No sooner had the burghs established themselves beneath the presidency of their Consuls than they turned the arms they had acquired in the war of independence, against their neighbors.

The phenomenon was not confined to any single district.

It revealed a new necessity in the very constitution of the commonwealths.

Penned up within the narrow limits of their petty dependencies, throbbing with fresh life, overflowing with a populace inured to warfare, demanding channels for their energies in commerce, competing with each other on the paths of industry, they clashed in deadliest duels for breathing space and means of wealth.

The occasions that provoked one Commune to declare war upon its rival were trivial.