The Twelve Tables Analysis
...e Twelve Tables? The only conclusion that can be drawn from this is that deformation and retardation must have been rampant within the Roman Population. In turn this brings up another interesting question: was inbreeding an accepted practice in ancient Rome? Another interesting law in Table IV states that “A child born ten months after the father’s death will not be admitted into a legal inheritance.” (Table IV, Law III) What this fundamentally tells us is that the Romans had a basic understanding of biology in the respect that children are born nine months after they are conceived. This law was obviously included to ensure that children whom are not of the same blood line as the father are not included in inheritance. When looking for a law that exemplifies how much honor roman citizens had one must look no further than the first law in Table VIII: “If any person has sung or composed against another person a song such as was causing slander or insult to another, he shall be clubbed to death” (Table VIII, Law I) This shows us that honor was one of the values that the Romans did not take lightly. This also exemplifies to us that the Romans did not have the same sort of freedom of expression that many people enjoy today. On a more minor note, this also tells us that our modern idea of cruel and unusual punishment was not exactly out of the question in their time. Being clubbed to death would defiantly be looked down upon in this modern era. In addition to the aforementioned, the level at which honor was valued is exemplified in “Penalty . . . for false witness . . . a person who has been found guilty of giving false witness shall be hurled down from the Tarpeian Rock . . .” (Table VIII, Law XIX) As well as “The penalty shall be capital punishment for a judge or arbiter legally appointed who has been found guilty of receiving a bribe for giving a decision.” (Table IX, Law II) Both of these laws stress the value and importance the Romans placed on their legal system, as well as the importance of truth and honor. Once again the pe...