was murdered before the middle of ; a further one-sixth comes from his contemporary Paul. In the opinion of some modern scholars, one jurist, Hermogenianus, was active in the fourth century,40 but otherwise no Digest text is attributable to any jurist who lived after the third century except for the rather obscure Arcadius Charisius. The texts of the jurists include statements of principles, discussions of rules, commentary on the scope or interpretation of edicts and statutes, qualification of other juristic opinion, and the treatment of problem cases, real or hypothetical. The compilers were instructed to cut out all that was superfluous or imperfect, all contradictions and repetitions, anything that was obsolete, and anything that was already in the Code.41 Contrary, though, to a frequently expressed view the compilers of the Digest were not given power to alter the substance of the law or to bring it up to date.42 Indeed, any such alteration as occurred would have been contrary to the spirit of the instructions. There was very little juristic writing after, say, , and there are very few texts after that period in theDigest. Changes in the law after that date were almost entirely the result of imperial constitutions. But these constitutions were collected in the Code, and the Digest commissioners were expressly instructed not to repeat in the Digest what was contained in theCode. Significantly, the commissioners were 40 On the question of dating see D. Liebs, Hermogenianus Iuris Epitome (Göttingen, 1964). 41 C. Deo auctore § 7, 9-10. 42 A typical exaggeration occurs in H. F. Jolowicz and B. Nicholas, Historical Introduction to the Study of Roman Law, 3d. ed. (Cambridge, 1972) p. 481: “Full power was given to cut down and alter the texts, and this extended even to the works of ancient leges or constitutions which were quoted by the jurists.” But C. Deo auctore§7 gives power to change quotations from laws and constitutions only where the compilers find they are non recte scriptum, “incorrectly set down.” It is only to be expected that the decision of the commissioners on the correct reading was to be treated as final. For the full argument against interpolations of substance see Alan Watson, ‘Prolegomena to Establishing Pre-Justinianic Texts,’ Tijdschrift voor Rechtsgeschiedenis. (1994), pp. 113ff.; J. H. A. Lokin, ‘The End of an Epoch: Epilegomena to a Century of Interpolation Criticism,’ inCollatio Iuris Romani, 1, ed. R. Feenstraet al. (Amsterdam, 1995) pp. 261ff.
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