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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §40.4.61.pr-40.4.61.2

Invalidity of Manumissions Deferred to the Point of Death

Passage 6409 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This section explains, citing Julian and Octavenus, that testamentary manumissions with conditions designed to prevent actual freedom—such as deferring it to the last moment of life or attaching certain negative conditions—are void and ineligible for the Mucian guarantee.

[POMPONIUS libro undecimo epistularum. ] §40.4.61.prScio quosdam efficere uolentes, ne serui sui umquam ad libertatem perueniant, hactenus scribere solitos: 'Stichus cum moretur, liber esto'. sed et Iulianus ait libertatem, quae in ultimum uitae tempus conferatur, nullius momenti esse, cum testator impediendae magis quam dandae libertatis gratia ita scripsisse intellegitur.
[SCAEVOLA in the twenty-fourth book of the Digests.] I know that certain persons, wishing to ensure that their slaves should never attain freedom, have been accustomed to write so far as this: "Let Stichus be free when he is dying." But Julian also says that freedom which is deferred to the last moment of life is of no effect, since the testator is understood to have written thus for the sake of preventing rather than granting freedom.
et ideo etiam si ita sit scriptum: 'Stichus si in Capitolium non ascenderit, liber esto', nullius momenti hoc esse, si apparet in ultimum uitae tempus conferri libertatem testatorem uoluisse, nec Mucianae cautioni locum esse.
And therefore, even if it is written: "Let Stichus be free if he does not ascend the Capitol," this is of no effect if it appears that the testator wished the freedom to be deferred to the last moment of life, and there is no room for the Mucian guarantee.
§40.4.61.1Et si ita in testamento scriptum fuerit 'Stichus, si Capuam ierit, liber esto', aliter liberum non esse, quam si Capuam ierit.
And if it is written in a will: "Let Stichus be free if he goes to Capua," he does not become free otherwise than if he goes to Capua.
§40.4.61.2Hoc amplius Octauenus aiebat, si quis in testamento sub qualibet condicione libertate seruo data ita scripsisset 'ante condicionem nolo eum ab herede liberum fieri', nihil ualere hanc adiectionem.
In addition to this, Octavenus used to say that if anyone, having given freedom to a slave under any condition whatsoever in his will, had written thus: "I do not wish him to be made free by the heir before the condition is fulfilled," this addition is of no validity.

Notes

  1. §40.4.61.prcum moretur — moretur is the present subjunctive of morior (to die), or a manuscript variant for the future morietur. Together with cum, it means "when he is dying" or "at the moment of death." This condition is a fictitious formula designed to keep the slave in servitude for life and prevent them from actually enjoying freedom.
  2. §40.4.61.primpediendae magis quam dandae libertatis gratia — The prepositional word gratia (for the sake of, governing the genitive) controls two gerundive phrases coordinated by magis quam: impediendae [libertatis] and dandae libertatis. The noun libertatis is expressed only in the second phrase and understood in the first.
  3. §40.4.61.prnec Mucianae cautioni locum esse — nec ... locum esse is a continuation of the accusative-and-infinitive construction dependent on ait. The cautio Muciana (Mucian guarantee) is a legal device allowing a conditional bequest subject to a negative condition (e.g., "if he does not do x") to take effect immediately upon the beneficiary giving security not to violate the condition. Here, because the testator's intent to withhold freedom for life is obvious, there is no room to apply this remedy, and the manumission is simply void.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §40.4.61.pr-40.4.61.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:40.4.61.pr-40.4.61.2

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