Excerpt from Six Roman Laws

I have been induced to undertake the somewhat unattractive and to me at least the not altogether easy task of translating a few of the longer and more important laws in Bruns's collection, because my own experience has convinced me that some such help is indispensable if these sources of evidence are to be accessible to our younger students in Roman History. That they should be encouraged to make use at first hand of this kind of evidence it is quite unnecessary to insist, since it has long been the tradition of historical teaching at Oxford to base the study of every period as far as possible upon the original authorities, or at least to recognize that even the best of modern works should be tested by every possible criticism, verification, and correction from these sources. But a two years' course involving subjects so various and comprehensive as those required for Literae Humaniores implies serious time limitations both upon students and lecturers. Among the former even our best men - at least this is my experience both as tutor and examiner - very rarely make any real acquaintance with these longer inscriptions. They are deterred partly by the unfamiliar legal phraseology, partly by the numerous gaps and lacunae, and in any case by the time required for translating so much not over easy Latin. On the other hand, lecturers can only deal adequately with the evidence contained in these laws in special courses, and even so, unless the texts themselves are read, perhaps not very much is gained. My object, therefore, is to make these laws accessible to all men who are reading for Literae Humaniores.

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