Vota Publĭca
Vows made by the State in great crises, as during war (
Livy, v.
21) or pestilence (
Livy, iv. 25). They were in the nature of
promises to the gods of gifts or sacrifices in return for aid and favour. The vow was made on
behalf of the State by a consul, praetor, or dictator, who was said
suscipere
votum, at the behest of the Senate. The announcement of the vow (
nuncupatio) was publicly made in a set formula dictated by the Pontifex Maximus (
Livy, xxxvi. 2), and it was entered in the public records. The vow was
generally fulfilled by the magistrate who made it or by his regular successor, but it might
devolve upon another (
Livy, xxxvi. 2). Besides these extraordinary
public vows, there was an annual
votum publicum (of victims to be
offered) made by the new consuls on January 1st,
pro rei publicae salute.
Under the Republic a special vow was added for the emperor's safety (Dio Cass. li. 9). See
Marquardt,
Staatsverwaltung, iii. pp. 265-268; Mommsen,
Röm.
Staatsrecht, i. 244; ii. 810; and for the most remarkable of all the public vows, see
the article
Ver Sacrum.
