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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §2.4.5.pr

Certainty of the Mother and Determination of the Father

Passage 269 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

States the famous principle of Roman law that while the mother is always certain, the father is determined by the marriage.

[PAULUS libro quarto ad edictum. ] §2.4.5.prquia semper certa est, etiam si uolgo conceperit: pater uero is est, quem nuptiae demonstrant.
[PAUL, in the fourth book on the Edict.] because the mother is always certain, even if she has conceived out of wedlock; but the father is he whom the marriage points out.

Notes

  1. §2.4.5.prcerta est — Since the adjective is in the feminine nominative singular, the omitted subject is clearly the mother (`mater`), contextually supplied from `matrem` at the end of the preceding fragment (D. 2.4.4.3).
  2. §2.4.5.prnuptiae demonstrant — The phrase 'the marriage points out' formulates the fundamental legal presumption in Roman law that 'the father is he whom the marriage points out' (pater is est quem nuptiae demonstrant), meaning a child born to a married woman is presumed to be her husband's.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §2.4.5.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:2.4.5.pr

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