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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §22.1.33.pr-22.1.33.1

Governor's Duty and Moderation in Public Lending

Passage 3193 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This text explains that debtors should not be unduly disturbed for the principal of well-invested public funds, and outlines the moderate attitude and the duty of securing proper pledges that the provincial governor must observe during collection and lending.

[ULPIANUS libro singulari de officio curatoris rei publicae. ] §22.1.33.prSi bene collocatae sunt pecuniae publicae, in sortem inquietari debitores non debent et maxime, si parient usuras: si non parient, prospicere rei publicae securitati debet praeses prouinciae, dummodo non acerbum se exactorem nec contumeliosum praebeat, sed moderatum et cum efficacia benignum et cum instantia humanum: nam inter insolentiam incuriosam et diligentiam non ambitiosam multum interest.
[ULPIANUS libro singulari de officio curatoris rei publicae.] If public moneys are well invested, the debtors ought not to be disturbed for the principal, and especially so if they yield interest; if they do not yield interest, the governor of the province must look out for the security of the municipality, provided that he does not show himself to be a harsh or abusive collector, but moderate, kind with efficiency, and humane with persistence; for there is a great difference between careless insolence and unpretentious diligence.
§22.1.33.1Praeterea prospicere debet, ne pecuniae publicae credantur sine pignoribus idoneis uel hypothecis.
Furthermore, he must take care that public moneys are not lent without suitable pledges or mortgages.

Notes

  1. §22.1.33.prin sortem — The noun sors (originally 'lot' or 'fate') in financial and legal contexts means 'principal' as opposed to 'interest' (usurae). The preposition in with the accusative here denotes 'in respect to' or 'with regard to'.
  2. §22.1.33.prdummodo... praebeat — The conjunction dummodo (provided that, as long as) requires the subjunctive mood, here with praebeat (active subjunctive present 3rd person singular). It expresses a restrictive condition limiting the duty of the praeses provinciae in the main clause.
  3. §22.1.33.prmultum interest — The impersonal verb interest, when used with the preposition inter (between), means 'there is a difference between'. The neuter pronoun multum functions adverbially to indicate the degree of this difference ('a great difference').

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §22.1.33.pr-22.1.33.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:22.1.33.pr-22.1.33.1

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