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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §3.6.9.pr

Damages for Torture of Acquitted Slaves and Calumny

Passage 629 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This text discusses the examination of an accused slave under torture, the accuser's liability for double the slave's value upon acquittal, and the inquiry into the accuser's calumny, which is distinct from the physical damage caused to the slave.

[PAPINIANUS libro secundo de adulteriis. ] §3.6.9.prDe seruo qui accusatur, si postuletur, quaestio habetur: quo absoluto in duplum pretium accusator domino damnatur: sed et citra pretii aestimationem quaeritur de calumnia eius.
[PAPINIANUS, On Adultery, book 2] Regarding a slave who is accused, if it is requested, an examination under torture is held; and if he is acquitted, the accuser is condemned to pay double the slave's value to the owner. But also, apart from the estimation of the price, an inquiry is made into his calumny.
separatum est etenim calumniae crimen a damno quod in seruo propter quaestionem domino datum est.
For the crime of calumny is distinct from the damage that was caused to the owner in the person of the slave because of the examination.

Notes

  1. §3.6.9.prquo absoluto — An ablative absolute containing the connecting relative pronoun quo, which refers back to seruo. It functions as a conditional clause, meaning "if he [the slave] is acquitted [as a result of the examination]."
  2. §3.6.9.prdomino damnatur — domino is a dative of advantage/disadvantage, used in combination with the passive verb damnatur to mean "is condemned to pay [the double value] to the owner."
  3. §3.6.9.prdamno quod in seruo propter quaestionem domino datum est — In the relative clause quod ... datum est, domino is the dative of indirect object, and in seruo is a prepositional phrase meaning "in the person of the slave" or "on the slave," specifying where the damage occurred. The phrase refers to the physical or economic damage caused to the owner due to the examination of the slave under torture.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §3.6.9.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:3.6.9.pr

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