New Rules. The Republican elite spent most of its energy in internal competition, both within and outside the political arena. To a considerable extent this situation remained true for the imperial elite, but the presence of a monarch changed the rules by which the game was played. Certain areas of competition remained more or less open. Elections continued to be held and contested hotly, even if the candidates were now canvassing a narrow elite instead of the whole populace. Moreover, there were now competitions for imperial favor, which could secure both appointed and formally elected office. A new, if unofficial, wrinkle also appeared in the early empire. The emperors apparently tried to distinguish a "prestige set" and a "power set" among the elite. The former were already of noble birth and tended to be given honorific posts. The...