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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §25.3.4.pr

Abandonment and Denial of Child Maintenance as Killing

Passage 3709 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Paulus states that not only the direct suffocation of an offspring but also abandonment, denial of maintenance, and exposing the child in public places under the guise of mercy are all to be deemed as killing.

[PAULUS libro secundo sententiarum. ] §25.3.4.prNecare uidetur non tantum is qui partum praefocat, sed et is qui abicit et qui alimonia denegat et is qui publicis locis misericordiae causa exponit, quam ipse non habet.
[PAULUS, Opinions, book 2.] Not only is he who suffocates his offspring deemed to kill, but also he who abandons it, and he who denies it maintenance, and he who exposes it in public places for the sake of mercy, which he himself does not possess.

Notes

  1. §25.3.4.prnecare uidetur — The passive form `uidetur` (is deemed / is seen) is used with the infinitive `necare` (to kill) to express an objective legal assessment that the subject (`is`) is deemed to have committed killing.
  2. §25.3.4.prquam ipse non habet — The relative pronoun `quam` (feminine accusative singular) has `misericordiae` as its antecedent. It ironically exposes the hypocrisy of the abandoning parent who acts under the pretext of 'mercy' (expecting someone else to save the child) which they themselves utterly lack.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §25.3.4.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:25.3.4.pr

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