Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §22.3.13.pr

Determination of Age in Cases of Conflicting Declarations

Passage 3231 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Regarding cases where a person's age is disputed and conflicting declarations are made, the Emperor replied by rescript that instead of merely prioritizing the unfavorable declaration, the truth should be investigated and the age computed based on the most reliable evidence.

[IDEM libro trigesimo digestorum. ] §22.3.13.prCum de aetate hominis quaereretur, Caesar noster in haec uerba rescripsit: 'Et durum et iniquum est, cum de statu aetatis alicuius quaereretur et diuersae professiones proferuntur, ea potissimum stare, quae nocet: sed causa cognita ueritatem excuti oportet et ex eo potissimum annos computari, ex quo praecipuam fidem in ea re constare credibilibus uidetur'.
[THE SAME, in the thirtieth book of the Digests.] When an inquiry was being made concerning a person's age, our Emperor replied by rescript in the following words: 'It is both harsh and unjust, when an inquiry is made concerning the status of someone's age and different declarations are brought forward, that that declaration which is harmful should especially stand; but, the case having been investigated, the truth ought to be searched out, and the years ought especially to be computed from that source from which, by credible evidence, the chief reliability on that matter appears to be established.'

Notes

  1. §22.3.13.prea potissimum stare, quae nocet — An accusative and infinitive clause functioning as the subject of the impersonal expression `durum et iniquum est` (it is harsh and unjust). `ea` is the feminine singular accusative of the demonstrative pronoun (referring back to the plural `professiones`, "declarations") acting as the subject of the infinitive `stare`. Here, `stare` carries the legal meaning of "to stand," "to remain valid," or "to be maintained."
  2. §22.3.13.prcredibilibus — The neuter plural ablative of the adjective `credibilis` (credible) used substantively (as in `ex credibilibus [indiciis]`, "from credible indications/evidence"). It is best understood as an ablative of means or ground ("by credible evidence"). Although it could theoretically be construed as a dative with `uidetur` ("it appears to credible persons"), the legal context strongly favors the ablative referring to objective credible circumstances.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §22.3.13.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:22.3.13.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.