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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §12.2.5.pr-12.2.5.4

Effects of Lawful Oaths and Treatment of Unlawful Ones

Passage 1902 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Ulpian discusses the requirements and effects of legal oaths, the treatment of unlawful oaths, and the consequences when an oath is neither taken nor remitted.

[ULPIANUS libro uicensimo secundo ad edictum. ] §12.2.5.prnon erit ratum habendum iusiurandum: quod si exegi, ut per salutem tuam iurares, et iurasti, stabitur.
[ULPIANUS libro uicensimo secundo ad edictum.] The oath is not to be held valid; but if I required that you swear by your own safety, and you swore, it shall stand.
omne enim omnino licitum iusiurandum, per quod uoluit quis sibi iurari, idoneum est et si ex eo fuerit iuratum, praetor id tuebitur.
For indeed every lawful oath entirely, by which anyone wanted an oath to be made to himself, is sufficient, and if an oath has been sworn based on it, the praetor will protect it.
§12.2.5.1Diuus Pius iureiurando, quod propria superstitione iuratum est, standum rescripsit.
The Divine Pius wrote in a rescript that an oath which has been sworn according to one's own superstition must be stood by.
§12.2.5.2Dato iureiurando non aliud quaeritur, quam an iuratum sit, remissa quaestione an debeatur, quasi satis probatum sit iureiurando.
Once the oath is given, nothing else is inquired into than whether the oath was taken, the question of whether there is a debt being waived, as if it had been sufficiently proved by the oath.
§12.2.5.3Sed si quis illicitum iusiurandum detulerit, scilicet improbatae publice religionis, uideamus an pro eo habeatur atque si iuratum non esset: quod magis existimo dicendum.
But if anyone has proffered an unlawful oath, namely of a religion publicly disapproved, let us see whether it is to be held in the same way as if it had not been sworn; which I rather think should be said.
§12.2.5.4Si neque iuratum est neque remissum iusiurandum, pro eo debet haberi, atque si res in iusiurandum admissa non esset.
If the oath was neither sworn nor remitted, it ought to be held in the same way as if the matter had not been admitted to an oath.
proinde si postea iurare paratus sit, nihil ei hoc iusiurandum proficiet, quia ex eo quod delatum est iuratum non est.
Therefore, if he is prepared to swear afterwards, this oath will benefit him nothing, because no oath was taken from that which was proffered.

Notes

  1. §12.2.5.prquod si — The relative pronoun 'quod' at the beginning of the clause functions as a relative connection (nexus relativus) linking back to the previous sentence, meaning 'but if'.
  2. §12.2.5.prstabitur — Impersonal passive of the intransitive verb stare (meaning 'to stand by, abide by, remain in force'). It indicates that the agreement or state of affairs remains valid.
  3. §12.2.5.3pro eo habeatur atque si — The phrase 'pro eo habere' (to treat/hold in the same way) is followed by 'atque si' (as if), forming a hypothetical comparison meaning 'it should be treated exactly as if it had not been sworn'.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §12.2.5.pr-12.2.5.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:12.2.5.pr-12.2.5.4

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