Studies in Ancient Hindu Polity (Based on the Arthashastra of Kautilya), Vol. I c14.s3.13

c14.s3.13

According to the same authority, “the ancient law of Rome allowed interest which, as usual in agricultural communities, reached an exorbitant height, and popular suffering necessitated a readjustment of debts. The law of the Twelve Tables (B.C. 451-450) first, according to Tacitus, limited the rate to one-twelfth part of the capital . . . In B.C. 347 interest was fixed at 5 p.c.; in B.C. 342 it was abolished altogether by the Lex Genucia. Although the prohibition of interest long remained law, it was found impracticable . . . The Lex Unciaria of the are exposed. Accordingly, the money borrowed by persons going to forests for trade is allowed to return an interest of 10 p.c. per month, while, on the same principle, the interest payable by the merchants who trade by sea is allowed to mount up to the maximum rate of 20 p.c. per mensem.¹