The little volume now ofi'ered to the public was origi nally intended to form a chapter or two in a forth coming work on the growth and decay of civilisation, as exemplified by the history of Rome. In the writing, however, it has assumed proportions far in excess of what had been contemplated. Consequently, it has seemed to me that it would be somewhat out of place in an inquiry which, in its essential features, must be sociological, economic, political, and institutional. I have decided, therefore, to oeer it to the public in a separate, independent form, so leaving it to sink or swim according to its merits.