Page:The Ancient City- A Study on the Religion, Laws, and Institutions of Greece and Rome.djvu/385

 <:!HAP. VII, THE PLEBS ENTER THE CITY. 379 it had declared immutable, marks the end of the reli- gious government of the city. 3. History of this' devolution at Home. At Rome the plebs had a great influence at an early date. The situation of the city, between the Latins, the Sabines, and the Etruscans, condemned it to perpetual war, and war required that there should be a numerous population. The kings, tlierefore, had welcomed and invited all foreigners, without regard to their origin. Wars succeeded each other without in- termission, and as there was a need of men, the most common result of every victory was to take away the inhabitants of the conquered city and transfer them to Rome. What became of these men, brought with the booty ? If there were found among them patrician and priestly families, the patricians hastened to associ- ate them with themselves. As to the multitude, some ■of them became the clients of the great, or of the king, and a part were left with the plebs. Still other elements entered into the composition of this class. Many foreigners flocked to Rome, as a place whose situation rendered it convenient for com- merce. The discontented among the Sabines, the Etruscans, and the Latins, found a refuge there. All this class joined the plebs. The client who succeeded in escaping from the gens became a plebeian. The patrician, who formed a misalliance, or was guilty of any crime that lost him his rank, fell into the inferior class. Every bastard was cast out by religion from pure la.nilies, and counted among the plebs. }}c all these reasons the plebs increased in number?^. The s*/ i^gle which had begun between the patricians