History of Roman Law

Author: Giuseppe Grosso (Italy)
Translator: Huang Feng
Editor-in-Chief: Ding Xiaoxuan
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 1998-03-01
Features:
Fragment: It is from this point that the perspective of legal scholars intersects with that of historians. Legal scholars regard the unity, organicity, and continuity of the legal system as a prerequisite from within the legal system; historians, on the other hand, focus on life, which manifests its rich diversity in its constant flow. These are two opposing starting points: the former should remain at the level of an organic normative system, while the latter avoids a strict tendency toward standardization. However, on the one hand, as a society of order (and the continuity of this order), it always faces the process of convergence toward unity that legal scholars seek, and this substantial condition also belongs to history; on the other hand, there is a fundamental fact: law, as a social phenomenon, is also a historical reality. Clearly, when legal scholars grasp the unity and organicity of the legal system and take it as a premise, they are in fact reproducing this unity in the flow and interweaving of various elements. To understand their work and to make this awareness more focused on the characteristics of the historical materials they use, legal scholars should broaden their perspective on historical issues; regardless of what meaning is attached to legal science, the awareness formed by the historical perspective is inherent. §2. The Position of Roman Law Research Roman civilization has played a significant role in shaping our modern civilization and culture, and among these, law holds the foremost position. Roman law has undergone a thousand years of historical development; its environmental conditions allowed it to have a far-sighted vision, extending its scope to different worlds; law is the highest manifestation of the genius of the Roman people, where the sources of law creation exhibit coherence and sensitivity; the Roman Empire and the Roman concept continued to play an important role in the later history of Europe, and Roman law, such as The Modern Use of the Pandects (Usus Modernus Pandectarum), still holds a position; all these factors make Roman law a fundamental component of legal scholars' historical literacy. Therefore, there is no need to defend the position of Roman law research in modern legal education. "General Introduction to Roman Law" and "Roman Law," as courses in historical study, are systematic discussions of Roman private law; Roman private law enables legal scholars to grasp the structure of legal thought. To make Roman private law more deeply rooted in the training of legal scholars, such systematic discussions are necessary. The course "History of Roman Law" grasps the historical development of the interdependence between various legal branches and political and social development, presenting a panoramic view of history that is essential for understanding various institutions. §3. Basic Outline History presents a continuity, and determining its starting and ending dates is often arbitrary. On the other hand, history is also diverse, and the changes in various social elements lead to transformation. Legal scholars capture the unity and organicity of the legal system within social structures; they evaluate the complexity of the legal system and define their relationships in complex social units; legal scholars study the characteristics of political organizations, trace their changes, and reveal unity, diversity, evolution, mixture, disappearance, and inheritance. The grand historical panorama centered on Rome shows the complex development of law over several centuries, from the initial tribal and village organizations to the later organizations and vast empires, which later manifested as the inheritance of cultural heritage. In this development, the continuity and unity of Roman law are evident, and this continuity has never ceased. On the other hand, due to complexity and diversity, as well as coexistence and stratification, intricate situations also emerged, evolving from extreme simplicity to extensive complexity. However, in this transformation, efforts to converge toward unity can also be found within the diversity and complexity. The Roman spirit of tradition, which is characteristic of Roman legal scholars, has led to a historical process of coexistence and stability, rather than abrupt turns or violent fluctuations, making the continuity of the thread clearly visible. This historical complexity that shapes Roman law, as a fundamental element of civilization, can also be discovered and recognized from a formal perspective.
Postscript: Postscript If we count from Professor Jiang Ping's visit to Rome in early 1989, the collaboration between Chinese and Italian scholars in the field of Roman law research has now entered its sixth year. Over the years, five pamphlets of Selected Translations of the Civil Code have been published in China [1], along with two translations of Roman law; a series of recent works by Chinese and Italian scholars have been published in legal journals in China and Italy; a "Roman Law Research Center" has been established at China University of Political Science and Law, and a small cooperative base equipped with necessary technical facilities and book collections has been set up at the Second University of Rome for joint use by Chinese and Italian scholars. Over the years, a group of young Chinese Roman law scholars has been rapidly growing and working diligently and pragmatically in the fields of Roman law research and teaching. Special mention should be made of my friends Mi Jian, Ding Mei, Fan Huaijun, and Fei Anling. If Rome is a tourist destination that countless people dream of visiting, then for my friends, Rome may leave a deeper impression than that—fighting day after day with the difficulties of study and work, and endless prescribed books and elenchi (translation tasks assigned by professors) that must be completed until the last day before returning home. Two young Italian scholars have also been working with us over the years, spending a great deal of time and effort: Dr. Aldo Beduatti (Dott. Aldo Petrucci) and Dr. Giuseppe Terracina (Dott. Giuseppe Terracina). I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the former, who helped me overcome the numerous linguistic and historical difficulties encountered while translating The History of Roman Law. His assistance was very specific, meticulous, and timely. The fruits of our collaboration over the years also reflect the dedication of Professor Sandro Schipani (Professor of Roman Law at the Second University of Rome and Senior Advisor to the Roman Law Research Center at China University of Political Science and Law), whose high sense of realism and meticulous organizational work have benefited us greatly. In the training of young Chinese scholars, Professor Schipani has demonstrated exceptional skill in maintaining strict but precise standards: he adjusts work and study plans and tasks in a timely manner based on the actual improvement of each individual, ensuring they are always under the optimal pressure and at their fullest level of performance. I would like to express my heartfelt respect to the friends mentioned above at the time of this book's publication. Regarding this History of Roman Law, I originally planned to address some of the technical difficulties encountered during translation and the methods used to resolve them in the postscript, but now it seems unnecessary: the Chinese translation has marked all Latin terms with explanations in the text and includes a detailed Latin (Italian)-Chinese glossary, allowing readers to check and evaluate the translator's work and independently understand the meanings of the terms (without being influenced by the translation). In the translation of names in the book, the translator did not fully adopt the previous translations. On the one hand, because some names are not yet standardized and multiple translations are confusing; on the other hand, the translator is confident that transliteration directly from Latin (or Italian) should be more accurate than translation from other languages. Of course, for names widely accepted by the public (such as Augustus, Diocletian, Theodosius, Caesar, etc.), the translator still adopted them without hesitation. Regarding the notation of references to Justinian's legislative documents in the book, see the explanation in §256–258. Reviewing the Roman law translations we have published in recent years, especially my own translations, there are indeed many regrets. Apart from carelessness and technical oversights in publishing, some issues arise from a lack of deep understanding of Roman law terms or institutions, or from insufficiently scientific and rigorous Chinese expression. It is better to have regrets than to stagnate. I hope to identify more regrets in the existing achievements (including those pointed out by experts) so that they can be corrected in future editions. Progress in academic research will come from this. From our collaboration plan, we still face very arduous tasks: completing the remaining several volumes of Selected Translations of the Civil Code in the coming years, supplementing, refining, and organizing them into a comprehensive compilation; conducting comparative research on modern and Chinese civil law and introducing and exchanging relevant achievements. I hope to continue to work hard with my partners in this field. Huang Feng January 9, 1994, at Puhuangyu