…The content of the res publica in Rome was well articulated in the opening statement to the great compilation of Roman laws that form the Digest [of the Emperor Justinian I]: ‘Public law is that which has reference to the administration of the Roman commonwealth; private law is that which concerns the interests of individuals; for there are some things which are useful to the public, and others which are of benefit to private persons’” [publicum ius est quod ad… [read post]