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

974 P UBLICIANA IN REM ACTIO. PUGILATUS.
way in which these inferior officers sometimes be- land. As the legislation of Justinian rendered
bhaed towards travellers and merchants, see Plant. the old forms of transfer of servitiltes unnecessary,
Melieaech. i. 2. 5, &c.; Cic. ad Quiet. Frt. i. 1; the Publiciana actio could then only apply to a
Plut. de Curiosit. p. 518, e. (Compare Burmann, case of Possessio.
de Vectig. c. 9.) [L. S.] (Dig. 6. tit. 2; Inst. 4. tit. 6; Savigny, Das
PUBLICIA'NA IN REM ACTIO, was given Recct des Besitzes, p. 13, 5th ed.; Puchta, Inst.
to him who had obtained possession of a thing ex ii. ~ 233; Mackeldey, Lel?-rblcl, 12th ed. ~ 270,
justa causa, and had lost the Possession before he and the notes). [G. L.]
had acquired the ownership by Usucapion. This PU'BLICUM. [AERARIUM, p. 23, b.]
was a Praetorian action, so called from a Praetor PUBLICUM, PRIVATUM JUS. CJus, p.
Pablicins; and the fiction by which the Possessor 657, b.]
was enabled to sue, was that he had obtained the PU'BLICUS AGER. [AGEa.]
owsnership by Usucapion. (Gains, iv. 36, where PUER. [SERvus.]
the intentio is given.) This actio was an incident PUGILA'TUS (7rib, 7ruvy7/, srv7y1caXia, 7rVu/0oto every kind of possessio which was susceptible ot'v7), boxing. The fist (psugz2zs, sriu) being the
of Usucapion (the thirty years' excepted). In simplest and most natural weapon, it may be
the old Roman Law, this Actio resembled the taken for granted that boxing was one of the
Vindicatio, and in the newer Roman Law it was earliest athletic games among the Greeks. Hence
still more closely assimilated to it, and consequently even gods and several of the earliest heroes are
in this actio, mere Possession was not the only described either as victors inl the 7rwvyl7/x, or as disthing considered, but the matter was likened to tinguished boxers, such as Apollo, Heracles, Tythe case where ovwnership and Possession were ac- deus, Polydeuces, &c. (Paus. v. 7. ~ 4; Theocrit.
quired at the same time by Occupatio or Traditio. xxiv. 113; Apollod. iii. 6. ~ 4; Pans. v. 8. ~ 2.)
Accordingly Possessio for the purposes of Usuca- The Scholiast on Pindar (Neo7. v. 89) says that
pion may be viewed in two ways: viewed with Theseus was believed to have invented the art of
respect to the ownership of which it is the founda- boxing. The Homeric heroes are well acquainted
tion, it is an object of jurisprudence as bare Pos- with it. (Hom. 1I. xxiii. 691, &c.; compare Od.
session; viewed with reference to the Publiciana Yiii. 103, &c.) The contest in boxing was one of
Actio, which is incident to it, it is viewed as the hardest and most dangerous, whence Homer
ownership. The owner of a thing might avail gives it the attribute a&Xewe/V. (Ii. xxiii. 653.)
himself of this action, if he had any difficulty in Boxing for men was introduced at the Olympic
proving his ownership. games in 01. 23, and for boys in O1. 37. (Panus.
This action was introduced for the protection of v. 8. ~ 3.) Contests in boxing for boys are also
those who had a civilis possessio, but that only, mentioned ill the Nemea and Isthmia. (Paus. vi.
and consequently could not recover a thinog by the 4. ~ 6.)
Rei vindicatio, an action which a man could only In the earliest times boxers (pugiles, 7rSKi'a)
have, when he had the Quiritarian ownership of a fought naked, with the exception of a Cjqua round
thing. According to the definition a man could their loins (Hom. 11. xxiii. 683; Virg. Acn. v.
have this actio both for a thing which he had 421); but this was not used when boxing was ilnin bonis and for a thing of which he had a civilis troduced at Olympia, as the contests in wrestling
possessio, without having it in bonis. When he and racing had been carried on here by persons
had the thing in bonis his action was good against entirely naked ever since 01. 15. Respecting the
the Quiritarian owner, for if such owner pleaded leathern thongs with which pugilists surrounded
his ownership, the plaintiff might reply that the their fists, see CESTUS, where its various forms are
thing had been sold and delivered and therefore illustrated by wood-cuts.
was his in bonis. The Publiciana actio of the The boxing of the ancients appears to have replaintiff who had a civilis possessio, without having sembled the practice of modern times. Some parthe thing in bonis) was not good against the ticulars, however, deserve to be mentioned. A
owner, who had the right of ownership, in fact, peculiar method, which required great skill, was
while the plaintiff had it only in fiction; nor was not to attack the antagonist, but to remain on the
it valid against another who had a Civilis possessio defensive, and thus to wear out the opponent,
as good as his own. His action was good against a until he was obliged to acknowledge himself to be
Possessor who had not a civilis possessio. In this conquered. (Dio Chrysost. /Telanc. ii. orat. 29;
action the plaintiff had to prove that he possessed Eustath. od II. p. 1322. 29.) It was considered
civiliter, before the time when he lost the pos- a sign of the greatest skill in a boxer to conquer
session. [PossEssIo.] without rcceivinq any wounds, so that the two
The object of the action was the recovery of the great points in this game were to inflict blows,
thing and all that belonged to it (cum omni causa). and at the same time not to expose oneself to
IIn the legislation of Justinian, the distinction be- any danger (7rA;lwy Kmal uw;aK, J. Chrysost.
tween Res Mancipi and Nec Mancipiwas abolished, Serrau. vii. 1; Plut. Syssspos. ii. 5; compare Pans.
and ownership could in all cases be transferred by vi. 12. ~ 3). A pugilist used his right arm chiefly
tradition. The Publiciana actio therefore became for fighting, and tile left as a protection for his
useless for any other purpose than a case of bonae head, for all regular blows were directed against
fidei possessio, and this seems to explain why the the upper parts of the body, and the wounds inwords " non a domino " appear in the Edict as fiicted upon the head were often very severe and
cited in the Digest (6. tit. 2. s. 1), while they do fatal. In some ancient representations of boxers
inot appear in Gains (iv. 36). the blood is seen streaming from their noses, and
The Publiciana actio applied also to Scrvitutes, their teeth were frequently knocked out. (Apolthe right to which had not been transferred by Ion. Rhid. ii. 785; Theocrit. ii. 126; Virg.
Mancipatio or In jure cessio, but which had been Aen. v. 469; Aelian. KV H. x. 19.) The ears
enjoyed with the consent of the owner of the especially wecre exposed to great danger, and