Peculium

LatIn Roman law. Such private property as might be held by a slave, wife or son who was under the patria potestas, separate from the property of the father or master, and in the personal disposal of the owner.

— Peculium castreuse. In Roman law. That kind of peculium, which a son acquired in war, or from his connection with the camp, (castrum.) Heinecc. Elem. lib. 2, tit. 9, § 474.

A little money; separate property. In the Roman law, the private or separate property of one who was not sui juris; particularly, the limited amount of money or property which a son or a slave was allowed to have, separate from the accounts or stocks of his father or master. Slaves did a great portion of the intellectual as well as the manual work of Rome; and it was found expedient to reward their zeal and fidelity by allowing the enjoyment and control of property. Whatever was thus allowed them was called peculium. It consisted of the savings made by a slave, or of presents given to him in reward of his services, and which his master was willing he should keep as his own property. Every thing turned on the intention of the master. If he intended to surrender to the slave the exclusive control and enjoyment of any thing as his qua^i property, then it was peculium; otherwise not. The consent of the master and the delivery of the thing to the slave (unless it was already in his possession) created the peculium. So the expressed intention of the master to put an end to the peculium at once destroyed it, even without the necessity of redelivering the things to the master. The peculium was also extinguished if the slave ran away or was stolen, or if nobody knew whether he was alive or dead. A JUius/amilias was exactly in the position of a slave as regards property; whatever would have been acquired by him if he became Independent, became the property of his paterfamilias. But by degrees the Jiliusfamilias obtained some rights of property. The first mitigation was to allow him to enjoy peculium on the same terms as a slave. Beyond this stage, no improvement was made in his lot during the republic. Under Caesar or Titus, a soldier Jiliusfamilias was particularly relieved from his proprietory disability in respect of certain acquisitions. The property that he was allowed to enjoy was tained by gift of his parents or relatives for his equipment, or himself acquired on service and by service. By successive enactments, the privilege conferred on soldiers of retaining their prizes and equipment in full ownership vpas extended to persons engaged in the higher civil ofl Sces. Hunter Rom. Law, 145. B<nia castrensia et quasi castrensia were the goods which a j Uiusfamilias, under the Roman law, was entitled to bequeath by will, or otherwise dispose of without the consent of the paterfamilias. Being under the power of his father, all property which he acquired, generally speaking, became the property of his father; but, in course of time, the emperors allowed sons to acquire certain goods of their own, which were called peculia. These were four in number. The peculium profecticum comprised every thing derived by the son out of the estate of the father, but in this the father acquired the absolute property. The peculium castrense, being property acquired by the son on account of military service (thence deriving its name), as well as the peculium quasi castrense, comprising all presents from the emperor, and every thing acquired in the exercise of civil and ecclesiastical duties, were the absolute property of the son, which he could dispose of by will or otherwise. The peculium adventicium comprised every thing coming to the son, except in the three ways already stated; but this was subject to the management of the father, and of which he enjoyed the usufruct or life-rent. On the father's death, but only then, this peculium became the absolute property of the son. Trayn. Max. 56.

civil law. The savings which were made by a son or slave with the consent of his father or master. Inst. 2, 9,1; Dig. 15. 1, 5, 3; Poth. ad Pand. lib. 50, tit. 17, c. 2, art. 3.