[Footnote102:SeethepatriapotestasintheInstitutes,l。i。
tit。ix。,thePandects,l。i。tit。vi。vii。,andtheCode,l。
viii。tit。xlvii。xlviii。xlix。JuspotestatisquodinliberoshabemuspropriumestciviumRomanorum。Nullienimaliisunthomines,quitaleminliberoshabeantpotestatemqualemnoshabemus。
Note:Thenewly—discoveredInstitutesofGaiusnameonenationinwhichthesamepowerwasvestedintheparent。NecmepraeteritGalatarumgentemcredere,inpotestateparentumliberosesse。GaiiInstit。edit。1824,p。257。—M。]
[Footnote103:DionysiusHal。l。ii。p。94,95。GravinaOpp。p。
286producesthewordsofthexii。tables。PapinianinCollationeLegumRomanetMosaicarum,tit。iv。p。204stylesthispatriapotestas,lexregia:UlpianadSabin。l。xxvi。inPandect。l。i。tit。vi。leg。8says,juspotestatismoribusreceptum;andfuriosusfiliuminpotestatehabebitHowsacred—
orrather,howabsurd!
Note:AllthisisinstrictaccordancewiththeRomancharacter。—W。]
[Footnote!!:ThisparentalpowerwasstrictlyconfinedtotheRomancitizen。Theforeigner,orhewhohadonlyjusLatii,didnotpossessit。IfaRomancitizenunknowinglymarriedaLatinoraforeignwife,hedidnotpossessthispoweroverhisson,becausetheson,followingthelegalconditionofthemother,wasnotaRomancitizen。Aman,however,allegingsufficientcauseforhisignorance,mightraisebothmotherandchildtotherightsofcitizenship。Gaius。p。30。—M。]
[Footnote104:Pandect。l。xlvii。tit。ii。leg。14,No。13,leg。
38,No。1。SuchwasthedecisionofUlpianandPaul。]
[Footnote105:ThetrinamancipatioismostclearlydefinedbyUlpian,Fragment。x。p。591,592,edit。Schulting;andbestillustratedintheAntiquitiesofHeineccius。
Note:Thesonofafamilysoldbyhisfatherdidnotbecomeineveryrespectaslave,hewasstatuliber;thatistosay,onpayingthepriceforwhichhewassold,hebecameentirelyfree。
SeeHugo,Hist。Section61—W。]
[Footnote106:ByJustinian,theoldlaw,thejusnecisoftheRomanfatherInstitut。l。iv。tit。ix。No。7isreportedandreprobated。SomelegalvestigesareleftinthePandectsl。
xliii。tit。xxix。leg。3,No。4andtheCollatioLegumRomanarumetMosaicarum,tit。ii。No。3,p。189。]
[Footnote107:Exceptonpublicoccasions,andintheactualexerciseofhisoffice。Inpublicislocisatquemuneribus,atqueactionibuspatrum,juracumfiliorumquiinmagistratusuntpotestatibuscollatainterquiescerepaullulumetconnivere,&c。,Aul。Gellius,NoctesAtticae,ii。2。TheLessonsofthephilosopherTauruswerejustifiedbytheoldandmemorableexampleofFabius;andwemaycontemplatethesamestoryinthestyleofLivyxxiv。44andthehomelyidiomofClaudiusQuadrigariustheannalist。]
ThefirstlimitationofpaternalpowerisascribedtothejusticeandhumanityofNuma;andthemaidwho,withhisfather'sconsent,hadespousedafreeman,wasprotectedfromthedisgraceofbecomingthewifeofaslave。Inthefirstages,whenthecitywaspressed,andoftenfamished,byherLatinandTuscanneighbors,thesaleofchildrenmightbeafrequentpractice;butasaRomancouldnotlegallypurchasethelibertyofhisfellow—citizen,themarketmustgraduallyfail,andthetradewouldbedestroyedbytheconquestsoftherepublic。Animperfectrightofpropertywasatlengthcommunicatedtosons;
andthethreefolddistinctionofprofectitious,adventitious,andprofessionalwasascertainedbythejurisprudenceoftheCodeandPandects。^108Ofallthatproceededfromthefather,heimpartedonlytheuse,andreservedtheabsolutedominion;yetifhisgoodsweresold,thefilialportionwasexcepted,byafavorableinterpretation,fromthedemandsofthecreditors。Inwhateveraccruedbymarriage,gift,orcollateralsuccession,thepropertywassecuredtotheson;butthefather,unlesshehadbeenspeciallyexcluded,enjoyedtheusufructduringhislife。Asajustandprudentrewardofmilitaryvirtue,thespoilsoftheenemywereacquired,possessed,andbequeathedbythesoldieralone;andthefairanalogywasextendedtotheemolumentsofanyliberalprofession,thesalaryofpublicservice,andthesacredliberalityoftheemperororempress。Thelifeofacitizenwaslessexposedthanhisfortunetotheabuseofpaternalpower。
Yethislifemightbeadversetotheinterestorpassionsofanunworthyfather:thesamecrimesthatflowedfromthecorruption,weremoresensiblyfeltbythehumanity,oftheAugustanage;andthecruelErixo,whowhippedhissontillheexpired,wassavedbytheemperorfromthejustfuryofthemultitude。^109TheRomanfather,fromthelicenseofserviledominion,wasreducedtothegravityandmoderationofajudge。ThepresenceandopinionofAugustusconfirmedthesentenceofexilepronouncedagainstanintentionalparricidebythedomestictribunalofArius。Adriantransportedtoanislandthejealousparent,who,likearobber,hadseizedtheopportunityofhunting,toassassinateayouth,theincestuousloverofhisstep—mother。
^110Aprivatejurisdictionisrepugnanttothespiritofmonarchy;theparentwasagainreducedfromajudgetoanaccuser;andthemagistrateswereenjoinedbySeverusAlexandertohearhiscomplaintsandexecutehissentence。Hecouldnolongertakethelifeofasonwithoutincurringtheguiltandpunishmentofmurder;andthepainsofparricide,fromwhichhehadbeenexceptedbythePompeianlaw,werefinallyinflictedbythejusticeofConstantine。^111Thesameprotectionwasduetoeveryperiodofexistence;andreasonmustapplaudthehumanityofPaulus,forimputingthecrimeofmurdertothefatherwhostrangles,orstarves,orabandonshisnew—borninfant;orexposeshiminapublicplacetofindthemercywhichhehimselfhaddenied。Buttheexpositionofchildrenwastheprevailingandstubbornviceofantiquity:itwassometimesprescribed,oftenpermitted,almostalwayspractisedwithimpunity,bythenationswhoneverentertainedtheRomanideasofpaternalpower;
andthedramaticpoets,whoappealtothehumanheart,representwithindifferenceapopularcustomwhichwaspalliatedbythemotivesofeconomyandcompassion。^112Ifthefathercouldsubduehisownfeelings,hemightescape,thoughnotthecensure,atleastthechastisement,ofthelaws;andtheRomanempirewasstainedwiththebloodofinfants,tillsuchmurderswereincluded,byValentinianandhiscolleagues,intheletterandspiritoftheCornelianlaw。Thelessonsofjurisprudence^113
andChristianityhadbeeninsufficienttoeradicatethisinhumanpractice,tilltheirgentleinfluencewasfortifiedbytheterrorsofcapitalpunishment。^114
[Footnote108:SeethegradualenlargementandsecurityofthefilialpeculiumintheInstitutes,l。ii。tit。ix。,thePandects,l。xv。tit。i。l。xli。tit。i。,andtheCode,l。iv。
tit。xxvi。xxvii。]
[Footnote109:TheexamplesofErixoandAriusarerelatedbySeneca,deClementia,i。14,15,theformerwithhorror,thelatterwithapplause。]
[Footnote110:Quodlatronismagisquampatrisjureeuminterfecit,nampatriapotestasinpietatedebetnoninatrocitateconsistere,Marcian。Institut。l。xix。inPandect。l。
xlviii。tit。ix。leg。5。]
[Footnote111:ThePompeianandCornelianlawsdesicariisandparricidisarerepeated,orratherabridged,withthelastsupplementsofAlexanderSeverus,Constantine,andValentinian,inthePandectsl。xlviii。tit。viiiix,andCode,l。ix。tit。
xvi。xvii。SeelikewisetheTheodosianCode,l。ix。tit。xiv。
xv。,withGodefroy'sCommentary,tom。iii。p。84—113whopoursafloodofancientandmodernlearningoverthesepenallaws。]
[Footnote112:WhentheChremesofTerencereproacheshiswifefornotobeyinghisordersandexposingtheirinfant,hespeakslikeafatherandamaster,andsilencesthescruplesofafoolishwoman。SeeApuleius,Metamorph。l。x。p。337,edit。
Delphin。]
[Footnote113:Theopinionofthelawyers,andthediscretionofthemagistrates,hadintroduced,inthetimeofTacitus,somelegalrestraints,whichmightsupporthiscontrastofthebonimoresoftheGermanstothebonaelegesalibi—thatistosay,atRome,deMoribusGermanorum,c。19。TertullianadNationes,l。i。c。15refuteshisowncharges,andthoseofhisbrethren,againsttheheathenjurisprudence。]
[Footnote114:ThewiseandhumanesentenceofthecivilianPaull。ii。SententiaruminPandect,1。xxv。tit。iii。leg。4isrepresentedasameremoralpreceptbyGerardNoodt,Opp。tom。
i。inJuliusPaulus,p。567—558,andAmicaResponsio,p。591—
606,whomaintainstheopinionofJustusLipsius,Opp。tom。ii。
p。409,adBelgas。cent。i。epist。85,andasapositivebindinglawbyBynkershoek,deJureoccidendiLiberos,Opp。tom。i。p。
318—340。CuraeSecundae,p。391—427。Inalearnedoutangrycontroversy,thetwofriendsdeviatedintotheoppositeextremes。]
Experiencehasproved,thatsavagesarethetyrantsofthefemalesex,andthattheconditionofwomenisusuallysoftenedbytherefinementsofsociallife。Inthehopeofarobustprogeny,Lycurgushaddelayedtheseasonofmarriage:itwasfixedbyNumaatthetenderageoftwelveyears,thattheRomanhusbandmighteducatetohiswillapureandobedientvirgin。
^115Accordingtothecustomofantiquity,heboughthisbrideofherparents,andshefulfilledthecoemptionbypurchasing,withthreepiecesofcopper,ajustintroductiontohishouseandhouseholddeities。Asacrificeoffruitswasofferedbythepontiffsinthepresenceoftenwitnesses;thecontractingpartieswereseatedonthesamesheep—skin;theytastedasaltcakeoffarorrice;andthisconfarreation,^116whichdenotedtheancientfoodofItaly,servedasanemblemoftheirmysticunionofmindandbody。Butthisuniononthesideofthewomanwasrigorousandunequal;andsherenouncedthenameandworshipofherfather'shouse,toembraceanewservitude,decoratedonlybythetitleofadoption,afictionofthelaw,neitherrationalnorelegant,bestowedonthemotherofafamily^117herproperappellationthestrangecharactersofsistertoherownchildren,andofdaughtertoherhusbandormaster,whowasinvestedwiththeplenitudeofpaternalpower。Byhisjudgmentorcapriceherbehaviorwasapproved,orcensured,orchastised;
heexercisedthejurisdictionoflifeanddeath;anditwasallowed,thatinthecasesofadulteryordrunkenness,^118thesentencemightbeproperlyinflicted。Sheacquiredandinheritedforthesoleprofitofherlord;andsoclearlywaswomandefined,notasaperson,butasathing,that,iftheoriginaltitleweredeficient,shemightbeclaimed,likeothermovables,bytheuseandpossessionofanentireyear。TheinclinationoftheRomanhusbanddischargedorwithheldtheconjugaldebt,soscrupulouslyexactedbytheAthenianandJewishlaws:^119butaspolygamywasunknown,hecouldneveradmittohisbedafaireroramorefavoredpartner。
[Footnote115:Dionys。Hal。l。ii。p。92,93。Plutarch,inNuma,p。140—141。]
[Footnote116:Amongthewinterfrunenta,thetriticum,orbeardedwheat;thesiligo,ortheunbearded;thefar,adorea,oryza,whosedescriptionperfectlytallieswiththericeofSpainandItaly。IadoptthisidentityonthecreditofM。PauctoninhisusefulandlaboriousMetrologie,p。517—529。]
[Footnote117:AulusGelliusNoctesAtticae,xviii。6givesaridiculousdefinitionofAeliusMelissus,Matrona,quaesemelmaterfamiliasquaesaepiuspeperit,asporcetraandscrophainthesowkind。Hethenaddsthegenuinemeaning,quaeinmatrimoniumvelinmanumconvenerat。]
[Footnote118:Itwasenoughtohavetastedwine,ortohavestolenthekeyofthecellar,Plin。Hist。Nat。xiv。14。]
[Footnote119:Solonrequiresthreepaymentspermonth。BytheMisna,adailydebtwasimposedonanidle,vigorous,younghusband;twiceaweekonacitizen;onceonapeasant;onceinthirtydaysonacamel—driver;onceinsixmonthsonaseaman。
Butthestudentordoctorwasfreefromtribute;andnowife,ifshereceivedaweeklysustenance,couldsueforadivorce;foroneweekavowofabstinencewasallowed。Polygamydivided,withoutmultiplying,thedutiesofthehusband,Selden,UxorEbraica,l。iii。c6,inhisworks,volii。p。717—720。]
AfterthePunictriumphs,thematronsofRomeaspiredtothecommonbenefitsofafreeandopulentrepublic:theirwishesweregratifiedbytheindulgenceoffathersandlovers,andtheirambitionwasunsuccessfullyresistedbythegravityofCatotheCensor。^120Theydeclinedthesolemnitiesoftheoldnuptiais;
defeatedtheannualprescriptionbyanabsenceofthreedays;
and,withoutlosingtheirnameorindependence,subscribedtheliberalanddefinitetermsofamarriagecontract。Oftheirprivatefortunes,theycommunicatedtheuse,andsecuredtheproperty:theestatesofawifecouldneitherbealienatednormortgagedbyaprodigalhusband;theirmutualgiftswereprohibitedbythejealousyofthelaws;andthemisconductofeitherpartymightafford,underanothername,afuturesubjectforanactionoftheft。Tothislooseandvoluntarycompact,religiousandcivilrightswerenolongeressential;and,betweenpersonsofasimilarrank,theapparentcommunityoflifewasallowedassufficientevidenceoftheirnuptials。ThedignityofmarriagewasrestoredbytheChristians,whoderivedallspiritualgracefromtheprayersofthefaithfulandthebenedictionofthepriestorbishop。Theorigin,validity,anddutiesoftheholyinstitutionwereregulatedbythetraditionofthesynagogue,thepreceptsofthegospel,andthecanonsofgeneralorprovincialsynods;^121andtheconscienceoftheChristianswasawedbythedecreesandcensuresoftheirecclesiasticalrulers。YetthemagistratesofJustinianwerenotsubjecttotheauthorityofthechurch:theemperorconsultedtheunbelievingciviliansofantiquity,andthechoiceofmatrimoniallawsintheCodeandPandects,isdirectedbytheearthlymotivesofjustice,policy,andthenaturalfreedomofbothsexes。^122
[Footnote120:OntheOppianlawwemayhearthemitigatingspeechofVaeriusFlaccus,andtheseverecensorialorationoftheelderCato,Liv。xxxiv。l—8。Butweshallratherhearthepolishedhistorianoftheeighth,thantheroughoratorsofthesixth,centuryofRome。Theprinciples,andeventhestyle,ofCatoaremoreaccuratelypreservedbyAulusGellius,x。23。]
[Footnote121:ForthesystemofJewishandCatholicmatrimony,seeSelden,UxorEbraica,Opp。vol。ii。p。529—860,Bingham,ChristianAntiquities,l。xxii。,andChardon,Hist。desSacremens,tom。vi。]
[Footnote122:ThecivillawsofmarriageareexposedintheInstitutes,l。i。tit。x。,thePandects,l。xxiii。xxiv。
xxv。,andtheCode,l。v。;butasthetitlederitunuptiarumisyetimperfect,weareobligedtoexplorethefragmentsofUlpiantit。ix。p。590,591,andtheCollatioLegumMosaicarum,tit。xvi。p。790,791,withthenotesofPithaeusandSchulting。TheyfindintheCommentaryofServiusonthe1stGeorgiaandthe4thAeneidtwocuriouspassages。]
Besidestheagreementoftheparties,theessenceofeveryrationalcontract,theRomanmarriagerequiredthepreviousapprobationoftheparents。Afathermightbeforcedbysomerecentlawstosupplythewantsofamaturedaughter;butevenhisinsanitywasnotgraduallyallowedtosupersedethenecessityofhisconsent。ThecausesofthedissolutionofmatrimonyhavevariedamongtheRomans;^123butthemostsolemnsacrament,theconfarreationitself,mightalwaysbedoneawaybyritesofacontrarytendency。Inthefirstages,thefatherofafamilymightsellhischildren,andhiswifewasreckonedinthenumberofhischildren:thedomesticjudgemightpronouncethedeathoftheoffender,orhismercymightexpelherfromhisbedandhouse;buttheslaveryofthewretchedfemalewashopelessandperpetual,unlessheassertedforhisownconveniencethemanlyprerogativeofdivorce。ThewarmestapplausehasbeenlavishedonthevirtueoftheRomans,whoabstainedfromtheexerciseofthistemptingprivilegeabovefivehundredyears:^124butthesamefactevincestheunequaltermsofaconnectioninwhichtheslavewasunabletorenouncehertyrant,andthetyrantwasunwillingtorelinquishhisslave。WhentheRomanmatronsbecametheequalandvoluntarycompanionsoftheirlords,anewjurisprudencewasintroduced,thatmarriage,likeotherpartnerships,mightbedissolvedbytheabdicationofoneoftheassociates。Inthreecenturiesofprosperityandcorruption,thisprinciplewasenlargedtofrequentpracticeandperniciousabuse。
Passion,interest,orcaprice,suggesteddailymotivesforthedissolutionofmarriage;aword,asign,amessage,aletter,themandateofafreedman,declaredtheseparation;themosttenderofhumanconnectionswasdegradedtoatransientsocietyofprofitorpleasure。Accordingtothevariousconditionsoflife,bothsexesalternatelyfeltthedisgraceandinjury:aninconstantspousetransferredherwealthtoanewfamily,abandoninganumerous,perhapsaspurious,progenytothepaternalauthorityandcareofherlatehusband;abeautifulvirginmightbedismissedtotheworld,old,indigent,andfriendless;butthereluctanceoftheRomans,whentheywerepressedtomarriagebyAugustus,sufficientlymarks,thattheprevailinginstitutionswereleastfavorabletothemales。A