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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §40.4.30.pr

Validity of Testamentary Manumission of Slaves Held by Enemies

Passage 6378 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

It explains that if slaves in the hands of the enemy are ordered to be free by a will, they attain freedom, even if they were in the possession of the enemy rather than the testator at the time of the will or the testator's death.

[ULPIANUS libro nono decimo ad edictum. ] §40.4.30.prSi serui qui apud hostes sunt liberi esse iussi sunt, ad libertatem perueniunt, quamuis neque testamenti neque mortis tempore testantis, sed hostium fuerunt.
[ULPIANUS in the nineteenth book on the Edict.] If slaves who are in the hands of the enemy have been ordered to be free, they attain freedom, although they were not the property of the testator either at the time of the will or at the time of the death of the testator, but were the property of the enemy.

Notes

  1. §40.4.30.prhostium fuerunt — The verb `fuerunt` (perfect of `esse`) is combined with the genitive `hostium` (genitive plural of `hostis`) to denote possession ("they belonged to the enemy"). It is contrasted with the preceding phrase, implying they did not belong to the testator at the time of the will or his death.
  2. §40.4.30.prtempore — An ablative of time ("at the time of"), modified by the genitives `testamenti` ("of the will") and `mortis` ("of the death").
  3. §40.4.30.prquamuis ... fuerunt — While classical Latin grammar typically requires the subjunctive with `quamuis` to introduce a concessive clause, in later Latin, including legal texts, it is sometimes found with the indicative (here the perfect `fuerunt`) to emphasize the factual reality.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §40.4.30.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:40.4.30.pr

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