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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §22.3.7.pr

Credibility of a Slave's Tortured Testimony on Flight

Passage 3225 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Paulus states that when proof of a slave's prior flight is lacking, the slave's examination under torture must be believed, explaining that the interrogation concerns the slave himself rather than being for or against the master.

[PAULUS libro secundo sententiarum. ] §22.3.7.prCum probatio prioris fugae deficit, serui quaestioni credendum est: in se enim interrogari, non pro domino aut in dominum uidetur.
[PAULUS, in the second book of Opinions.] When proof of a prior flight is lacking, the examination of the slave under torture must be believed; for he seems to be interrogated concerning himself, and not on behalf of or against his master.

Notes

  1. §22.3.7.prserui quaestioni credendum est — An impersonal gerundive construction of necessity (credendum est). Since the intransitive verb credere governs the dative case, serui quaestioni (the examination of the slave) stands in the dative singular.
  2. §22.3.7.printerrogari, non pro domino aut in dominum uidetur — The verb uidetur is used in a personal construction (nominativus cum infinitivo) with the subject (the slave) implied: "he seems to be interrogated". The prepositional phrases in se (concerning himself), pro domino (on behalf of the master), and in dominum (against the master) are contrasted to show that the examination pertains to the slave's own facts rather than the master's legal interests.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §22.3.7.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:22.3.7.pr

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