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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §38.1.16.pr-38.1.16.1

Services from Newly Learned Trades and Parties' Circumstances

Passage 5901 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This section rules that a freedman may perform services from a trade learned after manumission if it is honorable and safe, and that the nature of the services must be determined by assessing the individual circumstances of both parties.

[PAULUS libro quadragensimo ad edictum. ] §38.1.16.prEius artificii, quod post manumissionem didicerit libertus, operas debebit praestare, si haec sint, quae quandoque honeste et sine periculo uitae praestantur, nec semper hae, quae manumissionis tempore praestari debuerunt.
[PAULUS, in the fortieth book on the Edict.] A freedman shall be bound to perform services of the trade which he learned after manumission, provided these are such as may be performed honorably and without danger to life at any time, and not always those which ought to have been performed at the time of manumission.
sed si turpes operas postea exercere coeperit, praestare debebit eas, quas manumissionis tempore praestabat.
But if he subsequently begins to practice shameful services, he shall be bound to perform those which he was performing at the time of manumission.
§38.1.16.1Tales patrono operae dantur, quales ex aetate dignitate ualetudine necessitate proposito ceterisque eius generis in utraque persona aestimari debent:
Such services are to be rendered to a patron as ought to be estimated in both persons from their age, status, health, necessity, purpose, and other things of that kind:

Notes

  1. §38.1.16.prEius artificii — A genitive noun phrase placed at the beginning of the sentence for emphasis. It limits the accusative noun `operas` while simultaneously serving as the antecedent for the relative pronoun `quod` that follows.
  2. §38.1.16.prsi haec sint — The nominative neuter plural demonstrative `haec` does not agree grammatically with the immediate preceding noun `operas` (feminine plural). Instead, the neuter plural is used to refer back to the substance of `artificium` (neuter singular) or generally to "these activities/services," functioning as the antecedent of the relative clause `quae ... praestantur`.
  3. §38.1.16.1in utraque persona — A prepositional phrase meaning "in both persons" (namely, the patron and the freedman), which modifies the verb phrase `aestimari debent`. It indicates that the evaluation of services must be made based on the personal circumstances of both parties, not just one.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §38.1.16.pr-38.1.16.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:38.1.16.pr-38.1.16.1

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