Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §1.6.4.pr

Classification of Family Status: Independent and Dependent

Passage 95 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Explains the classification of family status among Roman citizens (fathers, mothers, sons, and daughters of families), the distinction between those of their own right and those under another's power, and the rule regarding direct descendants being in the power of the father.

[ULPIANUS libro primo institutionum. ] §1.6.4.prNam ciuium Romanorum quidam sunt patres familiarum, alii filii familiarum, quaedam matres familiarum, quaedam filiae familiarum.
[ULPIAN in the first book of the Institutes.] For of Roman citizens, some are fathers of families, others sons of families, some mothers of families, others daughters of families.
patres familiarum sunt, qui sunt suae potestatis siue puberes siue impuberes: simili modo matres familiarum: filii familiarum et filiae, quae sunt in aliena potestate.
Fathers of families are those who are of their own right, whether of pubertal age or below pubertal age; in like manner, mothers of families. Sons and daughters of families are those who are under the power of another.
nam qui ex me et uxore mea nascitur, in mea potestate est: item qui ex filio meo et uxore eius nascitur, id est nepos meus et neptis, aeque in mea sunt potestate, et pronepos et proneptis et deinceps ceteri.
For whoever is born from me and my wife is in my power; likewise, whoever is born from my son and his wife, that is, my grandson and granddaughter, are equally in my power, as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter, and so on in succession.

Notes

  1. §1.6.4.prsuae potestatis — A genitive of quality (or description), meaning "of their own right" (independent). In contrast, the subsequent phrase `in aliena potestate` uses the preposition `in` with the ablative, but both expressions serve to indicate legal status (sui iuris vs. alieni iuris).
  2. §1.6.4.prfiliae, quae — The antecedent consists of both masculine and feminine plurals (`filii ... et filiae`). Although the masculine plural (`qui`) would normally be preferred in mixed gender agreement, the relative pronoun here agrees with the nearest feminine plural noun, `filiae`, resulting in `quae` (agreement by proximity).
  3. §1.6.4.prqui ex filio meo ... sunt — Although the relative pronoun `qui` and the verb in the relative clause `nascitur` are singular, the verb in the main clause is `sunt` (plural) due to the appositive phrase `id est nepos meus et neptis` and because the semantic subject is plural (agreement according to sense, or constructio ad sensum).

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §1.6.4.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:1.6.4.pr

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