cted to
the higher magistracies and exercised jurisdiction in capital cases, a
function which grew out of the Roman citizen's right to appeal. Each
century had one vote; and as by the Servian arrangement the first
class, though containing fewest voters, had nevertheless, owing to its
highest assessment, most votes, it could by itself outvote the other
classes. At some time or other this classification was altered; and a
new system, based partly on centuries and partly on tribes, came into
use. Each tribe was divided into ten centuries, five of seniors and
five of juniors. The first class consisted of one of each of these
from each tribe, so that, as there were thirty-five tribes, each class
would consist of seventy centuries. It is said by some that the first
class included also thirty-five centuries, or eighteen centuries of
equites. If this be true, the first class would still have retained
the preponderance of votes. In any case it had the best of the voting,
for even if it was decided by lot which century of all the centuries
should vote first, still the first class voted second, and the moral
effect of the wealthier and weightier citizens voting one way or other
would naturally influence the votes of the other centuries. Moreover
some say that the lot was confined to the centuries of the first
class. Such then was the original and such the modified constitution
of the Comitia Centuriata. [Sidenote: Sulla's legislation about the
Comitia.] Appian expressly states that Sulla reverted to the original
mode of voting. But he may be confusing things, and only mean that
Sulla took the voting power from the Comitia Tributa and vested it in
the Comitia Centuriata. And this probably is what Sulla did.

[Sidenote: Curtailment of the power of the consuls and praetors.]
Fourthly, as Sulla weakened the censorship in order to exalt the
Senate's authority at its expense, so, to prevent any individual again
obtaining undue influence, he ordained that no man should be consul
till he had been first quaestor and then praetor, and that no man
should be re-eligible to a curule office till after an interval of ten
years. This, however, was not enough. It was his object to curtail the
powers of every magistrate. And therefore, though the consulate was
not dangerous to the Senate in the sense that the tribunate was, he
laid hands both on it and on the praetorship. [Sidenote: Previous
powers of the two offices.] The functions of the consuls