92 THE VICES AND VIRTUES OF ROME 



so small a world it was not difficult to pass from 

 roja]ty to aristocracy, and then on to democracy. 

 As we know Rome, after it had hecome a small city 

 or town, it consisted of about three thousand house- 

 holds. The householders or burgesses were the 

 patricians ; the plebeians were clients or dependents 

 of these, and there was a further population of staves 

 (captives on whom both patricians and plebeians were 

 eager to put as much of the work as possible), Ten 

 households formed a clan, ten clans a wardship ; and 

 thirty wardships (in theory) made up " the Roman 

 people." The patricians provided the army ; and the 

 relegation of so much work to slaves left the army 

 free to evolve a high discipline and conquer feeble 

 surrounding peoples. The kingship was not hereditary. 

 The king was chosen by and from the burgesses, and 

 checked by their Senate, so that by 509 b.c. it was 

 resolved to abandon the royal form, and Rome became 

 a Republic. 



The further evolution was therefore very like that 

 of Greece on the political side and very unlike it on 

 another side. In Greece there were ten fairly equal 

 small States and a common enemy, Persia. In 

 southern Italy there was one powerful little people 

 among many feeble ones. The Etruscans were 

 beginning to soften and decay in proportion as the 

 Romans spread their Republic and drafted more and 

 more hardy farmers into their army. From the force 

 of circumstances they specialized on expansion, which 

 involved stern attention to military discipline (law) 

 and organization. Athens also went in for imperialist 

 expansion, we remember, and with great success; 

 but Athens had a formidable military neighbour in 

 Sparta, while Rome had only an enervated people, 



