transaction. A divine constitution which we ourselves have
lately issued has extended the operation of Zeno's enactment,
respecting conveyances by the treasury, to persons who have
acquired anything from our palace or that of the Empress.

TITLE VII
OF GIFTS

Another mode in which property is acquired is gift. Gifts are
of two kinds; those made in contemplation of death, and those
not so made. 1 Gifts of the first kind are those made in view of
approaching death, the intention of the giver being that in the
event of his decease the thing given should belong to the donee,
but that if he should survive or should desire to revoke the gift,
or if the donee should die first, the thing should be restored to
him. These gifts in contemplation of death now stand on ex-
actly the same footing as legacies; for as in some respects they
were more like ordinary gifts, in others more like legacies, the
jurists doubted under which of these two classes they should
be placed, some being for gift, others for legacy: and conse-
quently we have enacted by constitution that in nearly every
respect they shall be treated like legacies, and shall be govern-
ed by the rules laid down respecting them in our constitution.
In a word, a gift in contemplation of death is where the donor
would rather have the thing himself than that the donee should
have it, and that the latter should rather have it than his own heir.
An illustration may be found in Homer, where Telemachus makes
a gift to Piraeus.

2 Gifts which are made without contemplation of death, which