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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §47.12.4.pr

Exclusion of Enemy Tombs from Protection and Use of Their Stones

Passage 8062 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Paulus states that the graves of enemies are not considered religious things under Roman law, meaning that stones taken from them can be repurposed for any use and no action for violating a sepulchre lies.

[PAULUS libro uicensimo septimo ad edictum praetoris. ] §47.12.4.prSepulchra hostium religiosa nobis non sunt: ideoque lapides inde sublatos in quemlibet usum conuertere possumus: non sepulchri uiolati actio competit.
[PAULUS in the twenty-seventh book on the Edict of the Praetor.] The sepulchres of enemies are not religious to us; and therefore we can convert stones taken from them to any use we please, and an action for violating a sepulchre does not lie.

Notes

  1. 47.12.4.prreligiosa — The nominative neuter plural adjective 'religiosus' (religious), functioning as a predicative complement modifying the subject 'Sepulchra'. In Roman law, a 'res religiosa' (religious thing) is a category of sacred things, such as graves, that are excluded from commerce and legally protected; the text clarifies that enemy tombs do not possess this status for Romans.
  2. 47.12.4.prlapides... sublatos — 'sublatos' is the perfect passive participle (accusative masculine plural) of the verb 'tollere' (to take away, remove), modifying the noun 'lapides' (stones). This phrase acts as the direct object of the active infinitive 'conuertere' (to convert, turn).
  3. 47.12.4.prnon... competit — The verb 'competere' is used in a technical legal sense meaning 'to be available' or 'to lie' (of an action). Together with the subject 'actio', it means that the action for violating a sepulchre (actio sepulchri violati) is not legally applicable in this scenario.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §47.12.4.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:47.12.4.pr

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