- Source
- Digesta Iustiniani Augusti. Mommsen, Theodor & Krueger, Paul, editors. Berlin: Weidmann, 1870.
- Translation
- AI-generated (gemini-3.5-flash) — machine translation; may contain errors
- Languages
- 日本語 · English · 简体中文 · 한국어
- CTS URN
- urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:9.2.4.pr-9.2.4.1
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-15
The text discusses non-liability for killing a slave who is a robber in self-defense, and the conditions under which the Law of the Twelve Tables permits killing nighttime and daytime thieves.
[GAIUS libro septimo ad edictum prouinciale.]
[GAIUS, from the seventh book on the Provincial Edict.]
Itaque si seruum tuum latronem insidiantem mihi occidero, securus ero: nam aduersus periculum naturalis ratio permittit se defendere.1
Therefore, if I kill your slave who is a robber lying in wait for me, I shall be free from liability; for natural reason permits one to defend oneself against danger.
Lex duodecim tabularum furem noctu deprehensum occidere permittit, ut tamen id ipsum cum clamore testificetur:2 interdiu autem deprehensum ita permittit occidere, si3 is se telo defendat, ut tamen aeque cum clamore testificetur.
The Law of the Twelve Tables permits the killing of a thief caught by night, provided, however, that one attests to this very fact with a shout; but it permits the killing of a thief caught by day only if he defends himself with a weapon, provided, however, that one equally attests to it with a shout.
- 9.2.4.prse defendere
The reflexive pronoun se is the direct object of the infinitive defendere, meaning 'to defend oneself'. The subject of permittit is naturalis ratio, and the implied subject of the infinitive (the person defending themselves) is generalized.
- 9.2.4.1ut tamen id ipsum cum clamore testificetur
The conjunction ut introducing the present subjunctive testificetur is used restrictively to express a proviso ('provided that', 'on the condition that'). The subject of the verb is contextually the person who kills the thief. id ipsum refers to the act of catching and killing the thief at night (or the emergency of the situation).
- 9.2.4.1ita permittit occidere, si
The correlative structure of the adverb ita and the conditional clause with si expresses a strong limitation: 'permits killing in this manner only if...'