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To appreciate the full significance of the Apostle's figures in Gal. 3: and 4: they
must be viewed in the light of the law of adoption--and more particularly, the Greek law
of adoption. At the same time it must be remembered that Paul also uses the term in
Romans, so that we must also bear in mind the Roman law on the subject.
"The adopted son became a member of the family, just as if he had been born of the
blood of the adopter; and he was invested with all the privileges of a filius familias. As a
matter of fact it was by this means that the succession amongst the Caesars was
continued. It never descended from father to son. What with poison, divorce, luxury and
profligacy, the surviving members of a family were few, the descent suffered constant
interruption, and whole families disappeared . . . . . In no case amongst the Caesars did
the throne pass from father to son . . . . . Augustus was the great nephew of Julius Caesar,
and was adopted from the Octavian into the Julian gens. Tiberius was no relation at all to
his predecessor: he was merely the son of Augustus' wife, Lavia, by Tiberius Claudius
Nero. Here we have the introduction of another family--the Claudii . . . . . Nero was the
great nephew of his predecessor Claudius, who had adopted him in the year 50A.D."
(Septimus Buss).
Adoption was of two kinds: adoption proper, and adrogation.
Adoption proper.--It must be remembered that the father in Roman law had absolute
control over his family, possessing the same rights over his children as over his slaves.
By this patria potestas the son was deprived of the right to own property, and the father
could inflict any punishment he thought fit, even to the extent of the death penalty. He
could also sell his son into bondage. According to the law of the XII Tables, however, a
father forfeited his potestas if he sold his son three times. For this reason, in the case of
adoption, a legal ceremony took place in which the father went through the process of
selling his son three times, and the son passed over completely to the potestas of the
adopter. In later times the cumbersome ceremony was substituted by a simple declaration
before the Praetor or Governor.
Adrogation.--When the person to be adopted was his own master, he was adopted by
the form called adrogation (from the word for "ask", since in this case the adopter, the
adopted, and the people were "asked" rogatur). The law demanded that the adopter
should be at least eighteen years older than the adopted, for, says Justinian:
"Adoption imitates nature, and it seems unnatural that a son should be older than his
father" (Justinian).
"Adoption was called in law a capitas diminutio, which so far annihilated the
pre-existing personality who underwent it, that during many centuries it operated as an
extinction of debts" (W. E. Ball).
(1)
A CHANGE OF FAMILY.--The adopted person was transferred from one gens to another.
(2)
A CHANGE OF NAME.--The adopted person acquired a new name: for he assumed the
name of his adopter, and modified his own by the termination ianus. Thus, when
Caius Octavius of the Octavian gens was adopted by Julius Caesar, he became
Caius Julius Caesar Octavianus.
(3)
A CHANGEOF HOME, and (4) NEW RESPONSIBILITES AND PRIVILEGES.--While
the adopted person suffered many "losses", these were more than counterbalanced
by his "gains", for he received a new capacity to inherit. In the case of the adopter
dying intestate, the adopted son acquired the right of succession.