[ULPIANUS libro primo institutionum. ] §1.1.1.prIuri operam daturum prius nosse oportet, unde nomen iuris descendat.
[ULPIANUS in the first book of his Institutes.] A person who is going to devote himself to the law must first know from where the name of law is derived.
est autem a iustitia appellatum: nam, ut eleganter Celsus definit, ius est ars boni et aequi.
Now it is named after justice; for, as Celsus elegantly defines it, law is the art of the good and the equitable.
§1.1.1.1Cuius merito quis nos sacerdotes appellet: iustitiam namque colimus et boni et aequi notitiam profitemur, aequum ab iniquo separantes, licitum ab illicito discernentes, bonos non solum metu poenarum, uerum etiam praemiorum quoque exhortatione efficere cupientes, ueram nisi fallor philosophiam, non simulatam affectantes.
Of which art someone might deservedly call us the priests; for we cultivate justice and profess knowledge of the good and the equitable, separating the equitable from the inequitable, distinguishing the lawful from the unlawful, desiring to make men good not only through fear of punishments but also by the encouragement of rewards, aspiring to a true, unless I am mistaken, and not a simulated philosophy.
§1.1.1.2Huius studii duae sunt positiones, publicum et priuatum.
Of this study there are two branches, public and private.
publicum ius est quod ad statum rei Romanae spectat, priuatum quod ad singulorum utilitatem: sunt enim quaedam publice utilia, quaedam priuatim.
Public law is that which regards the state of the Roman commonwealth, private law that which regards the utility of individuals; for some things are of public utility, others of private utility.
publicum ius in sacris, in sacerdotibus, in magistratibus constitit.
Public law consists in sacred rites, in priests, and in magistrates.
priuatum ius tripertitum est: collectum etenim est ex naturalibus praeceptis aut gentium aut ciuilibus.
Private law is threefold; for it is gathered from natural precepts, or from those of nations, or from civil precepts.
§1.1.1.3Ius naturale est, quod natura omnia animalia docuit: nam ius istud non humani generis proprium, sed omnium animalium, quae in terra, quae in mari nascuntur, auium quoque commune est.
Natural law is that which nature has taught to all animals; for this law is not peculiar to the human race, but is common to all animals which are born on the land and in the sea, and also to birds.
hinc descendit maris atque feminae coniunctio, quam nos matrimonium appellamus, hinc liberorum procreatio, hinc educatio: uidemus etenim cetera quoque animalia, feras etiam istius iuris peritia censeri.
Hence comes the union of male and female, which we call marriage, hence the procreation of children, hence their rearing; for we see that other animals also, even wild beasts, are deemed to possess knowledge of this law.
§1.1.1.4Ius gentium est, quo gentes humanae utuntur.
The law of nations is that which human nations use.
quod a naturali recedere facile intellegere licet, quia illud omnibus animalibus, hoc solis hominibus inter se commune sit.
It is easy to understand that this departs from natural law, because the former is common to all animals, while the latter is common only to humans among themselves.