Note 4 — BOOK II. CONCERNING THE CONDUCT OF CAUSES.
S. P. (Samuel Parsons) Scott translation
The Visigothic Councils, whose authority was presumed to emanate from Heaven, and whose alleged sacred character invested also, to a certain extent, the monarchs elected by them, presumed to legislate for all coming time. Instances often occur where future kings are declared to be bound irrevocably by the acts of their predecessors, and by the decrees of the collected wisdom and piety of the nation, represented by the ecclesiastical assemblies of Toledo. Despite the solemn adjurations of prince and prelate, however, few kings hesitated to repeal or abolish the laws of their ancestors, when those laws either offended their prejudices, or interfered with their ambition.
The manifest injustice and iniquity now recognized by nearly all civilized nations as attaching to ex post facto laws, were not appreciated by the Visigothic legislator, or sovereign. Laws were frequently made retroactive, and were enforced with great severity in cases affecting questions of religious belief, as well as in those relating to the rights and privileges of the Crown.—[Ed.]