Please read through this translation of the the Twelve Tables, Rome's first written laws (also available in an abridged version here). How impressed are you with this law code? Cite an example of what you consider to be a particularly good law or a particularly bad law from this code. Explain how the law you cite would have tended to either strengthen or weaken the Roman Republic.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
The Twelve Tables
Please read through this translation of the the Twelve Tables, Rome's first written laws (also available in an abridged version here). How impressed are you with this law code? Cite an example of what you consider to be a particularly good law or a particularly bad law from this code. Explain how the law you cite would have tended to either strengthen or weaken the Roman Republic.
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I think for being Roman's first written laws, the Twelve Tables are fairly good. They do a good job of spelling out what they want to have as their laws in good detail.
ReplyDeleteThe one law that got my attention was "A dreadfully deformed child shall be quickly killed." I think it is a bad law but I can see why they would say it. This law would strengthen the Roman Republic by getting rid of anyone who would not do any good to it.
I really like the twelve tables. As an early form of law they cover the basics court, inheritance/child custody, cheating spouses, property and marriages just to name a few. The majorities of these laws are clear cut and the ones that aren’t go about explaining things in detail if they are not. A law that drew me in while I was reading was “The penalty shall be capital for a judge or arbiter legally appointed who has been found guilty of receiving a bribe for giving a decision.” I think that this would make their society a stronger one because it would help to keep the court system a truthful and honest one. If a judge knew they could be killed for a simple bribe, it might make them think twice about accepting it.
ReplyDeleteTo me the Twelve Tables are some good laws for the Romans to be the first written laws. The laws are simple and detail for the most part. To me the law that caught my eye the most was "No person shall hold meetings by night in the city." That told me that the Romans were about business. This law strenghtens the Roman Republic by keeping the people protected and getting things done before sun down.
ReplyDeleteI believe the Twelve Tables are a good set of laws. They seem to cover most of the bases of law including how to punish certain crimes. They also give some indication to how society should be ran and lists out some social laws as well, like women shall not tear their faces on account of the funeral. The law that stood out to me was “Noone is to bury or burn a corpse in the city”. I think this law would make the Roman society stronger. If a body was buried or burned in the city it would be easier for disease to spread. By not allowing this the Romans are insuring the health of the people.
ReplyDeleteI think that the 12 tables is a good set of laws. It covers the basic laws a society would have. The law that I wouldn't think of but makes sense to have is "A man might gather up fruit that was falling down onto another man's farm.' This is a smart law because it doesn't allow food to go to waste. Also it motivates farmers to keep up.
ReplyDeleteThe law I find odd and don't really like is "3. The women shall not tear their faces nor wail on account of the funeral." I don't really understand how this would help Rome. Grieving is part of the process when losing someone. I just find it odd they would want to have this much control on people.
The laws are a good start for thier first written laws. Some of our laws even look a lot like their's. Although there is one that stands out. "If a man causes nacturnal assembly, that man should be put to death."
ReplyDeleteThis is very interesting. To me it looks like a law meant to prevent any potential undesirable elements in society from collaborating. People meeting after nightfall, most likely, would be planning somehting illeagle. This law would act as a great deterent for those kinds of activities.
Jon Hepola
Many of these laws deal with the punishment of corruption for those in authority. One would have to say that these laws would only help to strengthen Rome. Judges guilty of taking bribes and swaying judicial decisions, killed. A patron who defrauds his client, killed. A person convicted of speaking false witness gets a free flying lesson from the Tarpeian Rock. The punishment in these cases is so severe that no one in their right mind would violate these laws. This would keep corruption at an all time low.
ReplyDeleteThere are some laws that dont appear to make sense. "A dreadfully deformed child shall be killed." This doesnt make sense to me. Could one just declare a child dreadfully deformed and kill that child on the spot?
The best law is the one that involves keeping the road in order and if it is not in order, one could drive where one would like to. If this were enacted in Aberdeen everyone would be driving on the sidewalks.
I feel that the twelve tables were a very solid set of laws in a couple of ways. First it layed out illegal acts, and the punishment for those acts. Also, there were some laws that were more about how a Roman should act such as women not crying at a funeral.
ReplyDeleteThe one law that stood out for me was "When anyone contracts a legal obligation with reference to his property, or sells it, by making a verbal statement or agreement concerning the same, this shall have the force and effect of law. If the party should afterwards deny his statements, and legal proceedings are instituted, he shall, by way of penalty, pay double the value of the property in question ."
I liked this because it was more of a moral law. It basically said that you shouldn't take back your word, and it strengthens Roman society by making people have a sense of honor and pride.
I suppose as an early code of law it's alright. It seems very detailed, and a little intrusive, in some areas (how people may act at a funeral). Also, I would really like to know how they could determine if someone had cursed the crops of another (Table VII, Sec 3).
ReplyDeleteOne law that really caught my eye, though, is the one dealing with the length of court cases. The parties need to make their statements before noon, and the judge must make his decision before nightfall. A bit hurried perhaps, but a very efficient system. Ah, and no lawyers!
I liked the laws that the Roman's came up with in the Twelve Tables. I thought they covered many of the things that societies had to deal with but in a much simpler way. I also thought that they overlap with one another and seem to fit with each other. In other words it would be hard to get through loop holes because the laws seemed very direct. I thought that one of their strongest laws were the ones found in Table VII concerning their crimes. They did not tolerate any crimes that people would commit. They found that it was acceptable to kill people if they were caught doing a crime. I think nowadays sometimes our laws protect criminals, but the Romans did not take any chances.
ReplyDeleteI feel that the Twelve Tables are a stable and generally strong set of laws that would seem to be very beneficial for a nation in Rome's situation. It seems that the Roman's knew exactly what they were talking about and knew exactly what kind of society they wanted to build. These laws cover a multitude of subjects and virtually cover all aspects of law that we now know and enforce today. Although all of these laws would not be accepted in modern culture, I do feel that they would have been appropriate for the day and age for a Roman society. I feel the Roman's created a good system for building success. Rid the wrong doers who would poison society, and promote laws that would lead to a successful nation.
ReplyDeleteOne law that I believe to be a relatively good is
(If one is slain while committing theft by night, he is rightly slain.) I feel that this is a good law because it gives a man the power to defend what is rightfully his and gives him the right to defend his property and life with the highest power. Self defense in a situation like this always seems to be a must, and without it, it gives the criminal the upper hand and allows them to have the power.
Imagine what life would be like if the governments of modern times operated by the same code of laws! It certainly tickles the imagination. One false move and DEATH. Interesting.
ReplyDeleteThe law of Table VIII, 3, I found interesting...This law stipulates that anyone convicted of stealing at night would be punished by being slain. Was the punishment different for those who stole during the day? If so, why? There seems to be an almost paranoid vibe to the Roman's strict regulation of any night time activities.
If I may go on a tangent, I enjoyed reading about laws that demonstrated the caste system in Rome and the laws that seem (to me) unecessarily controlling. "He whose witness has failed to appear may summon him by loud calls before his house every third day." Haha. 'Twas cool.
Ah. I forgot to mention how I thought it strengthened or weakend the Roman Republic. I think the law that stood out to me as well as most of the others would definitely strengthen the collectivist tendencies of the republic. This could make the country stronger because of the feeling of unity. It could also make the country weaker in times of rising expectations, i.e. when people begin to demand more for themselves or rebel against especially controlling or disatisfactory laws.
ReplyDeleteI think the early Roman law code is especially strong. It details disputes from the very big all the way to the very small. My favorite quote from the tables is deals with property rights.
ReplyDelete"Should a tree on a neighbor's farm be bend crooked by the wind and lean over your farm, you may take legal action for removal of that tree."
Clearly property ownership was important to the Romans and what was on your property was even more important. If this law made it all the way to being on the tables you can be sure that the problem happened quite frequently.
these twelve tables, for the most part seem to be affected. They put out guidelines for every possible legal situation from the funtion of the courts, the distribution of an inheiritance, even property disputes.
ReplyDeleteThe First table seems to be one of the most thought out of these tables. It seems to address a law that corralates with that of a subpoena we use now adays. Of course the whole yell in front of a witness' house is a little strange to me but all in all, on paper in seemes like a sound law.
I believe that IF they excecuted this table to the letter, that it would have done nothing but benifit the republic because it established a orderly action of the legal process. It certainly didn't hurt it dont you think.
These are pretty thorough laws for being the first written laws. They seem to cover a lot of the possible loopholes for the less privileged and were a little less strict on the upper class. “The women shall not tear their faces nor wail on account of the funeral.” I don’t think this is a necessary law. It made showing emotions frowned upon making the women hard and maybe less emotional towards their men.
ReplyDeleteI think it's a pretty good set of laws - it shows the importance they placed on having a fair judicial system (judges taking bribes and those bearing false witness) as well as protection of property rights. It would tend to ensure that they were ruled by the law rather which make for a stable governement and society.
ReplyDeleteOverall I would say this is a very good set of laws. I really like the first section and how it deals with plaintiffs and defendants. It gives the defendant every opportunity to defend himself against his accuser without taking away from the possibility of justice for the plaintiff.
ReplyDeleteHowever, there are a number of laws that I think could be better or just shouldn't be there. The law about divorce in table 6 is one that I think could be better. All it says is "If a husband desires to divorce his wife, and dissolve his marriage, he must give a reason for doing so." To me this doesn't seem like a very hard thing to do. A man would just need to come up with some random reason to divorce his wife and he would be able to. It is a great idea to have a law concerning divorce, but I think they should have made it more strict about what reasons are acceptable for divorce.
John Rawerts
All in all the Twelve tables are sort of the first fair judicial system in the fact that they tried to get equal aspects for everyone, plebian, patrician. the one that struck out the most is "A dreadfully deformed child shall be quickly killed." While it sounds harsh, in there view a deformed child would be a hindrance to the strength of the Roman people
ReplyDelete