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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §4.6.14.pr

Relief for Enemy Captives and Exclusion of Deserters

Passage 777 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Callistratus discusses the relief granted to those who were in the power of the enemy (captives), noting that deserters are excluded as they lack the right of postliminy, and that captives could potentially be covered by the section on those in servitude.

[CALLISTRATUS libro secundo edicti monitorii. ] §4.6.14.prItem ei succurritur, qui in hostium potestate fuit, id est ab hostibus captus.
[CALLISTRATUS libro secundo edicti monitorii.] Likewise, relief is granted to him who was in the power of the enemy, that is, captured by the enemy.
nam transfugis nullum credendum est beneficium tribui, quibus negatum est postliminium.
For it must not be believed that any benefit is granted to deserters, to whom the right of postliminy is denied.
poterant tamen, qui in hostium potestate essent, illa parte edicti contineri, qua loquitur de his qui in seruitute fuerint.
Yet, those who were in the power of the enemy could have been included in that part of the edict which speaks of those who have been in servitude.

Notes

  1. §4.6.14.prsuccurritur — An impersonal passive of the intransitive verb succurrere, which takes a dative (here, the antecedent of the relative clause, ei), meaning "relief (or assistance) is granted/given."
  2. §4.6.14.prcredendum est beneficium tribui — An impersonal periphrastic conjugational expression of obligation with the gerundive credendum combined with nullum ("it must not be believed"), which governs the accusative with infinitive (ACI) clause nullum beneficium tribui ("that any benefit is granted").
  3. §4.6.14.prpoterant — The indicative imperfect of posse, expressing past objective possibility or potentiality ("they could have been"). The use of the indicative rather than the subjunctive indicates that such an interpretation was legally or factually possible.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §4.6.14.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:4.6.14.pr

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