Domitius Ulpianus (Ulpian)

Life and ideas

Ulpian came from Tyre in Phoenicia and worked in Rome in the early third century as a legal adviser and then as a high official under the emperors Caracalla and Severus Alexander. He wrote prolifically on the praetor's edict and on civil law, and his writings make up about a third of Justinian's Digest, more than those of any other jurist. His brief definitions shaped Western legal thought: justice is a constant and lasting will to give each person their due, and the basic commands of law are to live honourably, not to harm another and to give each their own. He also separated public law, which concerns the state, from private law, which concerns individuals. He was killed by the praetorian guard in AD 223.