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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §1.16.7.pr-1.16.7.2

Inspection of Public Works and Comprehensive Jurisdiction

Passage 192 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

It regulates the proconsul's duties upon arrival in prominent cities, the inspection and maintenance of public works and temples, and his possession of a comprehensive jurisdiction equivalent to all judicial authorities in Rome.

[IDEM libro secundo de officio proconsulis. ] §1.16.7.prSi in aliam quam celebrem ciuitatem uel prouinciae caput aduenerit, pati debet commendari sibi ciuitatem laudesque suas non grauate audire, cum honori suo prouinciales id uindicent: et ferias secundum mores et consuetudinem quae retro optinuit dare.
[THE SAME, from the second book of his On the Office of Proconsul.] If he arrives in any famous city or the capital of a province, he ought to allow the city to be commended to him, and to hear his own praises without reluctance, since the provincials claim this for his honor; and he must grant holidays according to the customs and usage which have prevailed in the past.
§1.16.7.1Aedes sacras et opera publica circumire inspiciendi gratia, an sarta tectaque sint uel an aliqua refectione indigeant, et si qua coepta sunt ut consummentur, prout uires eius rei publicae permittunt, curare debet curatoresque operum diligentes sollemniter praeponere, ministeria quoque militaria, si opus fuerit, ad curatores adiuuandos dare.
He ought to go around sacred temples and public works for the sake of inspecting whether they are in good repair or whether they stand in need of any restoration, and to take care that, if any works have been commenced, they are completed as far as the resources of that municipality permit; and he must formally appoint diligent superintendents for the works, and also, if there is need, provide military services to assist the superintendents.
§1.16.7.2Cum plenissimam autem iurisdictionem proconsul habeat, omnium partes, qui Romae uel quasi magistratus uel extra ordinem ius dicunt, ad ipsum pertinent:
Moreover, since the proconsul has the fullest jurisdiction, the functions of all those who administer justice in Rome, either as magistrates or extraordinarily, belong to him:

Notes

  1. §1.16.7.praliam quam — The reading aliam quam is widely considered a corruption of the indefinite pronoun aliquam (any). A literal interpretation as 'other than a famous [city]' would contradict the context of receiving welcomes and praises, and thus it is translated here as aliquam.
  2. §1.16.7.1circumire — The initial infinitive circumire and the subsequent curare, praeponere, and dare are all governed by the auxiliary verb debet near the end of the sentence. This forms a complex, extended structure typical of Latin style, where multiple infinitives depend on a single debet.
  3. §1.16.7.1sarta tectaque — A Latin legal and idiomatic expression meaning 'in good repair' or 'sound and tight', literally translated as 'patched (sarta) and roofed (tecta)'.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §1.16.7.pr-1.16.7.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:1.16.7.pr-1.16.7.2

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