This paper is concerned with the position of a Roman paterfamilias with respect to his family's property in the period of the Republic. Rights over property are in Roman law strictly dominium and not potestas; but to understand the role of a family system in a society one must analyse how its property is managed and passed on.

Master Yunmen: From the Record of the Chan Teacher 'Gate of the Clouds'. Translated, edited and introduced by Urs App. Kodansha International, New York, Tokyo, London 1994. xix, 252 pp. $13.00, £10.99.