THE LIFE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT JURIST OF THE CLASSIC ERA

Otto, Everard. Papinianus, sive de vita, studiis, scriptis, moribus et morte Aemilii Papiniani, Jurisconsultorum coryphaei, diatriba. Lugduni Batavorum (Leiden), Apud Samuelem Luchtmans, 1718.

8vo (150x86 mm), modern stiff vellum binding, edges originally colored in red, pp. [16], 439, [25, last two blanks]. Xylographic headletters and decorations at first leaves.

First edition on the life and work of Aemilius Papinianus, the most important jurist in the classic era, edited and detailed by Everard Otto.

Papinianus (ca. 212) deeply influenced the Roman Law in his role as advisor and prefect at Pretorio under Settimio Severo. After his murder, probably ordered by Caracalla because of his refusal to defend the Emperor from the charge of fratricide, his books of questiones , responsa and definitiones gained great fame and were inserted in the Corpus Iuris Civilis and in the Law of Citations or Oratio Valentiniani ad Senatum, stating that his opinions had value of law.

Everard Otto (1685-1756) was a German jurist and teacher of Civil Law at the Duisburg and Utrecht University. He wrote many treatise on Civil and Roman Law and on Latin History; among the other works he wrote a biography of the roman jurisconsultant Servio Sulpizio Rufo (1737), the Thesaurus juris Romani continens rariora meliorum interpretum opuscula (1725-1729) and Sam. Pufendorfius de officio hominis et civis cum eius annotationibus (1737).

Provenance: sepia ink ownership signature N.J.D. Kermedij (?) at upper margin of titlepage.

References: OCLC 672647586.

Usual browning of the paper due to its quality, but overall very good copy.