The interfusion of church and state gave plenty of leeway for manipulation and chicanery by the colleges and by politicians. Julius Caesar’s colleague during his first Consulship, Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus, tried to invalidate all Caesar’s legislation by withdrawing to his house to “scrutinize the heavens,” a step that theoretically brought all political activity to a halt. Popular assemblies were sometimes prevented from meeting by the simple expedient of declaring nefastus the day when they were to be called.
