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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §18.7.5.pr

Extension of City Boundary Bans to Rome

Passage 2758 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

The author argues that a slave barred from entering the boundary of any municipal city by a seller's agreement is also deemed barred from the City of Rome, a rule supported both by imperial mandates and by natural reason.

[PAPINIANUS libro decimo quaestionum. ] §18.7.5.prCui pacto uenditoris pomerio cuiuslibet ciuitatis interdictum est, Urbe etiam interdictum esse uidetur.
[PAPINIANUS in the tenth book of Questions.] He who, by an agreement of the seller, has been forbidden the pomerium of any city, is deemed to be forbidden the City as well.
quod quidem alias cum principum mandatis praeciperetur, etiam naturalem habet intellectum, ne scilicet qui careret minoribus, fruatur maioribus.
Although this indeed is prescribed elsewhere by the mandates of the emperors, it also has a natural rationale, namely, that he who is deprived of lesser things should not enjoy greater things.

Notes

  1. 18.7.5.prCui pacto uenditoris — The relative pronoun cui is in the dative case as required by the impersonal passive verb interdictum est (it is forbidden to someone). pacto uenditoris (by an agreement of the seller) is an ablative of means or cause, referring to a covenant (pactum) added to a sale of a slave to prevent them from entering certain places.
  2. 18.7.5.prpomerio — The pomerium refers to the religious and legal boundary of a city. The ablative pomerio functions as an ablative of separation or place from which with the verb interdicere (to forbid).
  3. 18.7.5.prUrbe — In Latin usage, Urbs (written with a capital letter) specifically refers to the City of Rome, rather than a generic city. Here it stands in contrast with cuiuslibet ciuitatis (of any city) in the preceding clause.
  4. 18.7.5.prminoribus... maioribus — Comparative neuter plural forms in the ablative case. minoribus refers to 'lesser things' (the boundary of any municipal city) and maioribus refers to 'greater things' (the boundary of the City of Rome). The verb carere (to lack/be deprived of) governs the ablative minoribus, and frui (to enjoy) governs the ablative maioribus.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §18.7.5.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:18.7.5.pr

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