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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §40.5.19.pr-40.5.19.1

Duty to Render Accounts and Wife's Trust Obligation

Passage 6429 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Scaevola responds to inquiries on whether a slave who obtained freedom through a provincial governor's decree is obliged to render accounts of his administration, and whether a wife must manumit her own slave in order to claim her legacies under her husband's will.

[IDEM libro uicesimo quarto digestorum. ] §40.5.19.prHarede instituto marito per fideicommissum libertatem seruis dedit, in quibus et Sticho actori mariti: quaesitum est, cum absente domino isti praesidem prouinciae adierint, ut libertas sibi praestaretur, quasi ex iusta causa heres abesset, et praeses prouinciae pronuntiauerit libertatem deberi, an agi cum Sticho possit, ut rationem actus a se administrati reddere compellatur.
[By the same author, from the twenty-fourth book of the Digests.] Having appointed her husband as heir, she gave freedom to her slaves by way of trust, among whom was also Stichus, the husband's agent: the question was asked, when in the absence of their master they went to the provincial governor, so that freedom might be granted to them, as if the heir were absent for a just cause, and the provincial governor declared that freedom was owed, whether an action could be brought against Stichus to compel him to render an account of the administration managed by him.
respondit non posse.
He replied that it could not.
§40.5.19.1Uxori dotem et alias res plures legauit et eius fidei commisit, ut Aquilinum seruum proprium mulieris apud consilium manumitteret: id negat se facere debere, quod ipsius proprius esset: quaero, an libertas ei debeatur.
He bequeathed to his wife her dowry and several other things, and committed to her trust to manumit Aquilinus, the woman's own slave, before the council: she denies that she ought to do this, because he was her own property: I ask whether freedom is owed to him.
respondit uxorem, si ex testamento non solum dotem, sed etiam cetera legata praestari sibi uellet, compellendam ex causa fideicommissi Aquilinum manumittere eumque, cum liber erit, petiturum ea quae sibi legata sunt.
He replied that if the wife wished not only the dowry but also the other legacies to be performed to her under the will, she must be compelled on account of the trust to manumit Aquilinus, and that he, when he is free, will claim those things which were bequeathed to him.

Notes

  1. §40.5.19.prHarede instituto marito — The manuscript spelling `Harede` is a variant of `Herede` (ablative singular of the noun `heres`, "heir"). Together with `instituto marito`, it forms an ablative absolute construction, meaning "her husband having been appointed as heir."
  2. §40.5.19.pragi cum Sticho possit — The passive infinitive `agi` of the verb `ago` (to bring an action) is used impersonally with `possit` ("whether an action could be brought against Stichus"). The phrase `cum aliquo agere` means "to bring an action against someone."
  3. §40.5.19.1eumque, cum liber erit, petiturum ea quae sibi legata sunt — This is the second clause in the accusative with infinitive construction (indirect speech) dependent on the main verb `respondit`. `eum` (referring to Aquilinus) is the subject of the future active infinitive `petiturum [esse]`. The reflexive pronoun `sibi` in the relative clause refers back to `eum`.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §40.5.19.pr-40.5.19.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:40.5.19.pr-40.5.19.1

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