A6O - The three and thirtieth Booke 
General receivers or Treafurers : fecondly, Ble@i, chofen from among the Senatours:and G _ 
laftof all, hofe who fimply were named Iudicés or Iudges, taken from atnong the Knights or 
men of arms, Over and befides thefe, they had others called Nongenti, choice men {elected 
from out of all the eftates, who had the keeping of thofe chifts or caskets wherein were put the * 
voices of the people in their folemne eleCtions, And by reafon of a prowd humour in men,cho- | 
fing themfelves names to their owne liking, great divifions and factionsarofeinthis houfe and 
chamber of the forefaid Iudges ; whiles one would needs bee called Nongentus, another Sele- 
Gus, and a third gloried in the title of Tribune or Receiver. But at length, in the ninth yeere of 
the reigne of the Emperor T sberivs Cefar, the whole eftate of the gentrie or cavallerie of Rome, 
was reduced to an uniformitie; and an order was f{etdowne whereby it wasknowne, who might 
weare rings, and who might not? which fell out to bee in that yeere when C. Afinins Pollio, and H 
Ca Antiflius Vetus were Confuls togither, and in the 775 yeere after the foundation of Rome 
citie. And verely this uniforme regularitie was occafioned by a trifling caufeto {peake of , and 
whereat we may well marveile: And thus ftood the cafe: C. Sulpitivs Galba defirousin his youth 
to win fome credit with the forefaid Emperour Tiberias, and namely,by devifing means howto 
bring taverns, cooks fhops, and viCtualling houfes in daunger of the law, and to forfeit penal- 
ties; pleaded againft them,and complained before the Senat, That thofe who were the underta- 
kers and tenants as it were of the faid caverns, &c.and made their gaine thereby, hadno other 
meansto beare themfelves out,nor plea to defend their faults and diforders,but their rings. The 
Senat taking knowledge hereof, ordained an a&t, That none from that time forward might bee 
allowed to weare the faid rings,unleffe he were free borne, and that both himfelfe,hisfather,and J 
grandfire by the fathers fide were affeffed in the Cenfors booke woorth 4oooo0 fefterces; and by 
vertue of the law Iulia as touching the publicke theatre, had right to fit and behold the plaiesin 
the firft and foremoft fourteen ranks or feats forknights appointed, Howbeit afterwards, everie 
man laboured and made means one with another, to be allowed for to weare this ornament of a 
ting. Now in regard of thefe diforders and variances above rehearfed, prince Caius Calgulathe =~ 
Emperour, adjoyned to the former foure, a fifth Decurie, And fhortly after, men grewto that 
heigth and pride in this behalfe of wearing tings,and the companie fo furcreafed, that whereas 
in AugufPus Cafars daies there could notbe found knights and gentlemen fufficient throughout 
all Rome to furnifh thofe Decuries, by this time they could not bee contained all within the 
sooner of Iudges or Decuries abovefaid: info much as now adaies, nofooner arethereany K 
aves manumifed and affranchifed, but prefently (by their good will) they muftbe at theirrings. 
A thing thatnever before was known in Rome: for aforetime when a man fpake of the iron ring, — 
he was underftood prefently to point at the Gentlemen and Iudges before-named: Bur the faid 
orament or badge became fo commonly to be taken up by one as well as another,thata gentle- 
man of Rome (Flavius Proculus by name)endited goo at once before Claudius Cafar Cenfor for 
the time being, & declared againft them for this abuie & offence. See what inconvenience enfu- — 
ed upon the act of Rings! for whiles thereby a diftinGtion was made between that degree & other 
free-borne cittizens, ftraightwaies bafe flaves leapt in, and were fo bold asto take that ornament 
upon them. And here by the way itisto benoted,thatthe two Gracch:, Tiberius and Caiws, bre- 
thren, upon a certain defire and inbred affection that they hadto maintaineandnuzzlethepeo. L 
ple in {edition and to bearea fide alwaies againft the Senate, for to currie favour with the Com- 
. mons and to doe them apleafure, devifed firft to have all them called ludges, who by vertue of 
aed aca the forefaid ftatute or edict, might weare rings: and this hee did to crofle and beard the * Senat. 
judgecaufes. But after the fire of this {edition was quenched, and the popular authors thereof who ftitred and 
blew the coles were murdered, the denomination of thefe criminall judges(after divers troubles 
and feditions with variable and alternative fortune) fell inthe end to the Publicans and Farmers 
of the revenews of the State ; and being thus devolved upon them, there continued: infomuch 
as for a good while the faid Publicans made up the third degree between the Senatours and the 
Commons. Howbeit, .Cicero when he was Confull reeftablifhed the Knighthood & Cavalles , — 
rie of Rome in their former eftate and place ; and fo far prevailed,thathee reconciled them a- M 
gaine unto the Senat: giving out openly, that hee himfelfe wascome of that degree, and by that 
means by acertaine popularitie, fought to draw them all to fide with him. From thistime for- — 
ward,the men of arms wereenftalled as it were in the third eftate of Rome; infomuchas all edicts 
and publicke aéts paffedin the name of the Senat, People, and Cavallerie of the citie. And ns 
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