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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §37.14.3.pr

Loss of Patronage Rights upon Excusing Oneself as Tutor

Passage 5853 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

A rescript of the emperors Severus and Antoninus determines that a designated tutor who accepts a legacy to manumit a slave but excuses himself from the guardianship remains a patron but loses all benefits of patronage.

[MARCIANUS libro secundo institutionum. ] §37.14.3.prSi quis tutor datus, cum sibi legata esset ancilla et rogatus eam manumittere, manumiserit adgnito legato et tutela pupilli se excusauerit, diui Seuerus et Antoninus rescripserunt hunc esse quidem patronum, sed omni commodo patronatus carere.
[MARCIANUS, in the second book of Institutes.] If anyone, having been appointed tutor, when a female slave had been bequeathed to him and he had been asked to manumit her, should manumit her after accepting the legacy, and excuse himself from the guardianship of the ward, the deified Severus and Antoninus ruled by rescript that this man is indeed a patron, but lacks all the benefits of patronage.

Notes

  1. §37.14.3.prrogatus — The auxiliary verb esset is omitted, which would form a pluperfect subjunctive passive with rogatus, operating in parallel with legata esset inside the cum-clause. The infinitive manumittere depends on rogatus.
  2. §37.14.3.pradgnito legato — An ablative absolute construction consisting of the noun legatum (legacy) and the perfect participle of adgnoscere (to acknowledge or accept). It denotes that the manumission occurred after and on the basis of formally accepting the legacy.
  3. §37.14.3.promni commodo — The verb carere (to lack, be deprived of) governs the ablative case, which is why omni commodo is in the ablative singular. It is modified by the genitive patronatus, meaning 'to lack all the benefits of patronage'.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §37.14.3.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:37.14.3.pr

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