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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §40.5.14.pr

Condition of Wife's Approval and Manumission upon Disclaimer

Passage 6424 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Modestinus delivers an opinion concerning a slave's manumission conditioned on the wife's approval; even if the wife abstains from the inheritance, the manumission is not obstructed, and she cannot justly oppose it.

[IDEM libro decimo responsorum. ] §40.5.14.prLucius Titius testamento facto Seiam uxorem suam, item Titiam filiam communem aequis portionibus scripsit heredes.
[BY THE SAME AUTHOR, in the tenth book of Opinions.] Lucius Titius, having made a will, appointed his wife Seia, and also their common daughter Titia, as heirs in equal shares.
item alio capite: 'Erotem seruum meum, qui et Psyllus uocatur, liberum esse uolo, si uxori meae placeat'. cum itaque Seia uxor Lucii Titii abstinuerit ab eadem hereditate et ex substitutione portio eius ad Titiam filiam peruenerit, quaero, an Eroti, qui et Psyllus uocatur, ex his uerbis supra scriptis libertas competit.
Also, in another clause: "I wish my slave Eros, who is also called Psyllus, to be free, if it should please my wife." Therefore, since Seia, the wife of Lucius Titius, abstained from the said inheritance, and her share devolved upon the daughter Titia by substitution, I ask whether freedom is competent to Eros, who is also called Psyllus, under the words written above.
Modestinus Eroti, quod uxor testatoris hereditate se abstinuit, non obesse respondit.
Modestinus answered that the fact that the testator's wife abstained from the inheritance did not stand in the way of Eros.
item quaero, an Seia uxor, quae se hereditate abstinuit, petenti Eroti libertatem iuste contradicere possit.
I also ask whether the wife Seia, who abstained from the inheritance, can justly oppose Eros when he petitions for freedom.
Modestinus respondit Seiae dissensum nullius esse momenti.
Modestinus answered that Seia's dissent is of no moment.

Notes

  1. §40.5.14.prscripsit heredes — The verb 'scripsit' (from 'scribere') is a technical legal term in wills meaning 'to appoint' or 'designate' heirs. 'Heredes' serves as a predicate accusative (the second accusative of a double accusative construction) modifying 'Seiam uxorem suam' and 'Titiam filiam', along with the ablative 'aequis portionibus' (in equal shares).
  2. §40.5.14.prquod uxor testatoris hereditate se abstinuit — A substantive 'quod' clause indicating a fact ('the fact that the testator's wife abstained from the inheritance'), which serves as the subject of 'non obesse' (or as an explanation for the lack of obstacle). 'Se abstinere ab hereditate' is a technical legal expression meaning to abstain from or renounce an inheritance.
  3. §40.5.14.prnullius esse momenti — The genitive of quality or value 'nullius momenti' (of no importance, having no weight) functions predicatively in the accusative-with-infinitive construction, where 'dissensum' is the subject accusative.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §40.5.14.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:40.5.14.pr

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