Justinians Institutes - Book Report/Review Example

Summary: Justinian’s Institutes, 534 A.D. Justinian’s Institutes defines the kinds of laws and the various types of written laws that governed ancient Rome during the emperor’s time. There are three kinds of laws mentioned by Justinian, from general to specific: the law of nature, the law of nations, and civil law. The law of nature, or natural law, is one that is animals and men have knowledge of. In fact, it is the law of nature that is behind the idea of matrimony, procreation and the bringing up of children. The law of nations on the other hand is common to all mankind and therefore excludes animals. It is the law of nations that recognize what all humans deserve to have – freedom and protection of rights through the use of contracts. These contracts are used in the following activities: buying and selling, letting and hiring, partnership, deposits, loans and many others. Civil law on the other hand, is the law that is common only to one country or group of people, like the Roman Law, which is also known as the Law of the Quirites. Moreover, the Romans have several written and unwritten laws. The written laws are the following: 1. Lex (or leges) – proposed by the senatorian magistrate and enacted by the Roman people (including patricians, senators and plebs) 2. Plebiscitum – proposed by the plebeian magistrate and enacted only by the plebs 3. Senatusconsultum – appointed or commanded by the senate in lieu of the people 4. Constitutiones – enacted by the emperor by virtue of power, or Lex Regia, and by means of three ways (through rescript, adjudging a cause, or an edict). Everyone is subject to the constitutiones, unless specific to an individual. Summary: The Deeds of the Divine Augustus (Res Gestae), Augustus Caesar, 14 A.D. The deeds of the late Roman emperor Augustus Caesar, or the Res Gestae, are inscribed on his funeral complex, specifically on the part called Ara Pacis. The emperor’s deeds are as follows: 1. POLITICAL ACHIEVEMENTS: In 43 BCE, he became a consul at the age of 19 through his own efforts. He was later on appointed as consul, as propraetor, and as triumvir. 2. SOCIO-POLITICAL ACHIEVEMENTS: From 29 BCE to 2 BCE, he gave grain and SERTERCES, or cash gifts, to people and soldiers 7 times (with an estimated total of SESTERCES 2,400,000,000). a. SERTERCES 300 per Roman pleb; SERTERCES 400 per soldier (29 BCE) b. SESTERCES 1000 per soldier (with a total of 120,000 soldiers) (29 BCE) c. SESTERCES 400 per man as public gift (24 BCE) d. 12 doles of grain (23 BCE) e. SESTERCES 400 per man (12-11 BCE) f. SESTERCES 240 per pleb (with a total of 320,000 plebs) (5 BCE) g. The public grain and SESTERCES 240 per pleb (with a total of over 200,000 plebs) (2 BCE) 3. HUMILITY: In 22 BCE, he did not accept the offer of dictatorship and instead remained as the curator of grain to facilitate the food shortage. He also did not accept the offer of annual and perpetual consulate. 4. ARCHITECTURE: During his period of governance, he built around 15 various monuments and edifices such as: a. The senate-house b. The Chalcidicum c. The temple of Apollo d. The temple of divine Julius e. The Lupercal f. The portico at the Flaminian circus g. The state box at the great circus h. The temple on the Capitoline of Jupiter Subduer and Jupiter Thunderer i. The temple of Quirinus j. The temples of Minerva k. The temple of Queen Juno and Jupiter l. The temple of the Lares m. The temple of the gods of the Penates n. The temple of Youth o. The temple of the Great Mother 5. ENTERTAINMENT: He gave shows of gladiators. He also celebrated games especially the secular games for the college of the Fifteen and the first games of Mas. Lastly, he gave people hunts of African beasts in three places: in the circus, in the open and in the ampitheater. 6. MILITARY: He founded colonies of soldiers in Europe, Asia and Africa. 7. PEACE: He put out the Roman civil war and was acknowledged for handing over his power to the senate and the Roman people. Summary: Suetonius, Lives of the Caesars: Caligula, c. 110 A.D. The Roman official Suetonius worked closely with the emperors and thus possessed a wealth of information about their ill behavior and misdeeds. Chapters 22 to 36 of his book are devoted mainly to the notorious Emperor Caligula and his brutal and shameful acts. Chapter 22: Declaration of Divinity. One of these acts was Caligula declaring himself “one Lord, one King” and the equivalent of Jupiter. As a self-proclaimed deity, Caligula had the heads of the statues of Jupiter replaced with his, and had a temple and a gold life-sized statue built for the people to worship him. Caligula also enjoyed the offerings of the wealthy in order to secure the priesthood. Moreover, Caligula staged conversations with Jupiter and would even threaten Him. Chapter 26: Brutal Acts against Officials and Citizens. Caligula also committed acts of shame against officials like making senators run in their togas beside his chariot and secretly putting some to death. He also deposed the senate when they forgot his birthday, and had his quaestor stripped and flogged. He also committed brutal acts against the knights and the people, once when he had them driven out of the Circus with cudgels because of their noise, thus causing the death of more than 20 knights. Caligula also fostered the conflict between people and officials when he gave out tickets for the special seats to the people. He also had the awnings drawn back during a gladiatorial show when it was very hot. Moreover, he ordered sham fights with weak gladiators. Lastly, he shut up granaries just to let the people go hungry. Chapter 30: Torture, and Chapter 31: Wish for Disaster. Caligula had criminals put to death through brutal torture without trial and would not feel any remorse if the wrong person was killed. He also loved being hated for it meant being feared. Moreover, Caligula was bored with the peacefulness of his times and had often wished for tragedies such as the destruction of his armies, pestilence and other natural calamities. Chapter 36: Crimes against Chastity. Caligula was also rumored to have had homosexual relations with the actor Marcus Lepidus and the young man of consular family Valerius Catullus, as well as certain hostages. Caligula also had incestuous relations with his sisters and the concubine Pyrallis as well as almost every woman of his rank even the married ones. Afterwards, he would publicly criticize the conduct of his partners and would even declare them officially divorced from their husbands. Summary: The Secret History of Plumbing, Pompeii & Herculaneum The Romans were famous for their plumbing engineering that gave them their extensive and well-crafted water systems. Excavations in 1758, which was around a millennium after Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD, revealed extensive, stylish and luxurious plumbing work in the once flourishing Roman towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Extensive and elaborate water supply systems were found in the palaces of the emperors as well as in the homes of the wealthy, in the theaters, dance halls and circuses, as well as in the temples and amphitheaters. There were ancient closets that contained a cistern to flush water to different privy seats, which are unusually located near the kitchen. The water system extended throughout the whole Roman towns and a kind of ball float maintained a steady flow of water to the houses. The homeowners had to pay for the water depending on the nozzle size, and the service pipe was identified with the owner’s name in order to prevent freeloaders from using them. The pipes were elliptical or egg-shaped and were fashioned out of molten lead, thus the name plumberium, which means workers of lead or plumbers. The ancient Roman water system was not only extensive but also stylish and luxurious. In fact, ancient Roman baths were a sign of luxury in today’s terms and the wealthy during those times wanted lead pipes, bronze valves and marble, gold and silver fixtures built in their baths. The bathroom of the wealthy consisted of marble steps leading to a pool of water on a concrete floor. There were also heaters in the form of a furnace adjacent to the floor and walls. There were also silver faucets, brass stop-cocks, and bronze bathtubs. Herculaneum was more superior to Pompeii in terms of design and luxury of the baths. In the Herculaneum, where the richest of the Roman Empire bathed, the walls of the baths had beautiful mosaics and frescoes. The baths were also a country club where friends met and played a few games. Typically, mixed bathing of men and women were prohibited in a Roman bath and had only two rules: “Don’t stare,” and “Behave as if one were fully dressed.” Nevertheless, with the declination of the empire came the degeneration of the baths and their use for orgies, thus giving a reason for the Roman Stoic philosopher Seneca to further criticize the corruption in Rome. Top of Form Bottom of Form Works Cited Bushnell, Thomas. “The Deeds of the Divine Augustus (Res Gestae).” 14 AD. Justinian. Institutes. 534 AD. Suetonius. Lives of the Caesars: Caligula. 110 AD. “The History of Plumbing: Pompeii & Herculaneum.” Read More