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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §38.4.8.pr

Prohibition of Re-assignment of Freedmen by Children of Patrons

Passage 5996 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

It states the principle that the children of a patron cannot re-assign a paternal freedman to their own children, even if the freedman was assigned to them by their parent, a rule approved by both Julian and Marcellus.

[MODESTINUS libro septimo differentiarum. ] §38.4.8.prLiberi patroni quamquam et ipsi in plerisque causis manumissoris iure censentur, tamen paternum libertum liberis suis adsignare non potuerunt, etiamsi eis a parente fuerit adsignatus: idque et Iulianus et Marcellus probant.
[MODESTINUS in the seventh book of Differences.] Although the children of a patron are themselves also deemed in most cases to have the right of the manumissor, they nevertheless could not assign a paternal freedman to their own children, even if he had been assigned to them by their parent; and this both Julian and Marcellus approve.

Notes

  1. §38.4.8.prmanumissoris iure — "By the right of the manumissor" or "with the legal status of the manumissor." The ablative of the noun `ius` expresses respect or classification, used here with the passive verb `censentur` (are deemed/reckoned) to indicate in what capacity they are regarded.
  2. §38.4.8.pretiamsi eis a parente fuerit adsignatus — A concessive clause using the subjunctive perfect passive `fuerit adsignatus` (or as a substitute for the future perfect). It refers to a prior, completed event where the freedman had already been assigned to the children (`eis`) by the parent, prior to the action of the main clause.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §38.4.8.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:38.4.8.pr

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