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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §29.5.17.pr

Order of Torture: Slaves' Own Acts Before Questioning on Instigation

Passage 4563 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

A rule stating that the slave-household must first be tortured regarding their own actions, and only after they confess should they be questioned about who ordered the crime.

[MODESTINUS libro octauo regularum. ] §29.5.17.prPrius de se familia torquenda est et, si confiteatur, tunc interrogetur, quo mandante flagitium admissum sit.
[MODESTINUS, in his eighth book of Rules.]\n\nFirst, the household of slaves must be tortured concerning themselves, and if they confess, then they should be questioned as to by whose order the crime was committed.

Notes

  1. §29.5.17.prde se — "Concerning themselves," meaning regarding the slaves' own direct involvement or execution of the act. This indicates that their own guilt must be tested under torture before investigating other parties (such as the instigator, quo mandante).
  2. §29.5.17.prquo mandante — An ablative absolute construction consisting of the ablative singular of the interrogative pronoun quis (quo) and the ablative singular of the present participle mandans (mandante), literally meaning "who commanding." It forms part of the indirect question quo mandante flagitium admissum sit depending on interrogetur.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §29.5.17.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:29.5.17.pr

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