3.1.77 to 3.1.80

(71) Again, the question arises whether this Decree of the Senate refers to those children of a patron who are born of a daughter or granddaughter; that is to say, whether my grandson by my daughter will have a better right to the estate of my Latin than a foreign heir. The question also arises, whether this Decree of the Senate applies to Latins who belong to a mother; that is, whether, in the distribution of the estate of a Latin who belongs to a mother, the son of a patroness shall be preferred to the foreign heir of the mother. It was held by Cassius that, in both instances, there was ground for the application of the Decree of the Senate, but most authorities reject his opinion, for the reason that the Senate did not have in mind the children of female patrons who belong to another family, and this is evident from [1] Original manuscript illegible. the fact that it excludes such as have been expressly disinherited; for it seems to have had in view those who are usually disinherited by their parent if they are not appointed heirs. For it is not necessary for a mother to disinherit her son or daughter, nor a maternal grandfather his grandson or granddaughter, if he or she did not appoint them heirs; whether we consult the Civil Law or the Edict of the Prætor, by which the possession of an estate is granted to children who are passed over contrary to the provisions of the will. (72) Sometimes, however, a freedman who is a Roman citizen dies as a Latin; for example, where a Latin has obtained the right of Roman citizenship from the Emperor, with the reservation of the rights of his patron. For the Divine Trajan decided in a case of this kind that if a Latin obtained the right of Roman citizenship from the Emperor without the knowledge or consent of his patron, the said freedman resembles other Roman citizens, and can beget lawful children; but he will die a Latin, and his children cannot become his heirs, and also that he can only make a will in such a way as to appoint his patron his heir, and substitute another for him if he should refuse to accept the estate.