[32] The Roman laws protected all property acquired in a lawful manner.
They imposed on those who had invaded it, the obligation of making
restitution and reparation of all damage caused by that invasion; they
punished it moreover, in many cases, by a pecuniary fine. But they did
not always grant a recovery against the third person, who had become
_bona fide_ possessed of the property. He who had obtained possession of
a thing belonging to another, knowing nothing of the prior rights of
that person, maintained the possession. The law had expressly determined
those cases, in which it permitted property to be reclaimed from an
innocent possessor. In these cases possession had the characters of
absolute proprietorship. To possess this right, it was not sufficient to
have entered into possession of the thing _in any manner_; the
acquisition was bound to have that character of publicity, which was
given by the observation of solemn forms, prescribed by the laws, or the
uninterrupted exercise of proprietorship during a certain time: the
Roman citizen alone could acquire this proprietorship.
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