e will not suffer another man to take some
little thing from him without any great injury to him. And so the Law
laid down that it should be lawful for a man, on entering his
neighbor's vineyard, to eat of the fruit there: but not to carry any
away, lest this should lead to the infliction of a grievous harm, and
cause a disturbance of the peace: for among well-behaved people, the
taking of a little does not disturb the peace; in fact, it rather
strengthens friendship and accustoms men to give things to one
another.

Reply Obj. 2: The Law did not prescribe that women should succeed to
their father's estate except in default of male issue: failing which
it was necessary that succession should be granted to the female line
in order to comfort the father, who would have been sad to think that
his estate would pass to strangers. Nevertheless the Law observed due
caution in the matter, by providing that those women who succeeded to
their father's estate, should marry within their own tribe, in order
to avoid confusion of tribal possessions, as stated in Num. 36:7, 8.

Reply Obj. 3: As the Philosopher says (Polit. ii, 4), the regulation
of possessions conduces much to the preservation of a state or
nation. Consequently, as he himself observes, it was forbidden by the
law in some of the heathen states, "that anyone should sell his
possessions, except to avoid a manifest loss." For if possessions
were to be sold indiscriminately, they might happen to come into the
hands of a few: so that it might become necessary for a state or
country to become void of inhabitants. Hence the Old Law, in order to
remove this danger, ordered things in such a way that while provision
was made for men's needs, by allowing the sale of possessions to
avail for a certain period, at the same time the said danger was
removed, by prescribing the return of those possessions after that
period had elapsed. The reason for this law was to prevent confusion
of possessions, and to ensure the continuance of a definite
distinction among the tribes.

But as the town houses were not allotted to distinct estates,
therefore the Law allowed them to be sold in perpetuity, like movable
goods. Because the number of houses in a town was not fixed, whereas
there was a fixed limit to the amount of estates, which could not be
exceeded, while the number of houses in a town could be increased. On
the other hand, houses situated not in a town, but "in a village that
hath no