Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §40.2.15.pr-40.2.15.5

Just Causes and Procedural Rules for Manumission Under Twenty

Passage 6335 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Under the Lex Aelia Sentia, this section outlines the justified causes for manumission by persons under twenty, such as fulfilling inheritance conditions or past merits, and details procedural rules regarding simultaneous manumissions, representation by proxy, and manumission before governors of other provinces.

[PAULUS libro primo ad legem Aeliam Sentiam. ] §40.2.15.prEtiam condicionis implendae causa minori uiginti annis manumittere permittendum est, ueluti si quis ita heres institutus sit, si seruum ad libertatem perduxerit.
[PAULUS, in the first book on the Aelian-Sentian Law.] It must be permitted even to a person under twenty years of age to manumit for the purpose of fulfilling a condition, as, for example, if someone has been appointed heir on the condition that he brings a slave to freedom.
§40.2.15.1Ex praeterito tempore plures causae esse possunt, ueluti quod dominum in proelio adiuuauerit, contra latrones tuitus sit, quod aegrum sanauerit, quod insidias detexerit.
There can be many causes arising from past events, such as that the slave assisted his master in battle, protected him against robbers, cured him when sick, or uncovered a plot.
et longum est, si exequi uoluerimus, quia multa merita incidere possunt, quibus honestum sit libertatem cum decreto praestare: quas aestimare debebit is, apud quem de ea re agatur.
And it would be tedious if we wished to enumerate them all, because many merits can occur, by which it is honorable to grant freedom with a decree; which causes he must evaluate, before whom the matter is dealt with.
§40.2.15.2Plures uindicta pariter manumitti possunt et sufficit praesentia seruorum, ut uel plures manumitti possint.
Several persons can be manumitted at the same time by the rod (vindicta), and the presence of the slaves is sufficient so that even several can be manumitted.
§40.2.15.3Absens quoque causam probare per procuratorem poterit.
An absent person will also be able to prove the cause through a proxy.
§40.2.15.4Si duo matrimonii causa manumittent, recipi causa non debet.
If two persons manumit [the same woman] for the sake of marriage, the cause ought not to be accepted.
§40.2.15.5Hi qui in Italia uel alia prouincia domicilium habent, apud alterius prouinciae praesidem consilio adhibito manumittere possunt.
Those who have their domicile in Italy or in another province can manumit before the governor of another province, after summoning the council.

Notes

  1. §40.2.15.prminori uiginti annis — Meaning "to a person under twenty years of age." It consists of the dative singular of the comparative adjective minor (minori) and the ablative of comparison uiginti annis. It functions as the dative of agent or indirect object of the impersonal gerundive construction permittendum est.
  2. §40.2.15.1longum est, si exequi uoluerimus — A construction with a conditional clause: "it would be tedious (literally, 'it is long') if we should wish to follow them up." The use of the indicative present (longum est) in the apodosis of a conditional thought emphasizes the certainty or rhetorical vividness of the outcome. uoluerimus is in the future perfect tense.
  3. §40.2.15.1quas aestimare debebit — The relative pronoun in the accusative feminine plural (quas) refers back to "plures causae" (many causes) at the beginning of the section, bypassing the intervening clauses and the neuter plural "multa merita." It indicates that the magistrate (is, apud quem...) must evaluate these causes.
  4. §40.2.15.4Si duo matrimonii causa manumittent — "If two persons should manumit for the sake of marriage." "Duo" (two) refers to co-owners or two different men attempting to manumit the same female slave for marriage. The future indicative "manumittent" is used in the conditional clause to assume the occurrence of such a scenario.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §40.2.15.pr-40.2.15.5. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:40.2.15.pr-40.2.15.5

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.