De fide instrumentorum et amissione eorum
(Concerning the authenticity of instruments and their loss.)
1 Paulus libro secundo sententiarum. Instrumentorum nomine ea omnia accipienda sunt, quibus causa instrui potest: et ideo tam testimonia quam personae instrumentorum loco habentur.
1 Paulus, Sentences, Book IV. All those things by means of which legal proceedings can be instituted should be classed under the head of instruments, and therefore evidence, as well as persons, are placed in that category.
2 Idem libro quinto sententiarum. Quicumque a fisco convenitur, non ex indice et exemplo alicuius scripturae, sed ex authentico conveniendus est et ita, si contractus fides possit ostendi: ceterum calumniosam scripturam vim in iudicio optinere non convenit.
2 The Same, Opinions, Book V. Where anyone is sued by the Treasury, this must be done, not by means of an extract or the copy of any written document, but on the original itself, so that the truth of the contract may be established. It is not proper that a forged document should have any force or effect in court.
3 Idem libro tertio responsorum. Respondit repetita quidem die cautionem interponi non debuisse, sed falsi crimen quantum ad eos, qui in hoc consenserunt, contractum non videri, cum inter praesentes et convenientes res actitata sit magisque debitor quam creditor deliquerit.
3 The Same, Opinions, Book III. Paulus stated that: “An obligation should not be antedated, but the parties who have agreed to this are not considered to be guilty of forgery, since the act was performed in the presence and with the consent of the parties, and the debtor is guilty of a greater offence than the creditor.”
4 Gaius libro singulari de formula hypothecaria. In re hypothecae nomine obligata ad rem non pertinet, quibus fit verbis, sicuti est et in his obligationibus, quae consensu contrahuntur: et ideo et sine scriptura si convenit, ut hypothecae sit, et probari poterit, res obligata erit de qua conveniunt. fiunt enim de his scripturae, ut quod actum est per eas facilius probari possit: et sine his autem valet quod actum est, si habeat probationem, sicut et nuptiae sunt, licet testatio sine scriptis habita est.
4 Gaius, On the Hypothecary Formula. Where property is hypothecated, it does not matter in what terms this may be effected, as in the case in those obligations which are contracted by consent. Therefore, if it is agreed that property shall be hypothecated without this being done in writing, and this can be proved, the property with reference to which the agreement was made will be encumbered; for written instruments are drawn up in these matters in order that what has been agreed upon may be more easily established. The transaction will be valid, however, without them, if the evidence is forthcoming; just as marriage is valid where testimony exists without any written instruments having been executed.
5 Callistratus libro secundo quaestionum. Si res gesta sine litterarum quoque consignatione veritate factum suum praebeat, non ideo minus valebit, quod instrumentum nullum de ea intercessit.
5 Callistratus, Questions, Book II. Where a transaction shows that it has actually been concluded without any documentary evidence, it will be none the less valid because no written instrument with reference to it exists.
6 Ulpianus libro quinquagesimo ad edictum. Si de tabulis testamenti deponendis agatur et dubitetur, cui eas deponi oportet, semper seniorem iuniori et amplioris honoris inferiori et marem feminae et ingenuum libertino praeferemus.
6 Ulpianus, On the Edict, Book L. Where a question arises with reference to the deposit of a will, and there is some doubt with whom this should be done, we prefer that it should always be left with an old, rather than with a young person, with one of high rather than with one of inferior rank, with a man rather than with a woman, and with a freeborn person rather than with a freedman.