Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §27.1.44.pr-27.1.44.3

Freedmen with Gold Rings and Guardianship Exemptions

Passage 3985 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Discusses how the change of status of a freedman who has obtained the right of gold rings affects exemptions and appointments for guardianship and curatorship, using specific cases and analogies.

[TRYPHONINUS libro secundo disputationum. ] §27.1.44.prCum ex oratione diui Marci ingenuus libertino tutor datus excusari debeat, eandem excusationem competere etiam ei, qui ius anulorum impetrasset, imperator noster cum diuo Seuero patre suo rescripsit.
[TRYPHONINUS, from the second book of the Disputations.] Since, according to the address of the divine Marcus, a freeborn person appointed as tutor to a freedman ought to be excused, our Emperor, together with his divine father Severus, wrote in a rescript that the same excuse also applies to one who had obtained the right of gold rings.
§27.1.44.1Ergo si pupillo libertino habenti ius anulorum datus sit ingenuus tutor uel curator, consequens est, ut excusatio eius ob hanc condicionum diuersitatem non debeat accipi.
Therefore, if a freeborn tutor or curator is appointed to a freedman pupil who has the right of gold rings, it follows that his excuse on account of this difference of status ought not to be accepted.
§27.1.44.2At si antequam pupillus uel pubes minor annorum uiginti quinque ius anulorum acciperet, Lucius Titius ei datus ut ingenuus excusatus fuit, post impetratum beneficium denuo eidem tutor curatorue dari poterit exemplo eo, quo placuit et rescriptum est eum, qui tempore, quod intra annum erat ex quo rei publicae causa abesse desierat, excusatus fuit, praeterito eo ipsum suo loco dari posse.
But if, before the pupil or the youth under twenty-five years of age received the right of gold rings, Lucius Titius was appointed to him and excused as a freeborn person, after the benefit has been obtained, he can be appointed again as tutor or curator to the same person, following the example where it was decided and written in a rescript that a person who was excused at a time that was within a year from when he ceased to be absent on public business can, once that year has passed, be appointed himself in his own place.
§27.1.44.3Et quamuis libertinus, qui senatori patrono procurat, excusationem ab aliorum tutela habeat, iste tamen, qui ius anulorum impetrauit, qui in ordinem ingenuorum transit, tali excusatione uti non posset.
And although a freedman who manages the affairs of his patron senator has an excuse from the guardianship of others, yet this man, who has obtained the right of gold rings and passes into the class of the freeborn, would not be able to use such an excuse.

Notes

  1. §27.1.44.preandem excusationem competere etiam ei, qui ius anulorum impetrasset — Here, 'ei' refers to the person appointed as tutor (the freedman who obtained the right of gold rings). It indicates that the privilege where a freeborn person is excused from the guardianship of a regular freedman also applies to the one who obtained the right of gold rings, illustrating how the status change affects the exemption eligibility.
  2. §27.1.44.2exemplo eo, quo placuit et rescriptum est... — This clause introduces the parallel case supporting the re-appointment of the tutor (denuo ... dari poterit) using the accusative-with-infinitive construction 'eum ... dari posse' (that he himself can be appointed in his own place). It draws an analogy with a person who was excused during a temporary post-public service period and then became eligible for appointment once that period elapsed.
  3. §27.1.44.3tali excusatione uti non posset — The imperfect subjunctive 'posset' carries a potential or hypothetical nuance, expressing the logical legal consequence that a person who has practically become freeborn (ingenuus) through the 'right of gold rings' would not be able to claim an excuse that was predicated on his former status as a freedman (such as acting as agent for a patron senator).

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §27.1.44.pr-27.1.44.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:27.1.44.pr-27.1.44.3

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