The work was accomplished in fourteen months; and the
_Twelve_ books or _Tables_, which the new decemvirs produced, might be
designed to imitate the labors of their Roman predecessors.
The new _Code_ of Justinian was honored with his name and confirmed by
his royal signature: authentic transcripts were multiplied by the pens
of notaries and scribes; they were transmitted to the magistrates of the
European, the Asiatic, and afterward the African provinces; and the law
of the empire was proclaimed on solemn festivals at the doors of
churches. A more arduous operation was still behind--to extract the
spirit of jurisprudence from the decisions and conjectures, the
questions and disputes of the Roman civilians. Seventeen lawyers, with
Tribonian at their head, were appointed by the Emperor to exercise an
absolute jurisdiction over the works of their predecessors. If they had
obeyed his commands in ten years, Justinian would have been satisfied
with their diligence; and the rapid composition of the _Digest_ or
_Pandects_ in three years will deserve praise or censure, according to
the merit of the execution.
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