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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §40.7.19.pr

Manumission and Legacy Contingent on a Son's Majority

Passage 6490 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Ulpian discusses a case where a slave is granted freedom and a legacy contingent on a son reaching fourteen; if the son dies before that age, the freedom is granted when the term expires out of favor for liberty, but the legacy fails.

[ULPIANUS libro quarto decimo ad edictum. ] §40.7.19.prSi seruus liber esse iussus sit et legatum ei datum, si filius quartum decimum annum compleuerit, et filius ante decesserit: libertas fauore competet die ueniente, legati autem condicio deficit.
[ULPIANUS, from the fourteenth book on the Edict.] If a slave has been ordered to be free and a legacy has been given to him on condition that the son completes his fourteenth year, and the son dies before that time: freedom, out of favor [for liberty], will vest when the day comes, but the condition of the legacy fails.

Notes

  1. §40.7.19.prfauore — An ablative noun referring to the principle of "favor of liberty" (favor libertatis) in Roman law. It represents a special favor where conditions related to a slave's manumission are interpreted in a way that promotes freedom, even if the condition strictly failed.
  2. §40.7.19.prdie ueniente — An ablative absolute construction with a present participle, meaning "when the day [of payment or fulfillment] comes." In this context, it refers to the day when the son would have reached his fourteenth year had he lived.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §40.7.19.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:40.7.19.pr

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