What did this senator want from Augustine's brother?

[Yarb]

I’m looking at St. Augustine’s Confessions, translated by R. S. Pine-Coffin, Book VI, Chapter 10. Augustine’s brother Alypius was a lawyer. Augustine wrote the following (among other things) about him:

“When he was in Rome acting as assessor to the controller of Italian provincial funds, there was a very influential senator who held large numbers of people in his power, either because he had granted them favours or because they had reason to fear him. In his usual domineering way he attempted to obtain some privilege to which he had no right in law. Alypius refused to grant it.”

. . . and he goes on a bit further on Alypius’ courageous defiance of the senator. Then

“Even the judge for whom Alypius was acting as assessor agreed that the privilege should not be granted, though he would not openly refuse it.”

So Alypius’ superior was “controller of Italian provincial funds” and a judge.

What exactly was an “assessor”?

What sort of privilege could be granted to a senator by an “assessor”, that the senator could not have had otherwise?

Augustine seems to assume his reader had some familiarity with the legal and political systems of that time and place, which modern readers probably don’t have. Can someone explain the relevant parts of those systems?

 

[JerryZ]

An “assesore” is a person that through a good command of a certain discipline can be of help to a political official in discharging his/her duties.

“Controller of Italian Provincial Funds” would be what in modern terms we would equate to a financial comptroller so the one who is in charge of disboursing payments to the employees of the state.
At the time the Roman Empire was divided into “provinces” and the whole of Italy was one such province. So this person had considerable clout having the purse of the province where Rome was.

Perhaps the senator was asking for some “pork barrel” for a pet project of his.
Is it not what the modern day equivalent senators do?
If you study history you will realize that not much of the “human condition” has changed in 2000 years despite all the claims to the contrary.

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[Yarb]

An “assesore” is a person that through a good command of a certain discipline can be of help to a political official in discharging his/her duties.

“Controller of Italian Provincial Funds” would be what in modern terms we would equate to a financial comptroller so the one who is in charge of disboursing payments to the employees of the state.
At the time the Roman Empire was divided into “provinces” and the whole of Italy was one such province. So this person had considerable clout having the purse of the province where Rome was.

Perhaps the senator was asking for some “pork barrel” for a pet project of his.
Is it not what the modern day equivalent senators do?
If you study history you will realize that not much of the “human condition” has changed in 2000 years despite all the claims to the contrary. ​

ok… There’s some material just before that passage where it say Alypius, acting a an “assessor” for several years, refused to accept bribes. Somehow the way it was phrased made it sound as if an “assessor” was somewhat like a judge. But it also gave the impression that the assessor worked for a judge.

 

[JerryZ]

ok… There’s some material just before that passage where it say Alypius, acting a an “assessor” for several years, refused to accept bribes. Somehow the way it was phrased made it sound as if an “assessor” was somewhat like a judge. But it also gave the impression that the assessor worked for a judge.

No the “assessore” would not be a judge, it is a paid employee of the “Controller of Italian Provincial Funds”
the “Controller of Italian Provincial Funds” position was a political appointment instead, and could possibly have befallen to a judge.
If the text says the person responsible of that position was a judge, then that was his primary job description.

It would stand to reason that the position would have several “assessori” each, an expert on his field.
They would each have the responsibilty to oversee their respective areas and as such would also be responsible for disboursement of payments to the respective creditors.
An example would be road construction, there would be an “assessore to public works” who would be responsible to oversee the construction of roads, and who would also pay the workers that were involved in road construction.

What the text tells us is that people tryied to obtain favours from “Alypius” by offering him bribes, which he refused, denoting his honesty. Quite uncommon in government operations then as it is alas also now.

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