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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §23.2.22.pr

Validity of Marriage Contracted under Paternal Compulsion

Passage 3328 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Celsus argues that even if a son-in-power contracts a marriage under his father's compulsion which he otherwise would not have, the marriage is still legally valid because he is deemed to have chosen to consent.

[CELSUS libro quinto decimo digestorum. ] §23.2.22.prSi patre cogente ducit uxorem, quam non duceret, si sui arbitrii esset, contraxit tamen matrimonium, quod inter inuitos non contrahitur: maluisse hoc uidetur.
[CELSUS in his fifteenth book of the Digests.], under the compulsion of his father, he marries a wife whom he would not have married if he had been at his own disposal, he has nevertheless contracted a marriage, which is not contracted between unwilling parties; for he is deemed to have preferred this course.

Notes

  1. §23.2.22.prsui arbitrii esset — sui arbitrii is a genitive of quality or possessive genitive, expressing a state of being "at one's own disposal" or "independent," similar to sui iuris. esset is in the imperfect subjunctive, forming a counterfactual conditional.
  2. §23.2.22.prmaluisse hoc uidetur — uidetur is used in a personal construction ("he seems/is deemed to"), where the grammatical subject is the son. The perfect infinitive maluisse shares this subject. hoc refers to the choice of contracting the marriage despite the father's compulsion.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §23.2.22.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:23.2.22.pr

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