The success of Augustus owed much to the character of Roman theorizing about the state. The Romans did not produce ambitious blueprints (1) the construction of ideal states, such as (2) to the Greeks. With very few exceptions, Roman theorists ignored, or rejected (3) valueless, intellectual exercises like Plato’s Republic, in (4) the relationship of the individual to the state was (5) out painstakingly without reference to (6) states or individuals. The closest the Roman came to the Greek model was Cicero’s De Re Publiea, and even here Cicero had Rome clearly in (7) . Roman thought about the state was concrete, even when it (8) religious and moral concepts. The first ruler of Rome, Romulus, was (9) to have received authority from the gods, specifically from Jupiter, the "guarantor" of Rome. All constitutional (10) was a method of conferring and administering the (11) . Very clearly it was believed that only the assembly of the (12) , the family heads who formed the original senate, (13) the religious character necessary to exercise authority, because its original function was to (14) the gods. Being practical as well as exclusive, the senators moved (15) to divide the authority, holding that their consuls, or chief officials, would possess it on (16) months, and later extending its possession to lower officials. (17) the important achievement was to create the idea of continuing (18) authority embodied only temporarily in certain upper-class individuals and conferred only (19) the mass of the people concurred. The system grew with enormous (20) , as new offices and assemblies were created and almost none discarded. 9（）

A. told
B. held
C. suggested
D. advised