had of
conquering all Germany. For the next one hundred and fifty years,
Germans and Romans lived apart, each afraid of the other. Then came a
time when the Germans again became the attacking party. Other fiercer
and wilder peoples, like the Huns, were assailing them in the east and
pushing them forward. They finally broke over the Rhine-Danube
boundary and poured across the Roman Empire in wave after wave. Some
of these tribes were the Vandals, Burgundians, Goths, Franks, and
Lombards. The Roman Empire went to pieces under their savage attacks.

Questions for Review

1. Why is it that after nations become civilized, people need less
land to live on?
2. Are barbarous tribes more likely to engage in war than civilized
peoples?
3. Explain why clubs were the earliest weapons and why the more
civilized tribes were better armed than the barbarians.
4. Can a people be said to be civilized when they enjoy bloodshed and
are not moved by the sufferings of others?
5. What was it that lowered the morals of the Roman republic?
6. In what way were the Germans better men than the later Romans?
7. What was the religion of the Moors and the Arabs?
8. Why did the German tribes invade the Roman empire?

CHAPTER III

From Chiefs to Kings

The early chief a fighter.--The club the sign of power.--Free men led
by a chief of their own choosing.--The first slaves.--Barbarians
conquer civilized nations.--A ruling class among conquered
people.--All men no longer free and equal.--The value of arms and
armor.--The robber chiefs.--How kings first came.--Treaties between
tribes follow constant wars.--Tribes unite for protection against
enemies.--A king is chosen for the time being.--Some kings refuse to
resign their office when the danger is past.--New generations grow up
which never knew a kingless state.--The word "king" becomes sacred.

The chiefs of the invading tribes knew no law except the rule of the
sword. If they saw anything which they wanted, they took it. Rich
cities were plundered at will. They did not admit any man's ownership
of anything. In the old days when the tribes were roaming around,
there was no private ownership of land. Everything belonged to the
tribe in common. Each man had a vote in the council of the tribe.

Among these invaders, as with all barbarous tribes, there was no such
thing as an absolute rule. A chief was obeyed because the greater part
of his people considered him