The praetors were attended by these lictors who administered punishment. Only in severe cases of repeated refusal to repent and obey magistrates and the law is the death penalty to be administered, and not to female bond-servants who may only be beaten for fornication.
3 Il ne lui fera pas donner plus de quarante coups, de peur que, si l'on continuait à le frapper en allant beaucoup au delà, ton frère ne fût avili à tes yeux.