Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §40.1.23.pr

Condition of Manumission When the Buyer Becomes a Slave

Passage 6317 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

In a case where a female slave was bought under the condition of being manumitted within a year, and her buyer was subsequently declared a slave, Paul answers that she was acquired by the buyer's master under the same condition, thus preserving the obligation to free her.

[PAULUS libro quinto decimo responsorum. ] §40.1.23.prGaius Seius Pamphilam hac lege emit, ut intra annum manumitteretur: deinde intra annum Seius seruus pronuntiatus est: quaero, an ex lege uenditionis finito anno Pamphila libertatem consecuta sit.
[PAULUS, in the fifteenth book of Opinions.] Gaius Seius purchased Pamphila under this condition, that she should be manumitted within a year; subsequently, within the year, Seius was pronounced a slave. I ask whether, by the terms of the sale, the year having expired, Pamphila obtained her freedom.
Paulus respondit, cum ea condicione ancillam emptam domino adquisitam, cum qua condicione uenisse proponeretur.
Paul replied that the purchased female slave was acquired for his master under the same condition under which she was stated to have been sold.

Notes

  1. §40.1.23.prhac lege, ut intra annum manumitteretur — The phrase hac lege (ablative) means "on this condition," with the subsequent ut clause containing the imperfect subjunctive passive manumitteretur acting as an appositive noun clause specifying the content of that condition.
  2. §40.1.23.prdomino adquisitam — The auxiliary verb esse is omitted in the perfect passive participle adquisitam [esse] of the indirect statement. The dative domino ("for the master") refers to the master of Seius, who legally acquired Seius's property (including the slave Pamphila) after Seius himself was declared a slave.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §40.1.23.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:40.1.23.pr

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.