Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §29.5.10.pr-29.5.10.1

Killing of a Disinherited Son and Inquiry on Freedmen

Passage 4556 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

The text explains how the status of slaves is judged based on the eventual acceptance of the inheritance when a disinherited son is killed, and mentions Trajan's ruling on holding inquiries for freedmen manumitted during the owner's lifetime.

[PAULUS libro singulari ad senatus consultum Silanianum. ] §29.5.10.prSi exheredatus filius, antequam adiretur patris hereditas, occisus sit, ex euentu inspicietur, ut, si adita fuerit hereditas, quasi alieni fuisse uideantur: si uero irritum testamentum factum sit, quia ipsius essent si uiueret, omnia perinde aguntur ac si dominus esset.
[PAULUS, in his single book on the Senatus Consultum Silanianum.] If a disinherited son is killed before his father's inheritance is accepted, the matter will be judged from the outcome: so that, if the inheritance is accepted, they are deemed to have belonged to another; but if the will is rendered void, since they would have belonged to him himself if he were alive, everything is conducted just as if he were the owner.
§29.5.10.1Sub diuo Traiano constitutum est de his libertis, quos uiuus manumiserat, quaestionem haberi
Under the deified Trajan, it was established that an inquiry should be held concerning those freedmen whom he had manumitted while alive.

Notes

  1. §29.5.10.pruideantur — Third-person plural present subjunctive. The subject of this verb is not explicitly mentioned in the text, but contextually refers to the slaves (serui) of the household. This corresponds with the subsequent clause `quia ipsius essent` (since they would have belonged to him himself).
  2. §29.5.10.prquia ipsius essent si uiueret — A contrary-to-fact conditional construction (subjunctive imperfect) with the conditional clause `si uiueret` nested inside the causal clause `quia...`. `ipsius` (genitive) is the possessive genitive of the pronoun `ipse`, referring to the `exheredatus filius` (disinherited son) mentioned at the beginning of the section. It means 'since they would have belonged to him himself, if he were alive', because if the will became void, the son would have become the intestate heir, owning the estate (including the slaves).
  3. §29.5.10.1quaestionem haberi — Accusative with infinitive construction (subject: `quaestionem`, infinitive: `haberi`), functioning as the subject of the impersonal main verb `constitutum est` (it was established). In this legal context, `quaestio` refers to a criminal inquiry or interrogation, typically accompanied by torture, conducted on slaves or freedmen.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §29.5.10.pr-29.5.10.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:29.5.10.pr-29.5.10.1

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.