Page:Montesquieu - The spirit of laws.djvu/163

Rh this state of the question would continually change and be longer distinguished.

Hence it followed that the Roman judges granted only the simple demand, without making any addition, deduction, or limitation. But the praetors devised other forms for actions, which were called ex bona fide, where the method of pronouncing sentence was left to the disposition of the judge. This was more agreeable to the spirit of monarchy. Hence it is a saying among the French lawyers, that, in France all actions are.

ACHIAVEL attributes the loss of the liberty of Florence, to the people's not judging in a body in cases of high treason against themselves, as was customary at Rome. For this purpose they had eight judges: but the few, says Machiavel, are corrupted by a few. I should willingly adopt the maxim of this great man. But as in those cases the political interest prevails in some measure over the civil (for it is always an inconveniency that the people should be judge in their own cause) in order to remedy this evil, the laws must provide as much as possible for the security of individuals.

With this view the Roman legislators did two things; they gave the persons accused, permission to banish themselves before sentence was Rh