ake possession of the property of which the usufruct as well
as the ownership would have belonged to the son, had he not subjected
himself to the power of another, and to dispose of it in the mode
prescribed by law.

TITLE XI. OF THE ADJUDICATION OF A DECEASED PERSON'S ESTATE TO PRESERVE
THE GIFTS OF LIBERTY

A new form of succession was added by a constitution of the Emperor
Marcus, which provided that if slaves, who have received a bequest of
liberty from their master in a will under which no heir takes, wish
to have his property adjudged to them, their application shall be
entertained.

1 Such is the substance of a rescript addressed by the Emperor Marcus to
Popilius Rufus, which runs as follows: 'If there is no successor to
take on the intestacy of Virginius Valens, who by his will has conferred
freedom on certain of his slaves, and if, consequently, his property
is in danger of being sold, the magistrate who has cognizance of such
matters shall on application entertain your desire to have the property
adjudged to you, in order to give effect to the bequests of liberty,
direct and fiduciary, provided you give proper security to the creditors
for payment of their claims in full. Slaves to whom liberty has been
directly bequeathed shall become free exactly as if the inheritance had
been actually accepted, and those whom the heir was requested to manumit
shall obtain their liberty from you; provided that if you will have the
property adjudged to you only upon the condition, that even the
slaves who have received a direct bequest of liberty shall become your
freedmen, and if they, whose status is now in question, agree to this,
we are ready to authorize compliance with your wishes. And lest the
benefit afforded by this our rescript be rendered ineffectual in another
way, by the Treasury laying claim to the property, be it hereby known
to those engaged in our service that the cause of liberty is to be
preferred to pecuniary advantage, and that they must so effect such
seizures as to preserve the freedom of those who could have obtained it
had the inheritance been accepted under the will.'

2 This rescript was a benefit not only to slaves thus liberated, but
also to the deceased testators themselves, by saving their property from
being seized and sold by their creditors; for it is certain that such
seizure and sale cannot take place if the property has been adjudged on
this account, because some one has come for