The Romans divided crimes into public and private.  Private crimes could be prosecuted only by the party injured, and were generally punished by pecuniary fines, as among the old Germanic nations.

Of public crimes the crimen laesae majestatis, or treason, was regarded as the greatest; and this was punished with death and with confiscation of goods, while the memory of the offender was declared infamous.  Greater severity could scarcely be visited on a culprit.  Treason comprehended conspiracy against the government, assisting the enemies of Rome, and misconduct in the command of armies.  Thus Manlius, in spite of his magnificent services, was hurled from the Tarpeian Rock, because he was convicted of an intention to seize upon the government.  Under the empire not only any attempt on the life of the Emperor was treason, but disrespectful words or acts.  The criminal was even tried after death, that his memory might become infamous; and this barbarous practice was perpetuated in France and Scotland as late as the beginning of the seventeenth century.  In England men have been executed for treasonable words.  Besides treason there were other crimes against the State, such as a breach of the peace, extortion on the part of provincial governors, embezzlement of public property, stealing sacred things, bribery,—­most of which offences were punished by pecuniary penalties.

But there were also crimes against individuals, which were punished with the death penalty.  Wilful murder, poisoning, and parricide were capitally punished.  Adultery was punished by banishment, besides a forfeiture of considerable property; Constantine made it a capital offence.  Rape was punished with death and confiscation of goods, as in England till a late period, when transportation for life became the penalty.  The punishments inflicted for forgery, coining base money, and perjury were arbitrary.  Robbery, theft, patrimonial damage, and injury to person and property were private trespasses, and not punished by the State.  After a lapse of twenty years without accusation, crimes were supposed to be extinguished.  The Cornelian, Pompeian, and Julian laws formed the foundation of criminal jurisprudence.  This however never attained the perfection that was seen in the Civil Code, in which the full maturity of Roman wisdom was reached.  The emperors greatly increased the severity of punishments, as was probably necessary in a corrupt state of society.  After the decemviral laws fell into disuse, the Romans in the days of the republic passed from extreme rigor to great lenity, as is observable in the transition from the Puritan regime to our own times in the United States.  Capital punishment for several centuries was exceedingly rare, and was frequently prevented by voluntary exile.  Under the empire, again, public executions were frequent and revolting.