Twelve Tables of Roman Law

( 451 BCE ) Commentary by Eric May, M.A.

“When anyone summons another before the tribunal of a judge, the latter must, without hesitation, immediately appear.” - Table I, Law I
“Where anyone, having acknowledged a debt, has a judgment rendered against him requiring payment, thirty days shall be given to him in which to pay the money and satisfy the judgment. ” - Table III, Law IV
“A father shall have the right of life and death over his son born in lawful marriage, and shall also have the power to render him independent, after he has been sold three times.” - Table IV, Law I
“No privileges, or statutes, shall be enacted in favor of private persons, to the injury of others contrary to the law common to all citizens, and which individuals, no matter of what rank, have a right to make use of.” - Table IX, Law I
“Affairs of great importance shall not be transacted without the vote of the people, with whom rests the power to appoint magistrates, to condemn citizens, and to enact laws. Laws subsequently passed always take preference over former ones.” - Table XI, Law I
“Those who belong to the Senatorial Order and are styled Fathers, shall not contract marriage with plebeians.” - Table XI, Law II

View of the Roman Forum from Palatine Hill (Library of Congress)

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