Late antique laws are rhetorically crafted and often bolstered by expressions of popularized philosophy and theology. This article presents historical evidence that reveals a close link between literary culture and the drafting of laws. It then examines a constitution of Valentinian III against tomb violators (Nouella Valentiniani 23) as case-study. The rhetorical preamble of this law presents a concise argument for the immortality of the soul. At first sight, the phrase nec uana fides which features in this context seems nothing more than a learned, yet merely ornamental, allusion to Virgil (Aen. 4.12) with no further bearing on the content. This article argues that the passage of Nouella Valentiniani 23 might in fact be a reminiscence of Prudentius (Cath. 3.196), who had used the same Virgilian tag to allude to Paul (1 Cor. 15:13–17), thus expressing faith in the immortality of the soul and in the doctrine of resurrection. The author of the Virgilian cento uersus ad gratiam Domini (or Tityrus) also redeployed the same phrase nec uana fides with reference to the immortality of the soul, and the cento’s intertextual relationship with Prudentius might contribute to the evidence about its date. This complex net of intertextual references (Virgil, Paul, Prudentius) bestows authority on this legal admonition and justifies an appreciation of the late Roman constitutions as literature.

Bassan’s article on the posthumous use of sperm presents a complicated picture of Israeli law.1 On the one hand, as previous reviews show,2 Israel is unique in terms of the extent of this phenomenon. The number of applications to the courts to approve the use of sperm posthumously is substantial and has been increasing since the outbreak of the war on October 7. On the other hand, there is no clear legal policy in this area. In other words, Bassan’s article shows that the rights of relevant parties in this context are not adequately regulated. This, as elaborated below, is the result of a lack of primary legislation, together with disagreement among relevant policymakers. The outcome is feelings of frustration, confusion, and even anger among the deceased’s close relatives.3

For almost a century, caches have been regular discoveries at most Preclassic and Classic Maya sites (ca. 800 BC–AD 950). As early as the 1960s, William Coe noticed a number of recurring patterns (Tikal Report No. 27A). Fifty years after the end of the Tikal Project's excavations, it was nonetheless necessary to review the data from all the successive projects to identify new deposits and reanalyze contexts deemed problematic. As a result, 343 caches are now identified at Tikal, of which 97% can be assigned to a recurrent Ritual Cache Complex on the basis of a combination of etic criteria including content, context of discovery, and chronology. Their study confirms a link between architectural and depositional sequences but also probable functions as gift offerings and agentive tools used by the whole population for ceremonies closely related to the type of structure in which they were performed. Finally, the repetition of cases provides a cautious basis for emic interpretations, thanks to the support of ethnographic comparisons. This organization of rituals into recurring patterns goes beyond Tikal and even the Maya area. This article is thus a first step toward a future larger-scale study.

The objective of this article is to explain the characteristics of the agri-food exporting boom experienced by the Latin American countries between 1994 and 2019 and its determining factors. In so doing, we analyse the evolution of exports, their composition by product, the principal origins and destinations, the importance of regional trade agreements and the behaviour of export prices. Furthermore, a series of gravity models are estimated, using the agri-food exports of nineteen Latin American countries to their 186 main trading partners between 1994 and 2019. These models are estimated for total agri-food exports and for their breakdown into three product groups. Among the main determinants identified, our results suggest that external demand and the proliferation of regional trade agreements were the primary reasons for this export boom. Finally, we evaluate these results within the context of the region's economic history.

Public health emergencies sometimes require the restriction of civil liberties through social distancing: lockdowns, quarantines, the closure of public spaces and institutions, and so on. Social distancing measures can decrease mortality and morbidity, but they also cause social and economic harm. Policymakers have to make trade-offs between “lives and livelihoods,” while introducing only minimally necessary restrictions on civil liberties. Traditionally, cost-benefit analysis has played a central role in formulating these trade-offs. Recently, however, some philosophers have argued that the trade-offs should instead be made on the basis of contractualist moral theory. In this essay, I argue against the use of contractualism for this purpose.