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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §40.9.30.pr-40.9.30.5

Conditions for the Right to Accuse an Ungrateful Freedman

Passage 6552 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Ulpian discusses under what circumstances the right to accuse a freedman of being ungrateful arises, including cases of failed conditions to manumit, manumissions by a son with the father's consent, military slaves, and multiple patrons.

[ULPIANUS libro quarto ad legem Aeliam Sentiam. ] §40.9.30.prSi quis hac lege seruum emerit, ut manumittat, et non manumittente eo seruus ad libertatem peruenerit ex constitutione diui Marci, an possit ut ingratum accusare, uideamus.
[ULPIANUS, from the fourth book on the Lex Aelia Sentia.] If someone has purchased a slave under the condition that he should manumit him, and upon his failure to manumit, the slave has attained freedom under the constitution of the divine Marcus, let us see whether he can accuse him of being ungrateful.
et dici potest, cum non sit manumissor, hoc ius eum non habere.
And it can be said that, since he is not the manumitter, he does not have this right.
§40.9.30.1Si filius meus ex uoluntate mea manumiserit, an ut ingratum eum accusandi ius habeam, dubitari poterit idcirco, quia non manumisi: sed pro eo habendus sum, ac si manumississem.
If my son has manumitted a slave in accordance with my will, it may be doubted whether I have the right to accuse him of being ungrateful, for the reason that I did not manumit him myself; but I must be regarded in the same light as if I had manumitted him.
§40.9.30.2Sed si castrensem seruum filius meus manumittat, dubio procul hoc ius non habebo, quia non ipse manumisi: ipse plane filius accusare poterit.
But if my son manumits a military slave, without doubt I shall not have this right, because I did not manumit him myself; clearly, the son himself will be able to accuse him.
§40.9.30.3Tamdiu autem accusare quis poterit, quamdiu perseuerat patronus.
Moreover, a person will be able to accuse for as long as he remains the patron.
§40.9.30.4Quotiens autem patroni libertum uolunt accusare, utrum omnium consensus necessarius sit an uero et unus possit, uideamus.
On the other hand, as often as patrons wish to accuse a freedman, let us see whether the consent of all is necessary or indeed even one can do so.
et est uerius, si saltem in unum hoc commiserit, eum ut ingratum accusari, sed omnium consensum necessarium, si sint eiusdem gradus.
And it is more correct that, if the freedman has committed this offense against at least one of them, he can be accused as ungrateful, but the consent of all is necessary if they are of the same degree.
§40.9.30.5Si pater libertum uni ex filiis adsignauerit, solum eum accusare posse Iulianus scripsit: solum enim patronum esse.
If a father has assigned a freedman to one of his sons, Julian wrote that only that son can accuse him; for he alone is the patron.

Notes

  1. 40.9.30.prnon manumittente eo — This is an ablative absolute construction with a present participle, where the pronoun "eo" refers to the purchaser. It indicates the circumstance or negative condition ("since he did not manumit") that led to the slave gaining freedom via the imperial constitution.
  2. 40.9.30.1ac si manumississem — A clause of hypothetical comparison introduced by "ac si" ("as if") with the pluperfect subjunctive "manumississem". It indicates that although the father did not physically manumit the slave, he is legally treated in the same manner as if he had done so himself.
  3. 40.9.30.4si saltem in unum hoc commiserit — In this phrase, "unum" (governed by "in") refers to "one" of the multiple patrons, and the verb "commiserit" (from "committere") is used in the sense of committing an offense against someone ("in" + accusative). The pronoun "hoc" refers to the ungrateful act implied by "ut ingratum".
  4. 40.9.30.4si sint eiusdem gradus — The subject of "sint" is the co-patrons. "eiusdem gradus" is a genitive of quality, indicating that the patrons belong to the same class or degree (e.g., co-heirs holding equivalent rights in succession).

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §40.9.30.pr-40.9.30.5. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:40.9.30.pr-40.9.30.5

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