# Institutes of Gaius 4.1.6-12

Roman Law and Society, Institutes of Gaius, 4.1.6 to 4.1.12. Latin.

Canonical: https://interlinea.aeterna-institute.org/library/latin/roman-law-and-society/institutes-of-gaius/4.1.6

(5) Moreover, real actions are styled suits for the recovery of property, but personal actions, by which we assert that something must be given, or some act be performed, are called condictiones . (6) Again, we sometimes bring suit merely to recover property; sometimes only to recover the penalty; and sometimes to recover both. (7) For example, we sue merely to recover property in actions brought under a contract. (8) We bring suit only to recover a penalty, for example, in the actions of theft and of injury; and, according to the opinion of certain authorities, in an action for goods taken by violence; for we are entitled to recover the property by either a real or a personal action. (9) Moreover, we bring suit to recover both the property and a penalty; for instance, in those cases in which we bring our action for double damages against a party who defends the case; and this happens in an action to recover a judgment debt; or expenses paid for a principal; or damages for injury under the Lex Aquilia; or to recover legacies; or a certain sum which has been bequeathed by condemnation. (10) Moreover, there are some actions which refer to the ancient form of judicial procedure upon which they are based; and others become operative by their own force and power. In order that this may be clear, we must first treat of those which are based upon ancient judicial procedure. (11) These actions which the ancients employed were so designated, either for the reason that they were provided by the law — although at that time the edicts of the Prætor, by means of which many new actions were introduced, had not come into use — or, because they followed the words of the law, and therefore, like the law itself, were observed without any alteration. Hence, it was decided that, a person who brought an action against another for cutting his vines, and in the pleadings called them "vines," should lose his case, as he ought to have called them "trees," because the Law of the Twelve Tables, under which the action for cutting vines was brought, speaks in general terms of the cutting of trees.

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Roman Law and Society, Institutes of Gaius. Text: The Latin Library (thelatinlibrary.com), used with permission. Changes: HTML markup removed and the text divided into reading sections by Interlinea.
License: Used with permission (https://www.thelatinlibrary.com/about.html). Source: http://thelatinlibrary.com/law/gaius.html.