Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §40.8.7.pr

Freedom of a Female Slave Prostituted for Bribe

Passage 6520 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Indicates that the Emperors Severus and Caracalla decreed that a prostituted female slave should be freed in a case where a person who could rescue her instead accepted money to overlook her prostitution.

[PAULUS libro singulari de libertatibus dandis. ] §40.8.7.prImperator noster cum patre suo constituit in eo, qui, cum possit abducere prostitutam ancillam, pecunia accepta manus iniectionem uendidit, ut libera esset: nihil enim interesse, ipse abducas et prostituas an patiaris prostitutam esse pretio accepto, cum possis eximere.

[PAULUS, from the single book on Bestowing Freedom.] Our Emperor, together with his father, decreed, in the case of a person who, although he could rescue a prostituted female slave, sold his right of seizure upon receiving money, that she should be free; for it makes no difference whether you yourself carry her away and prostitute her, or whether, when you are able to deliver her, you allow her to be prostituted upon receiving a price.

Notes

§40.8.7.prmanus iniectionem uendidit — This refers to agreeing not to exercise the right of seizure (manus iniectio)—specifically, the right to rescue (abducere) the female slave upon violation of the non-prostitution clause—in exchange for receiving money (i.e., selling the right).
§40.8.7.prnihil enim interesse — An infinitive clause in indirect speech showing the rationale of the imperial decision. The second-person singular present subjunctives (abducas, prostituas, patiaris, possis) in the dependent clauses are used in a generic sense ('you' meaning 'one').

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §40.8.7.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:40.8.7.pr

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