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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §40.5.29.pr

Trust Freedom of Alienated Slaves and the New Owner

Passage 6441 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This section states that if a slave entitled to trust-freedom is alienated, the new owner is compelled to perform the manumission, regardless of whether his absence is for a just cause, while the rights over the freedman remain preserved for the original owner.

[PAULUS libro tertio fideicommissorum. ] §40.5.29.prSi quis, posteaquam in ea causa esse coeperit, ut ex fideicommisso manumitti deberet, alienatus sit, is quidem, cuius interim seruus erit, manumittere cogetur: sed hic non distinguitur, iusta an non iusta causa absit: omnimodo enim libertus ei seruatur.
[PAULUS libro tertio fideicommissorum.] If any slave, after he has begun to be in such a state that he ought to be manumitted under a trust, has been alienated, he indeed, whose slave he shall in the meantime be, will be compelled to manumit him; but in this case, no distinction is made whether he is absent for a just or an unjust cause, for in any event, the freedman is preserved for him.

Notes

  1. §40.5.29.prcuius interim seruus erit — The antecedent of the relative pronoun `cuius` is `is`, meaning 'he whose slave the person shall in the meantime be' (i.e., the transferee). `is` serves as the subject of the main verb `cogetur`.
  2. §40.5.29.prei seruatur — The dative pronoun `ei` refers to the original owner who alienated the slave, rather than the current owner (the transferee). It reflects the legal principle that while the current owner is compelled to perform the manumission, the rights over the freedman (patronage) are preserved for the original owner who was requested to fulfill the trust.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §40.5.29.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:40.5.29.pr

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