Julius Paulus ( el, Ἰούλιος Παῦλος; fl. 2nd century and 3rd century AD), often simply referred to as Paul in English, was one of the most influential and distinguished Roman jurists. He was also a

praetorian prefect The praetorian prefect ( la, praefectus praetorio, el, ) was a high office in the Roman Empire. Originating as the commander of the Praetorian Guard, the office gradually acquired extensive legal and administrative functions, with its holders be ...

under the Roman Emperor

Alexander Severus Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander (1 October 208 – 21/22 March 235) was a Roman emperor, who reigned from 222 until 235. He was the last emperor from the Severan dynasty. He succeeded his slain cousin Elagabalus in 222. Alexander himself wa ...

Life

Little is known of the life and family of Paulus; he was a man of Greek descent, who originated from an unknown

Phoenicia Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their his ...

n town or from Patavium (modern

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

). The possibility that Paulus could come from Patavium is based on a statue with an inscription found in Patavium dedicated to a Paulus. During the reign of emperors

Septimius Severus Lucius Septimius Severus (; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through the customary suc ...

and

Caracalla Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (born Lucius Septimius Bassianus, 4 April 188 – 8 April 217), better known by his nickname "Caracalla" () was Roman emperor from 198 to 217. He was a member of the Severan dynasty, the elder son of Emperor ...

, Paulus served as a jurist. He was exiled by the emperor

Elagabalus Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (born Sextus Varius Avitus Bassianus, 204 – 11/12 March 222), better known by his nickname "Elagabalus" (, ), was Roman emperor from 218 to 222, while he was still a teenager. His short reign was conspicuous for s ...

and recalled from exile by his successor, emperor

. Severus and his mother Julia Avita Mamaea in 222, appointed him among the emperor's chief advisers and between 228 and 235, he was the Praetorian prefect of the

Praetorian Guard The Praetorian Guard (Latin: ''cohortēs praetōriae'') was a unit of the Imperial Roman army that served as personal bodyguards and intelligence agents for the Roman emperors. During the Roman Republic, the Praetorian Guard were an escort fo ...

. Paulus was a contemporary of the jurist

Ulpian Ulpian (; la, Gnaeus Domitius Annius Ulpianus; c. 170223? 228?) was a Roman jurist born in Tyre. He was considered one of the great legal authorities of his time and was one of the five jurists upon whom decisions were to be based according to ...

. He partly followed the career path of former Praetorian prefect Aemilius Papinianus. In a

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these pr ...

of the emperor

Gordian III Gordian III ( la, Marcus Antonius Gordianus; 20 January 225 – February 244) was Roman emperor from 238 to 244. At the age of 13, he became the youngest sole emperor up to that point (until Valentinian II in 375). Gordian was the son of Anto ...

dating from 239 and referring to the marriage, where is cited a response of Paul, he is called ''vir prudentissimus Paulus'' ('' C.J.'' 5.4.6).

Paulus's legal works

The Roman jurist

Herennius Modestinus Herennius Modestinus, or simply Modestinus, was a celebrated Roman jurist, a student of Ulpian who flourished about 250 AD. He appears to have been a native of one of the Greek-speaking provinces, probably Dalmatia. In Valentinian's ''Law of Ci ...

describes Paulus, along with Ulpian and

Quintus Cervidius Scaevola Quintus Cervidius Scaevola (fl. 2nd century AD) was a Roman jurist of the equestrian order. Both the '' Historia Augusta'Historia Augusta'', "Marcus Antoninus Philosophus"11.10/ref> and the ''Tabula Banasitana'' attest that Scaevola was a membe ...

, as among "the last of the great jurists". Paulus’ work was held in high respect. He had written 319 various legal publications. His surviving works are extremely prolific, displaying a keen analysis of other opinions of jurists and Paulus expressed his legal views. He appears to have written on a great variety on legal subjects and had a thorough knowledge of legal subjects and law. Paulus comments on the jurists

Javolenus Priscus Gaius Octavius Tidius Tossianus Lucius Javolenus Priscus was a Roman senator and jurist who flourished during the Flavian dynasty. Many of his judgments are quoted in the '' Digest''. Priscus served as suffect consul for the '' nundinium'' (pe ...

Marcus Antistius Labeo Marcus Antistius Labeo (d. 10 or 11 AD) was a Roman jurist. Marcus Antistius Labeo was the son of Pacuvius Labeo, a jurist who caused himself to be slain after the defeat of his party at Philippi. Since his name was different from his father's, ...

Salvius Julianus Lucius Octavius Cornelius Publius Salvius Iulianus Aemilianus (c. 110 – c. 170), generally referred to as Salvius Julianus, or Julian the Jurist, or simply Julianus, was a well known and respected jurist, public official, and politician who ser ...

and Aemilius Papinianus. He is cited by the jurists Macer and Herennius Modestinus. His writing style is condensed and sometimes obscure; however, his work is just as good as the other Roman jurists. Paulus’ work has survived from excerpts, although his work needs to be carefully read to be understood. Paulus was one of the five jurists whose opinions were made constitutionally authoritative in 426 by Roman Emperors

Theodosius II Theodosius II ( grc-gre, Θεοδόσιος, Theodosios; 10 April 401 – 28 July 450) was Roman emperor for most of his life, proclaimed ''augustus'' as an infant in 402 and ruling as the eastern Empire's sole emperor after the death of his ...

and

Valentinian III Valentinian III ( la, Placidus Valentinianus; 2 July 41916 March 455) was Roman emperor in the West from 425 to 455. Made emperor in childhood, his reign over the Roman Empire was one of the longest, but was dominated by powerful generals vying ...

. Another legacy from Paulus is the inclusion of his writings in the ''

Digest Digest may refer to: Biology *Digestion of food *Restriction digest Literature and publications *'' The Digest'', formerly the English and Empire Digest *Digest size magazine format * ''Digest'' (Roman law), also known as ''Pandects'', a digest ...

'' which was written and put together by

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

Emperor

Justinian I Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565. His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized '' renov ...

. One sixth of the

Corpus Juris Civilis The ''Corpus Juris'' (or ''Iuris'') ''Civilis'' ("Body of Civil Law") is the modern name for a collection of fundamental works in jurisprudence, issued from 529 to 534 by order of Justinian I, Byzantine Emperors, Byzantine Emperor. It is also ...

in the ''Digest'' consists of Paulus’ work. He is the most excerpted Roman jurist in the ''Digest'', ahead of

. The ''Digest'' attributes to Paulus the first articulation of the

presumption of innocence The presumption of innocence is a legal principle that every person accused of any crime is considered innocent until proven guilty. Under the presumption of innocence, the legal burden of proof is thus on the prosecution, which must presen ...

in Roman law: ''Ei incumbit probatio qui dicit, non qui negat''"Proof lies on him who asserts, not on him who denies". Paulus in the ''Digest'' is also referred in two passages, which he gave a contrary opinion to Alexander Severus, but Severus chose Papinianus‘ opinion.

Pseudo-Pauline works

Due to his fame several other works have been attributed to him, in particular the 3rd century compilation ''Pauli sententiae'' ("Paul's Views" or "Sentences"). From Paulus’ surviving works and works attributed to him, the ''Sententiae ad Filium'' have the longest fragments.

Economics

In the ''

'', Paulus wrote a passage on

money Money is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular country or socio-economic context. The primary functions which distinguish money ar ...

. Much as

Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of ...

did, Paulus described the nature of money, including how it arises from the inconvenience of barter.Schumpeter, Joseph A. (1954). ''History of Economic Analysis''. Oxford University Press. — Part II (''From the Beginnings to The First Classical Situation (to About 1790)''), chapter 1 (''Graeco-Roman Economics''), section 7 (''The Contribution of the Romans''), page 70, footnote 6.

Notes

References

The Ancient LibraryThe Roman Law Library
by Yves Lassard and Alexandr Koptev.
Google book : ''Latin Literature A History'', Gian Biagio Conte

External links

ancientlibrary.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Paul 2nd-century Romans 3rd-century Romans 3rd-century writers Ancient Roman jurists Praetorian prefects Paulus Prudentissimus