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.
TITLE VI. CONCERNING PLEDGES AND DEBTS.
| I. | Where Articles are not Pledged. |
| II. | Where Pledges are Deposited, and afterwards Stolen. |
| III. | Where Articles are Pledged as Security for Debts. |
| IV. | Where a Pledge is not Restored when the Debt is Paid. |
| V. | Where a Person is Liable for many Debts, or has Committed many Crimes. |
| VI. | In what way the Debt of a Person who is Dead, or any Injury he has Committed, shall be Inquired Into. |
FLAVIUS RECESVINTUS, KING.
I. Where Articles are not Pledged.
All persons shall not have the right to pledge property; and if any freeborn person should seize a pledge belonging to another, and which he has refused to accept as such, he shall be compelled to pay double its value. A slave, however, shall be required to restore only the pledge, and shall receive a hundred lashes.
ANCIENT LAW.