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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §23.2.10.pr

Marriage of Children After Father's Three-Year Absence

Passage 3316 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

On the marriage of children whose father is missing. If the father's survival and whereabouts are unknown and three years have elapsed, his children are permitted to marry.

[PAULUS libro trigesimo quinto ad edictum. ] §23.2.10.prSi ita pater absit, ut ignoretur ubi sit et an sit, quid faciendum est, merito dubitatur.
[PAULUS in the thirty-fifth book on the Edict.] If a father is absent in such a manner that it is unknown where he is and whether he exists, there is, with good reason, a doubt as to what should be done.
et si triennium effluxerit, postquam apertissime fuerit pater ignotus, ubi degit et an superstes sit, non prohibentur liberi eius utriusque sexus matrimonium uel nuptias legitimas contrahere.
And if three years have elapsed since it became clearest that the father's whereabouts and whether he is surviving are unknown, his children of either sex are not prohibited from contracting a marriage or legal nuptials.

Notes

  1. §23.2.10.prita... ut ignoretur — The adverb 'ita' and the conjunction 'ut' are used correlatively to form a clause of result with the subjunctive 'ignoretur', expressing the degree of the father's absence.
  2. §23.2.10.pran sit — An indirect question clause coordinated with 'ubi sit'. Here, the verb 'esse' ('sit') is used in an existential sense, meaning 'whether he exists' or 'whether he is still alive'.
  3. §23.2.10.prpostquam apertissime fuerit pater ignotus — The indirect question clause 'ubi degit et an superstes sit' depends on the predicate adjective 'ignotus' ('unknown') within the 'postquam' clause, explaining its specific details. 'fuerit' is in the future perfect (or perfect subjunctive) tense.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §23.2.10.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:23.2.10.pr

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