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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §40.4.59.pr-40.4.59.2

Status Change and Restitution in Testamentary Manumission

Passage 6407 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Illustrates three legal inquiries regarding testamentary manumission: the impact of status change before death, the relation between restitution of stolen property and claiming freedom, and the validity of manumission under conditional negative phrasing.

[SCAEUOLA libro uicensimo tertio digestorum. ] §40.4.59.prTitia seruis quibusdam et ancillis nominatim directas libertates dedit, deinde ita scripsit: 'et pedisequas omnes, quarum nomina in rationibus meis scripta sunt, liberas esse uolo'.
[SCAEVOLA in the twenty-third book of the Digests.] Titia gave direct freedom by name to certain male and female slaves, and then wrote as follows: "And I wish all the handmaids whose names are written in my accounts to be free." The question was asked whether Eutychia, who at the time the will was made had received freedom among the handmaids, but at the time of death was found to have been delivered to the manager for cohabitation, could obtain her freedom under the general clause concerning handmaids.
quaesitum est, an Eutychia, quae testamenti facti tempore inter pedisequas libertatem acceperat, mortis autem tempore inueniatur actori in contubernio tradita, ex generali capite pedisequarum libertatem consequi posset. respondit nihil impediri libertatem pedisequae, quod mortis demum tempore pedisequa esse desiit.
He answered that the freedom of the handmaid is not at all impeded by the fact that she had ceased to be a handmaid at the very time of death.
§40.4.59.1Puram et directam domini sui testamento libertatem Stichus acceperat et ex hereditate multa per fraudem amouisse dicitur: quaesitum est, an non ante in libertatem proclamare debeat, quam ea, quae ex hereditate amouisse probari poterit, heredibus restitueret.
Stichus had received unconditional and direct freedom by his master's will, and is said to have fraudulently removed many things from the inheritance. The question was asked whether he ought not to proclaim his freedom before he restored to the heirs those things which could be proved to have been removed by him from the inheritance.
respondit secundum ea, quae proponerentur, eum de quo quaereretur liberum esse.
He answered that according to the facts proposed, the person in question is free.
CLAUDIUS: uidetur absoluisse et id de quo quaeritur: nam heredibus satis consultum est edicto de furtis.
CLAUDIUS: He seems to have discharged also the very matter in question; for the heirs have been sufficiently provided for by the edict on thefts.
§40.4.59.2Lucius Titius testamento suo ita cauit: 'Onesiphore, nisi diligenter rationem excusseris, liber ne esto': quaero, an Onesiphorus ex his uerbis libertatem sibi uindicare possit.
Lucius Titius provided as follows in his will: "Onesiphorus, unless you have carefully settled the account, be not free." I ask whether Onesiphorus can claim freedom for himself from these words.
respondit uerbis, quae proponerentur, libertatem adimi potius quam dari.
He answered that by the words proposed, freedom is taken away rather than given.

Notes

  1. §40.4.59.prquod mortis demum tempore pedisequa esse desiit — The quod-clause functions as a noun clause introducing the fact ('the fact that she had ceased to be...'), serving to clarify why the handmaid's freedom is not impeded.
  2. §40.4.59.1an non ante in libertatem proclamare debeat, quam ... restitueret — The correlative construction non ante ... quam ('not before ... until') is used with the subjunctive restitueret, indicating a prerequisite condition that must be met before claiming freedom.
  3. §40.4.59.1uidetur absoluisse — The subject of uidetur is understood as the jurist (Scaevola) or the law itself. absoluisse implies discharging the slave from the obligation of prior restitution before claiming freedom.
  4. §40.4.59.2liber ne esto — esto is a future imperative (second person singular). Combined with the negative particle ne and the nisi-clause, it forms a conditional prohibition of freedom.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §40.4.59.pr-40.4.59.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:40.4.59.pr-40.4.59.2

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