PAPINIA'NUS, ./Emmius PAULLUS, the most celebrated of Roman jurists, was b. towards the middle of the 2d c. ; and during the reign of the emperor Severus (q.v.), whom he succeeded as advocatus fisci, and whose second wife is said to have been Papinianus's relative, he held the office of libellorum magister, and afterwards that of prafectus pratorio. After the death of Severus, his son and successor, Caracalia, dismissed Papiniauus from his office,-and soon afterwards caused him to be put to death on various pretexts, the real reason, however, appearing to be that the emperor was afraid the influence of a man so able and upright would be dangerous to his power. Papinianus's works consist 'chiefly of 37 books of Quastiones, 19 of Response, 2 of Definitiones, two works, De Adul •teriis, and a Greek fragment; and from these works there are in all 595 excerpts in the 'digest (q.v.). The pupils of Papinianus include the most famous names in Roman ju risprudence, such as U pupils Paullus, Pomponius, Africanus, Florentinus, and Modesti rius, but the master stands superior to them all. The high reputation he enjoyed among his contemporaries and successors may be gathered from the epithets prudentissimus, .consultissimus, disertissimus, bestowed upon him by various emperors, and from the first book of the Codex Theodosii, De Responsis Prudentuin, in which, after declaring the works of Papinianus, Paullus, Caius, Ulpian, Modestinus, and four others, to be authority for a judge's decision, it is declared that should these jurists be equally divided in
.opinion, that opinion which was maintained by Papinianus was to be considered right; while his commentator, the celebrated Cujacius (q.v.), goes so far as to declare "that Papinianus was the first of all lawyers who have been, or arc to be," and that "no one ever will equal him." His high reputation as a jurist was much enhanced by the strong moral feeling and stern honesty which were equally characteristic of him, and which have stamped his works with an ineffaceable impress. Papinianus's works. were studied both before and after Justinian's time by Roman legal students of the third year, who were for this reason denominated Papinianistm. The fragments of Papinia nus's works which now remain are somewhat obscure, and the excerpts from them in the digest are in general so brief that the aid of a commentator is required.