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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §40.5.23.pr-40.5.23.4

Grounds for Delay and Slaves of Castrense Peculium

Passage 6433 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This chunk discusses various specific situations concerning the grant of trust-freedom. It includes the prohibition of delay under the pretext of inheritance plunder, the obligation to manumit a slave of castrense peculium among co-heirs, the age condition of the trustee, and the condition of paying a daily wage.

[IDEM libro nono responsorum. ] §40.5.23.prFideicommissaria libertas praetextu compilatae hereditatis aut rationis gestae non differtur.
[The same, Book IX of Responses.] Trust-freedom is not delayed under the pretext of a plundered inheritance or of an unrendered account.
§40.5.23.1Fideicommissariam libertatem ab herede non praestitam cogendus est heredis heres, qui restituit ex Trebelliano senatus consulto hereditatem, praestare, si eius personam eligat qui manumittendus est.
The heir of the heir, who has restored the inheritance under the Trebellian senate decree, must be compelled to grant the trust-freedom that was not granted by the heir, if the person who is to be manumitted chooses his person.
§40.5.23.2Seruum peculii castrensis, quem pater fideicommissi uerbis a legitimis filiis heredibus liberari uoluit, filium militem uel qui militauit, si patris heres extitit, manumittere cogendum respondi, quoniam proprium manumississe defunctus post donationem in filium collatam existimauit: portionem enim a fratre domino fratrem eundemque coheredem citra damnum uoluntatis redimere non cogendum.
Regarding a slave of the castrense peculium, whom the father wished to be set free by the statutory heirs, his sons, through words of trust, I responded that the son who is a soldier or who has served as a soldier, if he has succeeded as his father's heir, must be compelled to manumit him; for the deceased thought that he had manumitted his own property after the donation had been made to the son: indeed, the brother, who is also a co-heir, should not be compelled to redeem the share from the brother who is the owner without defeating the testator's will.
nec ob eundem errorem cetera, quae pater in militiam profecturo filio donauit, fratri, qui mansit in potestate, conferenda, cum peculium castrense filius etiam inter legitimos heredes praecipuum retineat.
Nor, by reason of the same mistake, must other things, which the father gave to the son when he was about to set out for military service, be brought into hotchpot with the brother who remained in power, since the son retains the castrense peculium as a preferential share even among statutory heirs.
§40.5.23.3Etiam fideicommissaria libertas a filio post certam aetatem eius data, si ad eam puer non peruenit, ab herede filii praestituta die reddatur: quam sententiam iure singulari receptam ad cetera fideicommissa relicta porrigi non placuit.
Also, trust-freedom given by a son to be granted after a certain age of his, even if the youth does not reach that age, should be granted on the prescribed day by the heir of the son: it has been decided that this opinion, accepted under special law, should not be extended to other trusts left.
§40.5.23.4Seruum a filio post quinque annos, si eo tempore mercedem diurnam filio praestitisset, manumitti uoluit: biennio proximo uagatus non praestiterat: condicione defectus uidebatur.
He wished a slave to be manumitted by his son after five years, if during that time he had paid a daily wage to the son: having wandered about for the last two years, he had not paid it: he seemed to have failed the condition.
si tamen heres filius (aut tutores eius) ministerium serui per biennium elegisset, eam rem, ex praeterito quod per heredem stetisset, impedimento residuae condicioni non esse constitit.
If, however, the heir who was the son (or his tutors) had chosen the service of the slave during those two years, it was established that this fact, which on account of the past had been due to the heir, is not an obstacle to the remaining condition.

Notes

  1. 40.5.23.1Fideicommissariam libertatem ab herede non praestitam cogendus est heredis heres... praestare — Formulates a personal passive construction "cogendus est heredis heres... praestare" (the heir of the heir must be compelled to grant). The logical subject is "heredis heres". In "si eius personam eligat qui manumittendus est", "eius" refers to "heredis heres" (the heir of the heir), meaning "if the person to be manumitted chooses his person (as his manumitter)".
  2. 40.5.23.2Seruum peculii castrensis... manumittere cogendum — Part of an accusative with infinitive construction depending on the main verb "respondi". The logical subject of "cogendum [esse]" (with "esse" omitted) is "filium militem uel qui militauit" (the son who is or was a soldier), while "Seruum peculii castrensis" (the slave of the castrense peculium) is the object of "manumittere".
  3. 40.5.23.2portionem enim a fratre domino fratrem eundemque coheredem citra damnum uoluntatis redimere non cogendum — This is also an accusative with infinitive construction. The logical subject of "non cogendum [esse]" (with "esse" omitted) is "fratrem eundemque coheredem" (the brother who is also a co-heir), and the object of "redimere" is "portionem" (the share). "a fratre domino" modifies "redimere" (to redeem from the brother who is the owner).
  4. 40.5.23.3si ad eam puer non peruenit — The noun "puer", which usually means "slave" or "boy", refers in this context to the "son (filius)" (who died before reaching the specified age and had been charged with the trust). "eam" is a pronoun referring to the preceding "certam aetatem" (certain age).
  5. 40.5.23.4quod per heredem stetisset — Subjunctive pluperfect of the idiomatic expression "per aliquem stare" (to be due to someone, to be a circumstance attributable to someone). It indicates that the reason why the slave failed to fulfill the condition (did not pay the wage) was due to the heir's choosing the slave's service (i.e., a circumstance attributable to the heir).

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §40.5.23.pr-40.5.23.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:40.5.23.pr-40.5.23.4

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