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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §18.7.1.pr

Waiving the Covenant Restricting a Slave's Residence

Passage 2754 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Ulpian, citing Papinian, explains that when a slave is sold with a restrictive covenant prohibiting his stay in a certain place, the seller has the right to waive this condition and keep the slave in Rome, as the clause is established for the master's own safety.

[ULPIANUS libro trigesimo secundo ad edictum. ] §18.7.1.prSi fuerit distractus seruus, ne aliquo loci moretur, qui uendidit in ea condicione est, ut possit legem remittere, ipse Romae retinere.
[ULPIANUS in the thirty-second book on the Edict.] If a slave has been sold on condition that he should not remain in a certain place, the seller is in a position to waive the condition and to retain him in Rome himself.
quod et Papinianus libro tertio respondit: propter domini enim, inquit, securitatem custoditur lex, ne periculum subeat.
This is what Papinian also answered in his third book; for, he says, the condition is maintained for the safety of the master, lest he should undergo danger.

Notes

  1. 18.7.1.praliquo loci — Meaning 'in a certain place'. This is a classical idiom where the partitive genitive `loci` is used with the ablative `aliquo`, equivalent to `aliquo loco`.
  2. 18.7.1.prlegem — Refers not to a general 'law' but to a 'special term or condition' (lex contractus) agreed upon in the contract of sale; here, the restrictive covenant prohibiting the slave's stay in a certain place.
  3. 18.7.1.prut possit legem remittere, ipse Romae retinere — The `ut` clause is a noun clause explaining the content of the preceding phrase `in ea condicione` (in such a position). Both `remittere` and `retinere` are infinitives depending on the governing verb `possit`.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §18.7.1.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:18.7.1.pr

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