It seems to have been (jaius-wheever he was, we do not know'^- wlio di\ ided all of pri\ ate law into a law of persons, of things, and of actions; who first treated contracts and delicts as a unit, the law of obligations; who t'lrst placed all the contracts together, and also all the delicts; and who separated procedure fromsubstantix e law.'' 'The major classification in )ustinian's histitutcs x\vm marks a progression from (jaiiis' Institutes is quasi-contract (.7. ^^.27) and quasidelict (;/. 4.>'). And e\ en this classification seems to derix e fromanother work of (iaius. [D. But for me, the most striking ex idence of a lack of anx thing rational xvith regard to classification is Justinian's treatment of manifest and non-manifest theft, fhe distinction, xvhich goes back to the I'-L'cli't’ Vi/A/e.r of around q^'I 'q>'o B.t'.., is x ital because the measure of damages for each action is strikinglx’ different. I lere is Justinian's Di- ^rst treatment: I). 47.2.V (L'lpian, Siihiiiiis, hook 41): .\ thief i.s inanife.st wlioiii rlic (ireek.s de.serihe as i :T'(ti’Toc|)ti)(a(o, that is one caught in the act ot theft. 1. .\iul it makes little difference w hether he he caught hv the owner of the thing or hv someone else. 2. But is a thief manifest onlv if he he caught in the act or also it he he apprehended elsewhere.^ I'he better view is that which appears in the w ritings ofjulian, that is to sax', that although he he mn taken at the seene ot the offense, he will still he a manifest thief if he he taken w ith the stolen thing, before he has taken it to its intended destination. D. 4"’.2.4. q’aul, Stihimis, hook 9): "Destination," for this purpose, means "the jilace where he aimed to remain that dax’ w ith the stolen thing." D. 4~.2.v (L Ipian, Suhiutis, hook 41): Oonsequentb, whether he he apprehended in a ptihlic place or in a prix ate one, before he gets the thing to its intended resting place, he is in such a case that he xvill he a manifest thief, if caught with the stolen goods; so wrote ('assius. 1. But if he should haxe reached his destination, then, although he later he found w irh his booty, he w ill not he a manifest thief 14 For a fanciful, detailed attempt to reconstruct the jurist and his life see A.M. Honoré, Gaius (Oxford, 1962). 15 For the argument see Watson, Spirit, pp. 2oiff. 51
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