Of the men running for quaestor, two of the nine were relatives of Patricus Curius Hibernicus, which left the others feeling somewhat at a loss. Almost certainly, those two would be elected, and that meant seven men to fill only six slots...someone would not be elected. Four of them were respected plebeian sons, the other three non-Hibernicans were patricians. Many thought that being a plebeian almost guaranteed election, since they came from families which were used to handling money, while it was felt patricians knew only how to spend it!

With nearly identical words, each man, plebeian or patrician, swore to uphold the laws of the Republic, and to see that his allocated province would prosper, and so would Rome with the collection of timely tax payments.