TITLE V. CONCERNING PROPERTY COMMITTED TO THE CHARGE OF, OR LOANED TO, ANOTHER

I.Concerning Animals Hired to Another.
II.Concerning Animals Loaned for the Purpose of Labor.
III.Concerning Things which have been Loaned, and afterwards Destroyed by Fire, or Lost by Theft.
IV.Concerning Lost Money, and the Interest on the Same.
V.Concerning Property Committed to the Charge of Another, and Lost by Accident at Sea.
VI.Concerning Property Entrusted to a Slave without his Master’s Knowledge.
VII.Where a Slave Fraudulently Demands Property Entrusted by his Master to Another.
VIII.Concerning Legal Interest.
IX.What shall be Paid for the Use of Fruits of the Soil.
X.Who are Entitled to Wills, or Instruments in Writing, which have been Entrusted to the Keeping of Anyone.

ANCIENT LAW.

I. Concerning Animals Hired to Another.

If anyone should take in charge a horse, or an ox, or an animal of any kind, in consideration of a certain sum of money, and the animal should die, he shall give something equal to its value; whether the sum agreed upon was for the mere keeping of the animal, or for the use of it. But if he who had charge of said animal, should receive no compensation, and should prove that the animal was dead, he shall be entitled to nothing, and nothing shall be required of him, for this reason; as he who had charge of the said animal has established by oath that its death was not due to his guilt or negligence, no liability shall attach to him for the same. The same rule shall apply to property which has been loaned.

ANCIENT LAW.

II. Concerning Animals Loaned for the Purpose of Labor.

Where anyone rents or hires to another a beast of burden, horse, or any other animal, and it should die of disease while under the control of him who received it, the latter shall make oath that said animal did not die either through his fault or neglect, and he shall escape all liability. But if the death of said animal should have been caused by want of exercise, or by overloading, or by too much work, or by abuse, an animal of equal value shall be given to the owner. But if said animal should cause any injury or damage to anyone, he who had charge of it at the time shall be liable for the same.

ANCIENT LAW.

III. Concerning Things which have been Loaned, and afterwards Destroyed by Fire, or Lost by Theft.

If any gold, silver, ornaments, or money, which have been entrusted to anyone either for safe keeping, or to be sold, should be lost, or consumed by fire, along with his own property, in the house of him who had charge of them, and the latter should produce witnesses, and give a written statement specifying the property which has been lost, and should swear that nothing has been saved, he shall incur no liability, except for the gold and silver, which cannot be burned. And if any person, while the house was burning, under pretext of affording assistance, should appropriate any property, the owner shall make diligent inquiry, and, if detected, the culprit shall pay four times the value of the article stolen; and if any of the property which has been loaned should be found, it shall be restored at once to the owner. Where it is proved that the article in question had been stolen, a reasonable time shall be granted for the pursuit and arrest of the thief; and if he should be caught, he shall be forced to restore to the original owner the property of the latter, and whatever else may be obtained from the thief shall belong to him to whom the stolen property was entrusted. But if the thief should not be arrested within the appointed time, a sum equal to half the value of the property loaned or hired, shall be paid to the owner by him who had charge of the same, so that the loss may be equally borne by both. If, subsequently, the owner of the property should find it in the possession of him to whom it was entrusted, and who had declared that it had been lost or stolen, when, in fact, it had been fraudulently concealed by him, he shall undergo the penalty for theft as prescribed by law.

ANCIENT LAW.

IV. Concerning Lost Money, and the Interest on the Same.

If anyone should receive a sum of money and bind himself in writing to pay interest on the same, and the money should be lost through no guilt or negligence of the debtor, the creditor shall be entitled to the principal alone, and cannot collect interest. But if the money was lost through his own fraud or crime, the borrower shall pay both principal and interest; and where the latter has gained any profit from the use of said money, and it should afterwards be lost, if the profit should be as great as the principal the borrower shall be liable for both principal and interest.

ANCIENT LAW.

V. Concerning Property Committed to the Charge of Another, and Lost by Accident at Sea.

Where anyone entrusted with the property of another loses it, either by fire, shipwreck, or some other accident, but at the same time saves all his own property from destruction, he shall be compelled to render full satisfaction for what was in his charge, and shall not be suffered to set up any defence. But if he is known to have saved any portion of his own property, he must return to him whose goods he had charge of, a sum in proportion to the property lost or saved, which a court shall decide to be equitable. If he should lose all his own possessions, and save the property which was entrusted to his care, the same rule shall apply; and he shall receive such a part of what he has saved as a judge, after due consideration, shall decide him to be entitled to. For in such cases it is not just that he alone who has exposed himself to great danger should sustain loss, and, while he was attempting to save articles of inferior value belonging to another, should lose all his own possessions.

ANCIENT LAW.

VI. Concerning Property Entrusted to a Slave without his Master’s Knowledge.

If any property entrusted to a slave for safe keeping, without the knowledge of his master, should be lost, no responsibility therefor shall attach to either the master or the slave. For the fault is his who entrusted his property to the slave of another, the master being ignorant of the fact. If the property aforesaid should be an animal, and it should be lost through the fraud of shepherds, the master shall be compelled to pay for it. The same rule shall apply to property entrusted to another, which has been consumed or wasted through the fraud or malice of those to whose charge it was committed.

ANCIENT LAW.

VII. Where a Slave Fraudulently Demands Property Entrusted by his Master to Another.

If a master desiring to borrow, or to hire any property, should send his slave for the same, and the latter should abscond with said property, the master shall be compelled to make restitution. But if the slave should falsely represent that his master had sent him, and the property should be given him to be taken to his master, and he should either destroy or lose said property, and absconding, cannot be found, the master shall make oath that he had not sent the slave upon such an errand, and that he did not know that he had gone; and, under such circumstances, he shall incur no liability. The master, as well as the person who entrusted the slave with the property, shall exert themselves to the utmost to find him. We hereby decree that this same rule shall apply to all property entrusted to anyone without compensation.

ANCIENT LAW.

VIII. Concerning Legal Interest.

Where anyone loans money at interest, he shall not have a right to demand more than three siliquæ per annum, for every solidus; the debtor shall pay one solidus, as annual interest, for every eight solidi, and the creditor may claim from the debtor the principal and the aforesaid interest. If the creditor, by a written agreement, should extort from the necessities of the debtor a sum, as interest, in excess of the above amount, the contract, being contrary to law, shall be invalid. But if any one should thus violate the law, and should receive the sum which was agreed upon in writing, the usurious interest shall not be returned.[30]

ANCIENT LAW.

IX. What shall be Paid for the Use of Fruits of the Soil.

Whoever shall lease to another the dry and moist fruits of the earth, that is to say, wine and oil, or any other kind of provisions, shall not be entitled to receive for the use of the same more than the third part; that is to say, he shall pay a modius as rent for every two others which he receives. This law we direct shall apply to the fruits of the earth alone, as we have already published decrees concerning the loaning of money.

ANCIENT LAW.

X. Who are Entitled to Wills, or Instruments in Writing, which have been Entrusted to the Keeping of Anyone.

A will which has been entrusted to the keeping of anyone, after its attestation by witnesses, as is provided by law, shall be delivered to the heir who has the largest interest in the inheritance. But if it should be given to anyone else, or should be delivered to an enemy, he who delivered it shall pay a double fine to the person he wished to defraud. Where anyone is entrusted with a document in which parties have a joint interest, that is to say, wills, decrees, agreements, donations, or other legal instruments of this kind, and should give them to one person in the absence of another who is equally interested therein, he who surrendered such documents must recover them, and restore them without delay, to all those who have a common interest in their preservation.