Proculus

Proculus flourished in the first century CE as an ancient Roman jurist who founded a distinctive tradition of interpreting Roman law; his followers became known as the Proculiani, or Proculeans. His full name is unknown, and he is thought to have written at least eight books of legal epistles, passages of which are repeatedly cited in Roman legal digests recording his opinions on disputed matters. He developed the interpretations of the earlier jurist Marcus Antistius Labeo, on whose work he is said to have written a commentary, and though the two did not always agree, they were usually paired against the rival Sabinian school founded by Ateius Capito and Masurius Sabinus, which was typically more conservative and rigid. The most famous point of disagreement between the schools concerned who owned an object made from materials belonging to someone else, such as a sculpture carved from anothers wood, a dispute later discussed by David Hume and Adam Smith. Proculus appears to have lived during the late Julio-Claudian period and is said to have practiced law under Nero, and may be identical to a Praetorian Prefect named Licinius Proculus who served under the emperor Otho.