A-dictionary-of-greek-and-roman-antiquities-william-smith

1.216 UNIVERSITAS.
UNIVERSITAS.
of the Municipes. Sometimes the word Curia U (in Corndianam\ but the dissolution only ex
used as equivalent to Civiuu : and sometimes the tended to mischievous associations, as may he
Decurionet arc spoken of as a Juristical person, safely inferred from the nature of the case, and
which lias property as such. (2) V'ici ; which even the words of Asconius, if carefully examined,
hare no political self-existence, but are attached are not inconsistent with this conclusion. Is
to some Respublica ; yet they are juristical per the Digest (47. tit 22. s. 1. 2, 3) we find the rate
sons, can hold property, and maintain suits. (3) that no collegium could be formed without it*
Kent, Conciliabula, Castella. These were places permission of a Senatuseonsnltum or the Caesar;
between Civitates and V'ici as to extent and im and persons who associated unlawfully wen jra3ry
portance ; they belonged to a Respublica, but had
the rights of juristical persons : they are not men
tioned in the legislation of Justinian, but the names
occur in the Tablet of Heraclea, in the Lex Galliae
Cisalpinae, and in Paulus (S. R. it. tit. 6. a, 3.)
In the later period of the Empire, Provinces were
viewed as juristical persons.
In the writings of the Agrimensores, commu
nities, and, particularly, colonies (cofoni), are desig
nated by the appropriate name of Publicae Personae,
and property is spoken of as belonging to
the Coloni, that is, the Colonia, Coloni being used
here in the same sense in which Municipes was
used as above explained.
Other juristical persons were (1) Religious
bodies, as Collegia of Priests, and of the Vestal
Virgins, which could hold property and take by
testament. (2) Associations of official persons,
such as those who were employed in administra
tion : the body of Scribae became one of the most
numerous and important, as they were employed in
all branches of administration ; the general name
was Scribae, a term which includes the particular
names of librarii, nscales and others ; they were
divided into subdivisions called Decuriae, a term
which even under the Republic and also under
the Empire denoted the corporations of Scribae ;
the individual members were called decuriati, and
subsequently decuriales ; the decuriati had great
privileges in Rome and subsequently in Constanti
nople. (Cic in Verr. iii. 79, ad Quint, frat. ii. 3 ;
Tacit. Ann. ziil 27 ; Sueton.^s«7. 57, Claud. 1.)
(3) Associations for trade and commerce, as Kabri,
Pistores, Navicularii, the individuals of which had
a common profession, on which the notion of their
union was founded ; but each man worked on his
own account. Associations properly included under
Societates [SociKTas] : such associations could be
dissolved by the notice of any member, and were
actually dissolved by the death of a single member.
Some of these associations, such as those for work
ing Mines, Salinae, and farming the Portoria were
corporate bodies, though they had the name of Socie
tates. (4) Associations, called Sodalitates, Sodalitia,
Collegia Sodalitia, which resembled modern clubs.
In their origin they were friendly associations for
feasting together ; in course of time many of them
became political associations, but from this we must
not conclude that their true nature really varied j
they were associations not included in any other
class that has been enumerated, but they differed
in their character according to the times. In
periods of commotion they became the central
points of political factions, and new associations, it
may be reasonably supposed, would be formed ex
pressly for political purposes. Sometimes the
public places were crowded by the Sodalitia and
Decuriati (Cic. ad Quint. Frat. ii. 3), and the
Senate was at last compelled to propose a lex which
should subject to the penalties of Vis those who
would not disperse. This was followed by a gene
ral dissolution of collegia according to Asconius
of an cxtraordinarium crimen. The rale of law
means that no union of persons could fsra s
juristical person without the consent of the proper
authority ; and this is quite distinct from tat
other provision contained in the same rule, wakk
punished associations of persons who acted as cor
porations, for this part of the rule relates only Ta
such associations as were dangeroua, or of an nodefined
character.
There were also in the Imperial period the
Collegia tenuiorum, or associations of poor people,
but they were allowed to meet only once a cants,
and they paid monthly contributions. (Dig. 47.
tit 22. s. 1, 3.) A man could only belong to one
of them. Slaves could belong to such a coUegtua,
with the permission of their masters.
Communities of cities and towns have a kind of
natural or necessary existence ; and other bodies,
called corporations, have been fashioned by a kind
of analogy to them, and like them can have pro
perty, and be represented like them by an agent,
wherein consists the essence of a juristical person.
Some of these corporations, like communities of
cities and towns, were of a permanent character,
as Colleges of Priests, Decuriae, and Companies
of artisans ; others had a temporary character,
as Societates and Sodalitates. All these corpo
rations are designated by the name either of Col
legium or Corpus, between which there is no legal
distinction ; for it appears that one corporatioa
was called a Collegium and another a Grrpus, as it
might happen. But both of these terms denote Corporation, as above explained, as opposed to a
Civitaa or Respublica. The members of such cor
porations were Collegae and Sodales, which is a
more general and an older term than Sodalitas.
Altogether they were called Collegiati and Corporati
: the members of particular kinds of corpora
tions were Decuriati, Decuriales, Socii. The com
mon name which includes all Corporations and
Civitates is Universitas, as opposed to which any
individual is singularis persona.
The notion of individual property as a unity is
founded on the notion of the unity of the owner.
But this notion of unity, when once established,
may for certain purposes be arbitrarily assumed,
and accordingly it is applied to the case of PecnJium,
Dos, and Hereditas, and modern writers have
designated these as cases of a Universitas Juris.
The name Universitas Juris does not occur in the
Roman law. On this subject see Puchta, Intt
ii. § 222. The nature of Succession is explained
under Successio.
The term Universitas was adopted in the middle
ages to denote certain great schools, but not as
Schools : the term denoted these places as corpora
tions, that is, as associations of individuals. The
adjunct which would express the kind of persons
associated would depend on circumstances: thus
in Bologna, the expression Universitas Scholarium
was in common use ; in Paris, Universitas Magistrorum.
The School as such was called Schola,