Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §40.2.14.pr-40.2.14.1

Manumission of Foster Children and for Marriage

Passage 6334 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This section discusses the eligibility of both men and women to manumit foster-children, as well as the rules governing manumission for the sake of marriage by women, impotent men, and castrated individuals.

[MARCIANUS libro quarto regularum. ] §40.2.14.prAlumnos magis mulieribus conueniens est manumittere: sed et in uiris receptum est satisque est permitti eum manumitti, in quo nutriendo propensiorem animum fecerit.
[MARCIANUS, in the fourth book of Rules.] It is more suitable for women to manumit foster-children; but it is also accepted in the case of men, and it is sufficient that he be permitted to be manumitted, in rearing whom the master has developed a stronger affection.
§40.2.14.1Sunt qui putant etiam feminas posse matrimonii causa manumittere, sed ita, si forte conseruus suus in hoc ei legatus est.
There are those who think that even women can manumit for the sake of marriage, but only if her fellow-slave happens to have been bequeathed to her for this purpose.
et si spado uelit matrimonii causa manumittere, potest: non idem est in castrato.
And if an impotent man wishes to manumit for the sake of marriage, he can; it is not the same in the case of a castrated person.

Notes

  1. §40.2.14.prin quo nutriendo — An ablative construction of "in" with the gerundive `nutriendo` agreeing with the relative pronoun `quo` (referring back to the antecedent `eum`), expressing the circumstance or means: "in rearing whom."
  2. §40.2.14.prpermitti eum manumitti — The accusative-and-infinitive clause `eum manumitti` ("that he be manumitted") functions as the subject of the passive infinitive `permitti` ("to be permitted"), which in turn serves as the subject of the impersonal construction `satis est`.
  3. §40.2.14.1non idem est in castrato — Reflects the legal distinction between a `spado` (an impotent man or congenital eunuch) and a `castrato` (a castrated man). Since the former was legally deemed capable of marriage, he could manumit a slave for marriage, whereas the latter, lacking marriage capacity, could not.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §40.2.14.pr-40.2.14.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:40.2.14.pr-40.2.14.1

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.