Such were, during the period of twelve centuries which elapsed between the treaty of Rome with Cœre and the reign of Leo the Philosopher, the great revolutions of the municipal system in the Roman world. We may characterize them by saying that, during the first period, the municipal system was a liberty granted, in fact, to the inhabitants of the towns; during the second, it was a right legally constituted, as an indemnity for the loss of political privileges; and, during the third, it was a burden imposed upon a certain class of citizens. I now terminate its history. In our next lecture, we shall investigate the real state of the municipal system during the third period, and its influence upon the condition of the citizens. {193} Lecture XXIII. Of the various social conditions in the Roman Empire, before the final invasion of the Barbarians. The privileged classes, and curials. Their obligations, functions, and immunities. Attributes of the _curia_ as a body. Of the various municipal magistracies and offices. Of the _Defender_ in cities. Comparison of the development of the municipal system, and its relations to the central organization of the State in the Roman Empire and in modern societies. Social Conditions In The Roman Empire At the commencement of the fifth century the subjects of the Empire were divided into three classes, forming three very distinct social conditions: 1. The privileged classes; 2. The curials; 3. The common people. I speak only of free men. The privileged class included: 1. The members of the Senate, and all those who were entitled to bear the name of _clarissimi;_ 2. The officers of the palace; 3. The clergy; 4. The cohortal militia, a sort of _gendarmerie_ employed in the maintenance of the internal order of the State, and the execution of the laws; 5. The soldiers in general, whether included in the legions, or in the troops attached to the palace, or in the corps of barbarian auxiliaries. The class of curials comprehended all the citizens inhabiting towns, whether natives or settlers therein, who possessed a certain landed income, and did not belong, by any title, to the privileged class. The common people were the mass of the inhabitants of the towns, whose almost absolute want of property excluded them from a place among the curials. The privileged members of the first class were numerous, of various rank, and unequally distributed among the five orders of which it was composed; but that which was, in fact, the most important and most sought after of their privileges, that which alone was more valuable than all the rest, was common to the five orders which constituted this class--I mean, exemption from municipal functions and offices. {194} When we come to treat of the curials, you will learn what was the extent of these duties; but you must first understand clearly who were exempt from them.