Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §45.1.96.pr

Impunity of a Debtor Killing a Promised Slave in a Crime

Passage 7443 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

On the impunity of a debtor who kills the slave he is bound to deliver when caught in a crime, and the denial of a beneficial action against him.

[IDEM libro duodecimo digestorum. ] §45.1.96.prQui seruum mihi ex stipulatu debebat, si in facinore eum deprehenderit, impune eum occidit, nec utilis actio erit in eum constituenda.
[THE SAME, Digest, Book 12] He who owed me a slave under a stipulation, if he catches him in the act of a crime, kills him with impunity, nor should a beneficial action be established against him.

Notes

  1. §45.1.96.prin eum — The accusative pronoun eum refers to the subject of the main clause, "the person who owed [me] a slave" (the debtor). The preposition in indicates an hostile or opposing direction (against), meaning that the creditor (mihi) cannot bring an action against this debtor.
  2. §45.1.96.prutilis actio erit ... constituenda — The gerundive constituenda is used with the verb erit to form a passive periphrastic conjugation denoting necessity or propriety. Combined with the negative nec, it expresses that a beneficial action (actio utilis) "should not be established" or "will not be available."

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §45.1.96.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:45.1.96.pr

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.