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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §40.1.14.pr-40.1.14.1

Manumission before Equal Magistrates and by the Emperor

Passage 6308 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Discusses the possibility of manumitting before someone with equal power, and the procedural exception for slave manumission by the Emperor.

[PAULUS libro sexto decimo ad Plautium. ] §40.1.14.prApud eum, cui par imperium est, manumittere non possumus: sed praetor apud consulem manumittere potest.
[PAULUS, in the sixteenth book on Plautius.] We cannot manumit before one who has equal power; but a praetor can manumit before a consul.
§40.1.14.1Imperator cum seruum manumittit, non uindictam imponit, sed cum uoluit, fit liber is qui manumittitur ex lege Augusti.
When the Emperor manumits a slave, he does not apply the rod, but as soon as he has willed it, the person who is being manumitted becomes free by virtue of the Lex Augusti.

Notes

  1. §40.1.14.prcui — Dative singular of the relative pronoun qui, serving as the complement to the adjective par ("equal to"). Thus it refers to "one who has equal power (to ourselves)."
  2. §40.1.14.1cum uoluit — Composed of the conjunction cum and uoluit, the third-person singular perfect indicative of uolo ("to wish"). The perfect tense indicates that as soon as the Emperor has expressed his will, the effect of manumission takes place immediately.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §40.1.14.pr-40.1.14.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:40.1.14.pr-40.1.14.1

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