of the property of children was also gradually relaxed.  Under Augustus, the son could keep absolute possession of what he had acquired in war; under Constantine, he could retain any property acquired in the civil service, and all property inherited from the mother could also be retained.  In later times, a father could not give his son or daughter to another by adoption without their consent.  Thus this patria potestas was gradually relaxed as civilization advanced, though it remained a peculiarity of Roman law to the latest times, and was severer than is ever seen in the modern world.  Fathers were bound to maintain their children when they had no separate means to supply their wants, and children were also bound to maintain their parents if in want.  These reciprocal duties, creditable to the Roman lawgivers, are recognized in the French Code, but not in the English, which also recognizes the right of a father to bequeath his whole estate to strangers,—­a thing which Roman fathers had not power to do.  The age when children attained majority among the Romans was twenty-five years.  Women were condemned to the perpetual tutelage of parents, husbands, or guardians, as it was supposed they never could attain to the age of reason and experience.  The relation of guardian and ward was strictly observed by the Romans.  They made a distinction between the right to govern a person and the right to manage his estate, although the tutor or guardian could do both.  If the pupil was an infant, the tutor could act without the intervention of the pupil; if the pupil was above seven years of age, he was considered to have an imperfect will.  The youth ceased to be a pupil, if a boy, at fourteen; if a girl, at twelve.  The tutor managed the estate of the pupil, but was liable for loss occasioned by bad management.  He could sell movable property when expedient, but not real estate, without judicial authority.  The tutor named by the father was preferred to all others.

The Institutes of Justinian pass from persons to things, or the law relating to real rights; in other words, that which pertains to property.  Some things common to all, like air, light, the ocean, and things sacred, like temples and churches, are not classed as property.

Two things were required for the transfer of property, for it is the essence of property that the owner of a thing should have the right to transfer it,—­first, the consent of the owner to transfer the thing upon some just ground; and secondly, the actual delivery of the thing to the person who is to acquire it.  Movables were presumed to be the property of the possessors, until positive evidence was produced to the contrary.  A prescriptive title to movables was acquired by possession for one year, and to immovables by possession for two years.  Undisturbed possession for thirty years constituted in general a valid title.