Roman Law and the Legal World of the Romans

Documents

Silvanus was an active-duty soldier and so was not allowed • to be married at this time (ad 142). Hence his son could not have been legitimate, so it was necessary to make him heir by will, since he would not inherit by intestate succession (Chapter 15).

[19] FIRA 3.54

I, the honorable Postumius Iulianus, of sound body and mind, mindful of human mortality, have made this will.… Out of my Praenestine parcel I wish that the house which is called Fulgerita in the territory of Praeneste in the region of Campania be given to all the citizens of Praeneste, so that they may honor my spirit annually in memory of me, and set up a statue in my name in the Forum and inscribe the text of this testament on it, and no one is to have the power of removing it, and if there is an attempt to alienate it, the public treasury is to take possession. Like many modern wills, this one contains instructions • in addition to simple distributions of property. This is an excerpt from the full will, so it does not include the institu tion of an heir or other required technicalities. It turns out the Cicero passage mocking how lawyers named • pieces of land (Chapter 1) was not so far wrong (though per haps still unfair).

255