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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §1.15.3.pr-1.15.3.5

Origins, Organization, and Jurisdiction of the Watch

Passage 184 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Explains the background of the establishment and organization of the prefect of the watch by the emperor, and outlines his jurisdiction over crimes such as arson and burglary, alongside his duties of night patrol and fire prevention.

[PAULUS libro singulari de officio praefecti uigilum. ] §1.15.3.prnam salutem rei publicae tueri nulli magis credidit conuenire nec alium sufficere ei rei, quam Caesarem.
[PAULUS, in his single book On the Office of the Prefect of the Watch.] For he believed that to protect the safety of the state suited no one more than Caesar, and that no other was sufficient for this task than Caesar.
itaque septem cohortes oportunis locis constituit, ut binas regiones urbis unaquaeque cohors tueatur, praepositis eis tribunis et super omnes spectabili uiro qui praefectus uigilum appellatur.
Therefore, he established seven cohorts in suitable places, so that each cohort should guard two regions of the city, with tribunes placed over them and, over all, an honorable man who is called the prefect of the watch.
§1.15.3.1Cognoscit praefectus uigilum de incendiariis effractoribus furibus raptoribus receptatoribus, nisi si qua tam atrox tamque famosa persona sit, ut praefecto urbi remittatur.
The prefect of the watch hears cases concerning incendiaries, housebreakers, thieves, robbers, and receivers of stolen goods, unless someone is so atrocious and notorious a person that they should be remitted to the prefect of the city.
et quia plerumque incendia culpa fiunt inhabitantium, aut fustibus castigat eos qui neglegentius ignem habuerunt, aut seuera interlocutione comminatus fustium castigationem remittit.
And since fires mostly occur through the fault of the inhabitants, he either punishes with clubs those who have kept fire too negligently, or, having threatened them with a severe verbal warning, remits the punishment of the clubs.
§1.15.3.2Effracturae fiunt plerumque in insulis in horreisque, ubi homines pretiosissimam partem fortunarum suarum reponunt, cum uel cella effringitur uel armarium uel arca: et custodes plerumque puniuntur et ita diuus Antoninus Erucio Claro rescripsit.
Housebreakings occur mostly in apartment buildings and warehouses, where people store the most precious part of their fortunes, when either a room, a cupboard, or a chest is broken open; and the guards are usually punished, and so the divine Antoninus wrote back to Erucius Clarus.
ait enim posse eum horreis effractis quaestionem habere de seruis custodibus, licet in illis ipsius imperatoris portio esset.
For he said that when warehouses are broken open, he can conduct an examination under torture of the slave guards, even if the emperor's own share was among them.
§1.15.3.3Sciendum est autem praefectum uigilum per totam noctem uigilare debere et coerrare calciatum cum hamis et dolabris, §1.15.3.4ut curam adhibeant omnes inquilinos admonere, ne neglegentia aliqua incendii casus oriatur.
Moreover, it must be known that the prefect of the watch ought to stay awake through the whole night and go about shod, with hooks and axes, so that they may take care to warn all tenants lest any fire should arise through some negligence.
praeterea ut aquam unusquisque inquilinus in cenaculo habeat, iubetur admonere.
Furthermore, he is ordered to warn that every tenant must have water in their upper room.
§1.15.3.5Aduersus capsarios quoque, qui mercede seruanda in balineis uestimenta suscipiunt, iudex est constitutus, ut, si quid in seruandis uestimentis fraudulenter admiserint, ipse cognoscat.
Against the cloakroom keepers also, who receive clothes in the baths to guard them for a fee, he is established as judge, so that if they have committed any fraud in guarding the clothes, he himself may hear the case.

Notes

  1. §1.15.3.prcredidit — The subject of the verb `credidit` ("he believed") is not explicitly mentioned but refers to Emperor Augustus, who established the office of the prefect of the watch. It governs the accusative-and-infinitive clauses `nulli magis ... conuenire` ("suited no one more") and `nec alium sufficere ... quam Caesarem` ("no other was sufficient than Caesar").
  2. §1.15.3.1nisi si qua — The conditional conjunction `nisi` ("unless") is combined with `si` ("if") to form a double conditional expression meaning "except if" or "unless indeed". The indefinite pronoun `qua` ("any") is feminine nominative singular agreeing with `persona`, expressing "unless any person should be so atrocious and notorious".
  3. §1.15.3.2posse eum horreis effractis quaestionem habere — An accusative-and-infinitive construction depending on `ait` ("he said"), which introduces indirect speech. The subject accusative of the infinitive `posse` ("to be able") is `eum` ("him", referring to the prefect of the watch). `horreis effractis` ("warehouses having been broken into") is an ablative absolute expressing time or condition.
  4. §1.15.3.4ut curam adhibeant — A purpose clause introduced by `ut`. The subject of the active subjunctive present plural `adhibeant` ("they may apply [care]") is not the singular `praefectum uigilum` of the preceding section, but implicitly the subordinates under his command. The infinitive `admonere` ("to warn") complements the phrase `curam adhibeant`.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §1.15.3.pr-1.15.3.5. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:1.15.3.pr-1.15.3.5

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