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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §23.2.50.pr

Right of a Freedwoman under Fideicommissum to Remarry

Passage 3356 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This section explains a rule and its rationale allowing a freedwoman, who was manumitted under a fideicommissum and married by her patron, to remarry against his will.

[IDEM libro tertio ad legem Iuliam et Papiam. ] §23.2.50.prProxime constitutum dicitur, ut, cum quis libertam suam duxerit uxorem, quam ex fideicommissi causa manumiserit, liceat libertae inuito eo nuptias contrahere: puto, quia non erat ferendus is qui ex necessitate manumisit, non suo arbitrio: magis enim debitam libertatem praestitit quam ullum beneficium in mulierem contulit.
[THE SAME, in his third book on the Lex Iulia et Papia.] It is said to have been recently decided that, when anyone has married his own freedwoman whom he manumitted because of a fideicommissum, the freedwoman is permitted to contract a marriage against his will. I believe this is so, because a man who manumitted her out of necessity, and not by his own free will, ought not to be tolerated; for he rather rendered a freedom that was due to her than conferred any favor upon the woman.

Notes

  1. §23.2.50.prconstitutum dicitur, ut — The impersonal expression 'constitutum (esse) dicitur' is followed by a substantive 'ut' clause expressing the content of the decision ('that... is permitted'). The verb within the 'ut' clause is the present subjunctive 'liceat'.
  2. §23.2.50.prinuito eo — An ablative absolute construction consisting of a pronoun and an adjective, meaning 'against his (the patron/husband's) will'. This is a nominal type of ablative absolute where the copula 'being' is understood.
  3. §23.2.50.prnon erat ferendus — A passive periphrastic conjugation combining the gerundive 'ferendus' and the imperfect 'erat', expressing obligation or propriety ('he ought not to have been tolerated'). The imperfect tense 'erat' reflects either the historical judgment at the time of the ruling or a general evaluation of such a person's status.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §23.2.50.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:23.2.50.pr

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