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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §38.4.6.pr

Assignment of a Slave Bequeathed to a Son and Freed Inter Vivos

Passage 5994 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

It explains the assignment of a slave who was ordered to be freed and bequeathed to a son, but was instead manumitted by the testator during his lifetime, based on the testator's intent.

[MARCIANUS libro septimo institutionum. ] §38.4.6.prSi seruus liber esse iussus fuerit et filio legatus, deinde uiuus testator eum manumiserit, ad filium libertus quasi adsignatus pertinet.
[MARCIANUS in the seventh book of the Institutes.] If a slave has been ordered to be free and bequeathed to a son, and then the testator while alive has manumitted him, the freedman belongs to the son as if assigned to him.
hoc ita est, siue expressum est uel certe intellexit non quasi seruum eum legasse, sed quasi libertum adsignasse.
This is so, whether it was expressly stated or at least he (the testator) understood that he had bequeathed him not as a slave, but had assigned him as if a freedman.

Notes

  1. §38.4.6.printellexit non quasi seruum eum legasse, sed quasi libertum adsignasse — The subject of "intellexit" (third-person singular perfect active of "intellegere") is "testator". The following verbs "legasse" and "adsignasse" are perfect active infinitives (syncopated forms of "legauisse" and "adsignauisse"), forming an accusative-with-infinitive construction with the accusative "eum" as their direct object. The subject accusative of the infinitives ("se") is omitted as it is identical to the subject of the governing verb. Thus, it means "he (the testator) understood (intended) that he had bequeathed him not as a slave, but assigned him as if a freedman."

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §38.4.6.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:38.4.6.pr

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