6 Verbs to Use for the Word aediles
This year, Publius Cornelius Scipio, afterwards surnamed Africanus, held the office of curule aedile, with Marcus Cornelius Cethegus; and when the tribunes of the people opposed his pretensions to the aedileship, alleging, that no notice ought to be taken of him, because he had not attained the legal age for candidateship, he observed, "if the citizens in general are desirous of appointing me aedile, I am old enough."
He later on brought Favonius the aedile to the same place on some small charge, in order that he might have a companion in his disgrace.
I am of opinion, that this latter surname caused a mistake concerning the aediles; and that thence followed a story conformable to this mistake, patched up out of the two elections, of the aediles, and of the consuls.
Public baths did exist in Rome already, but we hear very little of them, which shows that they were not as yet an indispensable adjunct of social life; but the fact that Seneca in the letter already quoted describes the aediles as testing the heat of the water with their hands shows (1) that the baths were public, (2) that they were of hot water and not, as later, of hot air (thermae).
Large supplies of grain, cither placed by the provincial governors at the disposal of the Roman market officials, or delivered at Rome free of cost by the provinces themselves for the purpose of procuring favour with particular Roman magistrates, enabled the aediles, from the middle of the sixth century, to furnish grain to the population of the capital at very low prices.
This very soon proved insufficient; they were obliged to take supplies from the contractors on credit, and connived at their conduct because they needed them, till the scandalous malversation at last induced the aediles to make an example of some of the worst by impeaching them before the people.