Page:The Ancient City- A Study on the Religion, Laws, and Institutions of Greece and Rome.djvu/443

 CHAP. X. ESTABLISHMENT OF DEMOCRACY. 437 submit to the law of lier Helots or to find means to have them massacred without disturbance. The ple- beians calumniated the Roman senate when they re- p.oaclied it with always seeiiing new wars. The sen- ate was too wise for that. It knew how many conces- sions and checks in the forum its wars cost. But it could not avoid tlicm. It is therefore beyond a doubt that war slowly les- sened the distance which the aristocracy of wealth had placed between ilself and the lower orders. Thus it soon happened that constitutions were found to be at disaccord with the social state, and required modifica- tion. Besides, it must have been seen that all privi- leges were necessarily in contradiction to the i^rinciple which then governed men. The 2:)ublio interest was not a principle that could long authorize an inequality among them. It inevitably conducted societies to a democracy. So true is this, that a little sooner, or a little later, it was necessary to give all free men political rights. As soon as the Roman ])lebeians wished to hold comitia of their own, they were constrained to admit the lowest class, and could not hold to the division into classes. Most of the cities thus saw real popular assemblies formed and universal sufiTrage established. Now, the right of suffrage had at that time a value incomparably greater than it can have in modern states. By means of it the last of the citizens had a hand in all affairs, elected magistrates, made laws, decided cases, declared for war or peace, and prepared treaties of alliance. This extension of the right of suffrage, therefore, made the government really democratic. We must make a last remark. The ruling class would perhaps have avoided the advert of democracy