The author Peter Agnes, is a Justice of the Massachusetts Superior Court, 
and is Chairman of the October as Italian-American Heritage Month Committee.  
    
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JUSTICE AND DEMOCRACY SERVED 
BY CELEBRATING OUR HERITAGE

By Peter W. Agnes, Jr.

"The Heritage of the past is the seed that brings forth the harvest of the 
future"

Inscription on the National Archives Building in Washington, D.C.

    We pride ourselves on our commitment to the rule of law.  Even in the 
aftermath of the slaughter of thousands of innocent people on September 11th, 
Americans insist on due process of law. We will not tolerate the suspension 
of the Constitution to achieve security. We will not tolerate the detention 
or punishment of individuals on account of their race, ethnicity or religion. 
Even the President, who as Commander and Chief of the Armed Forces has a 
constitutional duty to defend the nation, prudently sought and obtained the 
approval of the Congress for the use of force against the terrorists. What is 
the source of this deeply held belief in the rule of law?

    One of the principal architects of this American ideal was John Adams 
who,  in the midst of the Revolutionary War and his weighty diplomatic 
responsibilities, almost single handedly wrote the Massachusetts Constitution 
of 1780. In the Preamble, Adams enshrined the concept of the rule of law when 
he wrote that the Constitution is "a social compact, by which the whole 
people covenants with each Citizen, and each Citizen with the whole people, 
that all shall be governed by certain laws for the Common good."  While best 
known for its powerful expression of the doctrine of separation of powers, 
the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights authored by John Adams makes several 
other influential statements about the rule of law including a promise in 
Article Eleven that "every subject ...ought to obtain right and justice 
freely, and without being obligated to purchase it; completely, and without 
any denial; promptly, and without delay; conformably to the laws."   Justice, 
according to Adams, is not only for the rich and the powerful, but for all.   
 

    John Adams had an extensive knowledge of the legal institutions of the 
ancient and modern world and of biblical tradition, and was schooled in the 
common law history of England. He was familiar with the struggle that 
produced the Magna Carta in 1215, the works of Bract on who asserted that 
even the King was subject to the law, and was painfully aware of the fate of 
Sir Thomas a Becket and Sir Thomas More each of whom gave his life in defense 
of the same principle.  But the evidence is overwhelming that the English 
tradition (and the German as well) embodying the supremacy of law was 
inspired by the Roman legal tradition.

       For example, consider the contributions of Papinian and Ulpian. Few of 
us know anything about them. They were Roman jurists who lived during the end 
of the second and the beginning of the third centuries. Yet, they were well 
known to English common law lawyers and judges, and as late as the nineteenth 
century their writings were part of the law school curriculum.  John Adams 
read their works, and his writings suggest they had a significant influence 
on his political philosophy.  
    Aemilius Papinian is regarded by scholars as the greatest figure in Roman 
law. He wrote more than fifty law books and is quoted extensively throughout 
Emperor Justinian's famous collection of classical writings known as the 
Digest published in 533.  Parisian, whose marble bas relief adorns the 
Chamber of the United States House of Representatives in our nation's 
capitol, was so respected that an imperial edict published centuries after 
his death declared his works to be one of five authoritative sources of the 
law, and that his opinion on a disputed question of law would control 
whenever the others were evenly divided.   Papinian is believed to have been 
murdered by the emperor Caracalla because he refused to justify the murder of 
coemperor Geta.

    Dometius Ulpianus had a close relationship with Papinian and may be 
regarded as his pupil.  He eventually succeeded Papinian as the chief 
magistrate of Rome. He also wrote extensively about the law including a 
famous work, constitution Antoniniana, that reduced one thousand years of 
Roman law to a practical guide accessible to all citizens. His writings also 
form the basis for Justinian's Digest.  Like Papinian, Alpine believed 
strongly in the rule of law. Many believe that Alpine is the author of one of 
the greatest declarations of this principle that appears in the first line of 
Book I, Title 1 of Justinian's Institutes: "Justice is the constant and 
perpetual desire to give to each man his due right." This, of course, is the 
same legal principle that is at the core of Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of 
Independence and John Adam's Declaration of Rights. 

    An understanding of the Roman contribution to our legal tradition and to 
the American passion for justice according to the law, leads to an important 
insight about heritage-an appreciation of one's cultural heritage serves to 
bind us together because it leads us to an understanding that every culture 
has roots in the cultures of other people or other times.  Papinian and 
Ulpian, for example, were born in what today is Syria. They were Arabic. 
Justinian was born in Asia Minor, probably Greece. As Professor Edward D. Re 
has observed in his study of the Roman Contribution to the Common Law, "The 
Roman mind was a composite of the genius of many lands. Greatness can only 
come from participation in the culture of other people, and no nation can 
attain the highest civilization except by participation in the civilization 
of the world." 

    Totalitarian regimes and fanatics like those responsible for the recent 
terrorist attacks seek to establish societies without cultural roots.  They 
substitute ideology for culture, and teach their followers to deny the values 
common to all civilized people. We are a country whose strength lies in the 
realization that while we are comprised of people with many different 
heritages, we are much more alike than we are different.  In this way our 
commitment to cultural pluralism reinforces our commitment to the rule of 
law. 

    It is with this profound sense of indebtedness to the past and an 
appreciation for the universality of culture that we celebrate the month of 
October as Italian-American Heritage Month.  To learn more visit us on the 
web at www.italianheritagemonth.com.