of juniors.[42] All these were called the first class, the
seniors to be in readiness to guard the city, the juniors to carry on
war abroad. The arms they were ordered to wear consisted of a helmet,
a round shield, greaves, and a coat of mail, all of brass; these were
for the defence of the body: their weapons of offence were a spear and
a sword. To this class were added two centuries of mechanics, who were
to serve without arms: the duty imposed upon them was that of making
military engines in time of war. The second class included all those
whose property varied between seventy-five and a hundred thousand
asses, and of these, seniors and juniors twenty centuries were
enrolled. The arms they were ordered to wear consisted of a buckler
instead of a shield, and, except a coat of mail, all the rest were the
same. He decided that the property of the third class should amount to
fifty thousand asses: the number of its centuries was the same, and
formed with the same distinction of age: nor was there any change in
their arms, only the greaves were dispensed with. In the fourth class,
the property was twenty-five thousand asses: the same number of
centuries was formed; their arms were changed, nothing being given
them but a spear and a short javelin. The fifth class was larger,
thirty centuries being formed: these carried slings and stones for
throwing. Among them the supernumeraries, the horn-blowers and the
trumpeters, were distributed into three centuries. This class was
rated at eleven thousand asses. Property lower than this embraced the
rest of the citizens, and of them one century was made up which was
exempted from military service. Having thus arranged and distributed
the infantry, he enrolled twelve centuries of knights from among
the chief men of the state. While Romulus had only appointed three
centuries, Servius formed six others under the same names as they had
received at their first institution. Ten thousand asses were given
them out of the public revenue, to buy horses, and a number of widows
assigned them, who were to contribute two thousand asses yearly for
the support of the horses. All these burdens were taken off the poor
and laid on the rich. Then an additional honour was conferred upon
them: for the suffrage was not now granted promiscuously to all--a
custom established by Romulus, and observed by his successors--to
every man with the same privilege and the same right, but gradations
were established, s