Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §40.12.28.pr

Master's Knowledge and Acquisition of Freedom's Possession

Passage 6593 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Pomponius argues that a slave whose ownership was unknown to the master cannot be considered free by the master's will, as only an acquisition of the possession of freedom based on the master's actual will is valid.

[POMPONIUS libro duodecimo ad Quintum Mucium. ] §40.12.28.prNon uidetur domini uoluntate seruus in libertate esse, quem dominus ignorasset suum esse: et est hoc uerum: is enim demum uoluntate domini in libertate est, qui possessionem libertatis ex uoluntate domini consequitur.
[POMPONIUS, in the twelfth book on Quintus Mucius.] A slave whom the owner did not know to be his own does not appear to be in a state of freedom by the will of the owner; and this is true; for only he is in a state of freedom by the will of the owner who obtains the possession of freedom from the will of the owner.

Notes

  1. §40.12.28.prignorasset — A contracted form of the pluperfect subjunctive ignorauisset. The subjunctive is used in the relative clause quem... ignorasset to express a hypothetical condition ("if the owner had been ignorant...") or a characterizing clause defining the type of slave in question.
  2. §40.12.28.pris enim demum ... qui — This construction represents a restrictive formulation meaning "only he who..." or "he and no other who...". The adverb demum (precisely, only) placed between the demonstrative is and the relative qui strongly restricts the application of the rule to the specified condition.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §40.12.28.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:40.12.28.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.