The translation and publication of Matthaeus' De Criminibus, which first appeared in 1644, was undertaken at the request of the South African Law Commission which is responsible for "making common-law authorities more readily available, or at any rate more intelligible" to those with little or no working knowledge of Latin.

Christian Thomasius was the founding father of the German enlightenment, and as such initiated a second German "reformation". He was a philosopher, educator and journalist, but above all he was a lawyer. He was extraordinarily successful as an academic teacher and was also a prolific writer. Perhaps best known today for his campaign against witch-hunting, he was, in his day, equally renowned for his study of Roman law, of which the Larva Legis is a single but remarkable example. The text reprinted and translated in this book is notable for three reasons. First because of the eminence and influence of its author; second because of the way in which it illustrates the development of the civilian tradition and its critical assessment by lawyers; and third, because it is a key text within the history of one of the main branches of the European law of obligations. As such it contributed to the establishment of a modern and critical approach towards the law of delict in Europe.