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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §23.2.8.pr

Customary Ban on Freedman Marrying His Mother or Sister

Passage 3314 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

It explains that a freedman is prohibited from marrying his own freedwoman mother or sister, a rule established by custom (moribus) rather than by written laws (legibus).

[POMPONIUS libro quinto ad Sabinum. ] §23.2.8.prLibertinus libertinam matrem aut sororem uxorem ducere non potest, quia hoc ius moribus, non legibus introductum est.
[POMPONIUS in the fifth book on Sabinus.] A freedman cannot marry a freedwoman mother or sister, because this rule was introduced by custom, not by statutes.

Notes

  1. §23.2.8.pruxorem ducere — An idiomatic expression meaning "to take as a wife," i.e., "to marry." The direct object of ducere is matrem aut sororem, and uxorem functions as a predicate accusative (object complement).
  2. §23.2.8.prmoribus, non legibus — Ablatives of means or accordance (plural ablatives of mos and lex), indicating that this legal prohibition of marriage is derived from "custom" (moribus), not from "written statutes" (legibus).

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §23.2.8.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:23.2.8.pr

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