i.
[5] They were called "patres nunorum gentium," the senators of the
inferior gentes.
[6] The "comitia curiata," assembled in the comi'tium, the general
assemblies of the people were held in the forum. The patrician curiae
were called, emphatically, the council of the people; (concilium
populi;) the third estate was called plebeian, (plebs.) This
distinction between _populus_ and _plebs_ was disregarded after the
plebeians had established their claim to equal rights. The English
reader will easily understand the difference, if he considers that the
patricians were precisely similar to the members of a close
corporation, and the plebeians to the other inhabitants of a city. In
London, for example, the common council may represent the senate, the
livery answer for the populus, patricians, or comitia curiata, and the
general body of other inhabitants will correspond with the plebs.
[7] There were certain sacrifices which the Romans believed could only
be offered by a king; after the abolition of royalty, a priest, named
the petty sacrificing king, (rex sacrificulus,) was elected to perform
this duty.
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