uperseded in
most of its functions by a new primary assembly.

*The priesthoods.* In Rome a special branch of the administration was that
of public religion, which dealt with the official relations of the
community towards its divine protectors. This sphere was under the
direction of a college of priests, at whose head stood the _pontifex
maximus_. Special priestly brotherhoods or guilds cared for the
performance of particular religious ceremonies, while the use of
divination in its political aspect was under the supervision of the
college of augurs. With the exception of the _pontifex maximus_, who was
elected by the people from an early date, the priesthoods were filled by
nomination or cooeptation. The Roman priesthood did not form a separate
caste in the community but, since these priestly offices were held by the
same men who, in another capacity, acted as magistrates and senators, the
Roman official religion was subordinated to the interests of the state and
tended more and more to assume a purely formal character.

*The lines of constitutional development.* Both the consulate and the
priestly offices, like the senate, were open only to patricians, who thus
enjoyed a complete monopoly of the administration. They had been
responsible for the overthrow of the monarchy, and, consequently, at the
beginning of the Republic they formed the controlling element in the Roman
state.

From conditions such as these the constitutional development in Rome to
287 B. C. proceeded along two distinct lines. In the first place there was
a gradual change in the magistracy by the creation of new offices with
functions adapted to the needs of a progressive, expanding, community;
and, secondly, there was a long struggle between the patricians and the
plebeians, resulting from the desire of the latter to place themselves in
a position of political, legal, and social equality with the former.

II. THE ASSEMBLY OF THE CENTURIES AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE MAGISTRACY

*The Assembly of the Centuries.* At a time which cannot be determined with
precision, but most probably early in the fifth century, the Assembly of
the Curiae was superseded for elective and legislative purposes by a new
assembly, called the Assembly of the Centuries (_comitia centuriata_), of
which the organization was modelled upon the contemporary military
organization of the state. The land-holding citizens were divided into
five classes, according to the size of