[4,21] Τοῦτο τὸ πολίτευμα καταστησάμενος καὶ πλεονέκτημα τοῖς πλουσίοις τηλικοῦτο δοὺς ἔλαθε τὸν δῆμον, ὥσπερ ἔφην, καταστρατηγήσας καὶ τοὺς πένητας ἀπελάσας τῶν κοινῶν. ὑπελάμβανον μὲν γὰρ ἅπαντες ἴσον ἔχειν τῆς πολιτείας μέρος κατ´ ἄνδρα διερωτώμενοι τὰς γνώμας ἐν τοῖς ἰδίοις ἕκαστοι λόχοις, ἐξηπατῶντο δὲ τῷ μίαν εἶναι ψῆφον ὅλου τοῦ λόχου τοῦ τ´ ὀλίγους ἔχοντος ἐν αὑτῷ πολίτας καὶ τοῦ πάνυ πολλούς· καὶ τῷ πρώτους ἐπιφέρειν ψῆφον τοὺς τὸ μέγιστον ἔχοντας τίμημα λόχους, πλείους μὲν ὄντας τῶν ὑπολειπομένων, ἐλάττονα δ´ ἀριθμὸν ἀνθρώπων ἔχοντας· μάλιστα δὲ τῷ τοὺς ἀπόρους μίαν ψῆφον ἔχειν πολλοὺς ὄντας καὶ τελευταίους καλεῖσθαι. γενομένου δὲ τούτου τοῖς μὲν πλουσίοις τοῖς πολλὰ δαπανωμένοις καὶ μηδεμίαν ἀνάπαυσιν τῶν πολεμικῶν κινδύνων λαμβάνουσιν ἧττον ἐσῄει βαρύνεσθαι κυρίοις τε γεγονόσι τῶν μεγίστων καὶ πᾶν τὸ κράτος ἀφῃρημένοις τῶν μὴ ταὐτὰ ποιούντων· τοῖς δὲ πένησι τοῖς πολλοστὴν ἔχουσι τῶν πολιτικῶν μοῖραν εὐλογίστως καὶ πρᾴως φέρειν τὴν ἐν τούτοις ἐλάττωσιν, ἀφειμένοις τῶν εἰσφορῶν καὶ τῶν στρατειῶν· τῇ δὲ πόλει τοὺς αὐτοὺς ἔχειν τοὺς βουλευσομένους θ´ ὑπὲρ αὐτῆς ἃ δεῖ, καὶ τοὺς τῶν κινδύνων πλεῖστον τῶν ἄλλων μεταλαχόντας καὶ πράξοντας ὅσα δεῖ. οὗτος ὁ κόσμος τοῦ πολιτεύματος ἐπὶ πολλὰς διέμεινε γενεὰς φυλαττόμενος ὑπὸ Ῥωμαίων· ἐν δὲ τοῖς καθ´ ἡμᾶς κεκίνηται χρόνοις καὶ μεταβέβληκεν εἰς τὸ δημοτικώτερον, ἀνάγκαις τισὶ βιασθεὶς ἰσχυραῖς, οὐ τῶν λόχων καταλυθέντων, ἀλλὰ τῆς κλήσεως αὐτῶν οὐκέτι τὴν ἀρχαίαν ἀκρίβειαν φυλαττούσης, ὡς ἔγνων ταῖς ἀρχαιρεσίαις αὐτῶν πολλάκις παρών. ἀλλ´ ὑπὲρ μὲν τούτων οὐχ ὁ παρὼν καιρὸς ἁρμόττων τοῖς λόγοις.

[4,21] In establishing this political system, which gave so great an advantage to the rich, Tullius outwitted the people, as I said, without their noticing it and excluded the poor from any part in public affairs. For they all thought that they had an equal share in the government because every man was asked his opinion, each in his own century; but they were deceived in this, that the whole century, whether it consisted of a small or a very large number of citizens, had but one vote; and also in that the centuries which voted first, consisting of men of the highest rating, though they were more in number than all the rest, yet contained fewer citizens; but, above all, in that the poor, who were very numerous, had but one vote and were the last called. When this had been brought about, the rich, though paying out large sums and exposed without intermission to the dangers of war, were less inclined to feel aggrieved now that they had obtained control of the most important matters and had taken the whole power out of the hands of those who were not performing the same services; and the poor, who had but the slightest share in the government, finding (p337) themselves exempt both from taxes and from military service, prudently and quietly submitted to this diminution of their power; and the commonwealth itself had the advantage of seeing the same persons who were to deliberate concerning its interests allotted the greatest share of the dangers and ready to do whatever required to be done. This form of government was maintained by the Romans for many generations, but is altered in our times and changed to a more democratic form, some urgent needs having forced the change, which was effected, not by abolishing the centuries, but by no longer observing the strict ancient manner of calling them — a fact which I myself have noted, having often been present at the elections of their magistrates. But this is not the proper occasion to discuss these matters.