one of the most distinguished of the Roman jurists, has been supposed, without any good
reason, to be of Greek origin, and from a Phoenician town.
Others conjecture that he was a native of Patavium (Padua), because there is a statue there,
with an inscription, Paulus ; but the statue and inscription may refer to another Paulus
(Gellius, 5.4, 19.7). Paulus was in the
auditorium of Papinian (Dig. 29. tit. 2. s. 97; 49. tit. 14. s. 50),
and consequently was acting as a jurist in the joint reigns of Septimius Severus and Antoninus
Caracalla, and also during the reign of Caracalla. Paulus was exiled by Elagabalus, but he was
recalled by Alexander Severus when he became emperor, and was made a member of his consilium
(Aurel. Vict. De Caes. xxiv.; Lamprid. Alex. 25).
Paulus also held the office of praefectus praetorio : he survived his contemporary Ulpian. In
two passages of the Digest which have been already referred to, Paulus (Libro tertio
Decretorum) speaks of two cases in which he gave an opinion contrary to Papinian, but the
emperor decided according to Papinian's opinion.
Works
Paulus was perhaps the most fertile of all the Roman law writers, and there is more
excerpted from him in the Digest than from any other jurist, except Ulpian. It
is said that there are 2462 excerpts from Ulpian, in the Digest, and 2083 from Paulus, or
2080, according to Puchta (
Cursus, &c. vol. i. p. 458),
which make about one sixth of the whole Digest. The excerpts from Paulus and Ulpian together
make about one half of the Digest. Cervidius Scaevola, Paulus, and Ulpian, are named by
Modestinus (
Dig. 27. tit. 2. s. 13.2), who was the last of the great
jurists,
τῶν νομικῶν κορυφαίους : Paulus is honoured
by Gordian with the title "prudentissimus" (Cod. 5. tit. 4. s. 6). It has been objected to
him that his style is too condensed, and that he is sometimes obscure; but his style is as
good as that of other writers of the period, though not so easy as that of Ulpian. Some
writers have discovered something of Grecism in him, which is made an argument in favour of
his Greek origin. The writings, like those of all the Roman jurists who are known to us only
by excerpts, require a careful study, as we have the fragments detached from their
context.
Paulus commented on Javolenus, Labeo, Salvius Julianus, C. Scaevola, and Papinian. He is
cited by Macer and Modestinus.
Writings mentioned in the Florentine Index
The writings of Paulus mentioned in the Florentine Index are the following; from some of
which there is only a single excerpt or a few, and from some not one in the Digest. 1. His great work, Ad Edictum, in 80 books.2. Quaestiones, in 26 books; both these works are
commented on by Cujacius (Op. tom. v.).3. Responsa, in 23 books.4. Brevia, in 23 books.5. Ad Plautium, in 13 books.6. Libri ad Sabinum, in 16 books.7. Ad Leges Jul. et Pap., in 10 books.8. Regularia, in 7 books, and9. Liber Singularis Regularium, both of which are
excerpted in the Digest : the Index also mentions Regularium
βιβλίον ἕν.10. Sententiae sive Facta, in 6 books, but there is no
excerpt in the Digest; and this work is conjectured to be the same as the Sex Libri
Imperialium Sententiarum, which are mentioned afterwards in this article.11. Sententiar. Libri quinque, dedicated to his son :
this work was used in the Visigoth collection called the Breviarium, where it is divided
into titles, and called Sententiae Receptae, a name which may
have been given to it on account of its importance, and in consequence of the sanction of
Constantine and Valentinian.12. Ad Vitellium, in 4 books.13. Ad Neratium, in 4 books.14. Fideicommissa, in 3 books.15. Decretorum Libri III., of which it is conjectured
that the Decretorum Libri sex, or Imperialium Sententiarum in
Cognitionibus prolatarum Libri sex, or Sententiae sive
Decreta, may be a second edition.16. De Adulteriis, in 3 books.17. Libri tres Manualium.18. Institutiones, in 2 books, from which there is a
fragment in Boethius, Ad Ciceronis Topica, lib. 2 (ad
100.4).19. De Officio Proconsulis, in 2 books.20. Ad Legem Aeliam Sentiam, in 3 books.21. Ad Legem Juliam, in two books.There is only a
single excerpt in the Digest (48. tit. 9. s. 15).22. De Jure Fisci, in 2 books : there is only one
excerpt from this work Dig. 34. tit. 9. s. 5.23. Regularium Liber Singularis, which has been already
referred to.24. De Censibus, in 2 books, written in the time of
Elagabalus Dig. 50. tit. 15. s. 8.
Treatises in single books
All the following treatises were in single books :-- 1. De Poenis Paganorum.2. De Poenis Militum.3. De Poenis omnium Legum.4. De Usuris.5. De Gradibus et Affinibus : Cujacius (Op. tom. iii. Observ. 6.100.40) says
that "a person worthy of credit, into whose hands this book had come entire, had affirmed
that this work was almost entirely given in the 10th fragment De
Gradibus" Dig. 38. tit. 10; which fact, if
true, shows that many of these single treatises were no more than chapters.6. De Jure Codicillorum.7. De Excusationibus Tutelarum (Vat. Frag. § 246).8. Ad Regulam Catonianam.9. Ad Sct. Orfitianum.10. Ad Sct. Tertullianum.11. Ad Sct. Silanianum.12. Ad Sct. Velleianum.13. Ad Sct. Libonianum, seu Claudianum ; thus it stands
in the Index.14. De Officio Praefecti Vigilum.15. De Officio Praefecti Urbi.16. De Officio Praetoris Tutelaris : there is no excerpt
from this work in the Digest, but there are two excerpts in the Fragmenta
Vaticana, §§ 244, 245.17. De extraordinariis Criminibus : there is no excerpt
in the Digest.18. Hypothecuria, which should be Ad Hypothecariam Formulam : there is no excerpt in the Digest.19. Ad MunicipalemThere is no excerpt in the
Digest, but there is an excerpt in the Fragmenta Vaticana, § 237, the
commencement of which is also in the Digest (27. tit. 1. s.
46.1), but it is cited from the Liber de Cognitionibus ; there is also
another excerpt in the Fragmenta Vaticana, §
243.20. De Publicis Judiciis.21. De Inofficioso Testamento.22. De Septemviralibus Judiciis, which, as has been
suggested by Gronovius, should doubtless be De Centumviralibus
Judiciis.23. De Jure Singulari.24. De Secundis Tabulis.25. Ad Orationem D. Severi.26. Ad Orationem D. Marci.27. Ad Legem Velleiam : there is no excerpt in the
Digest.28. Ad Legem Cinciam.29. Ad Legem Faleidiam.30. De tacito Fideicommisso.31. De Portionibus quae Liberis Damnatorum
conceduntur.32. De Juris et Facti Ignorantia.33. De AdulteriisDig. 48.
tit. 16. s. 16 ; yet there are excerpts from the Tres Libri de
Adulteriis, which lead to the inference that there may be some error as to the
Liber Singularis de Adulteriis.34. De Instructo et Instrumento.35. De Appellationibus : there is no excerpt from this
work in the Digest.36. De Jure Libellorum.37. De Testamentis, by which is intended the
Liber de Forma Testamenti
Dig. 32. s. 98.38. De Jure Patronatus.39. De Jure Patronatus quod ex Lege Julia et Papia
venit.40. De Actionibus.41. De Concurrentibus Actionibus.42. De Intercessionibus Feminarum ; which is conjectured
by Zimmern to be the same as the Ad Sct. Velleianum.43. De Donationibus inter Virum et Uxorem.44. De Legibus.45. De Legitimis Hereditatibus : there are no excerpts
from the three last works in the Digest.46. De Libertatibus dandis.47. De Senatus Consultis.
Works not in the Index
The Index does not contain the following works, unless, as Zimmern remarks, they ought to
stand in place of some of the works which are named in the Index, and from which there are
no excerpts:-- 1. Libri ad Edictum Aedil. Curul.2. The excerpts from Alfenus and Labeo.3. Libri de Officio Consulis.
4. And the following
Libri Singulares:
De Liberali CausaDe Articulis Liberalis Causae (which seems to be the
same work)De Assignatione LibertorumDe Conceptione FormularumDe Dotis RepetitioneAd Legem Fusiam CaniniamDe Officiis AssessorumAd Sct. TurpillianumDe Variis LectionibusDe Cognitionibus There are also the notes to Julian, Papinian, and Scaevola, which last, however,
are merely cited.
There is also a passage in the
Fragmenta Vaticana, § 247, from the
Lib. I.
Editionis secundae de Jurisdictione singulari.Assessment
The enumeration of the works of Paulus is not made merely for the sake of completeness. To
those who are conversant with the matter of jurisprudence it shows his wonderful fertility
and the great variety of subjects on which he was employed. Cujacius has devoted to the
Libri ad Edictum and the
Quaestiones of Paulus the whole of
the fifth volume of his works (ed. Neap. 1758), except a few pages, which are upon the
Differentiae of Modestinus. The sixth volume of the same edition contains the
Recitationes Solemnes of Cujacius (A. D. 1588) on the
Responsa
of Paulus. The first volume of Cujacius contains the
Interpretationes in Julii Pauli
Receptarum Sententiarum Libros quinque. The industry of Paulus must have been
unremitting, and the extent of his legal learning is proved by the variety of his labours.
Perhaps no legal writer, ancient or modern, has handled so many subjects, if we except his
great commentator.