The original territory of Rome consisted only
of some miles of wood and meadow along the banks of the Tiber, and
domestic exchange could add nothing to the national stock. But the goods
of an alien or enemy were lawfully exposed to the first hostile
occupier; the city was enriched by the profitable trade of war, and the
blood of her sons was the only price that was paid for the Volscian
sheep, the slaves of Britain, to the gems and gold of Asiatic kingdoms.
In the language of ancient jurisprudence, which was corrupted and
forgotten before the age of Justinian, these spoils were distinguished
by the name of manceps or mancipium, taken with the hand; and whenever
they were sold or emancipated, the purchaser required some assurance
that they had been the property of an enemy and not of a fellow-citizen.
A citizen could only forfeit his rights by apparent dereliction, and
such dereliction of a valuable interest could not easily be presumed.
Yet, according to the _Twelve Tables_, a prescription of one year for
movables, and of two years for immovables, abolished the claim of the
ancient master, if the actual possessor had acquired them by a fair
transaction from the person whom he believed to be the lawful
proprietor.
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