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The idea of the Principate did not just leap out of Octavian's head.
然而他并沒有馬上就產生元首制的概念。
In fact it took years for Octavian to work out and negotiate with the Roman people.
事實上，屋大維用了幾年時間想出這一點并且和羅馬人民協商一致。
In 27 BC Octavian made a great show of restoring to the senate the Roman republic.
在公元前27年，屋大維表演了一出大戲，就是恢復羅馬共和國的元老院。
In return the senate voted him Major Proconsular Imperium over any province containing Roman troops.
實際上元老院選舉他為任何有羅馬軍隊的行省的地方總督統治者。
This gave Octavian permanent legal control over what was already his personal client army.
這就使得屋大維取得了當時已經是他私人軍隊的合法控制權。
He also received the name Imperator Augustus Caesar which he used for the rest of his life
他還接受了奧古斯都·凱撒皇帝這個名字，他余下的一生都在用這個名字，
in 23 BC, Augustus as history knows him best also received lifetime tribunitian powers
在公元前23年 奧古斯都接受了終生的護民權利，
which gave him formal veto power over everything and scored him points with the urban mob.
這使他對一切事物都有著合法的否決權，讓他在城市人中獲得更多的支持。
When pretty boy Lepidus died in 12 BC Augustus was elected Pontifex Maximus.
公元前12年漂亮男孩雷必達去世，奧古斯都被選為最高祭司。
Now that he held supreme military, secular and religious power Augustus was literally the Pater Familias of all Rome.
現在他擁有了最高軍權至于世俗和宗教權利，奧古斯都幾乎是所有羅馬人的大家長。
Still he observed strictly the demands of the Mos Majorum in his role as Princeps, or Rome's first man.
作為羅馬的元首，他還嚴格地遵守羅馬傳統規范的要求，
The annual elections continued as before, the legislative assemblies met as before,
每年的選舉照舊進行，立法議會照進進行，
the senatorial class accepted Proconsulships
元老階層接受了總督，
and the Equestrian class continued to get rich thanks to its special relationship with the Princeps.
騎士階層繼續受益于和元首的特殊關系。
The masses were impressed with Augustus' generosity and with Rome's reputation as the world power, pure and simple.
大眾深深銘記住奧古斯都的寬宏大量，也記住了羅馬的聲望，世界強國，無暇，淳樸。
It was all a facade of course,
當然這只是表面
publicized by Augustus' building program and by his government supported poets
是由奧古斯都和他的政府宣揚的構建計劃，
and backed up by a 150 000 veteran legionnaires stationed around the Roman world.
由150000名老兵駐扎在羅馬世界邊境做為后備支持。
Yet almost all Romans preferred this facade to the century of chaos Rome endured before Augustus took charge.
然而相比奧古斯都執政前羅馬世界的混亂，大多數羅馬人更喜歡現在的局面。
Augustus was careful to allow the senate power in name only.
奧古斯都小心地讓元老院有名無實。
The magister seats became more and more empty honours;
教師的席位逐漸成了一個虛名；
while actual government business was handled by hand picked members of the Equestrian class.
而實際上政府事務掌握在精心挑選的騎士階層手中。
The senatorial class ran only those provinces, which had no troops.
元老階層只能管轄自己的行省，并且沒有軍隊。
The other provinces were called Imperial and governed by Equestrian leggings
其他的行省是羅馬帝國的擁護者，由騎士掌管，
while the armies themselves were commanded by Augustus' own hand picked generals who were usually members of the Caesar family.
而他們的軍隊則控制在奧古斯都手中挑選出的將軍一般都是凱撒家族的。
