Note 39 — BOOK VII. CONCERNING THEFT AND FRAUD.
S. P. (Samuel Parsons) Scott translation
This chapter, a survival of the irresponsible authority exercised by the Roman dominus, is the only one in the Code where the fate of a slave, guilty of crime, is specifically and absolutely left to the will of his master. It is possible that, on account of the facility afforded for the commission of such offences, the possession of extraordinary power was supposed to be required, as a safeguard.—[Ed.]