Marcianus, Institutes, Book II. Anyone who administers an office in a province cannot consent to the marriage of his son in said province.

Marcianus, Institutes, Book II. For the reason that a guardian is appointed to have charge of the person, and not merely for the care of certain property, or the transaction of some business.

Marcianus, Institutes, Book II. No one can be excused from guardianship on account of a lawsuit which he has with his ward, unless all the property of the latter, or the greater portion of it, is involved in the controversy. 1Where a party wishes to be excused, and has several reasons to advance for that purpose, and is unable to prove some of them; he is not prohibited from making use of the others within the time prescribed by law. 2Even though a guardian has been appointed for the administration of the entire estate of the ward, he can, nevertheless, make application to be excused from administering the guardianship of property situated beyond the hundredth milestone; unless the estate of the ward is all in said province. For this reason the Governor of the province shall appoint a guardian for said property. 3Nor can Senators be compelled to administer a guardianship beyond the hundredth milestone. 4A guardian can be appointed for a ward who already has one, but this must be for the management of other property.

Marcianus, Institutes, Book II. It is evident that if the guardian is sentenced to perpetual exile, he can be released. 1Moreover, the ignorance of an exile will be the more readily pardoned, since he could not have established the suspicious character of his fellow-guardian.

Marcianus, Institutes, Book II. Even if a guardian should excuse himself after having disposed of a portion of the estate, for instance what was situated in Italy, or in the provinces, he shall be deprived of all that was given him by the will, as was stated by the Divine Severus and Antoninus in a Rescript.

Marcianus, Institutes, Book II. If a guardian marries his female ward in violation of the Decree of the Senate, she can take under his will, but he cannot take anything under hers; and this is reasonable, for parties who contract forbidden marriages are guilty of an offence, and deserve to be punished. The woman, however, should not be considered to be to blame who has been deceived by her guardian.

Marcianus, Institutes, Book II. Where anyone is appointed a testamentary guardian, and a female slave is bequeathed to him, and he is asked to manumit her, and, after doing so, he receives a legacy and excuses himself from accepting the guardianship of the minor, the Divine Severus and Antoninus stated in a Rescript that while he was, in fact, a patron of the slave, he should be deprived of all the rights attaching to the condition of patronage.

Marcianus, Institutes, Book II. If a slave should allege that he was purchased with his own money, he can appear in court against his master, whose good faith he impugns, and complain that he has not been manumitted by him; but he must do this at Rome, before the Urban Prefect, or in the provinces before the Governor, in accordance with the Sacred Constitutions of the Divine Brothers; under the penalty, however, of being condemned to the mines, if he should attempt this and not prove his case; unless his master prefers that he be restored to him, and then it should be decided that he will not be liable to a more severe penalty. 1Where, however, a slave is ordered to be free after having rendered his accounts, an arbiter between the slave and his master, that is to say, the heir, shall be appointed for the purpose of having the accounts rendered in his presence.

Marcianus, Institutes, Book II. Slaves cannot, under any circumstances, appear against their masters in court, as they are not considered persons by either the Civil, the Prætorian Law, or in extraordinary proceedings; except where, by way of favor, the Divine Marcus and Commodus stated in a Rescript that when a slave complains that a will in which freedom was granted him has been suppressed, he should be allowed to file an accusation for suppressing it.

Marcianus, Institutes, Book II. A criminal action can be brought by a slave against his master, if the former alleges that his master has committed fraud with reference to provisions belonging to the public.

Marcianus, Institutes, Book II. Where anyone debauches a widow or a woman married to another, with whom he could not legally have contracted matrimony, he should be deported to an island, as the crime is a double one; incest, because, contrary to Divine Law, he has violated a woman related to him, and has added adultery or fornication to this offence. Finally, in a case of this kind, slaves can be tortured for the purpose of obtaining evidence against their masters.

Marcianus, Institutes, Book II. Persons who have been relegated to an island retain their children under their control, for the reason that they retain all their other rights, as they are only forbidden to leave the island; and they also retain all their property, except that which has already been taken from them, for those who are either sent into perpetual exile or relegated can, by the sentence, be deprived of a portion of their property.