Juris pracepta sunt haec: honeste vivere, alterum no laedeare, suum cuique tribuere.
(These are the precepts of the Law: live honorably, do no harm, and give each one his or her due.)- Justinian I, The Institutes
“Justice is the constant and perpetual desire to give each one that to which he or she is entitled,” writes Justinian. I’m not a lawyer or a legal historian, but I think I understand the wisdom in why Justinian wrote the precepts of Byzantine law in that manner. Justinian’s code was so influential and so relevant that for the next 1,500 years, societies adopted the wisdom of Byzantine law. Or the precepts of it, for that matter.
I think the reason why Justinian’s code was so relevant – and is still relevant – is that because it sets the stage for every right and responsibility we have in society. Every right and responsibility provided for by law and common sense exists in and as one or more of those precepts. Our rights and responsibilities are framed by those precepts: live honorably, do no harm, and give each one his or her due. To keep things simple: without lines drawn, we’ll be biting each other’s heads off.
I’m not an expert on blogging: rather, I’d consider myself a stakeholder in the blogosphere. There will always be issues, there will always be controversies, and there will always be those things that tick us off. Within our rights to free speech, we can always speak out. In fact, we should speak out. Free speech is as much a responsibility as it is a right, and that is always framed by the very same precepts that Justinian had the wisdom to understand and to articulate some 1,500 years ago.
It’s a damn shame we have to go through this every now and then.
