Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §39.4.11.pr-39.4.11.5
Contraband Sales to Enemies, Cargo Forfeiture, and Sundry Rules
Summary
From Paulus' Opinions. It regulates the prohibition of selling grindstones and other military supplies to enemies, the restrictions on revoking public lands, the liabilities of shipowners and crew for illegal loading, the prosecution of illegal goods, the repurchase of confiscated property, and rules for tax farmers.
[PAULUS libro quinto sententiarum. ] §39.4.11.prCotem ferro subigendo necessariam hostibus quoque uenundari, ut ferrum et frumentum et sales, non sine periculo capitis licet.
[PAULUS, Opinions, Book V.] It is not permitted, except under penalty of death, to sell to enemies grindstones necessary for ironworking, just as in the case of iron, grain, and salt.
§39.4.11.1Agri publici, qui in perpetuum locantur, a curatore sine auctoritate principali reuocari non possunt.
Public lands which are leased in perpetuity cannot be revoked by a curator without imperial authority.
§39.4.11.2Dominus nauis si illicite aliquid in naue uel ipse uel uectores imposuerint, nauis quoque fisco uindicatur: quod si absente domino id a magistro uel gubernatore aut proreta nautaue aliquo id factum sit, ipsi quidem capite puniuntur commissis mercibus, nauis autem domino restituitur.
As for the owner of a ship, if either he himself or the passengers have illegally loaded anything onto the ship, the ship also is confiscated to the treasury; but if, in the absence of the owner, this has been done by the master, the helmsman, the lookout, or any sailor, they themselves are punished with death, the goods being confiscated, but the ship is restored to the owner.
§39.4.11.3Illicitarum mercium persecutio heredem quoque adfligit.
The prosecution of illegal goods also affects the heir.
§39.4.11.4Eam rem, quae commisso uindicata est, dominus emere non prohibetur uel per se uel per alios quibus hoc mandauerit.
The owner is not prohibited from buying that property which has been confiscated by forfeiture, either by himself or through others to whom he has mandated this.
§39.4.11.5Qui maximos fructus ex redemptione uectigalium consequuntur, si postea tanto locari non possunt, ipsi ea prioribus pensionibus suscipere compelluntur.
Those who obtain the greatest profits from the farming of taxes, if afterwards they cannot be leased for as much, are themselves compelled to undertake them at the former rental payments.
Notes
- 39.4.11.prferro subigendo — "ferro subigendo" is a gerundive construction in the dative case modifying "necessariam". Derived from the verb "subigere" (to work, forge [iron]), it means "necessary for working/forging iron."
- 39.4.11.2Dominus nauis — Anacoluthon (or prolepsis) with a nominative pendens. The phrase "dominus nauis" at the beginning is not the grammatical subject of the main clause, but is anticipated and picked up by "uel ipse" (he himself) in the "si" clause, while the subject of the main clause is "nauis".
- 39.4.11.2commissis mercibus — Ablative absolute consisting of the perfect participle "commissis" and the noun "mercibus", meaning "the goods being confiscated" or "with the forfeiture of the goods". Here, "committere" refers to the forfeiture of property to the treasury due to an illegal act.
- 39.4.11.5tanto — Ablative of price or value, meaning "for so much" or "at such a price", modifying the passive infinitive "locari" (to be leased).
Cite this passage
Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §39.4.11.pr-39.4.11.5. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:39.4.11.pr-39.4.11.5
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