Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §1.2.1.pr

Necessity of Tracing Law to the City's Origin and Prefaces

Passage 13 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Gaius explains the necessity of tracing the law back to the origins of the city before interpreting ancient laws, drawing analogies from forensic pleading and the benefits of prefaces.

[Gaius libro primo ad legem duodecim tabularum. ] §1.2.1.prFacturus legum uetustarum interpretationem necessario prius ab urbis initiis repetendum existimaui, non quia uelim uerbosos commentarios facere, sed quod in omnibus rebus animaduerto id perfectum esse, quod ex omnibus suis partibus constaret: et certe cuiusque rei potissima pars principium est.
[Gaius in the first book on the Law of the Twelve Tables.] As I am about to write an interpretation of the ancient laws, I thought it necessary first to trace back from the beginnings of the city; not because I wish to write verbose commentaries, but because I notice in all things that that is perfect which consists of all its parts: and certainly the most important part of any thing is its beginning.
deinde si in foro causas dicentibus nefas ut ita dixerim uidetur esse nulla praefatione facta iudici rem exponere: quanto magis interpretationem promittentibus inconueniens erit omissis initiis atque origine non repetita atque illotis ut ita dixerim manibus protinus materiam interpretationis tractare? namque nisi fallor istae praefationes et libentius nos ad lectionem propositae materiae producunt et cum ibi uenerimus, euidentiorem praestant intellectum.
Next, if it is seen as almost a sacrilege, so to speak, for those pleading cases in the forum to lay the matter before the judge without making any introduction: how much more unsuitable will it be for those who promise an interpretation, if they, omitting the beginnings and not tracing the origin, and with—so to speak—unwashed hands, immediately handle the material of interpretation? For unless I am mistaken, these introductions both lead us more willingly to the reading of the proposed material, and, when we arrive there, provide a clearer understanding.

Notes

  1. §1.2.1.prFacturus — The future active participle facturus agrees with the implied subject of existimaui (Gaius) and expresses intention ('being about to undertake').
  2. §1.2.1.prrepetendum — The gerundive repetendum (forming an accusative-and-infinitive construction with an omitted esse) expresses necessity, with an implied subject accusative me: 'I thought [that I] must trace back.'
  3. §1.2.1.prnon quia uelim ... sed quod ... animaduerto — The subjunctive uelim is used after non quia to denote a rejected, hypothetical reason, whereas the indicative animaduerto is used after sed quod to assert the true, factual reason.
  4. §1.2.1.prut ita dixerim — An idiomatic formula using the perfect subjunctive, meaning 'so to speak' or 'as it were,' inserted to soften the metaphorical or strong expressions (nefas, illotis manibus).
  5. §1.2.1.prillotis ut ita dixerim manibus — The phrase 'with unwashed hands' is a metaphorical expression meaning 'performing an action without proper preparation (or ritual respect),' structured here as an ablative absolute.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §1.2.1.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:1.2.1.pr

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.