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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §23.1.16.pr

Voidness of Betrothals in Forbidden Senatorial Marriages

Passage 3304 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Ulpian explains that although the imperial address restricting the marriage of senators is silent on betrothals, betrothals in such cases must also be considered legally void to supply the omission in the law.

[ULPIANUS libro tertio ad legem Iuliam et Papiam. ] §23.1.16.prOratio imperatorum Antonini et Commodi, quae quasdam nuptias in personam senatorum inhibuit, de sponsalibus nihil locuta est.
[ULPIANUS, in the third book on the Lex Iulia et Papia.] The address of the Emperors Antoninus and Commodus, which prohibited certain marriages in respect of the persons of senators, said nothing about betrothals.
recte tamen dicitur etiam sponsalia in his casibus ipso iure nullius esse momenti, ut suppleatur quod orationi deest.
Nevertheless, it is rightly said that even betrothals in these cases are of no validity by operation of law, so that what is lacking in the address may be supplied.

Notes

  1. §23.1.16.prnullius esse momenti — The accusative and infinitive clause etiam sponsalia... nullius esse momenti acts as the subject of the impersonal passive dicitur. The genitive of quality nullius momenti (of no weight/importance), combined with the copula esse, functions predicatively to mean 'to be of no validity' or 'to be void'.
  2. §23.1.16.prquod orationi deest — quod is a relative pronoun in the neuter nominative singular, implying its antecedent (id). The verb deest (desum, 'to be lacking' or 'to be missing') governs the dative, taking orationi (dative feminine singular) as its indirect object.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §23.1.16.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:23.1.16.pr

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