A Note on Translation
Throughout this Casebook, “D.” stands for the Digest (Digesta) of Justinian, “C.” for the Codex of Justinian, and “Inst.” for the Institutes (Institutiones) of Gaius or Justinian, as indicated.
Many Cases also come from several postclassical epitomes of juristic sources: the Collatio (a “comparison” of Roman with Mosaic law); the Sentences (Sententiae) attributed to the jurist Paul but actually of considerably later date; and the Excerpts from Ulpian’s Writings (Tituli ex Corpore Ulpiani; also sometimes called Ulpiani Regularum Epitome), which probably has only a loose connection to Ulpian. Although these late imperial sources all derive their substance in large part from earlier classical sources, all have been subjected to post- classical abbreviation. A few Cases are also taken from nonlegal works by Cicero, Quintilian, Aulus Gellius, and other Roman authors.In handling texts, we have adopted a few special editorial conventions: square brackets ([ ]) indicate letters or words in the standard transmitted Latin text that we believe are not authentic and that we therefore do not translate, while angle brackets (< >) indicate letters or words that we have inserted into the Latin text. Within the English translations (whether or not a Latin text is also printed), parentheses always indicate our editorial insertions intended to clarify or explain the translation. Finally, readers unfamiliar with the Latin originals of Justinianic sources may wish to know that “pr.” in a citation (e.g., Case 2: D.1.5.4 pr.-1) refers to the principium, or “beginning,” of the Latin fragment, before the numbered subsections; this rather awkward numbering system originated in the Renaissance.
The translations in this Casebook are intended to render the original Latin into clear and comprehensible English, even at the cost of wordiness. Where the Latin text is disputed or its meaning ambiguous, we have opted for what we feel is the best solution; and this has also often meant making small changes in the transmitted text. All translations are our own, although we have often been influenced by the renderings in The Digest of Justinian (a four-volume English translation edited by Alan Watson, 1985), The Institutes of Gaius (an English translation by Francis de Zulueta, 1946-1953), and other standard translations.
For reasons that should become clear, we have usually left untranslated some important technical terms, since any English translation of these terms might fatally prejudice understanding of them. It is preferable that students learn the meaning of these words from the contexts in which they appear. However, the Glossary at the end of the volume should help with unfamiliar vocabulary.