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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §1.6.6.pr

Definition of Legitimate Sons and Rebuttal of Paternity

Passage 97 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Regarding the definition of a legitimate son, the text argues that if the husband's long-term absence or non-cohabitation due to illness or infertility is established, the child born is not considered his son, even if known to the neighbors.

[IDEM libro nono ad Sabinum. ] §1.6.6.prFilium eum definimus, qui ex uiro et uxore eius nascitur.
[THE SAME in the ninth book on Sabinus.] We define him as a son who is born from a husband and his wife.
sed si fingamus afuisse maritum uerbi gratia per decennium, reuersum anniculum inuenisse in domo sua, placet nobis Iuliani sententia hunc non esse mariti filium.
But if we imagine that the husband had been absent, for example, for ten years, and upon his return found a one-year-old child in his house, we agree with the opinion of Julianus that this child is not the husband's son.
non tamen ferendum Iulianus ait eum, qui cum uxore sua adsidue moratus nolit filium adgnoscere quasi non suum.
However, Julianus says that it is not to be tolerated that a man who, having constantly cohabited with his wife, is unwilling to acknowledge the son as if he were not his own.
sed mihi uidetur, quod et Scaeuola probat, si constet maritum aliquamdiu cum uxore non concubuisse infirmitate interueniente uel alia causa, uel si ea ualetudine pater familias fuit ut generare non possit, hunc, qui in domo natus est, licet uicinis scientibus, filium non esse.
But it seems to me—which Scaevola also approves—that if it is established that the husband, due to an intervening illness or other cause, did not cohabit with his wife for some time, or if the father of the family was in such a state of health that he could not procreate, this child who was born in the house is not his son, even if the neighbors know of it.

Notes

  1. 1.6.6.prreuersum — In the accusative and infinitive construction introduced by the conditional clause `si fingamus`, `reuersum` is a perfect participle agreeing with the omitted accusative subject `maritum`, expressing the preceding action ('having returned') with active meaning.
  2. 1.6.6.prnon tamen ferendum — A gerundive expression of obligation/necessity `non ferendum [esse]` (with `esse` omitted). It functions as the main clause of the indirect speech, taking the accusative `eum` modified by the relative clause as its logical subject ('it is not to be tolerated that such a man...').
  3. 1.6.6.prlicet uicinis scientibus — The conjunction `licet` functions here in a concessive sense ('although', 'even if'), accompanied by the ablative absolute `uicinis scientibus` ('the neighbors knowing [it]').

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §1.6.6.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:1.6.6.pr

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