Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §2.14.50.pr

Validity of Agreement Not to Corrupt a Slave

Passage 416 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Ulpianus argues that in contracts such as deposit or lease, an agreement obligating the other party not to make one's slave a thief or a runaway (by preventing corruption through enticement or neglect) is valid and can give rise to a legal claim.

[IDEM libro quadragensimo secundo ad Sabinum. ] §2.14.50.prNon impossibile puto in contractibus depositi, commodati et locati et ceteris similibus hoc pactum: 'ne facias furem uel fugitiuum seruum meum', hoc est: ne sollicites ut fur fiat, ut fugitiuus fiat: ne ita neglegas seruum, ut fur efficiatur. sicut enim serui corrupti actio locum habet, ita potest etiam haec pactio locum habere, quae ad non corrumpendos seruos pertinet.
[THE SAME, On Sabinus, book 42] I do not think that in contracts of deposit, loan for use, lease, and other similar ones, the following agreement is impossible: "Do not make my slave a thief or a runaway," that is: "Do not entice him to become a thief or to become a runaway," or "Do not neglect the slave in such a way that he becomes a thief." For just as the action for corrupting a slave lies, so also can this agreement lie, which pertains to not corrupting slaves.

Notes

  1. §2.14.50.prne facias furem uel fugitiuum seruum meum — This clause quotes the specific wording of the agreement (pactum). 'facias' is a second-person singular present subjunctive expressing a prohibition or command, accompanied by a double accusative ('seruum meum' as the direct object, and 'furem uel fugitiuum' as the object complement).
  2. §2.14.50.prne ita neglegas seruum, ut fur efficiatur — This employs the 'ita... ut...' construction, where 'efficiatur' (present subjunctive introduced by 'ut') forms a clause of result ('neglect the slave in such a way that/with the result that he becomes a thief'). The whole phrase functions as a prohibition against such negligent behavior.
  3. §2.14.50.prad non corrumpendos seruos — This consists of the preposition 'ad' followed by the gerundive 'corrumpendos' agreeing with the noun 'seruos' in the accusative plural, expressing purpose, relation, or domain ('concerning/for the sake of not corrupting slaves').

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §2.14.50.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:2.14.50.pr

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.