Herennius Modestinus, On Punishments, Book IV. A prisoner should not readily be entrusted to a new recruit, for if he escapes, he who committed the prisoner to his care will be to blame. 1The custody of a prisoner should not be committed to one, but to two guards. 2Those who have lost their prisoners through negligence are either punished in proportion to their fault, or are reduced in rank. If the prisoner was of little importance, after the soldiers have been chastised, they shall be restored to their positions; but if anyone releases a prisoner through compassion, he will lose his rank in the army. If, however, he was guilty of fraud in letting him go, he is either punished with death, or degraded to the lowest place in the service. Sometimes he is pardoned, for when a prisoner flees with one of his guards, pardon is granted to the other. 3If the prisoner should kill himself, or precipitate himself from a height, the soldier will be to blame, that is to say, he will be punished. 4If the guard himself should kill the prisoner, he will be guilty of homicide. 5Therefore, if it is alleged that the prisoner died as the result of an accident, this must be proved by witnesses, and then the guard will be pardoned. 6In addition to this, when the prisoner escaped through the fault of his guard, if the latter still has an interest in apprehending him, it is customary, after proper cause is shown, for a certain time to be given him to look for the fugitive, after having taken another soldier with him. 7Where a fugitive slave, who should have been restored to his master, is allowed to escape, if the person to blame has the means to do so, Saturninus says he must pay the value of the slave to his master.

Modestinus, Concerning Punishments, Book IV. The Governor of a province shall send back a deserter to his own commander, after he has been heard, with a report, unless the deserter has committed some serious offence in the province in which he was found; for the Divine Severus and Antoninus stated in a Rescript that the penalty should be inflicted upon him in the place where he perpetrated the crime. 1Military punishments are of the following kinds: namely, castigation, fines, the imposition of additional duties, transfer to another branch of the service, degradation from rank, and dishonorable discharge; for soldiers are neither condemned to labor in the mines nor subjected to torture. 2A vagabond is one who having wandered for a long time, voluntarily returns to the camp. 3A deserter is one who, after having been absent for some time, is brought back. 4He who leaves the army for the purpose of scouting in the presence of the enemy, or who goes beyond the ditch surrounding the camp, shall be punished with death. 5He who abandons the post to which he has been assigned commits a greater offence than a vagabond; and he is therefore either punished in proportion to the gravity of his crime, or is deprived of his rank. 6He who leaves while performing the duty of sentinel for the Governor of a province, or any commander whomsoever, is guilty of the crime of desertion. 7When a soldier does not return on the day when his furlough expires, he must be treated as if he had wandered away, or deserted, according to the time he has been absent. He should, however, be given the opportunity of showing that he has been detained by accident, on acount of which he may appear to be excusable. 8Anyone who remains a deserter for the entire time of his service is deprived of the privileges of a veteran. 9If several soldiers desert simultaneously, and return within a certain time; after having been reduced in rank, they shall be distributed in different places, but indulgence should be shown to new recruits. If, however, they repeat the offence, they shall undergo the prescribed punishment. 10He who escapes to the enemy and returns shall be tortured, and sentenced to be thrown to wild beasts, or to the gallows, although soldiers are not liable to either of these penalties. 11He who, intending to escape, is caught, is punished with death. 12But where a soldier is captured by the enemy unexpectedly, while he is on a journey, he shall be granted pardon after the conduct of his former life has been investigated; and if he returns to the army after his term of service has expired, he shall be restored as a veteran, and shall be entitled to the privileges which veterans enjoy. 13A soldier who has lost his arms in time of war, or has sold them, is punished with death, and it is only through indulgence that he may be transferred to another branch of the service. 14Anyone who steals the arms of another should be degraded from his rank in the army. 15He who, in time of war, does something which has been forbidden by his commander, or does not obey his orders, is punished with death; even if the transaction was brought to a successful conclusion. 16He, however, who leaves the ranks, shall, according to circumstances, be beaten with rods, or compelled to change his branch of the service. 17When anyone crosses the intrenchments of the camp, or returns to it by the wall, he is punished with death. 18Anyone who leaps over the ditch shall be dismissed from the army. 19He who excites a violent sedition among the soldiers is punished with death. 20Where a tumult attended with clamor or moderate complaints arises, the soldier will then be degraded from his rank. 21When several soldiers conspire to commit some crime, or where a legion revolts, it is customary for them to be disbanded. 22Those who refuse to protect their commander, or abandon him, are punished with death if he should be killed.