Concientious Objection

[Guest spartacus]

Just suppose you lived in Roman times and you are a Concientious Objecter, you recieve a message that says you must report for military training and a place in the Legion!

 

You dont want to go so how would YOU get out of it ?

 

( without running away and suicide! )

 

What excuse would you use?

[Marcus Regulus]

I have never read anything that talked even about the possibility of this. In that society it seems that such a thing would have been unthinkable or so rare that the person would indeed commit suicide or run away. The fact was that duty to the state was drummed into every kids head from the time he was little till they went off to join the legion. I am not sure any excuse would be possible.

[Ursus]

I belive later Romans would cut off their thumb tips to try to get out of military service.

[Germanicus]

Like most elements of Roman society, I think military service would have been relatively easy to get out of if you were rich. Pay the right office holder enough and you'd drop off the rolls. As for the pleb soldiers used after Marius, no idea how they would get out of it aside from running away (resulting ultimately in their deaths for cowardice) or suicide to save face, or perhaps another way would have been to sell yourself into slavery ? Slaves couldn't be in the legions could they ? You might have a crap life, but at least you wouldn't be in the Legions (maybe just the arena ).