populus Romanus, the technical expression is usually POPVLVS ROMANVS QVIRITIVM, qs. the Roman commonwealth of Quirite citizens, the Roman nation of Quirites; but not unfreq. also in apposition: POPVLO ROMANO QVIRITIBVS (like homines prisci Latini, and populus priscorum Latinorum): QVOD BONVM FORTVNATVM FELIXQVE SALVTAREQVE SIET POPVLO ROMANO QVIRITIVM, REIQVE PVBLICAE POPVLI ROMANI QVIRITIVM ... OMNES QVIRITES, PEDITES ARMATOS PRIVATOSQVE VOCA INLICIVM HVC AD ME, Tab. Censor. ap. Varr. L. L. 6, § 86 Müll.: “populo Romano Quiritium,” Liv. 8, 9; 41, 16: “populus Romanus Quiritium,” id. 1, 32: “populi Romani Quiritium,” id. 1, 24; 32; 10, 28; 22, 10 al.— In the other form: POPVLD ROMANO QVIRITIBVS, Inscr. Marin. Fratr. Arv. tab. 24, 1, 34; cf. id. ib. 41, 2, 24; so, an ancient formula ap. Gell. 1, 12, 14, acc. to the MSS.; so, “too,” id. 10, 24, 3; Macr. S. 1, 4 fin.—We rarely meet with the form populo Romano Quiritibusque, Liv. 8, 6 (al. om. que); cf. “Paul. ex Fest. s. v. dici, p. 67 Müll.: devovisse eos se pro patriā Quiritibusque Romanis,” Liv. 5, 41: “Quiritium Romanorum exercitus,” id. 26, 2: “factum hoc populi Romain Quiritibus ostentum Cimbricis bellis,” to the citizens of the Roman nation, Plin. 16, 32, 57, § 132.— “It was a reproach for soldiers to be addressed as Quirites,” Tac. A. 1, 42; Suet. Caes. 70; Lampr. Alex. Sev. 52 sq.; Luc. 5, 358: “Quiritium fossae dicuntur, quibus Ancus Marcius circumdedit urbem, quam secundum ostium Tiberis posuit, ex quo etiam Ostiam, et quia populi opera eas faceret, appellavit Quiritium,” Fest. p. 254 Müll.: jus Quiritium, full Roman citizenship: “ago gratias, domine, quod et jus Quiritium libertis necessariae mihi feminae, et civitatem Romanam Harpocrati iatraliptae meo indulsisti,” Plin. Ep. 10, 6 (22), 1: “Latinis jus Quiritium (constituit),” Suet. Claud. 19: Latini jus Quiritium consequuntur his modis, beneficio principali, etc., Ulp. Reg. tit. 4, de Latinis.— Sing.: Quiris (also Quiritis, acc. to Prisc. p. 633 P.), a Roman citizen, a Quirite: ollus Quiris Leto datus, an ancient formula in Fest. p. 254 Müll.: “dona Quiritis,” Hor. Ep. 1, 6, 7: “reddere jura Quiriti,” Ov. M. 14, 823: “minimum de plebe Quiritem,” id. Am. 1, 7, 29; Juv. 8, 47: quibus una Quiritem Vertigo facit, makes a Roman citizen, sets free (for in the ceremony of manumission the slave was turned around), Pers. 5, 75: “quis te redonavit Quiritem Dis patriis?” an uninjured Roman citizen, Hor. C. 2, 7, 3: “epulis repleto Quirite, i. e. populo Romano,” Claud. Carm. 12, 16: “Romani more Quiritis, i. e. civis,” Luc. 2, 386: Quiris Eoüs, an eastern Roman, i. e. an inhabitant of Constantinople, Sid. Carm. 1, 31.— In fem.: “Q. TVLLIVS Q. F. PONTIFEX SACR. IVNONIS QVIRITIS,” Inscr. Grut. 308, 1. —
II. (Poet. transf.) Of bees, citizens, commonalty: “ipsae regem, parvosque Quirites Sufficiunt,” Verg. G. 4, 201.
