Thetwosocieties，RomanandHindoo，whichItakeupfor
examination，withtheviewofdeterminingsomeoftheirearliest
ideasconcerningthepropertyofwomen，areseentobeformedat
whatforpracticalpurposesistheearlieststageoftheir
history，bythemultiplicationofaparticularunitorgroup，the
PatriarchalFamily。Therehasbeenmuchspeculationoflateamong
writersbelongingtotheschoolofso-calledpre-historicinquiry
astotheplaceinthehistoryofhumansocietytowhichthis
peculiargroup，thePatriarchalFamily，isentitled。Whether，
however，ithasexisteduniversallyfromalltime——whetherit
hasexistedfromalltimeonlyincertainraces——orwhetherin
theracesamongwhoseinstitutionsitappears，ithasbeenformed
byslowandgradualdevelopment——ithas，everywhere，wherewe
findit，thesamecharacterandcomposition。Thegroupconsists
ofanimateandinanimateproperty，ofwife，children，slaves，
land，andgoods，allheldtogetherbysubjectiontothedespotic
authorityoftheeldestmaleoftheeldestascendingline，the
father，grandfather，orevenmoreremoteancestor。Theforce
whichbindsthegrouptogetherisPower。Achildadoptedintothe
Patriarchalfamilybelongstoitasperfectlyasthechild
naturallybornintoit，andachildwhosevershisconnection
withitislosttoitaltogether。Allthelargergroupswhich
makeuptheprimitivesocietiesinwhichthePatriarchalfamily
occurs，areseentobemultiplicationsofit，andtobe，infact，
themselvesmoreorlessformedonitsmodel。
But，whenfirstweviewthePatriarchalFamilythrough
perfectlytrustworthyevidence，itisalreadyinastateof
decay。Theemancipationorenfranchisementofmalechildrenfrom
parentalpowerbytheparents’voluntaryacthasbecomea
recognisedusage，andisoneamongseveralpracticeswhich
testifyarelaxationofthestricterideasofamoreremote
antiquity。Confiningourattentiontowomen，wefindthatthey
havebeguntoinheritashareofthepropertyofthefamily
concurrentlywiththeirmalerelatives；buttheirshareappears，
fromseveralindications，tohavebeensmaller，andtheyare
stillcontrolledbothintheenjoymentofitandinthedisposal。
Here，however，wecomeuponthefirsttraceofadistinction
whichrunsthroughalllegalhistory。Unmarriedwomen，originally
innodifferentpositionfrommarriedwomen，acquireatfirsta
muchhigherdegreeofproprietaryindependence。Theunmarried
womanisforlifeundertheguardianshipofhermalerelatives，
whoseprimitivedutywasmanifestlytopreventheralienatingor
wastingherpossessions，andtosecuretheultimatereversionof
thesepossessionstothefamilytowhosedomainthosepossessions
hadbelonged。Butthepowersoftheguardiansareundergoingslow
dissolutionthroughthetwogreatsappingagenciesof
jurisprudence，LegalFictionsandEquity。Tothosewhoarealive
tothepermanenceofcertainlegalphenomenathereisnomore
interestingpassageinancientlawthanthatinwhichtheold
lawyerGaiusdescribesthecuriousformswithwhichthe
guardian’spowersweretransferredtoatrustee，whosetrustwas
toexercisethematthepleasureoftheward。Meantime，therecan
benoreasonabledoubtthatamongtheRomans，whoalonesupplyus
withacontinuoushistoryofthisbranchofjurisprudence，the
greatmajorityofwomenbecamebymarriage，asallwomenhad
originallybecome，thedaughtersoftheirhusbands。TheFamily
wasbased，lessuponactualrelationshipthanuponpower，andthe
husbandacquiredoverhiswifethesamedespoticpowerwhichthe
fatherhadoverhischildren。Therecanbenoquestionthat，in
strictpursuanceofthisconceptionofmarriage，allthewife’s
propertypassedatfirstabsolutelytothehusband，andbecame
fusedwiththedomainofthenewfamily；andatthispoint
begins，inanyreasonablesenseofthewords，theearlyhistory
ofthepropertyofmarriedwomen。
Thefirstsignofchangeisfurnishedbytheemploymentofa
peculiartermtoindicatetherelationofhusbandtowife，as
differentfromtherelationoffathertochild，ormasterto
slave。Theterm，afamousoneinlegalhistory，ismanus，the
Latinwordfor’hand，’andthewifewassaidconvenireinmanum，
tocomeunderthehandofherhusband。Ihaveelsewhereexpressed
aconjecturalopinionthatthiswordmanusorhand，wasatfirst
thesolegeneraltermforpatriarchalpoweramongtheRomans，and
thatitbecameconfinedtooneformofthatpowerbyaprocessof
specialisationeasilyobservableinthehistoryoflanguage。The
allotmentofparticularnamestospecialideaswhichgradually
disengagethemselvesfromageneralideaisapparentlydetermined
byaccident。Wecannotgiveareason，otherthanmerechance，why
poweroverawifeshouldhaveretainedthenameofmanus，why
poweroverachildshouldhaveobtainedanothername，potestas，
whypoweroverslavesandinanimatepropertyshouldinlater
timesbecalleddominium。But，althoughthetransformationof
meaningsbecapricious，theprocessofspecialisationisa
permanentphenomenon，inthehighestdegreeimportantandworthy
ofobservation。Whenoncethisspecialisationhasinanycase
beeneffectedIventuretosaythattherecanbenoaccurate
historicalvisionforhimwhowillnot，inmentalcontemplation，
re-combinetheseparatedelements。Takingtheconceptionswhich
havetheirrootinthefamilyrelation——whatwecallproperty，
whatwecallmaritalright，whatwecallparentalauthority，were
alloriginallyblendedinthegeneralconceptionofpatriarchal
power。If，leavingtheFamily，wepassontothegroupwhich
standsnextaboveitintheprimitiveorganisationofsociety——
thatcombinationoffamilies，inalargeraggregate，forwhichat
presentIhavenobetternamethanVillageCommunity——wefind
itimpossibletounderstandtheextantexamplesofit，unlesswe
recognisethat，intheinfancyofideas，legislative，judicial，
executive，andadministrativepowerarenotdistinguished，but
consideredasoneandthesame。Thereisnodistinctiondrawnin
themindbetweenpassingalaw，affirmingarule，tryingan
offender，carryingoutthesentence，orprescribingasetof
directionstoacommunalfunctionary。Alltheseareregardedas
exercisesofanidenticalpowerlodgedwithsomedepositaryor
bodyofdepositaries。Whenthesecommunitiesbecomeblendedin
thelargergroupswhichareconvenientlycalledpolitical：the
re-combinationofideasoriginallyblendedbecomesinfinitely
moredifficult，and，whensuccessfullyeffected，isamongthe
greatestachievementsofhistoricalinsight。ButIventuretosay
that，whetherwelooktothatimmortalsystemofvillage
communitieswhichbecametheGreekorHellenicworld——orthat
famousgroupofvillage-communitiesontheTiber，which，grown
intoalegislatingempire，hasinfluencedthedestiniesof
mankindfarmorebyalteringtheirprimitivecustomsthanby
conqueringthem——ortothemarvellouslycomplexsocietiesto
whichwebelong，andinwhichtheinfluenceoftheprimitive
familyandvillagenotionsstillmakesitselffeltamidthemass
ofmodernthought——stillIventuretosay，thatonegreat
secretforunderstandingthesecollectionsofmen，isthe
reconstructioninthemindofancient，general，andblendedideas
bythere-combinationofthemodernspecialideaswhicharetheir
offshoots。
ThenextstageinthelegalhistoryofRomancivilmarriage
ismarkedbythecontrivance，veryfamiliartostudentsofRoman
law，bywhichtheprocessof’comingunderthehand’was
dispensedwith，andthewifenolongerbecameinlawher
husband’sdaughter。Fromveryearlytimesitwouldappeartohave
beenpossibletocontractalegalmarriagebymerelyestablishing
theexistenceofconjugalsociety。Buttheeffectonthewifeof
continuousconjugalsocietywas，inoldRomanlaw，preciselythe
sameastheeffectonamanofcontinuousservileoccupationina
Romanhousehold。TheinstitutioncalledUsucapion，orinmodern
timesPrescription，theacquisitionofownershipbycontinuous
possession，layattherootoftheancientRomanlaw，whetherof
personsorofthings；and，inthefirstcase，thewomanbecame
thedaughterofthechiefofthehouse；inthelastcasetheman
becamehisslave。Thelegalresultwasonlynotthesameinthe
twocasesbecausetheshadesofpowerhadnowbeendiscriminated，
andpaternalauthorityhadbecomedifferentfromthelordshipof
themasterovertheslave。Inorder，however，thatacquisitionby
Usucapionmightbeconsummated，thepossessionmustbe
continuous；therewasnoUsucapionwherethepossessionhadbeen
interrupted——where，tousethetechnicalphrasewhichhashad
ratheradistinguishedhistory，therehadbeenusurpation，the
breakingofususorenjoyment。Itwaspossible，therefore，for
thewife，byabsentingherselfforadefiniteperiodfromher
husband’sdomicile，toprotectherselffromhisacquisitionof
paternalpoweroverherpersonandproperty。Theexactduration
oftheabsencenecessarytodefeattheUsucapion——threedays
andthreenights——isprovidedforintheancientRomanCode，
theTwelveTables，anddoubtlesstheappearanceofsucharulein
soearlyamonumentoflegislationisnotalittleremarkable：It
isextremelylikely，asseveralwritersontheancientlaw
conjectured，thattheobjectoftheprovisionwastoclearupa
doubt，andtodeclarewithcertaintywhatperiodofabsencewas
necessarytolegaliseanexistingpractice。Butitwouldneverdo
tosupposethatthepracticewascommon，orrapidlybecame
common。Inthis，asinseveralothercases，itisprobablethat
thewantofqualificationintheclauseoftheTwelveTablesis
tobeexplainedbytherelianceofthelegislatoroncustom，
opinion，orreligiousfeelingtopreventtheabuseofhis
legislation。Thewifewhosavedherselffromcomingundermarital
authoritynodoubthadthelegalstatusofwife，buttheLatin
antiquariesevidentlybelievedthatherpositionwasnotatfirst
heldtoberespectable。BythetimeofGaius，however，any
associationofimperfectrespectabilitywiththenewerformof
marriagewasdecayingorhadperished；and，infact，weknowthat
marriage，’withoutcomingunderthehand，’becametheordinary
Romanmarriage，andthattherelationofhusbandandwifebecame
avoluntaryconjugalsociety，terminableatthepleasureof
eitherpartybydivorce。Itwaswiththestateofconjugal
relationsthusproducedthatthegrowingChristianityofthe
Romanworldwagedawareverincreasinginfierceness；yetit
remainedtothelastthebasisoftheRomanlegalconceptionof
marriage，andtoacertainextentitevencolourstheCanonlaw
foundedthoughitbe，onthewhole，onthesacramentalviewof
marriage。
Forourpresentpurposeitisnecessarytoregardthisnewer
marriagejustwhenithadsupersededtheancientandstricter
usagesofwedlock，andjustbeforeitbegantobemodifiedbythe
modernandmuchsevererprinciplesoftheChristiancommunity。
Foratthispointinthehistoryofmarriagewecomeuponthe
beginningsofthatsystemofsettlingthepropertyofmarried
womenwhichhassuppliedthegreatestpartofContinentalEurope
withitslawofmarriagesettlement。Itappearsanimmediate
consequencefromthoroughlyascertainedlegalprinciplesthat，as
soonasthewifeceasedtopassbymarriageintoherhusband’s
family，andtobecomeinlawhisdaughter，herpropertywouldno
longerbetransferredtohim。IntheearlierperiodofRomanlaw，
thisproperty，presentandprospective，wouldhaveremainedwith
herownfamily，and，ifshewasnolongerunderdirectparental
authority，wouldhavebeenadministeredbyherguardiansforthe
behoofofhermalerelatives。Asweknow，however，andasI
beforestated，thepowerofguardianswasgraduallyreducedtoa
shadow。Thelegalresultwouldseemtohavebeenthatthewoman
wouldbeplacedinthesamepositionasaFrenchwifeatthisday
underwhattheFrenchCodecallsther間imeofbienss閜ar閟，or
asanEnglishwifewhosepropertyhasbeensecuredtoher
separateusebyanappropriatemarriagesettlementorbythe
operationofthenewMarriedWomen’sPropertyAct。But，though
thiswasthelegalconsequence，itwouldbeasocialanachronism
toassumethatinpracticeitfollowedrapidlyorgenerally。The
originalobjectofthemarriage’withoutcomingunderthehand’
wasdoubtlesstopreventtheacquisitionofexcessiveproprietary
powerbythehusband，nottodeprivehimofallsuchpower，and
indeedthelegalresultofthismarriage，unlesspractically
qualifiedinsomeway，wouldunquestionablyhavebeenfarin
advanceofsocialfeeling。Here，then，wecomeuponan
institutionwhich，ofallpurelyartificialinstitutions，hashad
perhapsthelongestandthemostimportanthistory。Thisisthe