_The Development of Law Is the Most Remarkable Phase of the Roman
Civilization_.--Perhaps the most lasting effect of the Roman
civilization is observed in the contribution of law to the nations
which arose at the time of the decline of the imperial sway. From the
time of the posting of the Twelve Tables in a public place, where they
could be read by all the citizens of Rome, there was a steady growth of
the Roman law. The decrees of the senate, as well as the influence of
judicial decisions, gradually developed a system of jurisprudence.
There sprang up, also, interpreters of the law, who had much influence
in shaping its course. Also, in the early period of the republic, the
acts of the popular assemblies became laws. This was before the senate
became the supreme lawmaking body of the state.

During the imperial period the emperor acted somewhat through the
senate, but the latter body was more or less under his control, for he
frequently dictated its actions. Having assumed the powers of a
magistrate, he could issue an edict; as a judge he could give decrees
and issue commands to his own officials, all of which tended to
increase the body of Roman law. In the selection of jurists for the
interpretation of the law the emperor also had great control over its
character. The great accomplishment of the lawmaking methods of {260}
the Romans was, in the first place, to allow laws to be made by popular
assemblies and the senate, according to the needs of a developing
social organization. This having once been established, the foundation
of lawmaking was laid for all nations to follow. The Roman law soon
passed into a complex system of jurisprudence which has formed a large
element in the structure, principles, and practice of all modern legal
systems. The character of the law in itself was superior and masterly,
and its universality was accomplished through the universal rule of the
empire.

The later emperors performed a great service to the world by collecting
and codifying Roman laws. The Theodosian code (Theodosius II, 408-450
A.D.) was a very important one on account of the influence it exercised
over the various Teutonic systems of law practised by the different
barbarian tribes that came within the borders of the Roman Empire. The
jurists who gave the law a great development had by the close of the
fourth century placed on record all the principal legal acts of the
empire. They had collected and edited