city for punishment. Finally, it is to be noted, that guardians 12 or curators who are guilty of fraud in their administration must be removed from their office even though they offer to give security, for giving security does not change the evil intent of the guardian, but only gives him a larger space of time wherein he may injure the pupil's property: for a man's mere 13 character or conduct may be such as to justify one's deeming him 'suspected.' No guardian or curator however may be removed on suspicion merely because he is poor, provided he is also faithful and diligent.

BOOK II.

1

TITLE I.

OF THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF THINGS.

In the preceding book we have expounded the law of Persons: now let us proceed to the law of Things. Of these some admit of private ownership, while others, it is held, cannot belong to individuals: for some things are by natural law common to all, some are public, some belong to a society or corporation, and some belong to no one. But most things belong to individuals, being acquired by various titles, as will appear from what follows.

Thus, the following things are by natural law common to all the air, running water, the sea, and consequently the sea-shore. No one therefore is forbidden access to the seashore, provided he abstains from injury to houses, monuments, and buildings generally; for these are not, like the 2 sea itself, subject to the law of nations. On the other hand, all rivers and harbours are public, so that all persons 3 have a right to fish therein. The sea-shore extends to the limit of the highest tide in time of storm or winter. 4 Again, the public use of the banks of a river, as of the river itself, is part of the law of nations; consequently every one is entitled to bring his vessel to the bank, and fasten cables to the trees growing there, and use it as a resting place for the cargo, as freely as he may navigate the river itself. But the ownership of the bank is in the owner of the adjoining land, and consequently so too is the ownership of the trees which 5 grow upon it. Again, the public use of the sea-shore, as of the sea itself, is part of the law of nations; consequently every one is free to build a cottage upon it for purposes of retreat, as well as to dry his nets and haul them up from the But they cannot be said to belong to any one as private

sea.

property, but rather are subject to the same law as the sea itself, with the soil or sand which lies beneath it. As ex- 6 amples of things belonging to a society or corporation, and not to individuals, may be cited buildings in cities-theatres, racecourses, and such other similar things as belong to cities in their corporate capacity.

Things which are sacred, devoted to superstitious uses, or 7 sanctioned, belong to no one, for what is subject to divine law is no one's property. Those things are sacred which have been 8 duly consecrated to God by His ministers, such as churches and votive offerings which have been properly dedicated to His service; and these we have by our constitution forbidden to be alienated or pledged, except to redeem captives from bondage. If any one attempts to consecrate a thing for himself and by his own authority, its character is unaltered, and it does not become sacred. The ground on which a sacred building is erected remains sacred even after the destruction of the building, as was declared also by Papinian. Any one can devote a place to 9 superstitious uses of his own free will, that is to say, by burying a dead body in his own land. It is not lawful however to bury in land which one owns jointly with some one else, or which has not hitherto been used for this purpose, without the other's consent, though one may lawfully bury in a common sepulchre even without such consent. Again, the owner may not devote a place to superstitious uses in which another has a usufruct, without the consent of the latter. It is lawful to bury in another man's ground, if he gives permission, and the ground thereby becomes religious even though he should not give his consent to the interment till after it has taken place. Sanctioned things too, such as city walls and gates, are, in a 10 sense, subject to divine law, and therefore are not owned by any individual. Such walls are said to be 'sanctioned,' because any offence against them is visited with capital punishment; for which reason those parts of the laws in which we establish a penalty for their transgressors are called sanctions.

Things become the private property of individuals in many 11 ways; for the titles by which we acquire ownership in them. are some of them titles of natural law, which, as we said, is called the law of nations, while some of them are titles of

civil law. It will thus be most convenient to take the older law first and natural law is clearly the older, having been instituted by nature at the first origin of mankind, whereas civil laws first came into existence when states began to be founded, magistrates to be created, and laws to be written. 12 Wild animals, birds, and fish, that is to say all the creatures which the land, the sea, and the sky produce, as soon as they are caught by any one become at once the property of their captor by the law of nations; for natural reason admits the title of the first occupant to that which previously had no owner. So far as the occupant's title is concerned, it is immaterial whether it is on his own land or on that of another that he catches wild animals or birds, though it is clear that if he goes on another man's land for the sake of hunting or fowling, the latter may forbid him entry if aware of his purpose. An animal thus caught by you is deemed your property so long as it is completely under your control; but so soon as it has escaped from your control, and recovered its natural liberty, it ceases to be yours, and belongs to the first person who subsequently catches it. It is deemed to have recovered its natural liberty when you have lost sight of it, or when, though it is still in your sight, it would be difficult 13 to pursue it. It has been doubted whether a wild animal becomes your property immediately you have wounded it so severely as to be able to catch it. Some have thought that it becomes yours at once, and remains so as long as you pursue it, though it ceases to be yours when you cease the pursuit, and becomes again the property of any one who catches it: others have been of opinion that it does not belong to you till you have actually caught it. And we confirm this latter view, for it may happen in many ways that you will not 14 capture it. Bees again are naturally wild; hence if a swarm settles on your tree, it is no more considered yours, until you have hived it, than the birds which build their nests there, and consequently if it is hived by some one else, it becomes his property. So too any one may take the honey-combs which bees may chance to have made, though, of course, if you see some one coming on your land for this purpose, you have a right to forbid him entry before that purpose is effected.

A swarm which has flown from your hive is considered to remain yours so long as it is in your sight and easy of pursuit : otherwise it belongs to the first person who catches it. Pea- 15 fowl too and pigeons are naturally wild, and it is no valid objection that they are used to return to the same spots from which they fly away, for bees do this; and it is admitted that bees are wild by nature; and some people have deer so tame that they will go into the woods and yet habitually come back again, and still no one denies that they are naturally wild. With regard, however, to animals which have this habit of going away and coming back again, the rule has been established that they are deemed yours so long as they have the intent to return: for if they cease to have this intention they cease to be yours, and belong to the first person who takes them; and when they lose the habit they seem also to have lost the intention of returning. Fowls and geese are not 16 naturally wild, as is shown by the fact that there are some kinds of fowls and geese which we call wild kinds. Hence if your geese or fowls are frightened and fly away, they are considered to continue yours wherever they may be, even though you have lost sight of them; and any one who keeps them intending thereby to make a profit is held guilty of theft. Things again which we capture from the enemy at once be- 17 come ours by the law of nations, so that by this rule even free men become our slaves, though, if they escape from our power and return to their own people, they recover their previous condition. Precious stones too, and gems, and all other 18 things found on the sea-shore, become immediately by natural law the property of the finder: and by the same law the 19 young of animals of which you are the owner become your property also.

Moreover, soil which a river has added to your land by 20 alluvion becomes yours by the law of nations. Alluvion is an imperceptible addition; and that which is added so gradually that you cannot perceive the exact increase from one moment of time to another is added by alluvion. If 21 however the violence of the stream sweeps away a parcel of your land and carries it down to the land of your neighbour, it clearly remains yours; though of course if in process of