Note 29 — BOOK V. CONCERNING BUSINESS TRANSACTIONS.

This affords curious and instructive information as to the cost of books in the seventh century. The silver solidus is meant, as, where any coin referred to is of gold, the fact is always stated in the Forum Judicum. As the solidus was nominally worth $4.00 of our money, but in reality $44.00, taking into consideration the difference of values at that and the present time, it will be seen that the price fixed by law, of a copy of the Visigothic Code, was $17,600.00. This appears incredible, but it must be borne in mind that all books were in manuscript; that few persons were qualified to write them; and, as ignorance was almost universal, the demand for literature was extremely limited. The preparation of a literary work was then a formidable and expensive undertaking. Most of the books of that age, and, indeed, for centuries subsequently, were of a religious character, such as missals, fabulous chronicles of the Church, and spurious and imaginary biographies of saints. Making the sale of a collection of laws at a price above a certain sum a penal offence, punishable with the scourge, is an example of crime unique among the mala prohibita.—[Ed.]