# The Institutes of Gaius 1.1.249-254

Roman Law and Society, The Institutes of Gaius, 1.1.249 to 1.1.254. Latin.

Canonical: https://interlinea.aeterna-institute.org/library/latin/roman-law-and-society/the-institutes-of-gaius/1.1.249

(195b) Likewise, if her patron, or his son, gives himself in adoption, a freedwoman should demand a guardian for herself either under the Lex Atilia, or the Lex Julia et Titia . (195c) Likewise, under the same laws, a freedwoman should demand a guardian, where her patron dies and leaves no child of the male sex in the family. (196) Again, when males reach the age of puberty they are released from guardianship. Sabinus and Cassius and our other preceptors hold that a person has arrived at the age of puberty who manifests this by the condition of his body, that is to say, if he is capable of procreation; but in the case of those who cannot show this condition, as for instance, eunuchs, their age should be considered to be that at which persons ordinarily reach puberty. Authorities belonging to another school, however, think that the age of puberty should be estimated by years; that is to say, they hold that a person has arrived at the age of puberty who has completed his thirteenth year. . . . [1] (197) After having been released from guardianship, the affairs of a minor are administered by a curator until he reaches the age when he is qualified to transact his own business; and this rule is observed among foreign nations, as we have stated above. (198) In cases of this kind, in the provinces, curators are usually appointed by the governor. (199) In order to prevent the property of wards and persons who are under the charge of curators from being wasted or diminished in value by their guardians and curators, it is the duty of the Prætor to compel guardians and curators to furnish security for this purpose.

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Roman Law and Society, The Institutes of Gaius. Text: The Latin Library (thelatinlibrary.com), used with permission. Changes: HTML markup removed and the text divided into reading sections by Interlinea.
License: Used with permission (https://www.thelatinlibrary.com/about.html). Source: http://thelatinlibrary.com/law/gaius.html.