While We were formerly occupied with the cares of the entire government and could think of nothing of inferior importance, now that the Persians are quiet, the Vandals and Moors obedient, the Carthaginians have recovered their former freedom, and the Tzani have, for the first time, been subjected to Roman domination (which is something that God has not permitted to take place up to this time and until Our reign), numerous demands have been presented to Us by Our subjects, to each of which We shall pay attention in the most suitable manner. Many of these questions, it is true, must be determined in accordance with existing enactments, and in order that they inure to the common welfare of all (whenever this is necessary), We have deemed it proper to establish these matters by law, and to communicate them to Our subjects, in order that they may take effect of themselves, and not always require the sanction of Imperial authority.
  (1) For people are constantly importuning Us, some having recourse to Us on account of legacies which have been bequeathed and not been paid; others because of grants of freedom; and still others on account of different matters; and, where estates have been left, certain persons who have been charged either to give or to do some-thing have impiously entered upon the property, and taken it, but have not complied with what was ordered, although it was laid down by the ancient legislators that the testamentary dispositions of deceased persons, when they are not contrary to law, shall, by all means, be carried out. But as We have found that the greater part of the ancient laws have been neglected, We have considered it necessary that they should be revived, and that, by means of them, protection should be afforded to the living, as well as respect shown to the dead in this manner.
  (2) Therefore, in the first place, it must be remembered that the law requires testators to distribute a specified share of their estates among certain relatives as being due to them in accordance with natural justice, for instance, sons, grandsons, fathers and mothers, and sometimes even brothers, as well as any other persons of this kind whom the laws have enumerated as being in the same class with those from whom We are descended. No necessity, however, is imposed upon other testators to give any portion of their own property, but authority is granted them to leave it to anyone whom they may select.

  These matters having been already decided by Us, We order that those who have been appointed heirs by testators, or who have been charged with the execution of trusts or the payment of legacies, whether in general terms, or specifically, shall be obliged absolutely to carry out whatever dispositions the testator may have made, provided these are in accordance with law, or when no law prohibits them; and if he who was charged in this manner does not do as he was directed, he must show clearly that he had a right to act as he did.
  (1) If the appointed heir should not execute the dispositions of the testator, and the legatee is entitled to receive the bequest, and, after he has been notified by a decree of court, the heir fails to make payment for an entire year, or does not do what he was ordered, and he is one of those who can legally claim a certain share of the estate, but has been left more than he is entitled to by law, he can only receive as much as the law grants him, that is, one-fourth of the estate in case of intestacy; otherwise he will be deprived of all of it. And if any other persons should be appointed heirs, they will each be entitled to his or her proportionate share. But when there is no other heir, or where some have been appointed but do not accept the estate, then what has been refused by those above mentioned shall be added to the remainder of the estate, and the legatees, the beneficiaries of trusts, and the slaves upon whom liberty has been bestowed shall be permitted to enter upon and acquire the property; so that whatever has been ordered by the testator shall in every respect be carried out, and security shall previously be furnished in proportion to their condition and the value of the property, in order that having received the estate they comply with the lawful intentions of the testator. If, however, none of those mentioned in the will (that is to say the co-heirs, legatees, beneficiaries of trusts, or slaves to whom liberty has been granted), should desire to enter upon the estate, then it shall pass to the others whom the law calls in case of intestacy, after the appointed heir has been excluded from his legitimate share by this law, and they, in like manner, shall give security to carry out what is contained in the will. We do not, however, wish that there should be any confusion with regard to this matter, but he who was called first in order after the one who has been excluded by Our law shall be preferred, and then the one who comes next after him, and the others in succession, until the last one who has relinquished the estate shall be succeeded by any stranger who may be willing to enter upon the estate and carry out the wishes of the testator, and after these We place the Treasury, if it should be willing to accept it. For We establish the following rule with reference to legatees and beneficiaries of trusts, namely: that permission to accept an estate should first be granted to the beneficiary entitled to all of it, or where there are several of these to the one entitled to the largest share, since he resembles the heir, this being especially the case with Us, Who, whenever such beneficiaries of trusts are concerned, have solely adopted the Trebellian rule, and, holding in contempt the Pegasian circumlocutions, reject them. If, however, no one should be entitled to the entire estate, or, being entitled to it, should be unwilling to do what the testator directed, then the trust shall pass to those to whom has been left the greater portion of the legacies or trusts; and time shall be granted to slaves to whom freedom has been bequeathed to enter upon the estate, and, with their children, give security, receive the property, and do what has been ordered, the above-mentioned security, of course, having already been furnished. But when there is no legatee or beneficiary entitled to the whole or a greater part of the estate, by virtue of either a legacy or a trust, but all of them are to share equally, then all the beneficiaries entitled to the whole of it, according to the rule just laid down, shall be preferred, or any one of them who is willing to carry out what was ordered by the testator; and the remaining legatees or beneficiaries who have no advantage over the others, so far as the remainder of the estate is concerned, shall be called to the succession, if they are willing, or those who consent shall be called. If, however, no legatee or beneficiary should be willing to do this, We grant permission to the slaves upon whom freedom has been conferred, according to the order in which they have been mentioned by their master, to take precedence over one another.
  (2) We also adopt the rule where a necessary bequest is made to anyone to whom an inheritance is due from the deceased testator according to the Law of Nature. Where, however, no person of this kind appears among the appointed heirs, but a spontaneous disposition of his estate has been made by the testator, and the appointed heir does not comply with what has been directed within the time hereinbefore established by Us, he shall be deprived of all that was left to him, so that he cannot receive anything by virtue of the Falcidian Law, or on any other ground; and if there should be any co-heirs, We desire that they shall be called in his stead, and, in default of them, the estate shall pass to the beneficiaries, legatees, slaves, and all those entitled to it ab intestato, in the order which We have already prescribed, and wherever a charge has been created, it must (as We have stated above) be executed in compliance with what the testator legally ordered.
  (3) Where, however, the appointment of the heir includes a substitution, it is certain that the entire estate must first pass to the substitute, provided he consents to accept it and carry out the provisions of the will in accordance with law; and if he should not be willing, all he is deprived of shall pass to the co-heirs, the legatees, the the slaves, those who are entitled to it ab intestato, to strangers, and to the Treasury, in conformity to the rule which We have established, on condition that all lawful dispositions shall be executed; for We have taken into consideration all these different successions in order that the estates of deceased persons may not remain without acceptance.
  (4) We do not call to the succession, nor do We consider any children who may have been disinherited (if they have been justly excluded by their father), and who have received nothing under his will, no matter how many of them there may be. For the object of the law is, "that the intentions of deceased persons shall be carried into effect;" and, indeed, how would it be just for anyone who has been excluded by the testator himself from sharing in his own property to be called to succeed to what he himself expressly refused by means of disinheritance? As We have, in the first place, granted to the substitutes the share of which the heir was deprived because he did not comply with the wishes of the deceased, and then granted it to the co-heirs, and after these to the legatees and beneficiaries of trusts, and slaves, and next to those who are called by the succession in case of intestacy, and afterwards to strangers, and to the Treasury, this has not been done absurdly or without reason, or to deprive anyone of his rights, but with foresight and in accordance with law; so that all persons entitled under the will having renounced their claims, We may have recourse to the heirs at law and the others in their designated order. In every case, however, in which the appointed heirs do not comply with the wishes of the testator, We call to the succession either persons mentioned in the will, the heirs at law, strangers, and the Treasury, and We grant to all such persons the right to act as heirs, become such and enter upon the estate (for such are the words of the law), as well as to transact all business which they may agree upon, just as regular heirs can do. Laws of great antiquity have by their own authority established these rules, and have made persons heirs who have not been appointed, or called to the succession ab intestato. All these things having been observed, even though the testator may not have wished anything to be given or done by the heir, the legatee, the beneficiary of the trust, or the recipient of the estate mortis causa, if they should be deprived of the property, the same order should be maintained, beginning with the substituted legatees and ending with the Treasury. In order that no one may consider this law to be harsh in case he should be deprived of what has been left him, he should remember that for all men death is the end of life, and should not selfishly think of only what he receives from others, but he should reflect upon what he himself when dying may command others to do, and bear in mind that if he does not deserve the aid of the present law, none of the dispositions which he himself may carefully plan are liable to be carried into effect. For it is not for those alone who are subject to Our authority, but for all future time that We have established this law.

  Hence We have taken care to consider the Falcidian Law which, even when testators are unwilling (where their estates are exhausted by legacies), authorizes heirs to retain a fourth part of the property; for certain persons sometimes are found to violate the wishes of the deceased, and rely upon the law which permits this to be done. Therefore, as the wills of deceased persons must everywhere be protected by Us, We decree that if the heirs desire to enjoy this advantage, they must strictly observe the law, and not attempt to introduce the Falcidian Rule with reference to property which they, perhaps, may have appropriated through fraud or ill will, and to which, under other circumstances, it would not be applicable.
  (1) Therefore an inventory shall be made by the heir who is apprehensive that he will not receive the Facidian portion after the debts and legacies have been paid, and this shall be done according to the manner which We have already prescribed when We prevented the heir from sustaining a loss of his own property, and decreed that any burdens imposed upon him shall be in proportion to the value of the estate which has been left. It has been added that an heir of this kind, who fears not only the creditors but also the legatees and beneficiaries of trusts, and is apprehensive that he will be the loser, and will also obtain no advantage, can call together all the beneficiaries and legatees who are residents of the same town, or any persons acting in their behalf, if their personal condition, rank, quality, age, or any other circumstance does not entitle them to be present when the inventory is drawn up. If, however, any of them should be absent, not less than three credible witnesses who are owners of property in the same town, and bear an excellent reputation, must be present; for We do not rely upon notaries alone who are charged with drawing up the inventory, but it should be made in the presence of the legatees, so that in case any property forming part of the estate may have been removed or is not forthcoming, they can make inquiry with reference to it. They shall be permitted not only to question the slaves (for We permit this to be done in accordance with what We have previously decreed concerning the examination of slaves), but also to take the oath of the heir, as well as that of the witnesses to the effect that "they were present when the inventory was made and saw everything which took place at the time, and know that no fraudulent act was committed by the heir;" and whatever was left by the testator shall not be considered to have been established, unless all the legatees are present, or refuse to come and be present when the inventory is drawn up, as authorized by the aforesaid Constitution. In case the legatees should not be present, then the heir shall be permitted to be satisfied with the presence of the witnesses alone, and he can proceed with the inventory, and the legatees shall be deprived of the right of having the heir sworn, and of examining the slaves, and all heirs who observe these provisions shall be entitled to the benefit of the Falcidian Law. Thus We shall not appear to diminish the force of the law as observed up to this time, or to do injustice to the deceased; for if anyone should wish absolutely to appoint heirs to his estate, and to derive some consolation from his succession, and think that he had a sufficient amount of property, when in fact this is not the case, it is certain that as the deceased was not aware of the mistake, his sincerity will show the honesty of his motives.
  (2) If, however, an inventory should not be made by the heir in the manner which We have prescribed, he will not be entitled to retain the Falcidian portion, but he must pay the legatees and beneficiaries of trusts, even though the amount of the bequests prove to be greater than the value of the estate of the deceased. We establish this rule without intending to diminish the effect of the law which We have promulgated, in order that heirs may not cause creditors any loss, but if guilty of fraud, that they may be punished; for why should he violate the laws under which, if he acts properly, he can lose nothing, but, on the other hand, will be benefited by the provisions of the Lex Falcidia? We accord this privilege where a testator acts in this manner, through being mistaken as to the value of his estate, or perhaps, where he should have left a larger share to the heir, he leaves him less; for this is the result of an erroneous opinion, and not of a deliberate and intentional design. Where, however, he expressly states that, "he does not desire his heir to retain the Falcidian portion," the wish of the deceased must be complied with, and the heir who is willing to obey the testator who has perhaps done nothing but what is just and proper will be benefited not by receiving any property, but merely through having acted in a dutiful manner; or if he is unwilling to obey, he can refuse to accept the appointment, and give place (as We have already provided) to the substitutes, co-heirs, beneficiaries of trusts, legatees, slaves, heirs at law, and the other successors, in the order which We have previously established.

  We do not grant permission to an heir who is perfectly acquainted with the value of the estate to pay certain legatees in full in the beginning, carry out the entire wishes of the testator (which also has been stated in certain constitutions of Our predecessors), and afterwards reserve the Falcidian fourth out of the shares of others; nor indeed to partially comply with the wishes of the testator and only diminish the legacies to a certain extent; but the value of the estate must be ascertained, and the will of the testator afterwards be carried out, so that there may be no cause for dissatisfaction; otherwise the heir will not discharge his duty. Nor do We permit those who, in the beginning, have knowingly and carelessly paid legacies, afterwards to bring suit against the persons who received them in order to recover from them what they have been paid. For it is necessary to deliberate before acting, and not bring suit without proper reflection, after having wrongfully transferred the property, unless there should be some good cause, for instance, the discovery of an unexpected debt which may diminish the assets of the estate, and afford a good reason for taking this course.

  We have also provided that a long time shall not elapse in disposing of such matters. For We direct that no more than a year shall be allowed for the decision of questions or litigation of this kind, rendering it necessary, within twelve months after the acceptance of the estate, for the legacies to be paid and the wishes of the testator complied with, in accordance with their character, and for everything which We have previously ordered to be done. We direct that the year shall begin, as We have already stated, from the date of the notice of the judicial decree. If, through the negligence of the heir, the period of a year has elapsed, he shall then lose his right to whatever has been bequeathed, and the others whom We have previously called to the succession will be entitled to it.
  (1) This law of Ours does not, in any respect, prejudice the rights of wards and minors, for in case they should be injured in any of the ways which are mentioned by Us, they will be entitled to relief from two sources; that is to say, by means of restitution, and by the recourse of which they can avail themselves against negligent guardians or curators. We do not, however, by" the provisions of this law except the successions of patrons, for the lawful share which We have established shall be preserved for them; and where anything beyond this has been bequeathed, and some charge has been imposed upon them by their freedmen and they refuse to execute it, We direct that the order which We stated in this Our Imperial Constitution in the beginning shall be preserved, so that the simple legal share may be acquired by them, and the remainder be divided among the other coheirs, as We have already directed; for in the constitution promulgated by Us with reference to the right of patronage We have conceded to freedmen almost the same privileges as freeborn persons are entitled to.
  (2) But for the reason that there are two kinds of wills, one written and the other nuncupative, We desire that all these things shall be observed in the same manner in every instance, and We order that this shall be done in the case of nuncupative wills as in all others, no matter who the person may be, whether he is a private individual, a soldier, a priest, an officer of the Empire, or anyone else whosoever, for We make this law applicable to all men.

  We have mentioned these things in order that they may be to the advantage of all persons alike, that the living may obtain what has been left to them, and the dying may pass from life in security, knowing that the law will administer their affairs even after they are buried; and that whatever testamentary dispositions they have made will be carried into effect.
  (1) For the reason that this law is generally useful, Your Excellency will cause all persons to become acquainted with it; and it shall be proclaimed through the provinces to all the nations which are already subject to Roman domination, as well as to those which have, with the aid of God, recently been added by Us to the Empire. As soon as the judges of the principal cities receive this law they shall (as has already been decreed by Us) publish it in every town in their jurisdiction, and no one shall remain in ignorance of the law, "which does not permit a man to live in poverty, or to die in anxiety."