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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §47.2.35.pr-47.2.35.1

Carriage of Stolen Goods and Thefts by Multiple Slaves

Passage 7896 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

It discusses the liability for manifest theft based on knowledge of stolen goods being carried, and the master's liability for manifest or non-manifest theft based on the actions of multiple slaves in drawing off property.

[POMPONIUS libro nono decimo ad Sabinum. ] §47.2.35.prSi quis perferendum acceperit et scierit furtiuum esse, constat, si deprehendatur, ipsum dumtaxat furem manifestum esse, si nescierit, neutrum, hunc, quia fur non sit, furem, quia deprehensus non sit.
If anyone has accepted a thing to be carried and knew that it was stolen, it is established that, if he is caught, he alone is a manifest thief; if he did not know, neither is a manifest thief—this man because he is not a thief, and the thief because he was not caught.
§47.2.35.1Si unus seruus tuus hausisset et abstulisset, alter hauriendo deprehensus esset, prioris nomine nec manifesti, alterius manifesti teneberis.
If one of your slaves had drawn off and carried away [something], and another had been caught in the act of drawing it off, you will be held liable on account of the former for non-manifest theft, and on account of the latter for manifest theft.

Notes

  1. §47.2.35.prhunc, quia fur non sit, furem, quia deprehensus non sit — Supplying the ellipsis yields: 'hunc [furem manifestum non esse], quia fur non sit, furem [furem manifestum non esse], quia deprehensus non sit'. Here, 'hunc' refers to the carrier (the subject of 'nescierit'), who is not a thief ('fur non sit') because of lack of knowledge; 'furem' refers to the original thief, who is not a manifest thief because he was not caught in the act ('deprehensus non sit').
  2. §47.2.35.1prioris nomine nec manifesti, alterius manifesti — Both 'nec manifesti' and 'manifesti' are genitives modifying the implied 'furti' (furti nec manifesti and furti manifesti). 'nomine' means 'on account of' or 'in the name of', indicating that the master's vicarious liability is determined by the specific status of each slave's act (one completed and non-manifest, the other caught in the act).

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §47.2.35.pr-47.2.35.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:47.2.35.pr-47.2.35.1

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