Note:TheremarkablespeechofCassiusshowstheproudfeelingsoftheRomanaristocracyonthissubject。—M]
[Footnote60:ApuleiusinApolog。p。548。edit。Delphin]
[Footnote61:Plin。Hist。Natur。l。xxxiii。47。]
ThenumberofsubjectswhoacknowledgedthelawsofRome，ofcitizens，ofprovincials，andofslaves，cannotnowbefixedwithsuchadegreeofaccuracy，astheimportanceoftheobjectwoulddeserve。Weareinformed，thatwhentheEmperorClaudiusexercisedtheofficeofcensor，hetookanaccountofsixmillionsninehundredandforty—fivethousandRomancitizens，who，withtheproportionofwomenandchildren，musthaveamountedtoabouttwentymillionsofsouls。Themultitudeofsubjectsofaninferiorrankwasuncertainandfluctuating。But，afterweighingwithattentioneverycircumstancewhichcouldinfluencethebalance，itseemsprobablethatthereexisted，inthetimeofClaudius，abouttwiceasmanyprovincialsastherewerecitizens，ofeithersex，andofeveryage；andthattheslaveswereatleastequalinnumbertothefreeinhabitantsoftheRomanworld。Thetotalamountofthisimperfectcalculationwouldrisetoaboutonehundredandtwentymillionsofpersons；adegreeofpopulationwhichpossiblyexceedsthatofmodernEurope，^62andformsthemostnumeroussocietythathaseverbeenunitedunderthesamesystemofgovernment。
[Footnote*:AccordingtoRobertson，thereweretwiceasmanyslavesasfreecitizens。—G。Mr。Blairp。15estimatesthreeslavestoonefreeman，betweentheconquestofGreece，B。C。146，andthereignofAlexanderSeverus，A。D。222，235。TheproportionwasprobablylargerinItalythanintheprovinces。—