Page:A history and description of Roman political institutions (IA historyanddescri00abbo).pdf/20

8 but also exempted the same element form the necessity of performing military service, was entirely out of harmony with the career of conquest on which the Roman state had entered. The farther the limits of Roman territory were extended, the more pressing became the need of more fighting men to hold in check the newly subdued peoples within its confines, and to ward off the attacks of enemies from without. The king, as chief executive of the state and commander-in-chief of the army, felt the necessity first and most keenly, and tradition is undoubtedly right in stating that on one or two occasions he took the initiative, with more or less success, in admitting some plebeians to the rights of citizenship. The citizens were naturally loath to lose part of their privileges by sharing them with others, but the military necessities of the case forced them to make certain concessions, and under the constitution which is connected with the name of Servius Tullius the plebeians as well as the patricians, the members of the old gentes, were enrolled in the army. we cannot say with certainty what concessions on the part of the patricians made the plebeians willing to undergo the hardships and expense of military service, and insured their loyalty to the state. It would seem, however, to have been the concession of the right to the full ownership of land, which had probably been denied to them before. From this time on, the plebeians had a stake in the community, and it was to their interest to maintain order within its limits and to protect it from its enemies. This change in their position was of no immediate political significance. They were still excluded from any share in the management of the state, but the establishment of an organization, of which plebeians as well as patricians were members, even though it was a body of a military character, had political possibilities for the future.