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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §23.2.13.pr

Marriage Between a Lowborn Patroness and Her Freedman

Passage 3319 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Ulpian states that if a patroness is of very low birth, her marriage to her own freedman should not be prohibited by the judge's authority.

[IDEM libro trigesimo quarto ad Sabinum. ] §23.2.13.prSi patrona tam ignobilis sit, ut ei honestae sint uel saltem liberti sui nuptiae, officio iudicis super hoc cognoscentis hae prohiberi non debent.
[THE SAME in the thirty-fourth book on Sabinus.] If a patroness is of such low birth that marriage with her own freedman is honorable for her, or at least acceptable, these marriages ought not to be prohibited by the office of the judge who is investigating this matter.

Notes

  1. §23.2.13.profficio iudicis — The noun officio (office, duty) is an ablative of means, modified by the genitive iudicis (of the judge). In Roman law, the 'officium iudicis' represents the discretionary power of a judge to intervene based on equity and moral considerations in a specific case, rather than just strict law.
  2. §23.2.13.prsuper hoc cognoscentis — The present participle cognoscentis (genitive singular) modifies iudicis. In Roman legal terminology, cognoscere is the technical verb used for a judge examining or taking judicial cognizance of the facts of a case.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §23.2.13.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:23.2.13.pr

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