358 ADVANCEMENT OP LEARNING. [BOOK VJIL 



New digests of laws. 



LIX. But if laws heaped upon laws shall well to such 

 a vast bulk, and labour under such confusion as renders it 

 expedient to treat them anew, and reduce them into one 

 sound and serviceable corps, it becomes a work ol the utmost 

 importance, deserving to be deemed heroical, and let the 

 authors of it be ranked among legislators, and the restorers 

 of states and empires. 



LX. Such an expurgation and new digest of laws is to 

 be effected by five particulars ; viz., 1. By omitting all the 

 obsolete laws, which Justinian calls ancient fables; 2. By 

 receiving the most approved contradictories, and abolishing 

 the rest; 3. By expunging laws of the same purport, and 

 retaining only one, or the most perfect; 4. By throwing out 

 such laws as determine nothing only propose questions, and 

 leave them undecided; 5. And lastly, by contracting and 

 abridging those that are too verbose and prolix. 



LXI. And it would be very useful in such a new digest, 

 separately to range and bring together all those laws received 

 for common law which have a kind of immemorial origin, 

 and on the other side the statutes superadded from time to 

 time ; because in numerous particulars in the practice of the 

 law, the interpretation and administration of the common 

 law differs from the statute law. And this method was ob 

 served by Trebonianus in his digest and code. 



LXII. But in such a second birth of the law, and such a 

 reconcilement of the ancient books and laws, the very words 

 and text of the law itself should be retained ; and though it 

 were necessary to collect them by fragments and small por 

 tions, they may afterwards be regularly wove together. For 

 allowing it might perhaps be more commodious, and with 

 regard to the true reason of the thing, better, to do it by a 

 new text than by such kind of patchwork, yet in the law, 

 style and description are not so much to be regarded as 

 authority, and its patron antiquity; otherwise this might 

 rather seem a work of mere scholarship and method than a 

 corps of majestic laws. 



LXIII. Twere advisable, in making this new digest, not 

 utterly to abolish the ancient volumes, and give them up to 

 oblivion, but suffer them at least to remain in some library, 

 though \vith a prohibition of their common use; because in 



