ARTICLE I: ON THE ACCEPTANCE OF ANOTHER'S THING

721. General Principle. - The owner alone of the thing has per se the right of possessing it, nor does he lose dominion of the thing into whosever hands it may at last come. - It is said, per se; because any other possessor, even one of good faith, has the right of possessing the thing only by accident and from invincible error. - But from this general principle these four very well-known axioms flow of themselves.

1° The thing cries out for its owner, that is, to the owner belongs the strict right of pursuing his thing, in whatever state and in whosever possession it may be, by a real action, which they call juridical vindication.

2° The thing fructifies for the owner; because use and fruition are necessarily included in the idea of perfect dominion.

3° The thing naturally perishes for the owner; because, with the object of dominion disappearing, dominion itself also vanishes. If nevertheless it still exists in an equivalent, the owner can seek that equivalent by a personal action.

4° No one ought to be enriched unjustly from another's thing; in other words: The measure of restitution is the quantity of another's thing detained without cause. The reason is clear; for to the owner alone of the thing belongs the receiving of utility from the same.

But these principles, besides the fact that sometimes according to diverse laws of places they receive diverse application, are moreover modified according to the diverse condition of the possessor. For one can possess another's thing either with good faith, or with bad faith, or with doubtful faith. Therefore it must be said 1° concerning the possessor of good faith; 2° concerning the possessor of bad faith; 3° concerning the possessor of doubtful faith.