Book 4, Part 2 Summary and Analysis

Chapter 4, "Of the Roman Comitia"

The author recounts in extensive detail the way the government of Ancient Rome was formed, describing how the lawgiver Servius divided the population into mathematically precise, geographically appropriate, and economically divergent groups, each of which had its own particular socio-political-economic place in the running of the city. The author says that in spite of the apparent power of the aristocratic and moneyed classes, there were enough checks and balances in the system that the "one citizen one vote" principle functioned perfectly for twenty years - until, he writes, unscrupulous citizens began to sell their votes and find other ways of circumventing the process. Nevertheless, the author maintains that government in Ancient Rome was closest to the natural order, and therefore the most effective, of governments both ancient and contemporary (see "Quotes," p. 108).

Chapter 5, "Of...