[Footnote63:TheAbbeDubosHistoireCritique,tom。i。p。29—
36hastrulyandagreeablyrepresentedtheslowprogressofthesestudies;andheobserves,thatGregoryofTourswasonlyonceprintedbeforetheyear1560。AccordingtothecomplaintofHeineccius,Opera,tom。iii。Sylloge,iii。p。248,&c。,GermanyreceivedwithindifferenceandcontemptthecodesofBarbariclaws,whichwerepublishedbyHeroldus,Lindenbrogius,&c。Atpresentthoselaws,asfarastheyrelatetoGaul,thehistoryofGregoryofTours,andallthemonumentsoftheMerovingianrace,appearinapureandperfectstate,inthefirstfourvolumesoftheHistoriansofFrance。]
[Footnote64:Inthespaceof[about]thirtyyears1728—1765
thisinterestingsubjecthasbeenagitatedbythefreespiritofthecountdeBoulainvilliers,MemoiresHistoriquessurl'EtatdelaFrance,particularlytom。i。p。15—49;thelearnedingenuityoftheAbbeDubos,HistoireCritiquedel'EtablissementdelaMonarchieFrancoisedanslesGaules,2
vols。in4to;thecomprehensivegeniusofthepresidentdeMontesquieu,EspritdesLoix,particularlyl。xxviii。xxx。
xxxi。;andthegoodsenseanddiligenceoftheAbbedeMably,Observationssurl'HistoiredeFrance,2vols。12mo。]
Therudest,orthemostservile,conditionofhumansociety,isregulated,however,bysomefixedandgeneralrules。WhenTacitussurveyedtheprimitivesimplicityoftheGermans,hediscoveredsomepermanentmaxims,orcustoms,ofpublicandprivatelife,whichwerepreservedbyfaithfultraditiontilltheintroductionoftheartofwriting,andoftheLatintongue。^65
BeforetheelectionoftheMerovingiankings,themostpowerfultribe,ornation,oftheFranks,appointedfourvenerablechieftainstocomposetheSaliclaws;^66andtheirlaborswereexaminedandapprovedinthreesuccessiveassembliesofthepeople。AfterthebaptismofClovis,hereformedseveralarticlesthatappearedincompatiblewithChristianity:theSaliclawwasagainamendedbyhissons;andatlength,underthereignofDagobert,thecodewasrevisedandpromulgatedinitsactualform,onehundredyearsaftertheestablishmentoftheFrenchmonarchy。Withinthesameperiod,thecustomsoftheRipuariansweretranscribedandpublished;andCharlemagnehimself,thelegislatorofhisageandcountry,hadaccuratelystudiedthetwonationallaws,whichstillprevailedamongtheFranks。^67Thesamecarewasextendedtotheirvassals;andtherudeinstitutionsoftheAlemanniandBavarianswerediligentlycompiledandratifiedbythesupremeauthorityoftheMerovingiankings。TheVisigothsandBurgundians,whoseconquestsinGaulprecededthoseoftheFranks,showedlessimpatiencetoattainoneoftheprincipalbenefitsofcivilizedsociety。EuricwasthefirstoftheGothicprinceswhoexpressed,inwriting,themannersandcustomsofhispeople;andthecompositionoftheBurgundianlawswasameasureofpolicyratherthanofjustice;
toalleviatetheyoke,andregaintheaffections,oftheirGallicsubjects。^68Thus,byasingularcoincidence,theGermansframedtheirartlessinstitutions,atatimewhentheelaboratesystemofRomanjurisprudencewasfinallyconsummated。IntheSaliclaws,andthePandectsofJustinian,wemaycomparethefirstrudiments,andthefullmaturity,ofcivilwisdom;andwhateverprejudicesmaybesuggestedinfavorofBarbarism,ourcalmerreflectionswillascribetotheRomansthesuperioradvantages,notonlyofscienceandreason,butofhumanityandjustice。YetthelawsoftheBarbarianswereadaptedtotheirwantsanddesires,theiroccupationsandtheircapacity;andtheyallcontributedtopreservethepeace,andpromotetheimprovement,ofthesocietyforwhoseusetheywereoriginallyestablished。
TheMerovingians,insteadofimposingauniformruleofconductontheirvarioussubjects,permittedeachpeople,andeachfamily,oftheirempire,freelytoenjoytheirdomesticinstitutions;^69norweretheRomansexcludedfromthecommonbenefitsofthislegaltoleration。^70Thechildrenembracedthelawoftheirparents,thewifethatofherhusband,thefreedmanthatofhispatron;andinallcauseswherethepartieswereofdifferentnations,theplaintifforaccuserwasobligedtofollowthetribunalofthedefendant,whomayalwayspleadajudicialpresumptionofright,orinnocence。Amoreamplelatitudewasallowed,ifeverycitizen,inthepresenceofthejudge,mightdeclarethelawunderwhichhedesiredtolive,andthenationalsocietytowhichhechosetobelong。Suchanindulgencewouldabolishthepartialdistinctionsofvictory:andtheRomanprovincialsmightpatientlyacquiesceinthehardshipsoftheircondition;sinceitdependedonthemselvestoassumetheprivilege,iftheydaredtoassertthecharacter,offreeandwarlikeBarbarians。^71
[Footnote65:IhavederivedmuchinstructionfromtwolearnedworksofHeineccius,theHistory,andtheElements,oftheGermaniclaw。InajudiciousprefacetotheElements,heconsiders,andtriestoexcusethedefectsofthatbarbarousjurisprudence。]
[Footnote66:LatinappearstohavebeentheoriginallanguageoftheSaliclaw。Itwasprobablycomposedinthebeginningofthefifthcentury,beforetheeraA。D。421oftherealorfabulousPharamond。Theprefacementionsthefourcantonswhichproducedthefourlegislators;andmanyprovinces,Franconia,Saxony,Hanover,Brabant,&c。,haveclaimedthemastheirown。SeeanexcellentDissertationofHeinectiesdeLegeSalica,tom。iii。
Syllogeiii。p。247—267。
Note:TherelativeantiquityofthetwocopiesoftheSaliclawhasbeencontestedwithgreatlearningandingenuity。TheworkofM。Wiarda,HistoryandExplanationoftheSalicLaw,Bremen,1808,assertsthatwhatiscalledtheLexAntiqua,orVetustiorinwhichmanyGermanwordsaremingledwiththeLatin,hasnoclaimtosuperiorantiquity,andmaybesuspectedtobemoremodern。M。WiardahasbeenopposedbyM。Fuerbach,whomaintainsthehigherageofthe"ancient"Code,whichhasbeengreatlycorruptedbythetranscribers。SeeGuizot,Coursdel'HistoireModerne,vol。i。sect。9:andtheprefacetotheusefulrepublicationoffiveofthedifferenttextsoftheSaliclaw,withthatoftheRipuarianinparallelcolumns。ByE。A。I。
Laspeyres,Halle,1833。—M。]
[Footnote67:Eginhard,inVit。CaroliMagni,c。29,intom。v。
p。100。Bythesetwolaws,mostcriticsunderstandtheSalicandtheRipuarian。TheformerextendedfromtheCarbonarianforesttotheLoire,tom。iv。p。151,andthelattermightbeobeyedfromthesameforesttotheRhine,tom。iv。p。222。]
[Footnote68:Consulttheancientandmodernprefacesoftheseveralcodes,inthefourthvolumeoftheHistoriansofFrance。
TheoriginalprologuetotheSaliclawexpressesthoughinaforeigndialectthegenuinespiritoftheFranksmoreforciblythanthetenbooksofGregoryofTours。]
[Footnote69:TheRipuarianlawdeclares,anddefines,thisindulgenceinfavoroftheplaintiff,tit。xxxi。intom。iv。p。
240;andthesametolerationisunderstood,orexpressed,inallthecodes,exceptthatoftheVisigothsofSpain。TantadiversitaslegumsaysAgobardintheninthcenturyquantanonsoluminregionibus,autcivitatibus,sedetiaminmultisdomibushabetur。Namplerumquecontingitutsimuleantautsedeantquinquehomines,etnulluseorumcommunemlegemcumalterohabeat,intom。vi。p。356。Hefoolishlyproposestointroduceauniformityoflaw,aswellasoffaith。
Note:ItistheobjectoftheimportantworkofM。Savigny,GeschichtedesRomischesRechtsinMittelalter,toshowtheperpetuityoftheRomanlawfromthe5thtothe12thcentury。—
M。]
[Footnote*:Themostcompletecollectionofthesecodesisinthe"Barbarorumlegesantiquae,"byP。Canciani,5vols。folio,Venice,1781—9。—M。]
[Footnote70:InterRomanosnegotiacausarumRomanislegibuspraecipimusterminari。SucharethewordsofageneralconstitutionpromulgatedbyClotaire,thesonofClovis,thesolemonarchoftheFranksintom。iv。p。116abouttheyear560。]
[Footnote71:ThislibertyofchoicehasbeenaptlydeducedEspritdesLoix,l。xxviii。2fromtheconstitutionofLothaireI。Leg。Langobard。l。ii。tit。lvii。inCodexLindenbrog。p。
664;thoughtheexampleistoorecentandpartial。FromavariousreadingintheSaliclaw,tit。xliv。not。xlv。theAbbedeMablytom。i。p。290—293hasconjectured,that,atfirst,aBarbarianonly,andafterwardsanyman,consequentlyaRoman,
mightliveaccordingtothelawoftheFranks。Iamsorrytooffendthisingeniousconjecturebyobserving,thatthestrictersenseBarbarumisexpressedinthereformedcopyofCharlemagne;whichisconfirmedbytheRoyalandWolfenbuttleMSS。ThelooserinterpretationhominemisauthorizedonlybytheMS。ofFulda,fromfromwhenceHerolduspublishedhisedition。SeethefouroriginaltextsoftheSaliclawintom。
iv。p。147,173,196,220。
Note:Gibbonappearstohavedoubtedtheevidenceonwhichthis"libertyofchoice"rested。HisdoubtshavebeenconfirmedbytheresearchesofM。Savigny,whohasnotonlyconfutedbuttracedwithconvincingsagacitytheoriginandprogressofthiserror。Asageneralprinciple,thoughliabletosomeexceptions,eachlivedaccordingtohisnativelaw。RomischeRecht。vol。i。
p。123—138—M。]
Note:ThisconstitutionofLothaireatfirstrelatedonlytotheduchyofRome;itafterwardsfounditswayintotheLombardcode。Savigny。p。138。—M。]
ChapterXXXVIII:ReignOfClovis。
PartIII。
Whenjusticeinexorablyrequiresthedeathofamurderer,eachprivatecitizenisfortifiedbytheassurance,thatthelaws,themagistrate,andthewholecommunity,aretheguardiansofhispersonalsafety。ButintheloosesocietyoftheGermans,revengewasalwayshonorable,andoftenmeritorious:theindependentwarriorchastised,orvindicated,withhisownhand,theinjurieswhichhehadofferedorreceived;andhehadonlytodreadtheresentmentofthesonsandkinsmenoftheenemy,whomhehadsacrificedtohisselfishorangrypassions。Themagistrate,consciousofhisweakness,interposed,nottopunish,buttoreconcile;andhewassatisfiedifhecouldpersuadeorcompelthecontendingpartiestopayandtoacceptthemoderatefinewhichhadbeenascertainedasthepriceofblood。^72ThefiercespiritoftheFrankswouldhaveopposedamorerigoroussentence;thesamefiercenessdespisedtheseineffectualrestraints;and,whentheirsimplemannershadbeencorruptedbythewealthofGaul,thepublicpeacewascontinuallyviolatedbyactsofhastyordeliberateguilt。Ineveryjustgovernmentthesamepenaltyisinflicted,oratleastisimposed,forthemurderofapeasantoraprince。ButthenationalinequalityestablishedbytheFranks,intheircriminalproceedings,wasthelastinsultandabuseofconquest。^73Inthecalmmomentsoflegislation,theysolemnlypronounced,thatthelifeofaRomanwasofsmallervaluethanthatofaBarbarian。TheAntrustion,^74anameexpressiveofthemostillustriousbirthordignityamongtheFranks,wasappreciatedatthesumofsixhundredpiecesofgold;
whilethenobleprovincial,whowasadmittedtotheking'stable,mightbelegallymurderedattheexpenseofthreehundredpieces。
TwohundredweredeemedsufficientforaFrankofordinarycondition;butthemeanerRomanswereexposedtodisgraceanddangerbyatriflingcompensationofonehundred,orevenfifty,piecesofgold。Hadtheselawsbeenregulatedbyanyprincipleofequityorreason,thepublicprotectionshouldhavesupplied,injustproportion,thewantofpersonalstrength。Butthelegislatorhadweighedinthescale,notofjustice,butofpolicy,thelossofasoldieragainstthatofaslave:theheadofaninsolentandrapaciousBarbarianwasguardedbyaheavyfine;andtheslightestaidwasaffordedtothemostdefencelesssubjects。Timeinsensiblyabatedtheprideoftheconquerorsandthepatienceofthevanquished;andtheboldestcitizenwastaught,byexperience,thathemightsuffermoreinjuriesthanhecouldinflict。AsthemannersoftheFranksbecamelessferocious,theirlawswererenderedmoresevere;andtheMerovingiankingsattemptedtoimitatetheimpartialrigoroftheVisigothsandBurgundians。^75UndertheempireofCharlemagne,murderwasuniversallypunishedwithdeath;andtheuseofcapitalpunishmentshasbeenliberallymultipliedinthejurisprudenceofmodernEurope。^76
[Footnote72:IntheheroictimesofGreece,theguiltofmurderwasexpiatedbyapecuniarysatisfactiontothefamilyofthedeceased,FeithiusAntiquitat。Homeric。l。ii。c。8。
Heineccius,inhisprefacetotheElementsofGermanicLaw,favorablysuggests,thatatRomeandAthenshomicidewasonlypunishedwithexile。Itistrue:butexilewasacapitalpunishmentforacitizenofRomeorAthens。]
[Footnote73:ThisproportionisfixedbytheSalictit。xliv。
intom。iv。p。147andtheRipuariantit。vii。xi。xxxvi。intom。iv。p。237,241laws:butthelatterdoesnotdistinguishanydifferenceofRomans。YettheordersoftheclergyareplacedabovetheFranksthemselves,andtheBurgundiansandAlemannibetweentheFranksandtheRomans。]
[Footnote74:TheAntrustiones,quiintrusteDominicasunt,leudi,fideles,undoubtedlyrepresentthefirstorderofFranks;
butitisaquestionwhethertheirrankwaspersonalorhereditary。TheAbbedeMablytom。i。p。334—347isnotdispleasedtomortifytheprideofbirthEsprit,l。xxx。c。25
bydatingtheoriginoftheFrenchnobilityfromthereignClotaireII。A。D。615。]
[Footnote75:SeetheBurgundianlaws,tit。ii。intom。iv。p。
257,thecodeoftheVisigoths,l。vi。tit。v。intom。p。384,
andtheconstitutionofChildebert,notofParis,butmostevidentlyofAustrasia,intom。iv。p。112。Theirprematureseveritywassometimesrash,andexcessive。Childebertcondemnednotonlymurderersbutrobbers;quomodosinelegeinvolavit,sinelegemoriatur;andeventhenegligentjudgewasinvolvedinthesamesentence。TheVisigothsabandonedanunsuccessfulsurgeontothefamilyofhisdeceasedpatient,utquoddeeofacerevoluerinthabeantpotestatem,l。xi。tit。i。intom。iv。p。
435。]
[Footnote76:See,inthesixthvolumeoftheworksofHeineccius,theElementaJurisGermanici,l。ii。p。2,No。261,262,280—283。YetsomevestigesofthesepecuniarycompositionsformurderhavebeentracedinGermanyaslateasthesixteenthcentury。]
Thecivilandmilitaryprofessions,whichhadbeenseparatedbyConstantine,wereagainunitedbytheBarbarians。TheharshsoundoftheTeutonicappellationswasmollifiedintotheLatintitlesofDuke,ofCount,orofPraefect;andthesameofficerassumed,withinhisdistrict,thecommandofthetroops,andtheadministrationofjustice。^77Butthefierceandilliteratechieftainwasseldomqualifiedtodischargethedutiesofajudge,whichrequiredallthefacultiesofaphilosophicmind,laboriouslycultivatedbyexperienceandstudy;andhisrudeignorancewascompelledtoembracesomesimple,andvisible,methodsofascertainingthecauseofjustice。Ineveryreligion,theDeityhasbeeninvokedtoconfirmthetruth,ortopunishthefalsehoodofhumantestimony;butthispowerfulinstrumentwasmisappliedandabusedbythesimplicityoftheGermanlegislators。Thepartyaccusedmightjustifyhisinnocence,byproducingbeforetheirtribunalanumberoffriendlywitnesses,whosolemnlydeclaredtheirbelief,orassurance,thathewasnotguilty。Accordingtotheweightofthecharge,thislegalnumberofcompurgatorswasmultiplied;seventy—twovoiceswererequiredtoabsolveanincendiaryorassassin:andwhenthechastityofaqueenofFrancewassuspected,threehundredgallantnoblesswore,withouthesitation,thattheinfantprincehadbeenactuallybegottenbyherdeceasedhusband。^78Thesinandscandalofmanifestandfrequentperjuriesengagedthemagistratestoremovethesedangeroustemptations;andtosupplythedefectsofhumantestimonybythefamousexperimentsoffireandwater。Theseextraordinarytrialsweresocapriciouslycontrived,that,insomecases,guilt,andinnocenceinothers,couldnotbeprovedwithouttheinterpositionofamiracle。Suchmiracleswerereallyprovidedbyfraudandcredulity;themostintricatecausesweredeterminedbythiseasyandinfalliblemethod,andtheturbulentBarbarians,whomighthavedisdainedthesentenceofthemagistrate,submissivelyacquiescedinthejudgmentofGod。^79
[Footnote77:ThewholesubjectoftheGermanicjudges,andtheirjurisdiction,iscopiouslytreatedbyHeineccius,Element。Jur。
Germ。l。iii。No。1—72。Icannotfindanyproofthat,undertheMerovingianrace,thescabini,orassessors,werechosenbythepeople。
Note:ThequestionofthescabiniistreatedatconsiderablelengthbySavigny。HequestionstheexistenceofthescabinianteriortoCharlemagne。Beforethistimethedecisionwasbyanopencourtofthefreemen,theboniRomischeRecht,vol。i。p。
195。etseq。—M。]
[Footnote78:Gregor。Turon。l。viii。c。9,intom。ii。p。316。
Montesquieuobserves,EspritdesLoix。l。xxviii。c。13,thattheSaliclawdidnotadmitthesenegativeproofssouniversallyestablishedintheBarbariccodes。YetthisobscureconcubineFredegundis,whobecamethewifeofthegrandsonofClovis,musthavefollowedtheSaliclaw。]
[Footnote79:Muratori,intheAntiquitiesofItaly,hasgiventwoDissertationsxxxvii。xxxix。onthejudgmentsofGod。Itwasexpectedthatfirewouldnotburntheinnocent;andthatthepureelementofwaterwouldnotallowtheguiltytosinkintoitsbosom。]
Butthetrialsbysinglecombatgraduallyobtainedsuperiorcreditandauthority,amongawarlikepeople,whocouldnotbelievethatabravemandeservedtosuffer,orthatacowarddeservedtolive。^80Bothincivilandcriminalproceedings,theplaintiff,oraccuser,thedefendant,oreventhewitness,wereexposedtomortalchallengefromtheantagonistwhowasdestituteoflegalproofs;anditwasincumbentonthemeithertodeserttheircause,orpubliclytomaintaintheirhonor,inthelistsofbattle。Theyfoughteitheronfoot,oronhorseback,accordingtothecustomoftheirnation;^81andthedecisionofthesword,orlance,wasratifiedbythesanctionofHeaven,ofthejudge,andofthepeople。ThissanguinarylawwasintroducedintoGaulbytheBurgundians;andtheirlegislatorGundobald^82condescendedtoanswerthecomplaintsandobjectionsofhissubjectAvitus。