Modestinus, Concerning Manumissions. The patron, by refusing to furnish support at the request of his freedman, forfeits the privileges imposed in his favor upon the latter on account of his manumission, and he is punished by the loss of the estate of the freedman; but he is not required to furnish support, even if he is able to do so. 1A Constitution of the Emperor Commodus contains the following: “Where it is proved that a patron has been rudely treated by his freedman, or severely beaten by him, or abandoned while in poverty or while suffering from bodily illness; he must first be brought again under the control of his patron, and compelled to render services to him as his master, and if he does not take warning by this proceeding, he shall be sold to a purchaser under the authority of a magistrate, and his price given to his patron”.

Modestinus, On Manumissions. The Divine Vespasian decreed if a female slave had been sold under this law upon condition that she should not be prostituted, and she should be prostituted, that she would become free; and that if she afterwards came into the possession of another purchaser, without this condition, that she should be free by virtue of the sale, and become the freedwoman of the former vendor. 1It is provided by the Decrees of the Emperors that the Governors of provinces, who have jurisdiction over the complaints of patrons, should impose penalties upon their freedmen in proportion to the gravity of their offences. These penalties are sometimes required in the case of an ungrateful freedman, and he is either deprived of a part of his property which is given to his patron, or he is scourged with whips, and then discharged.

Modestinus, On Manumissions. If a patron does not support the freedman, the Lex Ælia Sentia deprives him of all the services to which he was entitled in consideration of the grant of freedom; and this includes not only himself but also those who may have any interest in the property, and it also deprives him and his children of the estate, unless the patron was appointed the heir, and it also deprives him of prætorian possession of the estate, except where this is acquired in accordance with the provisions of the will.

Modestinus, On Manumissions. Direct grants of freedom can be legally made by will, and by a codicil confirmed by a will. Grants of freedom under a trust can be made ab intestato, and by codicils not confirmed by a will.

The Same, On Manumissions. When Firmus Titianus bequeathed three slaves, who were tragedians, and added, “I charge you not to permit them to become the slaves of anyone else,” the Emperor Antoninus stated in a Rescript that, as the property of Titianus had been confiscated, the slaves should be publicly manumitted. 1A legatee as well as an heir can be charged to manumit a slave, and if he should die before manumitting him, his heirs must do so. 2The Divine Antoninus and Pertinax stated in a Rescript, where an estate was claimed by the Treasury because there was a secret provision to deliver it to a person who is not capable of receiving it, that all grants of freedom made directly, or under the terms of a trust, should be executed.

The Same, On Manumissions. Rome is our common country.