On the Roman Coloni. 145 designate corresponding German institutions. There is one important difference however with regard to the origin of the two classes more especially noticeable. That of the Roman coloni occurred at the time when the nation was in decay : they were introduced arbitrarily in order to meet a particular emergency, but never acquired any special political importance. The origin of the German serfs is coincident with the primary formation of the various classes of society in the nation ; and hence they have exercised the most important influence on its constitution and civil institutions : in this respect the old Roman clients are unquestionably a fairer subject of com- parison with them than the colonic although in point of time they happened to fall in exactly with the latter. After the conquest of the Western empire by the German nations the two institutions came into immediate contact, and their intermixture could not be avoided. This hastened the entire overthrow of the ancient system of slavery, for which the way had already been prepared by the formation of the coloni. Vol. II. No. 4. T
