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On the Ro7na7i Coloni, 125 dignity could protect him, not even the having enhsted as a soldier ^ As to what regards the clerical order, at first the only rule laid down was, that no oolonus should be ordained except in his native place, and that he should continue to pay his poUtax himself^^. Afterward his ordination was made dependent on the consent of his master, so that, unless the master had given it, he might demand his colonus back out of the church, and in like manner out of any monastic order ^. Finally Justinian returned to the original rule, and allowed the colonus to be ordained in his native place even without his master'^s consent, but obliged him to continue to discharge his obligations on the estate ^^, The episcopal office according to Justinian'^s ordinance gave a colonus his full freedom ^^. But on the other hand the master also was not allowed to separate the colonus from his estate. He had indeed an absolute power of disposing of him along with the estate, but none at all without it ^^. Such a sale was null : the seller might redemand his colonus; and the purchaser lost his pur- chase-money : this was to be the case even if a small piece of land was given into the bargain at the sale, for the purpose of evading the law^^ By an ordinance of Valen- tinian III however the exchange of one colonus for another was allowed ^^ : but this did not find its way into the code of Justinian. In like manner a landholder was further pro- hibited from selling his estate and keeping back the coloni^^. On the other hand a person who possest several estates, if there was a superabundance of coloni on one of them, and a deficiency on another, might remove a portion of them : and col. (xi. 63). The highest of these lines prevailed iii Thrace : it amounted to two pounds of gold. ^^ L. 6. 11. C. J. de agric. (xi. 47). L. 1. 3. C. J. de fugit. col. (xi. 63). 46 L. 33. C. Th. de episc. (xvi. 2) : that is, L. 11. C. J. de episc. (i. 3). 47 L. 16. L. 37. pr. C. J. de episc. (1. 3). 48 Nov. 123. c. 17. 49 Nov. 123. c. 4. ^^ L. 7. C. J. de agric. (xi. 47) : Originarios absque terra — vendi omnifariam non licebit. L. 21. eod. Et possit (dominus) — adscriptitium cum terra dominio suo ex- peUere. Nov. Valent. Tit, 9. 51 L. 7. C. J. de agric. (xi. 47). 52 Nov. Valent. Tit. 9. 53 L. 2. C. J. de agric. (xi. 47) : Si quis praedium vendere voluerit, vel donare, retinere sibi transferendos ad alia loca colonos privata pactione non possit. It is the same passage as in L. 3. C. Theod. de censu sine adscript, (xiii. 10).