the things are which may be reckoned among the chattels of him who is bounden to the king, and whether from all, until the sum required is raised, all things are to be taken by the sheriff; when, namely, the original debtor does not of his own will pay what is required.
XIV. What chattels of debtors, when they do not pay of their own free will, are not to be sold, and what order is to be observed in selling.
M. Thou dost drive me into a sea of questions; God knows, I do not, where I am about to emerge. Know then that here again a distinction of persons is necessary — as will be clear from what follows. I should wish thee, nevertheless, to spare me in this regard, and not compel me to say what will be displeasing to many.
D. So long as thou dost not stray from the path of the established law, thou wilt not merit the just anger of the prudent man; but if that which the law has decreed shall seem burdensome to any one, let him be angry at him who made it, not at thee.
M. From the beginning, by my promise, I became thy debtor. Hence it is that I am willing and bound to obey thee when thou dost wish or ask anything. The chattels which are lawfully sold, then, of debtors who do not of their own will pay what is demanded of them, are those goods which are movable and which move themselves: such are gold, silver, and vessels composed of the same; also precious stones, and changes of vestments and the like; also both kinds of horses, the ordinary ones, namely, and the untamed ones; herds also of oxen and flocks of sheep, and other things of the kind. The nature of fruits also and of some victuals is movable, so that, namely, they may be freely sold; deducting only the necessary expenses of the debtor for his victuals—so that, namely, he may provide for his needs, not his extravagance, and likewise may satisfy nature, not gluttony. Nor are these necessaries furnished to the debtor alone, but to his wife and children and to the household, which he was seen to have had while he was living at his own expense.
D. Why dost thou say "of some" victuals?
