e author.

"The opinions being thus prepared, any magistrate of the signory, the
censors, or any two of the provosts of that council, upon this occasion
may assemble the Senate.

"The Senate being assembled, the opinions (for example, if they be four)
shall be read in their order, that is, according to the order or dignity
of the magistrates or councillors by which they were signed. And being
read, if any of the council introducing them will speak, they, as best
acquainted with the business, shall have precedence; and after them the
senators shall speak according to their regions, beginning by the third
first, and so continuing till every man that will has spoken; and when
the opinions have been sufficiently debated, they shall be put all
together to the ballot after this manner:

"Four secretaries, carrying each of them one of the opinions in one
hand, with a white box in the other, and each following the other,
according to the order of the opinions, shall present his box, naming
the author of his opinion to every senator; and one secretary or
ballotin with a green box shall follow the four white ones; and one
secretary or ballotin with a red box shall follow the green one; and
every senator shall put one ball into some one of these six boxes. The
suffrage being gathered and opened before the signory, if the red box or
non-sincere had above half the suffrages, the opinions shall be all cast
out, for the major part of the house is not clear in the business. If
no one of the four opinions had above half the suffrages in the
affirmative, that which had fewest shall be cast out, and the other
three shall be balloted again. If no one of the three had above half,
that which had fewest shall be cast out, and the other two shall ballot
again. If neither of the two had above half, that which had fewest shall
be cast out, and the remaining opinion shall be balloted again. And if
the remaining opinion has not above half, it shall also be cast out.
But the first of the opinions that arrives at most above half in the
affirmative, is the decree of the Senate. The opinions being all of them
cast out by the non-sincere, may be reviewed, if occasion permits, by
the council, and brought in again. If they be cast out by the negative,
the case being of advice only; the house approves not, and there is an
end of it: the case being necessary, and admitting delay, the council is
to think again upon the business, and to bring in new opinio