But there was a great class, that of the Sudras or indigenous inhabitants, who could not join in the sacrifices at all.

And between the Sudras and the Vaishyas or main body of the Aryans there gradually grew up another mixed class, which also could not properly participate in them.

The priests and rulers, Brahmans and Kshatriyas, tended to form exclusive bodies, and in this manner a classification by occupation gradually grew up, the distinction being marked by participation in separate sacrificial feasts.

The cause which ultimately broke down the religious distinctions of the Roman and Greek states was the development of a feeling of nationality.

In the common struggle for the preservation of the city the prejudices of the patricians weakened, and after a long internal conflict, the plebeians were admitted to full rights of citizenship.