Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §47.12.11.pr

Penalties for Violating a Sepulchre by Exhuming Bodies

Passage 8069 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Based on Paulus, this text prescribes penalties (the extreme penalty, deportation to an island, relegation, or condemnation to the mines) for the crime of violating sepulchres involving the extraction of bodies or bones, depending on the status of the offenders.

[PAULUS libro quinto sententiarum. ] §47.12.11.prRei sepulchrorum uiolatorum, si corpora ipsa extraxerint uel ossa eruerint, humilioris quidem fortunae summo supplicio adficiuntur, honestiores in insulam deportantur.
[PAULUS, in the fifth book of Opinions.] Those guilty of violating sepulchres, if they have extracted the bodies themselves or dug up the bones, are punished with the extreme penalty if they are of lower status, while those of higher status are deported to an island.
alias autem relegantur aut in metallum damnantur.
In other cases, however, they are relegated or condemned to the mines.

Notes

  1. §47.12.11.prRei — Nominative plural of the noun reus (the accused, the guilty party), serving as the general subject of the sentence. This subject is subsequently divided into two categories: humilioris fortunae (those of lower status) and honestiores (those of higher status).
  2. §47.12.11.prhumilioris quidem fortunae — A genitive of quality (genitivus qualitatis) modifying an implied noun (such as homines), functioning as a subject meaning 'those of lower status (fortune)'. Together with the contrasting honestiores, it illustrates the distinction in sentencing based on social class (honestiores vs. humiliores) during the Roman Empire.
  3. §47.12.11.pralias — An adverb meaning 'otherwise' or 'in other cases'. It refers to less severe cases of violating sepulchres that do not fall under the condition of the clause si corpora ipsa extraxerint uel ossa eruerint (extracting the bodies or digging up the bones).

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §47.12.11.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:47.12.11.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.