And in the constitutio we have ourselves promulgated we have completely departed from the provisions of those former constitutiones, and have enacted that agnati shall take no part in the succession of the deceased, when there are grandchildren born of a daughter, or great-grandchildren born of a granddaughter, or any other descendants from a female in the direct line; as those in a collateral line ought not to be preferred to direct descendants. This constitutio is to prevail from the date of its promulgation in its full force, as we here again enact.
And as the old law ordered, that between the sons of the deceased and his grandsons by a son, every inheritance should be divided per stirpes, and not per capita, so we also ordain that a similar distribution shall be made between sons and grandsons by a daughter, and between grandsons and granddaughters, great-grandsons and great-granddaughters, and all other descendants in a direct line; so that the children of either branch may receive the share of their mother or father, their grandmother or grandfather, without any diminution; and, if of the one branch there should be one or two children, and of the other branch three or four, then the one or two shall have one-half, and the three or four the other half of the inheritance.
XIII. Obligationes.
Let us now pass to obligationes. An obligation is a tie of law, which binds us, according to the rules of our civil law, to render something.
1. The principal division of obligationes is into two kinds, civil and praetorian. Civil obligationes are those constituted by the laws, or, at least, recognized by the civil law. Praetorian obligationes are those which a praetor has established by his own authority; they are also called honorary.
2. A further division separates them into four kinds, for they arise ex contractu or quasi ex contractu, ex maleficio or quasi ex maleficio. Let us first treat of those which arise from a contract; which again are divided into four kinds, according as they are formed by the thing, by word of mouth, by writing, or by consent. Let us examine each kind separately.
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