Dictionary of Greek and Roman antiquities. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

IMPUBES. INAU( URATIO. 6-31
being done by the impubes. By the imperial legis- deferred. If the pupillus and the tutor could not
lation, a tutor was allowed to acquire the hereditas agree, it might be necessary that there should be a
for his pupillus, and a father for his son, who was judicial decision. In such case the Proculiani
in his power; and thus the doctrine of the pro maintained as a theoretical question, that the age
herede gestio was rendered unnecessary. of fourteen should be taken as absolutely deterA pupillus could not part with a possession mining the question, fourteen being the age after
without the auctoritas of a tutor, for though pos- the attainment of which the praetexta had been
session of itself was no legal right, legal advantages generally laid aside. The Sabiniani maintained
were attached to it. As to the acquisition of pos- that as the time of puberty had never been absosession, possession in itself being a bare fact, and lutely fixed, but had depended on free choice, some
the fundamental condition of it being the animus other mode of deciding the question must be
possidendi, consequently the pupillus could only adopted, where free choice wYhs out of the question,
acquire possession by himself, and when he had and therefore they adopted that of the physical decapacity to understand the nature of the act. But velopment (habitus coTporis). But though there
with the auctoritas of his tutor he could acquire are allusions to this matter (Quinct. Inst. Or. iv. 2),
possession even when he was an infans, and thus there is no evidence to show that inspection of
the acquisition of possession by a pupillus was faci- the person was ever actually resorted to in order
litated, utilitatis causa. There was no formal diffi. to determine the age of puberty. It appears that
culty in such possession any more than in the case the completion of fourteen years was established as
of pro herede gestio, for in neither instance was it the commencement of pubertas. The real foundation
necessary for words to be used. Subsequently the of the rule as to the fourteen and the twelve years
legal doctrine was established that a tutor could appears to be, that in the two sexes respectively,
acquire possession for his pupillus. (Dig. 41. tit. 2. puberty was, as a general rule in Italy, attained
s. 1. ~ 20.) about these ages. In the case df females, the time
With the attainment of pubertas, a person ob- had been fixed absolutely at twelve by immemotained the full power of his property, and the rial custom, and had no reference to any practice
tutela ceased: he could also dispose of his property similar to that among males of adopting the toga
by will; and he could contract marriage. Accord- virilis, for women wore the toga praetexta till they
ing to the legislation of Justinian (Inst. i. tit. 22), were married. And further, though the pupillaris
pubertas, in the case of a male, was attained with tutela ended with females with the twelfth year,
the completion of the fourteenth, and, in a female, they were from that time subject to another kind
with the completion of the twelfth year. In the of tutela.
case of a female, it seems that there never had A male had a capacity to make a will upon
been any doubt as to the period of the twelve completing his fourteenth, and a female upon comyears, but a dispute arose among the jurists as to pleting her twelfth year (Gaius, ii. 113; Paulus,
the period of fourteen years. The Sabiniani main- S. R. iii. tit. 4. a.); and the same ages, as already
tained that the age of pubertas was to be deter- observed, determined the capacity, in the two sexes,
mined by physical capacity (labib cor posis), to for contracting a legal marriage. The dispute be.
ascertain which a personal examination might be tween the two schools as to the time when the
necessary; the Proculiani fixed the age of fourteen male attained the age of puberty, appears to have bad
complete, as that which absolutely determined the reference to the termination of the tutela, and his
attainment of puberty. (Gains, i. 196; Ulp. Frog. general capacity to do legal acts; for the test of
xi. 28.) It appears, therefore, that under the the personal examination could hardly, from the
earlier emperors there was some doubt as to the nature of the case, apply to the capacity to make
time when pubertas was attained, though there a will or contract a marriage, as Savigny shows.
was no doubt that with the attainment of puberty, Spadones (males who could never attain physiwhatever that time might be, full legal capacity cal pubertas) might make a testament after attainwas acquired. ing the age of eighteen. (Savigny, System des heut.
Until a Roman youth assumed the toga virilis, Rom. Rechts, vol. iii. p. 55, &c.) [G, L.]
he wore the toga praetexta, the broad purple hem INAUGURA'TIO was in general the ceremony
of which (praetexta) at once distinguished him by which the augurs obtained, or endeavoured to
from other persons. The toga virilis was assumed obtain, the sanction of the gods to something
at the Liberalia in the month of March, and though which had been decreed by man; in particular,
no age appears to have been positively fixed for however, it was the ceremony by which things
the ceremony, it probably took place as a general or persons were consecrated to the gods, whence
rule on the feast which next followed the comple- the terms dedieatio and consecratio were sometimes
tion of the fourteenth year; though it, is certain used as synonymous with inauguratio. (Liv. i. 44,
that the completion of the fourteenth year was not 55; Flor. i. 7, 8; Plin. Ep. ix. 39, x. 58, 59, 76;
always the time observed. Still, so long as a male Cic. in Catil. iv. 1.) The ceremony of inauguratio
wore the praetexta, he was Impubes, and when he was as follows: — After it had been decreed that
assumed the toga virilis, he was Pubes. Accord- something should be set apart for the service of the
ing]y, Vesticeps (Festus, s. v.) was the same as gods, or that a certain person should be appointed
Pubes, and Investis or praetextatus the same as priest, a prayer was addressed to the gods by the
Isrpubes. (Gell. v. 19. Testiceps.) After the assump- augurs or other priests, soliciting them to declare
tion of the toga virilis, the son who was in the by signs whether the decree of men was agreeable
power of his father had a capacity to contract debts; to the will of the gods. (Liv. i. 18.) If the signs
and a pupillus was released from the tutela. But observed by the inaugurating priest were thought
if neither the pupillus wished to get rid of his tutor, favourable, the decree of men had the sanction of
nor the tutor to be released from the responsibility the gods, and the inauguratio was completed. The
of his office (for which he received no emolument), inauguratio was, in early times, always performed
the period of assuming the toga virilis might be by the augurs; but subsequently we find that the
ss 4