DO INSTITUTIONS OR ORGANS REAPPEAR ? 231 



that after the lapse of several centuries, an institu- 

 tion seems to reappear. 



An exact analogy to the primitive contubernium 

 (the community of the cabin) is exhibited in modern 

 slavery. Only a few years ago, in the Spanish 

 Antilles, marriage between slaves was recognized by 

 neither church nor state. When a negro wished to 

 become united to a particular negress he asked per- 

 mission of his owner to share his cabin with her, 

 and these unions could only be dissolved with the 

 consent of the master. It is hardly likely that 

 these slave marriages of the Spanish Antilles are 

 survivals or rather resuscitations of the Roman 

 contubernium. They rather represent a case of 

 convergence : identity in circumstance has been 

 productive of identity in institution. In this case, 

 as in all others of the same kind, it cannot be said 

 that a bygone institution has reappeared, for the 

 new institution has quite a different origin. Further, 

 in the other instances which have been mentioned, 

 an institution which has reappeared has never really 

 ceased to exist ; a real dissolution has never been 

 followed by a resuscitation. For this to happen, the 

 whole social surroundings would have to be trans- 

 formed into their former condition, which is obviously 

 impossible. 



