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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §40.9.14.pr-40.9.14.6

Dissolution of Marriage and Manumissions in Fraud of Law

Passage 6536 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Ulpian discusses whether a woman can manumit or alienate slaves when a marriage is dissolved by the husband's death, punishment, or mutual consent, and addresses the invalidity of manumissions made to evade the law in contemplation of divorce.

[ULPIANUS libro quarto de adulteriis. ] §40.9.14.prSed si maritus intra sexagesimum diem decesserit, an manumittere uel alienare iam possit supra scriptas personas, uideamus.
[ULPIANUS, from the fourth book on Adultery.] But if the husband has died within sixty days, let us see whether she can now manumit or alienate the above-mentioned persons.
et non puto posse, quamuis accusatore mulier deficiatur marito, cum pater accusare possit.
And I do not think she can, although the woman is deprived of her husband as an accuser, since her father can accuse her.
§40.9.14.1Et simpliciter quidem lex mulierem prohibuit intra sexagesimum diem diuortii manumittere: §40.9.14.2Siue autem diuertit siue repudio dimissa sit, manumissio impedietur.
And indeed, the law simply prohibited a woman from manumitting within sixty days of a divorce: Whether she initiated the divorce or was sent away by a repudiation, manumission will be barred.
§40.9.14.3Sed si morte mariti solutum sit matrimonium uel aliqua poena eius, manumissio non impedietur.
But if the marriage was dissolved by the death of the husband or by some punishment of his, manumission will not be barred.
§40.9.14.4Sed et si bona gratia finierit matrimonium, dicetur manumissionem uel alienationem non impediri.
But also if the marriage has ended by mutual consent, it will be said that manumission or alienation is not barred.
§40.9.14.5Sed et si constante matrimonio mulier, dum diuortium cogitat, manumittat uel alienet et hoc dilucidis probationibus fuerit adprobatum: quasi in fraudem legis hoc factum sit, non debet alienatio ualere uel manumissio.
But also if, while the marriage is still standing, the woman, while contemplating divorce, manumits or alienates, and this is proved by clear evidence: just as if this was done to evade the law, the alienation or manumission ought not to be valid.
§40.9.14.6Alienationem omnem omnino accipere debemus.
We must understand "alienation" in every sense.

Notes

  1. §40.9.14.praccusatore mulier deficiatur marito — The passive verb deficiatur ("is deprived of, left without") governs the ablative of separation/deprivation accusatore marito ("her husband as an accuser"), where accusatore is in apposition to marito. The concessive conjunction quamuis ("although") governs the subjunctive deficiatur.
  2. §40.9.14.2diuertit — The active form (present or perfect) of the intransitive verb diuerto ("to depart, divorce"), indicating that the woman actively initiated the divorce, in contrast with the passive expression repudio dimissa sit ("she was sent away by a repudiation").
  3. §40.9.14.4bona gratia — An ablative of manner. Literally "by good favor," it is a technical legal idiom meaning "by mutual consent," referring to an amicable divorce agreed upon by both parties.
  4. §40.9.14.5constante matrimonio — An ablative absolute construction consisting of the present participle constante (from consto, "to stand, exist") and the noun matrimonio, expressing the temporal or circumstantial background "while the marriage is still standing."
  5. §40.9.14.5quasi in fraudem legis hoc factum sit — The conjunction quasi ("as if, just as if") introduces a hypothetical comparison and governs the perfect subjunctive factum sit. The phrase in fraudem legis is a standard legal idiom meaning "in circumvention of the law" or "to evade the law."

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §40.9.14.pr-40.9.14.6. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:40.9.14.pr-40.9.14.6

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