12. “But,” comes the reply, “I am being driven from the farm which my father and grandfather owned!” Well?
Who owned the land before your grandfather?
Can you explain what people (I will not say what person) held it originally?
You did not enter upon it as a master, but merely as a tenant.
And whose tenant are you?
If your claim is successful, you are tenant of the heir.
The lawyers say that public property cannot be acquired privately by possession; what you hold and call your own is public property—indeed, it belongs to mankind at large.
Book: Moral Letters Vol II
Subtitle: Seneca's timeless letters of advice and wisdom.
Author: Seneca
Chapter: On liberal and vocational studies
Location: Chapter 88, Section 12
Content:
12. “But,” comes the reply, “I am being driven from the farm which my father and grandfather owned!” Well?
Who owned the land before your grandfather?
Can you explain what people (I will not say what person) held it originally?
You did not enter upon it as a master, but merely as a tenant.
And whose tenant are you?
If your claim is successful, you are tenant of the heir.
The lawyers say that public property cannot be acquired privately by possession; what you hold and call your own is public property—indeed, it belongs to mankind at large.