Macer, On Military Affairs, Book I. The duty of the commander of an army consists not only in enforcing discipline, but also in observing it. 1Paternus says that he who commands an army should remember to grant furloughs very sparingly, and not to permit a horse belonging to the military service to be taken out of the province where the soldiers are; and not to send a soldier to perform any private labor, or to fish or hunt; for this is laid down in the rules of discipline prescribed by Augustus. Although I know that it is not unlawful for soldiers to perform mechanical labor, still, I fear if I should allow any act to be performed for my benefit, or for yours, this would not be done in a way which would be tolerated by me. 2It is the duty of the tribunes, or of those who command the army, to confine the soldiers in camps; to compel them to go through their exercises; to keep the keys of the gates; sometimes to make the rounds of the watch; to oversee the distribution of grain; to test it to prevent fraud from being committed by those who measure it; to punish offences according to their authority; to be frequently present at headquarters to hear the complaints of their fellow-soldiers; and to inspect those who are ill.

Macer, Military Wills, Book II. The wills of soldiers who have been dishonorably discharged immediately cease to be valid by military law; but the privilege is extended for the term of a year to the wills of those who have obtained an honorable discharge, or one for some good reason. The right to dispose of castrense peculium by will, which is granted to sons under paternal control, serving in the army, is not conceded to such as are dishonorably discharged, because this privilege is only bestowed by way of recompense upon others who deserve it.

Macer, On Military Affairs, Book II. If a soldier, having made his will, directs half of his estate to be delivered to you, and then executes a codicil after he has been discharged, by which he requests the other half of his estate to be delivered to Titius, and dies a year after his discharge, the heir shall retain his fourth out of what was due to yourself and Titius; because the testator died at a time when his will could not receive the benefit of the Imperial privilege relating to military wills. If, however, he should die within a year after his discharge, Titius alone must suffer the deduction of the Falcidian fourth, because the trust was left to him at a time when the testator could not make a will under military law.

Macer, On Military Affairs, Book II. Paulus and Menander say that a soldier who deserves to suffer the punishment of death should be permitted to make a will; and if he should die intestate, after having been punished, his property will belong to his next of kin; provided he is punished for a military offence, and not for an ordinary crime.

Macer, On Military Affairs, Book II. Certain offences, if committed by a civilian, either entail no penalty at all, or merely a trifling one, while in the case of a soldier, they are severely punished; for if a soldier follows the calling of a buffoon, or suffers himself to be sold in slavery, Menander says that he should undergo capital punishment.

The Same, On Military Affairs, Book II. Soldiers are forbidden to purchase land in the province in which they are carrying on warlike operations, for fear that, through the desire of cultivating the soil, they may be withdrawn from military service, and therefore they are not forbidden to purchase houses. They can, however, buy land in another province, but they are not allowed to do so, even in the name of another or in the one to which they have come for the purpose of battle; otherwise, the land will be confiscated by the Treasury. 1He who purchases land contrary to the rule of military discipline cannot be molested if he has received his discharge before any action has been taken with reference to his purchase. 2It is established that soldiers who have been dishonorably discharged have no right to the benefit of this provision, as it is understood to have been granted to veterans as a reward; and therefore it may be said to apply to those who have been discharged for some good reason, because they also are entitled to rewards. 3There are three general kinds of discharges, namely, those which are honorable, those which are for some cause, and those which are ignominious. An honorable discharge is one which is granted after the term of military service has expired. A discharge for cause is where anyone is dismissed because he has become incapable of military duty, through some defect of mind or body. An ignominious discharge is where a soldier is released from his military oath, on account of the commission of a crime. Anyone who has been ignominiously discharged can neither remain at Rome, nor in the Imperial household. When soldiers are discharged without any mention of disgrace, they can still be understood to have been dishonorably discharged. 4A soldier who is guilty of disrespect should be punished, not only by the tribune or the centurion, but also by the Emperor, for the ancients branded with infamy anyone who resisted a centurion who desired to chastise him. If he seizes the staff of the centurion, he must change his corps; if he breaks it on purpose, or raises his hand against the centurion, he is punished with death. 5Menander says that he who takes to flight while under guard or in prison should not be considered a deserter, because he has escaped from custody, and is not a deserter from the army. Paulus says that he who breaks out of prison, even if he has not previously deserted, should be punished with death. 6The Divine Pius ordered a deserter, who had been produced by his father, to be placed in an inferior corps, in order to prevent his father from appearing to have surrendered him to undergo the extreme penalty. Likewise, the Divine Severus and Antoninus ordered a soldier to be deported who gave himself up after five years of desertion. Menander says that we should follow this example in the case of other deserters.

Macer, On Military Affairs, Book II. Castrense peculium is what has been given by parents or relatives to one who is serving in the army, or what a son under paternal control has himself obtained while in the service, and which he would not have acquired if he had not been a soldier; for whatever he might have acquired without being in the army does not constitute any part of his peculium, castrense.