THE LEADERS of the SCHOOLS the Sabinian C. Ateius Capito, Who

Home , Masurius Sabinus, Pliny the Younger, Sabinus (cognomen)

APPENDIX TWO

THE LEADERS OF THE SCHOOLS

1. Biographical Sketch of the Leaders of the Sabinian School

The Sabinian C. Ateius Capito, who died in 22 ad, was a jurist of a modest senatorial family. According to Pomponius, he was a tra- ditional jurist and a follower of the jurist Aulus Ofilius. In 5 ad, he held the office of consul suffectus and, from 13 ad, he was as curator aquarum in charge of the water supply. The work of Capito has not survived and is known only through quotations by other jurists.1 After C. Ateius Capito, Massurius Sabinus became head of the Sabinian school, which was named after him. He lived in the early 1st century ad. Because he was not a member of the Senate and did not have a political career, he occupied a special position among the jurists. He did not attain equestrian rank until he was nearly fifty years old. His financial means were so limited that he had to be supported by his students. Nevertheless, Tiberius conferred upon him the ius publice respondendi ex auctoritate principis and, according to Pomponius (D. 1.2.2.48), he was the first to be so honoured. His most important work was a systematic treatise on the ius civile, which is called Libri tres iuris civilis. This work was extensively commented on by Sextus Pomponius, Paul, and Ulpian. These commentaries were entitled Ad Sabinum.2 In the sources, the Sabiniani are also designated as the Cassiani, named after Sabinus’ successor C. Cassius Longinus. This jurist lived in the 1st century ad. A great deal is known about his family background. He was a descendant of one of the murderers of Julius Caesar.3 On his mother’s side, he descended from two renowned jurists; his mother was a daughter of Q. Aelius Tubero and a granddaughter of Servius Sulpicius Rufus. Moreover, his

1 About C. Ateius Capito, see Berger, p. 380; R.S. Rogers, Ateius Capito and Tiberius, in: A. Guarino – L. Labruna (eds.), Synteleia Arangio-Ruiz, I, Napoli 1964, pp. 123–127; W. Strzelecki, C. Ateius Capito, Der kleine Pauly 1 (1964), cc. 674–675; W. Kunkel, Herkunft und soziale Stellung der römischen Juristen, 2nd edn., Graz- Wien-Köln 1967, pp. 114–115; H.F. Jolowicz, Historical Introduction to the Study of Roman Law, 3rd edn., Cambridge 1972, p. 381. 2 About Massurius Sabinus, see Berger, p. 687; P. De Francisci, La patria e il cognomen di Masurius Sabinus, BIDR 5 (1963), pp. 95–96; Kunkel (1967), pp. 119–120; Jolowicz (1972), pp. 381–382; D. Medicus, Sabinus (5), Der kleine Pauly 4 (1972), c. 1485; R. Astolfi, I libri tres iuris civilis di Sabino, Padova 1983. 3 Tac., Ann., 16.7.2; Suet., Nero, 37.1; Dio, 59.29.3. the leaders of the schools 333 marriage with Iunia Lepida, a great-granddaughter of Augustus, connected him to the imperial house.4 Thus, C. Cassius Longinus belonged to the top echelons of the Roman aristocratic elite. After a career as praetor, consul suffectus (30 ad), governor of Asia Minor (40–41), and of Syria (45–49), he was exiled under Nero to Sardinia (65). He was recalled by Vespasian, but died on the day he returned. Apart from being a politician, Cassius was also a renowned jurist. His chief work was one on ius civile, which has come down to us in quotations by other authors and partly in excerpts in the Digest from Iavolenus’ Libri ex Cassio.5 Caelius Sabinus succeeded C. Cassius Longinus as head of the Sabinian school. He may already have assumed the leadership of the school when C. Cassius Longinus was in exile in Sardinia. Caelius Sabinus was a consul in 69 ad (Tac., Ann., 1.77) and, according to Pomponius (D. 1.2.2.53), he had much influence in the days of Vespasian (plurimum potuit). Aulus Gellius (4.2.3) stated that he wrote a commentary on the aedilician edict.6 L. Iavolenus Priscus, a jurist who lived in the second half of the 1st century ad, took over the position of Caelius Sabinus as head of the Sabinian school. He was the teacher of Salvius Iulianus.7 He held two legionary commands, one in Dalmatia and the other in Africa. Next, he became legal assessor (iuridi- cus) in Britain and, in 86 ad, he became a consul suffectus. Thereafter, he was governor successively of Germania superior, Syria, and Africa. In Rome, L. Iavolenus Priscus was pontifex. In one of his letters, Pliny the Younger (6.15) states that L. Iavolenus Priscus was a member of the consilium of the emperor Trajan and that he gave legal advice ‘publice’. The latter remark probably refers to Iavolenus having held the ius respondendi.8 His legal responsa were published in his most important work, Epistulae. Furthermore, there are excerpts in the Digest from his Libri ex Cassio and ex Plautio and from an epitome of Labeo’s Posteriores.9 After L. Iavolenus Priscus, Salvius Iulianus led the Sabinian school together with the lesser known Aburnius Valens and Tuscianus. Salvius Iulianus was a very important if not the most important jurist of the 2nd century ad, and

4 Tac., Ann., 16.8. 5 About C. Cassius Longinus, see Berger, p. 382; R. Hanslik, Cassius (13), Der kleine Pauly 1 (1964), cc. 1074–1075; Kunkel (1967), pp. 130–131; F. D’Ippolito, Ideologia e diritto in Gaio Cassio Longino, Napoli 1969, pp. 19–30; Jolowicz (1972), pp. 382–383; D. Nörr, Zur Biographie des Juristen C. Cassius Longinus, in: V. Giuffrè (ed.),Soda- litas. Scritti in onore di Antonio Guarino, VI, Napoli 1984, pp. 2957–2978; J.G. Wolf, Das Senatusconsultum und die Senatsrede des C. Cassius Longinus aus dem Jahre 61 n. Chr., Heidelberg 1988, pp. 13–16. 6 About Caelius Sabinus, see Berger, p. 378; Kunkel (1967), pp. 131–133; Jolowicz (1972), p. 383. 7 Iul., D. 40.2.5. 8 See infra: § 3. 9 About Iavolenus Priscus, see Berger, pp. 490–491; Kunkel (1967), pp. 138–140; T. Mayer-Maly, Iavolenus, Der kleine Pauly 2 (1967), c. 1328; Jolowicz (1972), p. 383; B. Eckardt, Iavoleni Epistulae, Berlin 1978, pp. 15–18; U. Manthe, Die libri ex Cassio des Iavolenus Priscus, Berlin 1982, pp. 16–31.