4. The heirs of curials, when not members of the _curia_, and the widows or daughters of curials, who married men belonging to other classes, were bound to give a fourth part of their goods to the _curia_. 5. The curials who had no children could not dispose, by will, of more than a fourth of their property: the other three-fourths went, by right, to the curia. 6. They were not allowed to absent themselves from their _municipium_, even for a limited time, without permission from the judge of the province. 7. When they had withdrawn from their _curia_, and could not be brought back, their property was confiscated to the benefit of their _curia_. 8. The tax known by the name of _aurum coronarium_, and which consisted in a sum to be paid to the prince, on the occasion of certain events, was levied on the curials alone. Advantages Granted To The Curials. The only advantages granted to the curials in compensation for these burdens were: 1. Exemption from torture, except in very serious cases. 2. Exemption from certain afflictive and dishonouring punishments which were reserved for the populace; such as being condemned to work in the mines, to be burned alive, and so forth. 3. Decurions who had fallen into indigence were supported at the expense of the _municipium_. These were the only advantages possessed by the curials over the common people, who, on the other hand, enjoyed the benefit that every career was open to them, and that, by entering the army, or engaging in public employments, they might raise themselves at once into the privileged class. The condition of the curials, then, both as citizens and in relation to the State, was onerous and devoid of liberty. Municipal administration was a burdensome service, to which the curials were doomed, and not a right with which they were invested. Let us now see what was the condition of the curials, not in relation to the State, and to the other classes of citizens, but in the _curia_ and amongst themselves. Here still existed the forms, and even the principles, of liberty. All the curials were members of the _curia_, and sat therein. The ability to bear the burdens of the office entailed that of exercising its rights, and taking part in its affairs; the names of all the curials of each _municipium_ were inscribed, in an order which was determined according to their dignity, age, and other circumstances, in a book called the _album curiæ_. {197} When there was occasion to deliberate upon any matter, they were all convoked together by the superior magistrate of the town, the _duumvir, ædilis_ or _prætor_, and they all gave their opinions and their votes; everything was decided by the majority of votes: and no deliberation of the _curia_ was valid unless two-thirds of the curials were present. Attributes Of The Curia. The attributes of the curia as a body were: 1. The examination and decision of certain affairs;