ANCIENT LAW.
XII. Concerning Those who Rob, or Inflict Annoyance upon Anyone, while he is on a Journey, or at Work in the Country.
Anyone who removes any property by violence, or robs another, while the latter is upon a journey, or occupied in farm labor, shall, after a judicial investigation, restore fourfold the value of the property stolen, or appropriated; and if he should cause any bloodshed, or personal injury, he shall render complete legal satisfaction for the same. If a slave should commit such an offence, without the knowledge of his master, he shall receive a hundred lashes; and his master shall be liable for the compensation due for his act. If his master should be unwilling to pay the sum required, he shall at once surrender the slave.[42]
ANCIENT LAW.
XIII. Whether a Person Caught in the Act of Robbery may be Killed.
Where anyone takes the property of another by force, and is wounded, or killed in the act, he who inflicted the injury shall incur no legal responsibility for the same.
TITLE II. CONCERNING ARSON AND INCENDIARIES.
| I. | Concerning Those who set Fire to Houses, either Within or Without a City. |
| II. | Where Forests are set on Fire. |
| III. | Where a Conflagration Results from the Smouldering Camp fire of a Traveller. |
I. Concerning those who set Fire to Houses, either Within or Without a City.
Whoever sets fire to the house of another in a city, shall be arrested by order of the judge, and condemned to be burned alive; and shall pay out of his own property the loss incurred by the owner of the house, as well as the price of the house itself, should the latter be consumed. He whose house was burned shall swear to the amount of property therein, in the presence of as many witnesses as the court may direct, and shall not demand the value of more than he was possessed of, nor shall he put an excessive estimate upon the value of his house; and if, after he has made oath, he should be convicted of any fraud, he shall be compelled to pay twice the amount of the sum exacted as legal compensation, to whomever the same is due. But if the fire kindled in the house aforesaid should spread through the neighborhood, the property of the incendiary shall be equitably distributed in proportion to the damage incurred by those who lost their house, or their chattels. If, after satisfaction has been made to him whose house was set on fire, it should be found that he still had some property remaining, he must then swear, in the presence of witnesses, that he did not demand a greater sum than he had lost. And if, after having made such an oath, it should be found that he has perjured himself, he shall be compelled to pay double the amount prescribed by law, to him whom he attempted to defraud. Whoever sets fire to a house outside a city, shall pay for all property burned in said house, and shall also, at once, pay the value of the house to the owner; but he whose house has been burned must declare, under oath and in the presence of witnesses, that he does not demand a greater sum than he has lost. And if, after having been sworn, it should appear that he did exact a greater sum, he shall be compelled to pay double the amount to him who sustained the injury.