Show LAWS YEARS OLD light upon the age of human laws Is famished by a slab of black stone unearthed at Pers epol s last year by J de morgan an antiquary working for the french government says the new york the monument con talus a p of king xing hammurabi Fec receiving elving his laws from the seated sun run god hammurabi has been 4 years dead but his code bosn t seem so old fashioned it recognizes the widow s thirds of her husband s real estate the custom of making wills was already established A man could not directly will his pro property porty out of the family if he wished to benefit a stranger to the blood he had first to adopt him the husband could leave his proper ty to his wife and she could leave it to such of her children as she chose but not to her brothers moreover a father could leave a marriage portion to a daughter vowed to religion and her brothers had no claim on the property the complexity of the law of mar nage settlements point to a state 0 civilization like that of modern so biety save in exceptional circum stances only one wife was leeal slavery existed but marriage between slaves and free women was reco nihed and if the slave s bif wife e lived under the roof of his master that master acquired no rights over hr lir or her property the issue of the mar ariae were apparently tree free and en joyed all rights of citizens adopted sons gained rights only to personal property votaries or vestal virgins were allowed to marry by deputy and had wives property rights so in roman law a vestal virgin in order to enable the temple to receive legacies was assumed to have three children chis 4 year old code has an elaborate law of agency and provis ions for labor r but did not recognize murder as a crime it was merely a question of damage payable to the relatives |