This text investigates the evolution and intellectual development of Roman legal science from its archaic origins to the height of the classical period. Fritz Schultz, a distinguished scholar of Roman law, utilizes a rigorous philological and historical approach to analyze how Roman jurists transformed legal practice into a systematic science. The work examines the methodology of the classical jurists and the structural frameworks they established to govern private and public life in the Roman state.

Scholars and legal historians consistently cite this work as a foundational text for understanding the intellectual history of Roman jurisprudence. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose, which requires a strong background in classical studies to fully appreciate the author's nuanced arguments.