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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §40.4.24.pr

Identification by Trade or Relation in Testamentary Manumission

Passage 6372 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This text outlines the rule that in testamentary manumission, slaves are deemed to have been freed by name if they are clearly identified by their trade, office, or relation, even without their specific personal names.

[GAIUS libro primo rerum cottidianarum siue aureorum. ] §40.4.24.prNominatim uidentur liberi esse iussi, qui uel ex artificio uel officio uel quolibet alio modo euidenter denotati essent, ueluti 'dispensator meus' 'cellarius meus' 'cocus meus' 'Pamphili serui mei filius'.
[GAIUS in the first book of Everyday Matters or Golden Things.] Those who have been clearly designated either by their trade, their office, or in any other manner—for example, "my dispenser," "my storekeeper," "my cook," "the son of my slave Pamphilus"—are deemed to have been ordered to be free by name.

Notes

  1. §40.4.24.pruidentur liberi esse iussi — The verb uidentur operates in a Nominative cum Infinitivo construction, taking the implied subject of the qui clause as its grammatical subject. The participle iussi (from iubeo) combined with liberi esse functions as the infinitive complement, meaning 'are deemed to have been ordered to be free.'
  2. §40.4.24.prdenotati essent — The subjunctive pluperfect denotati essent is used in the relative clause introduced by qui to characterize or define a general class of persons who meet the criteria, rather than referring to specific individuals.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §40.4.24.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:40.4.24.pr

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