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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §40.2.20.pr-40.2.20.4

Justified Grounds for Manumission by Minors and Others

Passage 6340 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Ulpian explains the criteria and procedures for permitting manumission by individuals under twenty-five, women, or even a consul under twenty, under specific justified circumstances such as trust-bequests, conditional gifts, marriage, or family ties.

[ULPIANUS libro secundo de officio consulis. ] §40.2.20.prSi rogatus sit minor uiginti quinque annis manumittere per fideicommissum, incunctanter debet ei permitti, nisi si proprium seruum rogatus fuit manumittere: hic enim conferenda erit quantitas emolumenti, quae ad eum peruenit ex iudicio eius qui rogauit, cum pretio eorum quos rogatus est manumittere.
[ULPIAN, in the second book on the Office of Consul.] If a person under twenty-five years of age has been requested to manumit by a fideicommissum, it must be permitted to him without hesitation, unless he was requested to manumit his own slave; for in this case, the amount of the benefit which has come to him from the disposition of the person who made the request must be compared with the price of those whom he was requested to manumit.
§40.2.20.1Sed et si hac lege ei seruus fuerit donatus, ut manumittatur, permittendum erit manumittere, ne constitutio diui Marci superueniens cunctationem consulis dirimat.
But also, if a slave has been donated to him on the condition that the slave be manumitted, manumission must be permitted, lest a constitution of the divine Marcus, intervening, should cut short the hesitation of the consul.
§40.2.20.2Matrimonii causa manumittere si quis uelit et is sit, qui non indigne huiusmodi condicionis uxorem sortiturus sit, erit ei concedendum.
If anyone wishes to manumit for the purpose of marriage, and he is of such a character that he would not unworthily obtain a wife of this condition, it must be granted to him.
§40.2.20.3Mulieri quoque uolenti suum filium naturalem uel quem ex supra scriptis manumittere permittendum esse Marcellus scribit.
Marcellus writes that it must also be permitted to a woman who wishes to manumit her natural son, or anyone of those written above.
§40.2.20.4Consul apud se potest manumittere, etiamsi euenerit, ut minor annis uiginti sit.
A consul can manumit before himself, even if it should happen that he is under twenty years of age.

Notes

  1. §40.2.20.prex iudicio eius qui rogauit — The noun iudicium in this context refers to a "testamentary disposition" or "last will". Thus, it denotes the inheritance or benefit received through the final will of the decedent who requested the manumission.
  2. §40.2.20.1ne constitutio diui Marci superueniens cunctationem consulis dirimat — dirimat is the third-person singular present subjunctive of dirimo (to break off, resolve, or render void). The subject is constitutio (constitution), and the object is cunctationem (hesitation). This purpose clause indicates that the consul should grant permission swiftly so that the intervening constitution of the divine Marcus (which would automatically free the slave if the recipient delays) does not step in and abruptly resolve the consul's state of hesitation.
  3. §40.2.20.2non indigne huiusmodi condicionis uxorem sortiturus sit — sortiturus sit is the periphrastic conjugation of the deponent verb sortior (to obtain by lot, to acquire as a spouse) combining the future participle with the subjunctive sit. It is used in a relative clause of characteristic (is sit, qui...) to describe a person's quality. non indigne means "not unworthily" (i.e., appropriately), indicating that taking a wife of such low social status (an enfranchised slave) would not bring disgrace to his social position.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §40.2.20.pr-40.2.20.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:40.2.20.pr-40.2.20.4

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