[IDEM libro uicensimo sexto ad edictum. ] §12.2.34.prIusiurandum et ad pecunias et ad omnes res locum habet: etiam de operis iusiurandum deferri potest.
[THE SAME, Book 26 on the Edict.] An oath has place both in regard to money and to all things: an oath can also be tendered concerning services.
nec de iniuria queri aduersarius potest, cum possit iusiurandum referre.
Nor can the adversary complain of injustice, since he has the power to refer back the oath.
quid tamen, si ideo dicat reus se liberatum, quoniam Stichum, quem promiserat, putat decessisse? non erit tutus per relationem.
What, however, if the defendant should say that he is released on the ground that he believes Stichus, whom he had promised, has died? He will not be safe by referring back the oath.
et ideo ex hac causa putat Marcellus, et recte, aut remittendum ei iusiurandum aut spatium dandum, ut certioretur et sic iuret.
And therefore for this reason Marcellus thinks, and rightly, that either the oath should be remitted to him, or time should be given so that he may be certified and thus swear.
§12.2.34.1Defensor municipum uel cuiusuis corporis iusiurandum deferre potest, si super hoc mandatum habeat.
The defender of a municipality or of any corporate body can tender an oath, if he has a mandate for this purpose.
§12.2.34.2Pupillo non defertur iusiurandum.
An oath is not tendered to a ward.
§12.2.34.3Procurator non compellitur iurare nec defensor, et ita Iulianus scribit libro decimo digestorum defensorem iurare non compelli sufficereque ad plenam defensionem, si paratus sit iudicium accipere.
A procurator is not compelled to swear, nor is a defender; and thus Julian writes in the tenth book of his Digests that a defender is not compelled to swear, and that it is sufficient for a full defense if he is ready to accept the trial.
§12.2.34.4Qui iusiurandum defert, prior de calumnia debet iurare, si hoc exigatur, deinde sic ei iurabitur.
He who tenders an oath must first swear as to calumny, if this is demanded, and then the oath will be sworn to him.
hoc iusiurandum de calumnia aeque patrono parentibusque remittitur.
This oath as to calumny is equally remitted to a patron and to parents.
§12.2.34.5Si de qualitate iuramenti fuerit inter partes dubitatum, conceptio eius arbitri iudicantis est.
If there is a doubt between the parties concerning the quality of the oath, its formulation belongs to the deciding arbiter.
§12.2.34.6Ait praetor: 'eum, a quo iusiurandum petetur, soluere aut iurare cogam': alterum itaque eligat reus, aut soluat aut iuret: si non iurat, soluere cogendus erit a praetore.
The praetor says: 'I shall compel him, from whom the oath is demanded, either to pay or to swear': therefore, the defendant must choose one of the two, either to pay or to swear; if he does not swear, he must be compelled by the praetor to pay.
§12.2.34.7Datur autem et alia facultas reo, ut, si malit, referat iusiurandum: et si is qui petet condicione iurisiurandi non utetur, iudicium ei praetor non dabit.
But another option is also given to the defendant, namely, that if he prefers, he may refer back the oath; and if he who demands it does not avail himself of the condition of the oath, the praetor will not grant him an action.
aequissime enim hoc facit, cum non deberet displicere condicio iurisiurandi ei qui detulit: sed nec iusiurandum de calumnia referenti defertur, quia non est ferendus actor, si condicionis quam ipse detulit de calumnia uelit sibi iurari.
For he does this most equitably, since the condition of the oath ought not to displease him who tendered it; but neither is an oath as to calumny tendered to one who refers it back, because the plaintiff is not to be tolerated if he wishes an oath as to calumny to be sworn to himself from the very condition which he himself tendered.
§12.2.34.8Non semper autem consonans est per omnia referri iusiurandum quale defertur, forsitan ex diuersitate rerum uel personarum quibusdam emergentibus, quae uarietatem inducunt: ideoque si quid tale inciderit, officio iudicis conceptio huiuscemodi iurisiurandi terminetur.
But it is not always consistent in all respects that the oath should be referred back exactly as it was tendered, perhaps because of certain circumstances arising from the diversity of things or persons which introduce a variation; and therefore, if any such thing occurs, the formulation of an oath of this kind should be determined by the office of the judge.
§12.2.34.9Cum res in iusiurandum demissa sit, iudex iurantem absoluit: referentem audiet et, si actor iuret, condemnet reum: nolentem iurare reum si soluat, absoluit, non soluentem condemnat: ex relatione non iurante actore absoluit reum.
When the matter is submitted to an oath, the judge acquits the one who swears; he will hear the one who refers it back, and if the plaintiff swears, he shall condemn the defendant; if the defendant who refuses to swear pays, the judge acquits him, and if he does not pay, condemns him; if, upon the referral, the plaintiff does not swear, he acquits the defendant.