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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §41.2.50.pr-41.2.50.1

Acquisition via Putative Sons and Runaway Slaves

Passage 6748 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This fragment discusses the denial of acquisition through a person mistakenly believed to be one's son, and the conditions under which possession is acquired through a runaway slave.

[HERMOGENIANUS libro quinto iuris epitomarum. ] §41.2.50.prPer eum, quem iusto ductus errore filium meum et in mea potestate esse existimo, neque possessio neque dominium nec quicquam aliud ex re mea mihi quaeritur.
[HERMOGENIANUS, in the fifth book of Epitomes of Law.] Through a person whom, led by a justifiable error, I think to be my son and under my power, neither possession nor ownership nor anything else is acquired for me even from my own property.
§41.2.50.1Per seruum in fuga agentem, si neque ab alio possideatur neque se liberum esse credat, possessio nobis adquiritur.
Through a slave who is in flight, if he is neither possessed by another nor believes himself to be free, possession is acquired for us.

Notes

  1. §41.2.50.prquem iusto ductus errore filium meum et in mea potestate esse existimo — The relative pronoun quem serves as the subject accusative of the infinitive clause dependent on existimo (I think). esse is understood after filium meum. ductus is a perfect participle in the nominative masculine singular, modifying the unexpressed subject of existimo ('I'), and takes iusto errore as an ablative of cause/means, meaning 'led by a justifiable error.'
  2. §41.2.50.1in fuga agentem — The present participle agentem modifies seruum. The verb agere combined with in fuga (in flight) is an idiomatic expression meaning 'to be in flight' or 'to be fleeing.'
  3. §41.2.50.1se liberum esse credat — An accusative with infinitive clause dependent on credat (believes, subjunctive present). The reflexive pronoun se refers back to the slave (seruum), who is the logical subject of the conditional clause.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §41.2.50.pr-41.2.50.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:41.2.50.pr-41.2.50.1

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