amongst the Athenians, were ten in number, elected by lot to plead public causes in the senate-house or assembly. For every cause in which they were retained they received a drachm out of the public money. They were sometimes called Συντάκται, and their fee Συντάκταις. No man was admitted to this office until he was forty years of age, though others say thirty. Valour in war, filial piety to parents, prudence in their affairs, frugality and temperance, were necessary qualifications for this office, and every candidate underwent an examination concerning these virtues previous to the election. The orators at Rome were not unlike the Athenian rhetores.