Illegal Consideration

A contract induced by an illegal consideration (injusta or turpis causa) was not enforceable, even though the thing promised was itself lawful. The illegality of the consideration could be pleaded as a defense (Hunter, 598).

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Dissolution of Free Marriage

The free marriage, being founded upon mere consent, without formal celebration, might be dissolved by an informal withdrawal of consent. The dissolution of the marriage (divortiiim) might be effected by the mutual consent of both parties, or by the will of one party alone. And the wife had the same power to dissolve marriage as the husband. All that was necessary to dissolve the marriage was the intent, which, however, was required to be expressed in the form of a notification {repudimn) by one spouse to the other. (Sohm, 476n. ) By the earlier law no particular mode of notifica- tion was required. It might be oral or written, and given personally or by messenger or letter. Thus a husband might divorce his wife by simply telling her that the marriage was at an end. Or he might take the keys from the wife, put her out of his house, give her back her dowry, and the marriage was dissolved. Cicero divorced his wife Terentia by letter. By the lex Julia de Adulteriis (B. C. ...
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Literal Contract

In the time of Justinian there were no contracts that derived their legal force from the fact that they were in writing, or were written in any particular form. But during the Republic there existed a form of contract made in writing (literis) in the form of an entry in the account book (codex) of the creditor. This form of contract probably originated in the importance attached by the Romans to their books of account. The Romans were great book-keepers. Every well-to-do Roman kept his domestic account books just as a modern business man keeps his business books. We are told that the censor, at the making of the census, required every citizen to take an oath that his books were accurately and honestly kept. The literal contract consisted in an entry (expensilatio or nomen transscripticum) made by the creditor in his account book, with the consent of the debtor, to the effect that he had paid a certain amount to the debtor. The debtor usually made a corresponding en...
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Marriage with Manus - Strict Marriage

In a strict sense, marriage with manus was originally the only type of marriage to receive full recognition in Roman law, the free marriage not being' attended with all the legal consequences of marriage with m-anits. In time, however, as we shall see, in Roman law, as in English law, some of the most striking consequences of marriage become obsolete, and finally the strict form of marriage disappeared and was superseded by the free marriage and the doctrine of manus became obsolete.
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