[Footnote 79: Strip away the crust of Tribonian, and allow
for the use of technical words, and the Latin of the
Pandects will be found not unworthy of the silver age. It
has been vehemently attacked by Laurentius Valla, a
fastidious grammarian of the xvth century, and by his
apologist Floridus Sabinus. It has been defended by Alciat,
and a name less advocate, (most probably James Capellus.)
Their various treatises are collected by Duker, (Opuscula de
Latinitate veterum Jurisconsultorum, Lugd. Bat. 1721, in
12mo.) Note: Gibbon is mistaken with regard to Valla, who,
though he inveighs against the barbarous style of the
civilians of his own day, lavishes the highest praise on the
admirable purity of the language of the ancient writers on
civil law. (M. Warnkonig quotes a long passage of Valla in
justification of this observation.) Since his time, this
truth has been recognized by men of the highest eminence,
such as Erasmus, David Hume and Runkhenius. - W.]