486
THE GREEN BAG
mapped out, even down to the details of the laws of irrigation, of rivers, of public and private sewers, of the laws of streets, navi gation, and eminent domain. The ancient Romans, who desired to exercise the right of eminent domain for an irrigation ditch, or public improvement, went before the judge then, the same as in Kansas now, and the judge appointed three commissioners, the same as in Kansas, who made an examina tion and an award of damages for the tak ing of the right of way. In 1147 a.d. there was discovered at a monastery in Amalphi, Italy, a copy of the pandects of Justinian which now go by the general name of the Corpus Juris; they give us a full insight into the ancient law. The Roman Emperor Justinian desired that the law schools should have a code of study which would contain a brief of the law, so he appointed an eminent lawyer named Tribonian, who, with forty assistants, pro ceeded to boil down the law. In his report Tribonian says, that he has condensed his great work from twenty-four hundred text books upon the law which were then extant, showing that law-book writers were then as busy as now. There were at that time in the Roman empire, among others, three large law schools: one at Alexandria, one at Con stantinople, and one at Beyrout. The one at Beyrout was larger than any in the United States now, and was reported in the time of Tribonian to have four thousand students studying the Roman law. Jus tinian was somewhat vain-glorious of the success of his attempt and put a preface into his great book as follows : "The Emperor Caesar Flavius Justinianus, Vanquisher of the Alamani, Gothas, Francs, Germans, Antes, Alani, Vandals, Africans, Pious, Happy, Glorious, Triumphant, Con queror, ever August, to the youth desirous of studying the law, Greeting." Aristotle who had written a book on poli tics had given a definition of justice thus: "What is Justice? To give every man his due." This had stood for several centuries
as the best definition of justice until the very celebrated definition of Justinian super seded it and which has never been surpassed. The first sentence is as follows: "Justice is the constant and perpetual wish to render every one his due." It is a matter of profound regret that but a very small portion of Justinian's great work has been translated into English. The legal primer, the Institutes, being a small part of the Pandects, have been translated, but the code proper and the digest have not. And in order that you may have something of an idea as to the scope of the Roman law and the learning of the Roman lawyers I will give you here some translations. But before doing so I will say that the Pandects of Justinian are a collection of decisions and statements of law taken from the various authors of that time, and each author's name is given to each paragraph quoted from him. Therefore when I make a quota tion, although it is taken from Justinian, it gives the name of the Roman lawyer or judge who made the statement. I begin from Ulpian. "A river is distinguished from a brook, either by its size or the opinions of those living along it. "Some rivers are perennial; some are torrential. A perennial river is one which flows continually. A torrential river is one which flows in cold weather. If, however, a river which has flowed perennially dries up during a certain summer, it is none the less perennial. "Some rivers are public, others not. Cassius defines a public river as a perennial river. This definition, approved by Celsus, appears correct. "The Praetor's interdict, above set forth, concerns public rivers. If private, the inter dict does not apply; for a private river differs in no sense from any other private property. "If the channel through which a public river flows is artificial, the river is none the less public, and whatever is done therein is deemed to be done in a public river.
