AU´CTIO
AU´CTIO signifies generally “an increasing, an
enhancement,” and hence the name is applied to a public sale of
goods, at which persons bid against one another. The term
auctio is general, and comprehends the species
auctio, bonorum emptio, and
sectio. As a species,
auctio
signifies a public sale of goods by the owner or his agent, or a sale of
goods of a deceased person for the purpose of dividing the money among those
entitled to it, which was called
auctio
hereditaria (Cic.
pro Caecin. 5, 13).
The sale was sometimes conducted by an
argentarius, or by a
magister
auctionis; and the time, place, and conditions of sale were
announced either by a public notice (
tabula,
album), or by a crier (
praeco).
The usual phrases to express the giving notice of a sale are
auctionem proscribere, praedicare; and to determine
on a sale,
auctionem consti<*>uere.
The purchasers (
emptores), when assembled, were
sometimes said
ad tabulam
adesse. The phrases
[p. 1.246]signifying “to bid” are
liceri,
licitari, which was done either by word of mouth, or by such
significant hints as are known to all people who have attended an auction.
The property was said to be knocked down (
addici) to the purchaser, who either entered into an engagement
to pay the money to the
argentarius or
magister, or it was sometimes a condition of sale
that there should be no delivery of the thing before payment (Gaius, 4.126:
actio). An entry was made in the books of
the
argentarius of the sale and the money due,
and credit was given in the same books to the purchaser when he paid the
money (
expensa pecunia lata, accepta relata).
Thus the book of the
argentarius might be used
as evidence for the purchaser, both of his having made a purchase, and
having paid for the thing purchased. If the money was not paid according to
the conditions of sale, the
argentarius could
sue for it.
The
praeco or crier seems to have acted the part
of the modern auctioneer, so far as calling out the biddings (
Cic. de Off. 2.2. 3, 83) and
amusing the company. Slaves, when sold by auction, were placed on a stone or
other elevated thing, as used sometimes to be the case when slaves were sold
in the United States; and hence the phrase
homo de lapide
emptus. It was usual to put up a spear (
hasta) in auctions; a symbol derived, it is said, from the
ancient practice of selling under a spear the booty acquired in war. Hence
the phrase
sub haste vendere (
Cic. de Off. 2.8, 27) signified
“an auction.” The expression
asta
pubblica is now used in Italy to signify an auction: the expression
is
vendere all‘ asta pubblica or
vendere per subasta. [BONORUM
EMPTIO; SECTIO.]
[
G.L] [
E.A.W]
