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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §1.16.6.pr-1.16.6.3

Limits on Delegation to Legates and Gifts

Passage 191 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Ulpian discusses the duties of a proconsul, detailing the limits on delegating power to deputies, the requirement to consult the proconsul rather than the emperor, and the rules of moderation regarding guest-gifts.

[ULPIANUS libro primo de officio proconsulis. ] §1.16.6.prSolent etiam custodiarum cognitionem mandare legatis, scilicet ut praeauditas custodias ad se remittant, ut innocentem ipse liberet.
[ULPIAN, from the first book of his On the Office of Proconsul.] They are also accustomed to delegate the examination of prisoners to their deputies, namely, so that they may send back the pre-examined prisoners to them, in order that he himself may release the innocent.
sed hoc genus mandati extraordinarium est: nec enim potest quis gladii potestatem sibi datam uel cuius alterius coercitionis ad alium transferre, nec liberandi igitur reos ius, cum accusari apud eum non possint.
But this kind of delegation is extraordinary: for no one can transfer to another the power of the sword given to him, or that of any other coercion, nor therefore the right of releasing the accused, since they cannot be accused before him [the deputy].
§1.16.6.1Sicut autem mandare iurisdictionem uel non mandare est in arbitrio proconsulis, ita adimere mandatam iurisdictionem licet quidem proconsuli, non autem debet inconsulto principe hoc facere.
Just as, however, delegating jurisdiction or not delegating it is in the discretion of the proconsul, so indeed the proconsul is permitted to revoke the delegated jurisdiction, but he ought not to do this without consulting the emperor.
§1.16.6.2Legatos non oportet principem consulere, sed proconsulem suum, et is ad consultationes legatorum debebit respondere.
It is not fitting for deputies to consult the emperor, but rather their own proconsul, and he must respond to the consultations of the deputies.
§1.16.6.3Non uero in totum xeniis abstinere debebit proconsul, sed modum adicere, ut neque morose in totum abstineat neque auare modum xeniorum excedat.
The proconsul indeed ought not to abstain entirely from guest-gifts, but to apply a limit, so that he neither unsociably abstains entirely, nor greedily exceeds the limit of guest-gifts.
quam rem diuus Seuerus et imperator Antoninus elegantissime epistula sunt moderati, cuius epistulae uerba haec sunt: 'quantum ad xenia pertinet, audi quid sentimus: uetus prouerbium est: οὔτε πάντα οὔτε πάντοτε οὔτε παρὰ πάντων.
Which matter the deified Severus and the Emperor Antoninus regulated most elegantly in a letter, the words of which letter are as follows: 'As far as guest-gifts are concerned, hear what we think: the old proverb is: οὔτε πάντα οὔτε πάντοτε οὔτε παρὰ πάντων.
nam ualde inhumanum est a nemine accipere, sed passim uilissimum est et omnia auarissimum. ' et quod mandatis continetur, ne donum uel munus ipse proconsul uel qui in alio officio erit accipiat ematue quid nisi uictus cottidiani causa, ad xeniola non pertinet, sed ad ea quae edulium excedant usum.
For it is very uncivilized to accept from no one, but to accept indiscriminately is extremely cheap, and to accept everything is extremely greedy.' And what is contained in the instructions, that the proconsul himself or whoever else is in another office should not accept or buy anything as a gift or present except for the sake of daily sustenance, does not apply to small guest-gifts, but to those things which exceed the use of food.
sed nec xenia producenda sunt ad munerum qualitatem.
But neither should guest-gifts be extended to the quality of presents [proper].

Notes

  1. §1.16.6.prut praeauditas custodias ad se remittant, ut innocentem ipse liberet — The two consecutive 'ut' clauses serve different functions. The first, 'ut... remittant' (introduced by 'scilicet'), is a noun clause explaining the content of 'mandare', with the deputies (legati) as its subject. The second, 'ut... liberet', is an adverbial clause of purpose, whose subject is the proconsul himself, emphasized by the pronoun 'ipse'.
  2. §1.16.6.prnec liberandi igitur reos ius — Corresponding to the preceding phrase 'nec enim potest quis ... transferre', there is a grammatical omission of '[potest quis] ... [ad alium transferre]' with 'ius'. Thus, 'ius' (the right) functions as the direct object of 'transferre', and 'liberandi reos' is a genitive gerundive construction modifying 'ius'.
  3. §1.16.6.3et quod mandatis continetur ... ad xeniola non pertinet — In the main clause, the relative clause 'quod mandatis continetur' (what is contained in the instructions) functions as the subject, and 'non pertinet' is the main verb. The clause 'ne donum uel munus... accipiat' is an appositive clause explaining the concrete content of 'quod'.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §1.16.6.pr-1.16.6.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:1.16.6.pr-1.16.6.3

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