Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §38.2.51.pr

Possession of Goods of a Freedman Accused of Capital Crime

Passage 5987 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Labeo states that if one accuses a freedman of a capital crime and one's father manumits him, one cannot get the possession of goods, but Paulus notes an exception where the accusation occurred while he was still a slave before being acquired and manumitted by the father.

[LABEO libro primo pithanon a PAULO epitomatorum. ] §38.2.51.prSi eundem libertum et tu capitis accusasti et pater tuus manumisit, non poterit tibi eius liberti bonorum possessio ex edicto praetoris dari.
[LABEO, in the first book of Pithana, epitomized by PAULUS.] If you have accused the same freedman of a capital crime and your father has manumitted him, the possession of the goods of that freedman cannot be granted to you under the edict of the praetor.
PAULUS: immo contra accidet, si quem seruum accusaueris, deinde is patris tui fuerit factus et is postea eum manumisit.
PAULUS: On the contrary, the opposite will happen if you have accused a slave, and he subsequently became the property of your father, who afterwards manumitted him.

Notes

  1. 38.2.51.prcapitis accusasti — The genitive capitis with the verb accusare indicates the charge or penalty, meaning "accused of a capital crime" (involving life or civil status). The form accusasti is a syncopated form of accusavisti.
  2. 38.2.51.primmo contra accidet — The phrase "on the contrary, the opposite will happen" means that, unlike Labeo's rule, the possession of goods can be granted in the case presented by Paulus. This is because, at the time of the accusation, the slave did not yet belong to the accuser's father and was not a freedman, so the act does not constitute ingratitude or disloyalty to the future patron.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §38.2.51.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:38.2.51.pr

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