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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §38.1.9.pr-38.1.9.1

Distinction Between Respectful and Artisan Services

Passage 5894 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Ulpian classifies the nature of the services of freedmen, noting that they do not exist physically, and distinguishes personal "respect-services" from transferable "artisan-services."

[ULPIANUS libro trigensimo quarto ad Sabinum. ] §38.1.9.prOperae in rerum natura non sunt.
[ULPIANUS, in the thirty-fourth book on Sabinus.] Services do not exist in the nature of things.
§38.1.9.1Sed officiales quidem futurae nec cuiquam alii deberi possunt quam patrono, cum proprietas earum et in edentis persona et in eius cui eduntur constitit: fabriles autem aliaeue eius generis sunt, ut a quocumque cuicumque solui possint.
But future respect-services indeed cannot be owed to anyone other than the patron, since their essential character consists both in the person of the one who performs them and in the person of the one for whom they are performed; on the other hand, artisan-services or others of that kind are such that they can be performed by anyone to anyone.
sane enim, si in artificio sint, iubente patrono et alii edi possunt.
For indeed, if they consist in a skilled trade, they can, at the order of the patron, be performed for another person as well.

Notes

  1. §38.1.9.prin rerum natura — A philosophical and legal idiom meaning "in the nature of things" or "in physical reality." Here it indicates that services (operae) do not exist as physical or tangible things (corporales), but rather as abstract obligations that materialize only upon performance.
  2. §38.1.9.1officiales ... futurae — The noun operae (services) is understood. Officiales refers to services based on duty or respect (officium, e.g., personal attendance on the patron) as opposed to fabriles (artisan-services). Futurae is a future participle meaning "about to be performed" or "future."
  3. §38.1.9.1edentis persona ... eius cui eduntur — Edentis is the genitive of the present participle of edere (to perform, render), referring to the freedman who performs the services. Eius cui eduntur means "of the person for whom they are performed," where the antecedent eius (with persona understood) refers to the patron.
  4. §38.1.9.1in artificio sint — Literally "are in an art (skilled trade)." This refers to cases where the services involve a specific professional skill or craft. The present subjunctive sint expresses a hypothetical condition.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §38.1.9.pr-38.1.9.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:38.1.9.pr-38.1.9.1

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