Page:Roman Constitutional History, 753-44 B.C..djvu/17

Rh had the authority (patria potestas) under certain restrictions to expose, sell, or kill his children. He owned, managed, and disposed of the family property.

The Clan.—The Latin clan (gens) comprised the free male descendants on the male side from a common ancestor, the free female descendants through the male line who remained unmarried, and all the women who were married to members of the clan (gentiles). In a certain sense de- pendent and protected persons (clientes) also belonged to the clan. The members of a clan had a common name, a common worship, and mutual rights and duties. They were under obligation to assist and protect one another, and they exercised a certain jurisdiction, particularly in the case of minors and insane persons. Perhaps no one wielded in the clan such an extensive authority as the father did in the family. The powers of the father and the clan were probably greater in the prehistoric times, since the state and the claims of individual liberty tended to diminish them.

The members of a clan seem to have occupied lands in common, and to have built one or more villages. Each family received a portion of the lands, and the clan retained a common tract, which down to a somewhat late period was managed as a joint possession.

The Canton.—The clan was too small a body to be an independent community or state (populus, civitas). For the sake of greater safety several clans that had settled in the same locality united and formed a canton (pagus). The canton was the incipient Italian state. It had as a centre a height (capitolium) or stronghold (arx) which contained the seat of justice and the sanctuary of the canton, and served as a place of assembly and of refuge. This centre was enclosed and fortified by a wall, and became under favorable circumstances the nucleus of a town.