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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §24.3.39.pr

Mutual Set-Off of Fault When Both Spouses Cause Divorce

Passage 3631 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Presents the principle that when both husband and wife are judged to have caused their divorce, neither is penalized under the law they both flouted, as equal offenses cancel each other out by mutual set-off.

[PAPINIANUS libro undecimo quaestionum. ] §24.3.39.prUiro atque uxore mores inuicem accusantibus causam repudii dedisse utrumque pronuntiatum est.
[PAPINIANUS, Book 11 of Questions.] When a husband and wife were mutually accusing each other's conduct, it was pronounced that both had given cause for the divorce.
id ita accipi debet, ut ea lege, quam ambo contempserunt, neuter uindicetur: paria enim delicta mutua pensatione dissoluuntur.
This ought to be understood in such a way that neither is penalized under that law which both have flouted; for equal offenses are dissolved by mutual set-off.

Notes

  1. §24.3.39.prUiro atque uxore mores inuicem accusantibus — Ablative absolute. The nominal subjects are uiro atque uxore (husband and wife) and the participle is the present participle accusantibus (accusing). It indicates the background circumstance under which the judicial decision was rendered.
  2. §24.3.39.prcausam repudii dedisse utrumque — Accusative and Infinitive (AcI) construction serving as the subject of the impersonal passive verb pronuntiatum est (it was pronounced). The pronoun utrumque (both) acts as the subject accusative, and dedisse (to have given) is the perfect active infinitive.
  3. §24.3.39.prneuter uindicetur — uindicetur (third-person singular present passive subjunctive of uindicare) is used here in the sense of "to be punished" or "to be penalized." Occurring within the ut clause with the negative pronoun neuter (neither), it expresses the consequence that "neither party is to be penalized" (on the basis of the law they both flouted).

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §24.3.39.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:24.3.39.pr

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