Arrius Menander, On Military Affairs, Book V. Where anyone institutes proceedings to obtain his freedom, and enlists in the army before a decision is rendered, he should be held to occupy the same position as other slaves, and he will not be relieved because, in some respects, he is considered as free. And, although he may have appeared to be free, he can be dishonorably discharged, that is, dismissed from the army, and driven from the camp as one who demanded freedom while in slavery, or who was at liberty through fraud. But anyone who has been falsely and maliciously claimed as a slave shall be retained in the service. 1Where anyone who has been judicially declared freeborn enlists in the army, and the decision is reversed within five years, he shall be returned to his new master.

Arrius Menander, On Military Affairs, Book I. Offences committed by soldiers are either special or common to other persons, therefore their prosecution is either special or general. A purely military offence is one which a man commits as a soldier. 1It is considered a serious crime for anyone to enlist as a soldier who is not permitted to do so, and its gravity is increased, as in the case of others, by the dignity, the rank, and the branch of the service.

Arrius Menander, On Military Affairs, Book I. He who is born with only one testicle, or has lost one by accident, can legally serve in the army, in accordance with the Rescript of the Divine Trajan; for both the Generals Sylla and Cotta are said to have been in this condition. 1Where anyone who has been condemned to be thrown to wild beasts enlists in the army, he shall be punished with death, whenever he is found. The same rule applies to one who permits himself to be enrolled. 2When anyone who has been deported to an island escapes, and enlists in the army; or, having been enrolled, conceals his condition, he must be punished with death. 3Temporary exile incurs the penalty of relegation to an island in the case of a soldier who voluntarily enlists, and concealment of his condition renders him liable to perpetual exile. 4Where a soldier has been relegated for a certain time, and then, after his term has expired, enlists, the cause of his conviction must be ascertained, and if it involves perpetual infamy, the same rule shall be observed. Where, however, a compromise has been made with reference to the future, he can re-enter the ranks, and is not forbidden to claim any military honors to which he may be entitled. 5When a volunteer is guilty of a capital crime, he must be punished with death, according to a Rescript of the Divine Trajan, and should not be sent back to the place where he was accused, but he ought to be tried as if he had committed a military offence, even though his case already may have been begun, or a warrant may have been issued for his arrest. 6If he is dishonorably discharged, he should be sent back to his judge; nor should he be accepted if he afterwards desires to serve in the army, even though he may have been acquitted. 7Persons who have been convicted of adultery, or any other public crime, should not be admitted into the army. 8Everyone who is involved in litigation, and enters the military service on this account, should not be ordered to be discharged from the army, but only he who enlisted with the intention of rendering himself, as a soldier, more formidable to his adversary. Those who have had a lawsuit previous to their enlistment should not readily be exculpated without an inquiry into the facts; and they should be excused if they have compromised it. A soldier who is dismissed from the service on this account does not, by any means, become infamous, nor, after his lawsuit has terminated, should he be prohibited from entering the same branch of the service; otherwise if he either abandons the suit, or compromises it, he should be retained. 9Those who, after desertion, voluntarily enlist, or permit themselves to be enrolled in another part of the army, should be punished by military law; as was stated by Our Emperor in a Rescript. 10It is a more serious offence to decline military service than to intrigue to obtain it. For formerly, those who did not answer the call to arms were reduced to servitude as traitors to liberty. But as the condition of the army has been changed, capital punishment in this instance has been abandoned, because, for the most part, the army is composed of volunteers. 11He who, in time of war, withdraws his son from the army, should be punished with exile and a loss of a part of his property; if he does this in time of peace, he is ordered to be whipped with rods; and if the young man who was conscripted is afterwards produced by his father he should be placed in an inferior corps, for he does not deserve pardon who allowed himself to be solicited by another. 12A Decree of the Divine Trajan sentenced to deportation a man who, in order that his son might be rendered incapable of military service, mutilated him after he had been conscripted for war. 13The Edicts of Germanicus Cæsar classed as a deserter one who had been absent long enough to be considered a vagabond, but whether he voluntarily returns and presents himself, or whether, having been caught, he is produced, he escapes the penalty of desertion; and it does not make any difference to whom he presents himself, or by whom he was seized. 14The offence of vagabondage is considered of less gravity than the same offence is in the case of slaves; and that of desertion is more serious, as it corresponds to the case of fugitive slaves. 15The reasons for vagabondage, however, are examined, and also why the soldier departed, and where he was, and what he did; and pardon is granted in case of absence caused by illness, or affection for relatives and connections, and also where the accused was pursuing a fugitive slave, or where some reason of this kind is given; and a new recruit, who was still unfamiliar with discipline, is also excused.