Abstract

The essay analyzes the political-ideological debate on the concept of "securitas" developed during the earlier centuries of the Roman Empire. The transition from the hereditary to the adoptive Empire occurred between the 1st and the 2nd century a.D. shows that, once the monarchical form of government was established, "securitas" lost its relationship with the republican "libertas" and became the legitimating principle of the Empire itself. Starting from a close reading of the works of Tacitus and Pliny, the author argues that the system of adoption is justified through the virtue of the successor to the throne, which grants the security of the Empire.