Where anyone damages property or clothing belonging to another, or does any injury to a traveller while on a journey, or deprives him of anything by stealth, he shall immediately give satisfaction according to law; but shall not be compelled to pay the full value of the baggage of the traveller, but only an amount equal to what he damaged, or stole from him.
ANCIENT LAW.
XVIII. Concerning Property Rescued from Shipwreck.
Where property has been saved from conflagration, ruin, or shipwreck, and any of it is abstracted or concealed by any person; he shall be compelled to pay fourfold the value of the same.
ANCIENT LAW.
XIX. Concerning the Property and the Heirs of Thieves.
Where anyone obtains the property of a dead thief, either by will or inheritance, he shall not be liable to any penalty, because the crime died with the perpetrator; but he shall be liable to satisfaction in damages, for the reason that the thief would have been so liable, had he lived. If the damages incurred amount to more than the inheritance, he must surrender the latter in its entirety.
ANCIENT LAW.
XX. Concerning Those who Rescue Thieves and Other Criminals after their Capture.
If anyone should rescue a thief or any other criminal who is in custody, or permit him to escape; if he is a person of rank, he shall receive a hundred lashes in the presence of the judge for his insolence, and shall be compelled to produce in court the party whom he set free. If another person who has no claim against a thief, should arrest him, he shall receive for his services a fourth part of the sum due from the thief in satisfaction of his crime. Where the latter cannot afterwards be found, he who liberated him shall be liable to the punishment prescribed for theft; and shall be compelled to pay, out of his own property, a sum equal to that which the thief would have been compelled to pay, had he been convicted. If, however, he is a person of inferior rank, and should produce the thief in court, he shall receive for his insolence a hundred lashes. Where he is not able to find the thief, he shall be liable to both the penalty and damages for theft, to the same extent as the thief himself would have been liable after conviction.