thus of such an estate, not the whole proceeds, but a part only, was offered as a gift. According to the system of Roman law, the state did not keep as much as possible of what was _publicum_ for itself; but it proclaimed that every Romanus Quiris who wished to cultivate a part of the conquered country, might take it. This was called _occupatio agri publici_. At first, those who were patricians, as the oldest citizens, might take a plot wherever they liked. This was for the most part waste land, become desolate in the war, on the hostile frontier, and therefore there was no great competition for it. From the very first, the obligation was imposed of paying the _decumæ_ and _quintæ_. It was this revenue which was farmed, and this has always been overlooked. The terms _agrum locare_ and _agrum vendere_ are synonymous, and mean neither more nor less than _fructus agri vendere_, _agrum fruendum locare_. One really had the possession of such an estate very much as if it were one’s own, so that a third party could not claim it; just like the tenant at will, from whom the landlord may under certain conditions take his farm, but who enjoys perfect protection against any one else. This was secured among the Romans by the possessory interdicts, so that this possession might also become hereditary. But the state, on the other hand, might at any time interfere, and say, “Now I want to establish a colony here, or to divide the land _viritim_, the occupant has therefore notice to quit;” and in that case the latter had no _auctoritas_ whatever against the state. From this it is evident that the state could always dispose of the _ager publicus_, so that, for instance, no more than a certain number of _jugera_ came into the possession of a single person; for others would thus have been excluded from it, and the excessive influence of an individual, from the immense number of his clients, might have become dangerous to the whole community.