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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §40.1.20.pr-40.1.20.3

Proof of Cause by Young Masters and Sales on Condition of Freedom

Passage 6314 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This chunk discusses whether a master under twenty must prove the cause for manumission, and the validity of agreements and the automatic acquisition of freedom in cases of transferring slaves for the purpose of manumission.

[IDEM libro decimo responsorum. ] §40.1.20.prCausam minor uiginti annis, qui seruum donatum manumittendi gratia accepit, ex abundanti probat post diui Marci litteras ad Aufidium Victorinum: etenim, si non manumiserit, ad libertatem seruus perueniet.
[THE SAME, in the tenth book of Opinions.] A person under twenty years of age, who has received a donated slave for the purpose of manumitting him, proves his cause superfluously after the letter of the Divine Marcus to Aufidius Victorinus; for indeed, even if he does not manumit him, the slave will attain freedom.
§40.1.20.1Non idem in fideicommissaria libertate iuris est, cuius causam minor debet probare: nam libertas nisi ita manumisso non competit.
The same rule of law does not apply to a fideicommissary freedom, the cause of which a minor must prove; for freedom does not belong to him unless he is manumitted in this manner.
§40.1.20.2Puellam ea lege uendidit, ut post annum ab emptore manumitteretur: quod si non manumisisset, conuenit, uti manum iniceret aut decem aureos emptor daret.
A person sold a girl on the condition that she should be manumitted by the buyer after a year; and it was agreed that, if the buyer should not manumit her, the seller might lay hands upon her or the buyer should pay ten aurei.
non seruata fide nihilo minus liberam ex sententia constitutionis fieri respondit, quoniam manus iniectio plerumque auxilii ferendi causa interuenit: itaque nec pecunia petetur, cum emolumentum legis uoluntatem uenditoris secutum sit.
He answered that, although faith was not kept, she nevertheless became free according to the intent of the constitution, since the laying on of hands usually intervenes for the purpose of bringing assistance; therefore, the money will not be demanded either, since the benefit of the law has followed the will of the seller.
§40.1.20.3Tempore alienationis conuenit, ut homo libertatis causa traditus post quintum annum impletum manumitteretur et ut certam mercedem interea menstruam praeberet.
At the time of the alienation, it was agreed that a slave delivered for the purpose of freedom should be manumitted after the completion of the fifth year, and that he should meanwhile pay a certain monthly wage.
condicionem libertati mercedes non facere, sed obsequio temporariae seruitutis modum praestitutum esse respondi: neque enim in omnibus libertatis causa traditum comparari statulibero.
I answered that the wages did not make a condition for freedom, but that a limit was prescribed for the compliance of his temporary servitude; for indeed, a slave delivered for the purpose of freedom is not in all respects to be compared to a statuliber.

Notes

  1. §40.1.20.prex abundanti — An adverbial phrase meaning "superfluously" or "redundantly." While an owner under twenty normally must prove a just cause to manumit a slave, here such proof is redundant because the slave would automatically attain freedom by imperial constitution even without manumission.
  2. §40.1.20.2manum iniceret — A legal term referring to "laying hands on" (manus iniectio) to assert control or ownership. Here, it refers to the agreement allowing the seller to physically reclaim the girl if the buyer failed to perform the manumission.
  3. §40.1.20.2non seruata fide nihilo minus liberam ex sententia constitutionis fieri — An accusative with infinitive construction governed by the verb `respondit`. The subject of the infinitive is `liberam (puellam)`. `non seruata fide` is an ablative absolute expressing concession ("although faith was not kept").
  4. §40.1.20.3condicionem libertati — The dative `libertati` functions as a dative of reference or purpose relation to the noun `condicionem`, meaning "a condition for freedom".

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §40.1.20.pr-40.1.20.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:40.1.20.pr-40.1.20.3

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