Page:The Ancient City- A Study on the Religion, Laws, and Institutions of Greece and Rome.djvu/313

 CUAV. II. THE PLEBEIANS. 307 CHAPTER II. The Plebeians. We must now point out another element of the population, which was below the clients themselves, and which, originally low, insensibly acquired strength enough to break the ancient social organization. This class, which became more numerous at Rome than in any other city, was there called the plebs. We must understand the origin and character of this class to understand the part it played in the history of the city, and of the family, among the ancients. The ple- beians were not the clients; the historians of antiq- uity do not confound these two classes. Livy, in one place, says, " The plebeians did not wish to take part in the election of the consuls; the consuls were there- fore elected by the patricians and their clients." And in another, " The plebeians complained that the patri- cians had too much influence in the comitia, on account of the votes of their clients."' In Dionysius of Hali- carnassus we read, "The plebeians left Rome and re- tired to Mons Sacer; the patricians remained alone in the city with their clients." And farther along, "The plebeians, being dissatisfied, refused to enroll their names. The patricians, with their clients, took arras and carried on the war." ^ These plebeians, completely distinct from the clients, formed no part of what was called the Roman people, at least in the first centuries. » Livy, 11. G4; II. 5G. « Dionysius, VI. 4G ; VII. 19 ; X. 27.