Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §28.1.14.pr

Incapacity of Manumitted Slaves Ignorant of Their Status

Passage 4104 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Explains that a slave manumitted by testament cannot make a testament as long as he is ignorant of his master's death and the acceptance of the inheritance, because he remains uncertain of his own status despite technically being a paterfamilias.

[PAULUS libro secundo regularum. ] §28.1.14.prQui in testamento domini manumissus est, si ignorat dominum decessisse aditamque eius esse hereditatem, testamentum facere non potest, licet iam pater familias et sui iuris est: nam qui incertus de statu suo est, certam legem testamento dicere non potest.
[PAULUS, in the second book of the Rules.] He who has been manumitted in the testament of his master, if he is ignorant that his master has died and that his inheritance has been accepted, cannot make a testament, even though he is already a paterfamilias and sui iuris; for he who is uncertain about his own status cannot declare a certain law by testament.

Notes

  1. §28.1.14.praditamque eius esse hereditatem — An accusative with infinitive clause where 'hereditatem' is the subject accusative and 'aditam esse' is the perfect passive infinitive of 'adire' (to enter upon, accept). In Roman law, a testamentary manumission only takes effect once the heir accepts the inheritance (aditio hereditatis), which explains why ignorance of this fact is legally crucial.
  2. §28.1.14.prlicet iam pater familias et sui iuris est — The conjunction 'licet' (although, even though) normally takes the subjunctive in classical Latin, but here it is construed with the indicative present 'est'. This indicates a concession of an objective fact ('he is already in fact a paterfamilias') rather than a hypothetical condition.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §28.1.14.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:28.1.14.pr

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.