Historical Origins of Firefighting in Ancient Rome — Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian Book 1 (1.15.1.pr), Latin & English

[PAULUS libro singulari de officio praefecti uigilum.]

[PAULUS, in his single book On the Office of the Prefect of the Watch.]

§1.15.1.pr

Apud uetustiores incendiis arcendis¹ triumuiri praeerant, qui ab eo quod² excubias agebant nocturni dicti sunt: interueniebant nonnumquam et aediles et tribuni plebis. erat autem familia publica circa portam et muros disposita, unde si opus esset euocabatur: fuerant et priuatae familiae, quae incendia uel mercede uel gratia extinguerent. deinde diuus Augustus maluit per se huic rei consuli³

Among the ancients, triumvirs were in charge of preventing fires, who, from the fact that they kept watch, were called “nocturnal”; sometimes both aediles and tribunes of the plebs also intervened. Moreover, a public slave-force was stationed around the gates and walls, from where, if there was need, it was summoned; there had also been private slave-forces, which would extinguish fires either for pay or out of favor. Afterwards, the deified Augustus preferred that this matter be attended to through himself.

Syntax notes3 items

1.15.1.princendiis arcendis
Dative of the gerundive expressing purpose or sphere of duty, governed by the compound verb praeerant (praeesse).
1.15.1.prab eo quod
A causal construction where quod introduces a noun clause explaining ab eo ("from the fact that...", "because").
1.15.1.prhuic rei consuli
An infinitive clause serving as the object of malle (maluit). It features the impersonal passive infinitive consuli of the verb consulere (which governs the dative huic rei), meaning "that this matter be attended to".

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-07-12)urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:1.15.1.pr