Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: Series II/Volume I/Constantine/Prolegomena/Writings/Laws

&#167;4. Laws.

The numerous laws are collected in the edition of Migne (Patrol. Lat. 8. p. 93&#8211;400), mainly from the Theodosian code. They are in the opinion of Eutropius (10. 8) &#8220;many,&#8221; &#8220;some good and equitable, but most of them superfluous, and some severe&#8221; (cf. under Character). Many of them show the author&#8217;s tendency to declamation, but taken all in all they are businesslike and do credit, in the main, to their author&#8217;s heart, and even, though less conspicuously, to his head. For more specific account, compare the laws themselves as collected in Migne, the relating passages in Wordsworth and Ceillier, standard and annotated editions of the codes, and special treatises, such as Balduin, ''De leg. eccl. et civ''. 1737.