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Preface... In the fourteen years since the war Roman Law in Britain has suffered grievous losses: Buckland, Jolowicz, Lee and de Zulueta have died in this period.
All four were not only outstanding scholars but also remarkable personalities, with an appeal far beyond the confines of their subject. It is indeed as a result of their strongly individual characters that their work is excellent in very different ways-which is fortunate, since younger men of the most diverse tastes and inclinations may find in it stimulus and nourishment.
The present volume was planned as a tribute to de Zulueta on his 80th birthday. He knew that it was coming and saw part of it in typescript. He died at the age of 79, at his desk, preparing an edition of lectures on Justinian's Institutes which the Italian Vacarius delivered in England in the twelfth century.
The choice of subject was dictated by two considerations: first, the importance of sale in all periods of history, both in daily life and in legal education; secondly, the fact that de Zulueta himself is the author of the standard monograph in English on this contract ( of which he remarks that it is 'the most fruitful subject in Roman law for the English law-student').
It is in keeping with his own liberal approach, which combines historical, humanist research and comparative exposition, that the Studies here offered deal with the most various aspects of sale and range from ancient Roman law to its modern descendants and rivals.
No attempt has been made to achieve uniformity of view. It is hoped that the reader will find divergences between the con¬tributors stimulating rather than worrying; and that he will detect at least a common enthusiasm for the heritage trans¬mitted by the great and beloved teachers mentioned at the beginning of this preface.
We recognize that it is their inspiration of which this book is a fruit-the first collection of essays on Roman law produced exclusively by scholars from United Kingdom universities. It is dedicated to the ever-cherished memory of Francis de Zulueta. D.D.
