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586 October Reviews of Books Droit Romain. Apergu Historique Sommaire. Par G. Cornil. (Bruxelles : Imprimerie Medicale et Scientifique, 1921.) I shoulq like to recommend this text-book to the attention of historians as well as lawyers. It is the outcome of many years of study and teaching, and it is to be desired that a careful translation should make it widely accessible to English and American students. The nearest approach to a readable historical summary of Roman law as known at present, appears to be Mayr's six little volumes in Goschen's popular library, which, however, are somewhat more elementary than Dr. Cornil's book, which latter is a condensed but clearly written course of lectures arranged according to a systematic plan. It falls naturally into three parts — origins, classical period, and the late empire (Bas Empire). References are sparingly given, but a comprehensive index of passages interpreted or referred to shows that few important texts, if any, have been disregarded. The juridical material is put into close connexion with the main features of political, economic, and literary life, and historians might do worse than take counsel of this summary of Roman law in treating problems of Roman antiquities. A characteristic instance of the utilization of facts of cultural history may be cited, that given in chapter v of the first book in part ii. It deals with the use of writing in acts in law (' L'ficriture dans l'Activite Juridique '). Marquardt's account of private life and Wilcken-Mitteis's Chrestomathy have formed the back- ground of a very lively exposition. For the sake of completeness, however, more attention should have been devoted to ' lapidary ' inscriptions which play so great a part in public law, but present also a good deal of material for private law ; for instance, in the matter of donations, charities, manu- missions, leases, association, &c, Roman law is not quite so dependent on this kind of material as Greek law, but it is sufficient to look through Wilman's Exempla Inscriptionum to appreciate its importance for the romanized half of the Mediterranean circle. The treatment of the law of obligations seems to me to be particularly successful as far as the juridical exposition is concerned. But here again I cannot help expressing a wish for greater completeness in the descrip- tions of the working of the main source of the obligation ex contractu of the classical period, namely the ius gentium. The statement on p. 97 is too brief, and admits of misunderstanding. The ius gentium is not suffi- ciently distinguished from the ius naturale : many beginners will not notice that the ratio naturalis of a juridical institution may have nothing to do with the law of nature. Even artificial institutions have their natural meaning. A receipt certainly has its natural and reasonable