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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §45.1.104.pr

Liability of a Surety for Manumission by a Third Party

Passage 7451 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

It is ruled that if a slave provides a surety for the payment of his freedom, the surety remains validly bound even if the slave is manumitted by a different person, as the key point is the manumission itself.

[IAUOLENUS libro undecimo ex Cassio. ] §45.1.104.prCum seruus pecuniam pro libertate pactus est et ob eam rem reum dedit: quamuis seruus ab alio manumissus est, reus tamen recte obligabitur, quia non quaeritur, a quo manumittatur, sed ut manumittatur.
[IAVOLENUS, book eleven of Cassius] When a slave has agreed on a sum of money for his freedom and has provided a surety for that purpose, even if the slave is manumitted by another person, the surety will nevertheless be validly bound; for the question is not by whom he is manumitted, but that he is manumitted.

Notes

  1. §45.1.104.prreum — The accusative noun 'reus' usually means a defendant in a lawsuit, but here it refers to a 'promisor' or 'surety'—a third party who takes upon themselves the obligation in a stipulation.
  2. §45.1.104.prnon quaeritur, a quo manumittatur, sed ut manumittatur — Contrasted with the impersonal passive verb 'quaeritur' are the indirect question clause 'a quo manumittatur' (by whom he is manumitted) and the 'ut' clause 'ut manumittatur' (that he is manumitted). The 'ut' here functions substantively to denote the factual outcome (the manumission itself) rather than purpose or result.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §45.1.104.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:45.1.104.pr

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