Chap. 3.] THE EQUESTRIAN ORDER. 83 



the former name being reserved solely for the members of the 

 squadrons 3 furnished with war-horses at the public charge. 



Of these judices, too, there were at first but four 4 decuries 

 only, and in each of these decuries there was hardly one thou- 

 sand men to be found, the provinces not having been hitherto 

 admitted to the office ; an observance which is still in force at 

 the present day, no one newly admitted to the rights of citizen- 

 ship being allowed to perform the duties of judex as a mem- 

 ber of the decuries. 



(2.) These decuries, too, were themselves distinguished by 

 several denominations " tribunes 5 of the treasury," "select.!/' 6 

 and "judiees:" in addition to whom, there were the persons 

 styled the " nine hundred," 7 chosen from all the decuries for 

 the purpose of keeping the voting- boxes at the comitia. From 

 the ambitious adoption, however, of some one of these names, 

 great divisions ensued in this order, one person styling himself 

 a member of the nine hundred, another one of the selecti, and 

 a third a tribune of the treasury. 



CHAP. 8. PAUTICULAHS CONNECTED WITH THE FQUESTRTAN ORDFR. 



At length, however, in the ninth 8 year of the reign of the 

 Ihnperor Tiberius, the equestrian order was united in a single 

 body ; and a decree was passed, establishing to whom belonged 

 the right of wearing the ring, in the consulship of C. Asinius 

 IVillio andC. Antistius Vetus, the year from the foundation of the 

 City, 775. It is a matter for surprise, how almost futile, wo 

 may say, was the cause which led to this change. C. Sulpicius 

 (ialba,* desirous in his youth to establish his credit with the 

 Emperor by hunting 10 out grounds for prosecuting 11 the keepers 



8 "Turniie." Squadrons of thirty " equites" or horsemen; ten of 

 \vhich squadrons were attached to cadi legion. 



4 licforc the time of Augustus, there were but three docurics. 



5 A law introduced by Aurelius Cottu, fl.c. 70, enacted that the Ju- 

 dicos should be chos<-n from the three classes of Senators, Kquites, and 

 Tribum aerarii, or Tribunes of the treasury, these last being taken from 

 the body of the people, and being persons possessed of some property. 



6 Members selected by lot. 7 " Nongenti." 



s Tacitus says that this took pfoce the year before, in the consulship of 

 C. Sulpicius, aiid 1). llaterius. See the Anuales, Ji. iii. c. bG. 



9 Brother of the Emperor Galba. . J0 " Aucupatns." 



11 Suetonius says that Tiberius instructed the zrdilfs to prohibit stc'ffs 

 nnd eating-houses : from which we may conclude, Uurdouin says, that C. 

 fculpicius Oaiba was an n-dilc. 



O L> 



