CHRISTIANITY AND THE ROMAN LAW.1 BY BERTRAND L. CONWAY, C.S.P. HARLES BOUCAUD, the eminent professor of the Catholic University of Lyons, has written a most interesting study on the beginnings of the canon law, and the changes effected in the old Roman law by the teachings of Christianity. As early as 1837 Frédéric Ozanam wrote an article in the Univers calling attention to the political and intellectual influence of Christianity upon the science of law. Later on in his History of the Civilization of the Fifth Century, he gave an excellent outline of the history of the Roman law, making special mention of the Christian spirit manifested in the laws of the first Christian emperors. About the same time, the eminent French jurisconsult Troplong published at Paris (1843) a work entitled, The Influence of Christianity on the Roman Civil Law. In this brochure he showed how the teachings of Christianity had transformed the juridical ideas of ancient Rome. His general thesis was bitterly contested by the historic school, particularly by Padeletti. Indeed for many years it was commonly taught in the schools that the Roman law was practically unaffected by early Christianity. The thesis of Ozanam has been taken up again in our own days, and defended by three eminent Italian professors, Ferrini of the University of Pavia, Riccobono of the University of Palermo, and Carusi of Rome. In 1894 Ferrini published an essay on The Legal Knowledge of Arnobius and Lactantius. Carusi followed with a comparative study of the early Fathers of the Church and the Roman jurisconsults (Diritto Romano e Patristica), while Riccobono in 1911 studied the influence of Christianity upon the Roman law of the sixth century (Cristianesimo e Diritto Privato). Their chief antagonist was Baviera, a professor in the University of Naples, who maintained that the moral, religious, and doctrinal principles of the Gospel had not exercised any influence whatever upon the juridical institutions of the Romans, except perhaps in the 'La Première Ebauche d'un Droit Chrétien dans le Droit Romain. By Charles Boucaud. Paris: A. Tralin. 2 frs. 50. field of public charity, which Christianity organized; that even Justinian's legislation against divorce was inspired more by the policy of Augustus than by the teaching of the Fathers of the Church; that slavery was not modified in any essential manner by Christian principles; that the continued struggle in the Lower Empire in favor of the weak against the strong was prompted solely by the exigencies of everyday life, and the demands of pauperism. Of course, we must remember that Baviera's conclusions were affected by his rationalism. In his viewpoint, Christian morals and law are two parallel lines that never meet; their objects are different; the one refers solely to the future life, to the utter despising of this life, while the other has to do with real everyday practical life, especially in its economic aspect. He distinguishes also between Christian morality and the Christian religion; he tells us that the moral teaching of our Saviour is totally distinct from the moral teaching of St. Paul and of St. Augustine. Christianity owes its origin to the popular despair that characterized the times of Herod, and this despair made the people look solely to the other life for the reign of the poor and the humble. It is not our purpose to refute here the erroneous views of Baviera on the origin and development of Christianity. Let us simply state that the Christianity of St. Paul and the Fathers of the Church is identical with the teaching of Jesus; that whereas the Church assimilated all that was good in the Greco-Roman civilization of the time, it was primarily and essentially a divine teaching and a revelation. It was not merely a heavenly hope born of a disgust with earthly conditions, but a supernatural religion taught by the Son of God, Jesus Christ. It is false to maintain that because the Christian has ever in view the life to come as the reward of his loyalty to God's law, that therefore he is totally indifferent to the things of this life. He does not declare that justice is to reign only in the hereafter, but he endeavors as far as possible to bring it about even in this imperfect world. Morality is not independent of religion, nor is morality independent of law. A priori we are certain that the principles of Christian morality must influence in a special manner the laws of a Christian community, and historically we can prove that they have done so. That the historical problem is a difficult one, we are ready to admit. For in the first place, it is hard to determine whether the development of natural law and equity in the Roman law was due to Christianity alone, or to the influence of the Stoic philosophy, CHRISTIANITY AND THE ROMAN LAW.1 C BY BERTRAND L. CONWAY, C.S.P. HARLES BOUCAUD, the eminent professor of the Catholic University of Lyons, has written a most interesting study on the beginnings of the canon law, and the changes effected in the old Roman law by the teachings of Christianity. As early as 1837 Frédéric Ozanam wrote an article in the Univers calling attention to the political and intellectual influence of Christianity upon the science of law. Later on in his History of the Civilization of the Fifth Century, he gave an excellent outline of the history of the Roman law, making special mention of the Christian spirit manifested in the laws of the first Christian emperors. About the same time, the eminent French jurisconsult Troplong published at Paris (1843) a work entitled, The Influence of Christianity on the Roman Civil Law. In this brochure he showed how the teachings of Christianity had transformed the juridical ideas of ancient Rome. His general thesis was bitterly contested by the historic school, particularly by Padeletti. Indeed for many years it was commonly taught in the schools that the Roman law was practically unaffected by early Christianity. The thesis of Ozanam has been taken up again in our own days, and defended by three eminent Italian professors, Ferrini of the University of Pavia, Riccobono of the University of Palermo, and Carusi of Rome. In 1894 Ferrini published an essay on The Legal Knowledge of Arnobius and Lactantius. Carusi followed with a comparative study of the early Fathers of the Church and the Roman jurisconsults (Diritto Romano e Patristica), while Riccobono in 1911 studied the influence of Christianity upon the Roman law of the sixth century (Cristianesimo e Diritto Privato). Their chief antagonist was Baviera, a professor in the University of Naples, who maintained that the moral, religious, and doctrinal principles of the Gospel had not exercised any influence whatever upon the juridical institutions of the Romans, except perhaps in the 'La Première Ebauche d'un Droit Chrétien dans le Droit Romain. By Charles Boucaud. Paris: A. Tralin. 2 frs. 50. field of public charity, which Christianity organized; that even Justinian's legislation against divorce was inspired more by the policy of Augustus than by the teaching of the Fathers of the Church; that slavery was not modified in any essential manner by Christian principles; that the continued struggle in the Lower Empire in favor of the weak against the strong was prompted solely by the exigencies of everyday life, and the demands of pauperism. Of course, we must remember that Baviera's conclusions were affected by his rationalism. In his viewpoint, Christian morals and law are two parallel lines that never meet; their objects are different; the one refers solely to the future life, to the utter despising of this life, while the other has to do with real everyday practical life, especially in its economic aspect. He distinguishes also between Christian morality and the Christian religion; he tells us that the moral teaching of our Saviour is totally distinct from the moral teaching of St. Paul and of St. Augustine. Christianity owes its origin to the popular despair that characterized the times of Herod, and this despair made the people look solely to the other life for the reign of the poor and the humble. It is not our purpose to refute here the erroneous views of Baviera on the origin and development of Christianity. Let us simply state that the Christianity of St. Paul and the Fathers of the Church is identical with the teaching of Jesus; that whereas the Church assimilated all that was good in the Greco-Roman civilization of the time, it was primarily and essentially a divine teaching and a revelation. It was not merely a heavenly hope born of a disgust with earthly conditions, but a supernatural religion taught by the Son of God, Jesus Christ. It is false to maintain that because the Christian has ever in view the life to come as the reward of his loyalty to God's law, that therefore he is totally indifferent to the things of this life. He does not declare that justice is to reign only in the hereafter, but he endeavors as far as possible to bring it about even in this imperfect world. Morality is not independent of religion, nor is morality independent of law. A priori we are certain that the principles of Christian morality must influence in a special manner the laws of a Christian community, and historically we can prove that they have done so. That the historical problem is a difficult one, we are ready to admit. For in the first place, it is hard to determine whether the development of natural law and equity in the Roman law was due to Christianity alone, or to the influence of the Stoic philosophy, CHRISTIANITY AND THE ROMAN LAW.1 C BY BERTRAND L. CONWAY, C.S.P. HARLES BOUCAUD, the eminent professor of the Catholic University of Lyons, has written a most interesting study on the beginnings of the canon law, and the changes effected in the old Roman law by the teachings of Christianity. As early as 1837 Frédéric Ozanam wrote an article in the Univers calling attention. to the political and intellectual influence of Christianity upon the science of law. Later on in his History of the Civilization of the Fifth Century, he gave an excellent outline of the history of the Roman law, making special mention of the Christian spirit manifested in the laws of the first Christian emperors. About the same time, the eminent French jurisconsult Troplong published at Paris (1843) a work entitled, The Influence of Christianity on the Roman Civil Law. In this brochure he showed how the teachings of Christianity had transformed the juridical ideas of ancient Rome. His general thesis was bitterly contested by the historic school, particularly by Padeletti. Indeed for many years it was commonly taught in the schools that the Roman law was practically unaffected by early Christianity. The thesis of Ozanam has been taken up again in our own days, and defended by three eminent Italian professors, Ferrini of the University of Pavia, Riccobono of the University of Palermo, and Carusi of Rome. In 1894 Ferrini published an essay on The Legal Knowledge of Arnobius and Lactantius. Carusi followed with a comparative study of the early Fathers of the Church and the Roman jurisconsults (Diritto Romano e Patristica), while Riccobono in 1911 studied the influence of Christianity upon the Roman law of the sixth century (Cristianesimo e Diritto Privato). Their chief antagonist was Baviera, a professor in the University of Naples, who maintained that the moral, religious, and doctrinal principles of the Gospel had not exercised any influence whatever upon the juridical institutions of the Romans, except perhaps in the 'La Première Ebauche d'un Droit Chrétien dans le Droit Romain. By Charles Boucaud. Paris: A. Tralin. 2 frs. 50. |