PATRON

(Lat. patron us; from pater, /a/Aer.) The relation of patron and client, in ancient Rome, has been explained under the head Client. After the extinction of republican sentiments and usages, the term patron was still applied to advocates who defended causes for hire. But the right of patronage, analogous to that which had subsisted under the commonwealth, may be said only to have existed in the relation between masters and freedmen, the latter of whom were placed under various obligations to their former owners. In the usage of the Roman Catholic Church, a patron saint is the peculiar protector of each country, community, profe ion, ., or of individuals. The prime minister of the pope is termed the cardinal-patron. (As to the Roman patrons, see Mem. de I' Acad, des Inscr. vol. xii.) [s. 915]