So great is the forethought of Divine Humanity in Our favor, that it always deigns to sustain Us with its eternal liberality. After having terminated the Parthian wars by a lasting peace, and after having overthrown the nation of the Vandals, and for a second time united Carthage, nay indeed all Lybia with the Roman Empire; We by Our care have caused the ancient laws, already oppressed with age, to be invested with new beauty and suitably compiled; which no one before Our reign ever hoped for, or even thought to be hardly possible for human effort to accomplish. For it was truly wonderful that Roman jurisprudence, which from the foundation of the City up to the time of Our accession, a period embracing almost fourteen hundred years, had been rendered unstable by intestine conflict, a condition which had also extended to the Imperial Constitutions, should nevertheless be reduced into one consistent system, in such a way that nothing contradictory, identical, or even similar should be encountered, and that no two laws enacted for the same purpose should ever appear therein; for a work of this kind would indeed seem to be within the province of Divine Wisdom, but in no wise attainable by human frailty.
     Therefore We, according to Our custom, have had recourse to the assistance of Immortality, and having invoked the Supreme Deity, have wished God to become the author and head of the whole work, and We have given its supervision to that eminent man Tribonianus, Master of the Offices, former Quaestor of our Sacred Palace, and former Consul, and We have confided to him the entire management of this undertaking, so that he himself, along with other most illustrious and learned men, might accomplish Our desire. And Our Majesty also relying upon the heavenly Divinity and constantly examining and scrutinizing the matter compiled by these men, have corrected whatever has been found to be ambiguous or doubtful and reduced it into proper order.
     (1) Everything therefore has been completed by the aid of Our Lord God Jesus Christ, who has rendered the task possible for Us as well as for Our ministers, and We have already collected the principal constitutions and digested them into twelve books, in the Code which is distinguished by Our name. Afterwards, applying Ourselves to the preparation of a very extensive work, We permitted the aforesaid illustrious man to collect and compile with certain changes the contents of many most valuable treatises of antiquity, which at that time were almost utterly confused and disconnected. But while making Our inquiries, We were reminded by the aforesaid eminent man that there were almost two thousand books written by the ancient jurists, and more than three million lines produced by them, all of which it would be necessary to read and thoroughly examine, and from which must be chosen whatever would be best. This has been accomplished by the grace of God and the favor of the Supreme Trinity, in conformity to Our orders, which in the beginning We issued to the above mentioned eminent man; and everything especially useful has been collected into fifty books, all ambiguities have been removed, and nothing which is contradictory retained.
     We have given to these books the name of the Digest or Pandects, as they contain all discussions and decisions relative to the law, and these gathered from all sources, have been placed in this compendium, the entire work including about a hundred and fifty thousand lines; and We have divided it into seven parts, not by chance or without reason, but with a view to the nature and disposition of numbers, and making a division of the parts in conformity with the same.
     (2) Thus the First Part of the entire compilation, which is called by the Greek term prwta, is divided into four Books.
     (3) The Second Part contains seven Books which are styled "On Actions-at-law".
     (4) We have inserted in the Third Part everything embraced by the Title on Things, and to this subject eight Books are allotted.
     (5) The Fourth Part, which may be considered, as it were, the centre of the entire work, includes eight Books, in which is contained everything relating to hypothecation, so that they do not differ greatly from actions for the redemption of pledges, which are discussed in the Books relating to Things. Another Book is inserted in the same volume which contains the Edict of the aedile, and the action for recovery, as well as the stipulation for double the price paid, which is prescribed in cases of eviction; for the reason that all these matters are connected with the topic of Purchase and Sale, and the aforesaid actions were, so to speak, originally on the same footing with them. In the plan of the ancient Edict these matters were treated in different places widely separate from one another, but by Our care they have been brought together, since it is proper that those things which relate to closely similar topics should be placed in juxtaposition.
     Following the first two, We have planned another Book relating to usury, loans on bottomry, documents, witnesses, evidence, and presumptions, and these three separate Books are inserted near the part relating to Things. After these we have placed certain matters mentioned in the laws relating to betrothals, marriages, and dowries, including them in three volumes. We have also written two Books concerning guardianships and curatorships.
     The aforesaid arrangement of eight Books We have inserted in the middle of the entire work, and it contains the most useful and excellent rules collected from all sources.
     (6) The Fifth Book of the Digest now appears before Us, and in it anyone can find whatever was stated in ancient times with reference to the wills and codicils of private persons, as well as soldiers, and this is entitled "Concerning Testaments". Five books relating to legacies and trusts have also been added, and since there is nothing so closely connected with other matters as a description of the Lex Falcidia with legacies, and one of the Trebellian Decree of the Senate with trusts, two Books are devoted to these subjects respectively, and the entire Fifth Part is completed in nine books. We have decided that the Trebellian Decree of the Senate should alone be introduced; and rejecting the ambiguities of the Pegasian Decree of the Senate, which seemed whimsical and odious to the ancients themselves; and also the superfluous and over-nice distinctions existing between the two above-mentioned Decrees We have included in the Trebellian Decree all the law which has reference to them. In these, however, nothing has been mentioned by Us with relation to the escheat of estates, so as not to preserve in our time — which the favor of heaven and the vigor of peace have rendered secure, and in which We have subjected all nations by Our victories — a legal topic under unfortunate circumstances and in evil days, (for Rome increased with calamities and was strengthened by civil war), so that a sad remembrance might be permitted to cast a shade upon a joyful age.
     (7) The Sixth Part of the Digest comes next in order, in which is inserted everything relating to the possession of property, whether with reference to freemen or freedmen, so that the entire law on degrees of relationship and affinity, as well as that of legal inheritance and intestate succession is given, together with the Tertullian and Orphitian Decrees of the Senate, by which the succession of children to their mother, and vice versa, are set forth; and having arranged in a compact and most lucid order the different kinds of possession of property We have arranged them in two Books.
     After this We placed in a single Book what the ancients have written on notices with reference to new structures, to warnings against threatened injury, to the demolition of buildings and treacherous designs against them; to the care of rain-water; to farmers of the revenue, and to donationes inter vivos, as well as mortis causa, which We have found provided for by the laws. Another Book treats of manumissions and actions relating to freedom, and also many and various articles concerning the acquisition of ownership and possession, and the titles which confer the latter have been inserted in a single volume; and another Book has been allotted to those who have confessed judgment, or against whom a decision has been rendered, as well as on the detention of property and the sale of the same, to prevent anything being done to defraud creditors. After this all interdicts are treated together, and then exceptions and prescriptions. Still another Book contains obligations and actions, so that the aforesaid Sixth Part of the entire volume of the Digest is embraced in eight Books.
     (8) The Seventh and last Part of the Digest is composed of six Books; and all that the law mentions with respect to stipulations, verbal obligations, sureties and mandators, as well as concerning renewals, payments, receipts, and praetorian stipulations, which it was hardly possible to enumerate in the ancient treaties is included in two volumes.
     And after this two terrible books are added concerning private and extraordinary offences, as well as public crimes, in which are set forth all the severity and harshness of their punishments. With these are also mingled provisions relating to audacious men who attempt to conceal themselves and are contumacious; and also penalties inflicted upon those who are guilty, or which are remitted, as well as what relates to the disposition of their property. One book also is devoted to appeals against decisions which have been rendered in both civil and criminal cases.
     All other matters found in the works of the ancients and which relate to municipal affairs or concern Decurions, public employments and public works, markets, promises, divers judicial inquiries, assessments, or the signification of terms, enumerated in regular order are contained in the Fiftieth Book, which concludes the entire work.
     (9) All these things have been perfected by that eminent man and most learned magistrate, the former Quaestor and the former Consul Tribonianus, equally adorned with the arts of eloquence and legal knowledge, and prominent as well for his practical acquaintance with affairs; and one who esteems nothing greater or dearer to him than the execution of Our orders.
     To the completion of this work other distinguished and most zealous men have contributed, that is to say the eminent Constantinus, Count of the Sacred Largesses, and Master of the Office of Memorials and of the Imperial Judicial Inquiries, who has always commended himself by his good reputation and renown; Theophilus, an illustrious man and a magistrate learned in the law, who in a praiseworthy manner administers justice in this most noble city; Dorotheus, an illustrious and most eloquent man who has exercised the function of Quaestor, whom We, having been attracted by his distinguished abilities and reputation have summoned to Our presence, while he was expounding the laws to students in the magnificent city of Berytus; as well as Anatolius, an illustrious man and magistrate who also was summoned to this work while interpreting the laws to the people by Berytus, a man descended from an ancient race of lawyers — for both his father Leontius and his grandfather Eudoxius obtained much honor by their knowledge of jurisprudence; and succeeded Patricius of distinguished memory who himself was raised to the dignity of Quaestor, and was a professor of law; and Leontius of Consular Rank, who filled the office of Prefect with distinction; and also Cratinus, an illustrious man and Count of the Sacred Largesses, who was acknowledged to be a most eminent professor of law of this delightful city.
     All of these have been selected for the aforesaid undertaking together with Stephanus, Mena, Prosdocius, Eutolmius, Timotheus, Leonides, Leontius, Plato. Jacobus, Constantinus, Johannes, most learned men, who practice the profession of law in the Supreme Tribunal of the Prefecture, to which are subject all the Praetorian jurisdictions of the East. These men, whose merit is acknowledged by the testimony of all, have been selected by Us for the performance of this immense task under Our direction, and have been assembled for this purpose, under the direction of that eminent man Tribonianus, and by the aid of God the work has been completed in the aforesaid fifty books.
     (10) We entertain so much reverence for antiquity that We cannot suffer the names of these learned jurists to be consigned to oblivion, and We have therefore inserted in Our Digest the name of the author of each law; and this has been done by Us solely that if anything in their rules should seem to be either superfluous, imperfect, or inapplicable, the proper addition or curtailment might be made, and the passage be subjected to the strictest construction; and where there are several points which are similar or contradictory, whatever appears to be most correct should be set down instead of the other passages, and all confirmed by the same authority; and that whatever is written there should appear to be Ours, and to have been composed with Our consent, no one being permitted to compare what was sanctioned by antiquity with what Our authority has established; for the reason that many most important changes have been made on account of general convenience, so that even where an Imperial Constitution was promulgated in the ancient books, We have not spared even it, but have thought that it should be corrected and improved; the older terms, however, have been preserved, and We have retained in Our corrections whatever was proper and necessary for the meaning of the laws, and therefore where formerly any doubt arose the point has now become entirely safe and indisputable, all ground for perplexity having been removed.
     (11) But as We have noticed that uneducated men who, standing in the vestibule of jurisprudence are hastening to fathom its mysteries, are not competent to sustain a mass of such knowledge, We have thought that another abridgment should be made, so that colored by it, and, as it were, imbued with the primary elements of the entire science, they might be able to penetrate into the innermost sanctuary of the same, and view with undazzled eyes the beautiful image of the law. Therefore We have ordered that eminent man Tribonianus, who has been selected for the entire supervision of the work, together with Theophilus and Dorotheus, illustrious men and most eloquent professors, who have been summoned for this purpose, to collect separately all those books composed by the ancients which contain the first principles of the law, and are styled Institutes; in order that whatever was useful, most suitable and elegant in every respect might be rendered available in the present age; and that they should attempt to collect and arrange this in four books, and lay the first foundations and elements of all instruction, so that young men being supported thereby might be able to obtain a more extensive and perfect acquaintance with the laws.
     We have also directed them not to lose sight of Our Constitutions which We have promulgated for the amendment of jurisprudence, nor to fail to insert the same in the compilation of the Institutes; so that not only what was formerly uncertain, but also what had afterwards been established as law, might be made plain. This work having been completed by them, and having been presented to, and perused by Us, We have received it with favor, and decided it to be not unworthy of Our intelligence; and We have ordered that these books shall have the game authority as Our Constitutions, which We have more clearly set forth in Our address prefixed to the said books.
     (12) The entire substance of the Roman law having been compiled and perfected in three treatises, namely, that of the Institutes, that of the Digest or Pandects, and that of the Constitutions, and the task having been finished in three years, while when the compilation was first begun it was not expected that it could be completed in ten; We with devout purpose offered this work to Almighty God for the preservation of mankind, and gave abundant thanks to the Supreme Deity who has enabled Us to wage war with success, to enjoy honorable peace, and to establish excellent laws, not only for Our own age, but also for every other, both present and to come.
     (13) We have deemed it necessary to promulgate this decree to all persons so that they having been delivered from such infinite confusion may know to what regularity and certainty with respect to jurisprudence they have now attained; and that they may hereafter have laws which are not only direct but comprehensive, and placed within reach of all, and of such a description that the books treating of the same may be easy to procure; so that men may be able, not to purchase works abounding in superfluous laws by the expenditure of immense sums of money, but that the easy acquisition of the same for a small amount may be opened to the wealthy as well as to the poor, and a vast amount of knowledge be obtainable at a reasonable price.
     (14) If, however, there shall occasionally be found some matters which are similar — and in so great a compilation of laws collected from an enormous number of treatises no one ought to think this to be worthy of censure — it must in the first place be attributed to the innate weakness of human nature, for to posses a memory of all things and to be hardly ever mistaken, is rather an attribute of divinity than of mortals, which has also been stated by our ancestors.
     Again, it must be remembered that where repetition appears in certain matters, and these most brief, it is not useless, and has not occurred in opposition to Our intention; for either the rule was so important that it was necessary for it to be mentioned under different titles for the proper understanding of the subject, or when it was mingled with other different rules it was impossible to exclude it from some portions in order to prevent the whole from being thrown into confusion; and in those parts in which the perfect views of the ancients were expounded, it would have been inexpedient to divide and separate whatever had been scattered through them, as not only the understanding but also the hearing of the reader would be confused thereby. In like manner, where anything has been provided by the Imperial Constitutions, We have by no means permitted it to be included in the volumes of the Digest, as the reading of the Constitutions is sufficient; except where this was rarely done for the same reasons for which a repetition was permitted.
     (15) Nothing contradictory, however, is to be found inserted in this work, nor can it claim any place for itself; for if one examines with diligent attention the reasons for diversity, something new or which encloses a hidden meaning, will be discovered that disposes of any complaint of inconsistency, giving another appearance to the subject, and excluding the same from the bounds of discord.
     (16) If by chance anything was passed by which placed in the depths, as it were, in so many thousands of volumes was there concealed, and, while proper to be used, being involved in obscurity was necessarily omitted, who can with rightful intention make this a subject of reproach; when first the weakness of the human mind is taken into consideration, and then the imperfection of the matter itself which, mingled with many useful things, affords no opportunity of separating it from the others? And again, it is much more profitable that a few good passages should be omitted, than that men should be overwhelmed with many that are worthless.
     (17) There is one extraordinary thing that appears in these books, namely: that the great number of old ones are found to be smaller in bulk than those of the present compilation, for the men who formerly conducted lawsuits, although many rules have been established, nevertheless employed only a few of them in judicial proceedings, either on account of the scarcity of books which it was impossible for them to obtain, or because of their own ignorance; and cases were disposed of rather according to the will of the judge than by the authority of the law. In the present compilation of Our Digest, the laws have been collected from numerous volumes, whose titles We not only declare men of former times did not know, but had never even heard of; and all these things have been assembled in abundance, so that Our most opulent brevity makes the great quantity of the ancients appear deficient. That most excellent man Tribonianus has furnished Us with a copious supply of the ancient learning of these books, many of which were unknown even to the most highly educated men; and these having been thoroughly studied, whatever was found best in them was selected, and inserted in Our compilation. The composers of this work, however, read not only the volumes from which these laws are taken, but also numerous others, and finding therein nothing either useful or new, which, if appropriated, could be included in Our Digest, they with excellent judgment rejected them.
     (18) But for the reason that only divine things are perfect, and that it is a characteristic of human jurisprudence to be always indefinitely extending, and that there is nothing in it which can endure forever, for nature is constantly hastening to bring forth new forms; We expect that certain matters may subsequently arise which, up to this time, have not been included in the restraints of the law. Therefore, if anything of this kind should take place, recourse must be had to the Emperor, because God has given the Imperial power control over human affairs in order that wherever any new contingency arises, he might be able to correct and arrange it, and subject it to suitable rules and regulations. We are not the first to promulgate this, for it is derived from an ancient origin; since Julianus himself, that most discerning author of laws and of the Perpetual Edict, declared in his works that if anything imperfect should be found it must be supplied by Imperial Decree; and not he alone, but the Divine Hadrian as well, stated most clearly in the consolidation of the Edict and the Decree of the Senate which followed it, that where anything was not found to have been inserted in the Edict, more recent authority might supply the deficiency in compliance with the rules, the objects, and the resemblances of the same.
     (19) Therefore, you Conscript Fathers, and all men of the earth being informed of all these things offer the fullest thanks to the Supreme Divinity who has preserved for your age so salutary a work of which, according to Divine judgment, antiquity does not seem to have appeared worthy, but has bestowed it upon your times. For which reason revere and observe these laws, while all the ancient ones remain quiescent; and let none of you venture to compare them with former ones, or to call in question anything that appears inconsistent in either; because We decree that everything that is inserted herein shall alone be observed. Nor let anyone in a trial or other controversy, where laws are necessary, attempt to cite or support any legal principle from any other book except the said Institutes, and Our Digest and Constitutions composed and promulgated by Us; unless having become liable to the crime of forgery, he, together with the judge who suffers such matters to be heard, desires to be subjected to the most severe penalties.
     (20) In order that it may not be unknown to you from what books of the ancients this compilation has been made, We order that this be stated in the beginning of Our Digest, that it may be perfectly plain from what jurists and from which of their books, and from how many thousands of them this temple of Roman justice has been erected. We have, however, selected such jurists and commentators as are worthy of so great a work, and whom the most pious former Emperors did not hesitate to admit; and to all of them, without distinction, We have assigned an equal rank, and have not permitted any to claim superiority; for since We have decreed that the present laws promulgated, as it were, by Ourselves should be observed instead of the constitutions, how can any greater or less credit be imputed to any of them, since the same rank and the same authority are conceded to all?
     (21) One matter, however, which seemed to Us proper at the beginning, when, with the assistance of God We ordered this work to be done, also appears to Us to be expedient at the present time; that is that none of those who is now learned in the law, or who may become so hereafter, shall presume to annex any commentaries to these laws, unless he may wish merely to translate them into the Greek language, in the same order and with the same arrangement in which they are set forth in the Roman idiom, which the Greeks call "foot by foot"; and if he wishes to add any notes because of any obscurity in the titles, those which are called annotations shall be employed; but We do not permit any other construction of the laws, and still less any perversions of the same, to be made by them, for fear that their prolixity may discredit Our jurisprudence by causing confusion. This was done by the old commentators on the Perpetual Edict, for though this work was concisely drawn up, they extended it ad infinitum, drawing it here and there by attributing different meanings to the same thing, so that almost all Roman jurisprudence remained in a confused condition; and if We can not endure them, how can the vain discord of posterity be tolerated? If they dare to do anything of this kind they shall be liable to prosecution for forgery, and their works shall be entirely destroyed. If anything, as has been stated above, appears to be ambiguous, it must be referred by the judges to the Emperor, and be explained by the Imperial authority to which alone has been granted the enactment and interpretation of the laws.
     (22) We prescribe the same penalty for forgery also against those who dare to write down Our laws by using the obscure method of abbreviations; for We wish everything, that is to say the names of the learned lawyers, the titles, and the numbers of the books to be indicated by entire letters, and not by abbreviations; so that whoever procures for himself a book of this kind in which abbreviations are employed, no matter in what part of the treatise or of the volume this may occur, will know that he is the owner of a worthless Code; nor do We grant permission for any citation to be made in court from a Code of this kind which contains in any division whatsoever the defect of abbreviations.
     Moreover, any copyist who dares to write down such things shall not only be punished criminally, as has already been stated, but shall also restore double its value to the owner of the book, if the latter ignorantly purchased it or directed it to be written; and this We have already promulgated in a Latin and Greek Constitution which We have addressed to professors of law.
     (23) We desire that Our laws contained in these books, namely, the Institutes or Elements, and the Digest or Pandects, shall take effect from the present date, that is to say, from our third most fortunate Consulate of this twelfth Indiction, on the third Kalends of January; shall be valid for all time, and shall have the same force as Our Constitutions; exhibiting their authority in all judicial trials, not only in those now pending in the courts but in such as may hereafter arise, where they have not been determined by judicial decision or arbitration; for under no circumstances are We willing that those that have already been settled by judicial decision of friendly agreement shall be revived.
     We have hastened to publish these laws during Our third Consulate, because by the grace of the Supreme Deity and of our Lord Jesus Christ, it has been rendered most fortunate for the State, since during it the Parthian War has been terminated, perpetual peace established, and the third part of the world been subjected to Our rule; for after Europe and Asia, all of Lybia has been added to Our Empire, and this important work on jurisprudence has been concluded, so that all the gifts of heaven have been bestowed during this Our third Consulate.
     (24) All Our judges in their several jurisdictions shall receive these laws and enforce them in their tribunals, as well as in this Imperial City, and especially must that illustrious man, the Prefect of this noble capital, do so; and it shall be the duty of the three eminent Praetorian Prefects, of the East, of Illyria, and of Libya, to publish the same by their authority to all those who are subject to their jurisdiction.
     Given on the seventeenth of the Kalends of January, during the third Consulship of Our Lord Justinian, 533.