ship, in default of appointment by will. The object of all this cannot escape our attention. The guardians would see to it that the property of the maid or widow did not pass out of their respective families. Although this law gradually fell into disuse in the closing years of the republic and during the empire, there is no doubt that, at the time of which we write, it existed in all its disagreeable severity. A woman could alienate none of her property, nor enter into any kind of contract, not even that of marriage, without the consent of her guardians. " Her inheritance, therefore, was hers in name only; in reality, it was in the hands of her guardians."[1] In the language of Livy:[2]"To every act, even of a private character, done by a woman, our ancestors required the sanction of a guardian." Even with this sanction she could not make a will or emancipate a child. The first, as has been stated, was a public act, and a woman was absolutely unknown to the public law. She could not emancipate, because, as she herself was never free from control, it was impossible for her to have a child under power, either by birth or adoption, whom she could make sui juris.
To this almost universal nonentity of woman in law there was one surprising exception. The Vestal Virgins enjoyed great and exceptional privileges. Upon their induction to office, they were immediately freed from all paternal control. They could be witnesses in a court of justice, where no oath was required of them. If a criminal, on his way to execution, chanced to meet a Vestal, he was immediately set free. They also enjoyed many other high privileges, which, in spite of the fact that they could never marry, must have made it very desirable for a Roman maiden to become a priestess of Vesta.
It is quite a relief, after an examination of woman's legal position in these bygone days, to turn our attention to the private life of the Romans, and learn how the gentler sex were treated socially. Here do we find another proof of the, great superiority of the Roman race to other nations of antiquity in all that affects the welfare of society and the progress of government. Woman's place in the private life of even the earliest Romans was very high. She was not confined to her apartments, as in Hellas, but was per- mitted to mingle freely with her husband's guests. She could
