遵照习俗并出于现实的考虑，元老们通常选自贵族阶层，可他们的权力同时也受到极其严格的限制。

　　Rome at one time had passed through the same sort of struggle between the poor and the rich which had forced Athens to adopt the laws of Draco and Solon. In Rome this conflict had occurred in the fifth century B. C. As a result the freemen had obtained a written code of laws which protected them against the despotism of the aristocratic judges by the institution of the "Tribune." These Tribunes were city-magistrates, elected by the freemen. They had the right to protect any citizen against those actions of the government officials which were thought to be unjust. A consul had the right to condemn a man to death, but if the case had not been absolutely proved the Tribune could interfere and the poor fellow's life.

　　正如雅典被迫制定解决贫富纠纷的德拉古法典与梭伦法典，当历史进展到一定时期，即公元前5世纪，罗马也发生了贫民和富人之间的类似斗争。最终，自由民的抗争为他们换来了一部成文法典，规定设立一名"保民官"来保护他们免遭贵族法官的迫害。保民官是城市的地方长官，由自由 民中选出。当出现政府官员以不公正的行为对待市民时，他有权加以阻止，捍卫自由民的权益。依照罗马法律，执政官有权判处一个人的死刑。可如果案子没有得到最充分的证实，保民宫即可介人，挽救这个可怜家伙的性命。

　　But when I use the word Rome, I seem to refer to a little city of a few thousand inhabitants. And the real strength of Rome lay in the country districts outside her walls. And it was in the government of these outlying provinces that Rome at an early age showed her wonderful gift as a colonising power.

　　当我使用"罗马"这个词时，我的意思听起来是指仅仅拥有几千居民的那个小城市，不过，罗马城真正的实力其实蕴藏在城墙之外的广大乡村地区。正是在对这些域外省份的管理上，早期的罗马帝国展示了它令人惊叹的殖民技巧。

　　In very early times Rome had been the only strongly fortified city in central Italy, but it had always offered a hospitable refuge to other Latin tribes who happened to be in danger of attack. The Latin neighbours had recognised the advantages of a close union with such a powerful friend and they had tried to find a basis for some sort of defensive and offensive alliance.

　　在历史的早期，罗马城是意大利中部唯一拥有高大城墙、防御坚固的堡垒。不过，它向来都慷慨好客的敞开城门，为其他不时遭遇外敌人侵的拉丁部落提供紧急避难。长此以往，这些拉丁邻居们开始意识到，与如此强大的朋友发展联系，对自身的安全是大有好处的。因此，他们试图寻找一种合适的模式，来建立与罗马城的攻守同盟。