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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §40.7.41.pr-40.7.41.1

Terms of Service and Promises as Conditions for Freedom

Passage 6512 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Labeo discusses the wording for leaving a slave conditionally free for a certain period, and Paulus explains that even if a slave's promise to an heir is legally void, making the promise still fulfills the condition for manumission.

[LABEO libro primo pithanon a Paulo epitomatorum. ] §40.7.41.prSi quem seruum tuum ad certum tempus statuliberum relinquere uis, nihil interest, utro modo caueas, 'si seruierit' an 'si triennio operas dederit', liber esto'. §40.7.41.1PAULUS. Si quis liber esse iussus fuerit, si decem heredi promisisset, quamquam ea promissio nullam rem habitura est, tamen promittendo liberabitur.
[LABEO, from the first book of Plausible Truths, epitomized by Paulus.] If you wish to leave any slave of yours as conditionally free for a certain period, it makes no difference in which of the two ways you make the provision: "if he serves" or "if he performs services for three years, let him be free." PAULUS: If anyone has been ordered to be free on condition that he promises ten to the heir, although that promise will have no legal effect, nevertheless he will be freed by making the promise.

Notes

  1. 40.7.41.prad certum tempus — The adverbial phrase "ad certum tempus" (for a certain period) modifies "statuliberum," indicating the time frame during which the slave remains conditionally free before gaining full freedom upon fulfillment of the condition.
  2. 40.7.41.1si decem heredi promisisset — This "si" clause functions as a subordinate condition specifying the act required for manumission within the main conditional clause "si quis liber esse iussus fuerit." The subjunctive pluperfect "promisisset" indicates an action that must be completed prior to the future acquisition of freedom.
  3. 40.7.41.1nullam rem habitura est — The active periphrastic conjugation composed of the future participle "habitura" and "est" expresses an imminent state or inevitable consequence ("is bound to have no substance/effect"). It refers to the fact that a promise made by a slave is legally void under civil law and produces no binding obligation.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §40.7.41.pr-40.7.41.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:40.7.41.pr-40.7.41.1

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