be his own son, and he instructed him with the greatest care in all the
sciences with which he was acquainted, according to the most exact
discipline of the Greeks.

But when Tarquin had perished by the plots of the sons of Ancus, and
Servius (as I have said) had begun to reign, not by the order, but yet
with the good-will and consent, of the citizens--because, as it was
falsely reported that Priscus was recovering from his wounds, Servius,
arrayed in the royal robes, delivered judgment, freed the debtors at
his own expense, and, exhibiting the greatest affability, announced
that he delivered judgment at the command of Priscus--he did not commit
himself to the senate; but, after Priscus was buried, he consulted the
people respecting his authority, and, being authorized by them to
assume the dominion, he procured a law to be passed through the Comitia
Curiata, confirming his government.

He then, in the first place, avenged the injuries of the Etruscans by
arms. After which[318] * * *

XXII. * * * he enrolled eighteen centuries of knights of the first
order. Afterward, having created a great number of knights from the
common mass of the people, he divided the rest of the people into five
classes, distinguishing between the seniors and the juniors. These he
so constituted as to place the suffrages, not in the hands of the
multitude, but in the power of the men of property. And he took care to
make it a rule of ours, as it ought to be in every government, that the
greatest number should not have the greatest weight. You are well
acquainted with this institution, otherwise I would explain it to you;
but you are familiar with the whole system, and know how the centuries
of knights, with six suffrages, and the first class, comprising eighty
centuries, besides one other century which was allotted to the
artificers, on account of their utility to the State, produce
eighty-nine centuries. If to these there are added twelve
centuries--for that is the number of the centuries of the knights which
remain[319]--the entire force of the State is summed up; and the
arrangement is such that the remaining and far more numerous multitude,
which is distributed through the ninety-six last centuries, is not
deprived of a right of suffrage, which would be an arrogant measure;
nor, on the other hand, permitted to exert too great a preponderance in
the government, which would be dangerous.

In this arrangement, Servius was very cautious in