some time or other be dismissed, and the whole safety therefore of the senate only rested in the conscientiousness of the _Plebes_, the oath being so sacred to the Romans. But the rebellion actually broke out in the camp, though with great moderation. It is related, that the soldiers had wished at first to slay the consul, that they might be relieved from their oath, which was only sworn to him personally. Yet they merely renounced their allegiance; made L. Sicinius Bellutus their leader; passed the Anio in arms; and encamped three or four miles from thence on a hill which was afterwards consecrated, and therefore called the _mons sacer_. Thus a whole population withdrew from the city, and there remained behind the patricians and their slaves, besides the wives and children of the emigrants. The patricians did not, however, seize upon these as hostages; whilst, on the other hand, the plebeians also practised no further hostility, but kept themselves from all devastation, and foraged in the neighbouring country only to supply their immediate wants. The patricians now acted like human beings. As long as their authority was not put in jeopardy, there was nothing which they dared not do, and so in every instance until the Lex Hortensia; yet their power once being broken, they became dispirited, and each new contest ends only in disgrace. They had thought that the plebeians would have no courage; they ever said among themselves, This time they will lay down their arms, one has only to overawe them. One feels giddy at the sight of madness like this; and yet, so long as the world lasts, it will ever be renewed. When the plebeians had raised their standard, the scales fell from their eyes. Within the town the _Plebes_ had only two quarters,[92] the Aventine with the Vallis Murcia, and the Esquiline, both of them very strong, and provided with gates, certainly guarded by armed men. The plebeians might therefore have taken possession of Rome without any resistance, as their friends would have opened the gates to them. They would, however, have been obliged to take the other hills, all of which were fortified, and the forum by storm; which would have been their country’s ruin, since the other nations would not have kept quiet. The conduct of the _Patres_ therefore appears mad, and it is inconceivable that the _Plebes_, when once in arms, did not go further: in Florence the Guelphs and Ghibelines fought against each other in the streets. A key to this seems to be found in the fact that the Latins were at peace, and that therefore with their help the senate was able to make head against the _Plebes_. It ought to be borne in mind that in confederate republics similarity of constitution has no influence whatever on the mutual support: democratically governed nations protect the governments of aristocratical ones. In the great insurrection of Lucerne and Berne, in the year 1657, the democratical cantons came to the assistance of the