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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §47.21.3.pr-47.21.3.2

Penalties for Moving Boundaries and Altering Land

Passage 8101 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

The passage outlines the penalties under the agrarian laws of Gaius Caesar and the deified Nerva for maliciously displacing boundary stones, including provisions for slaves acting without their masters' knowledge, and mandates punishment for those who alter land topography to obscure boundaries.

[IDEM libro quinto de cognitionibus. ] §47.21.3.prLege agraria, quam Gaius Caesar tulit, aduersus eos, qui terminos statutos extra suum gradum finesue mouerint dolo malo, pecuniaria poena constituta est: nam in terminos singulos, quos eiecerint locoue mouerint, quinquaginta aureos in publico dari iubet: et eius actionem petitionem ei qui uolet esse iubet.
[THE SAME in the fifth book on Extraordinary Proceedings.] By the agrarian law which Gaius Caesar proposed, a pecuniary penalty was established against those who, with malicious intent, have moved established boundary stones beyond their proper position or boundary; for it orders fifty aurei to be paid into the public treasury for each individual stone which they have cast out or moved from its place; and it orders that the right of action and petition for this matter shall belong to whoever wishes to bring it.
§47.21.3.1Alia quoque lege agraria, quam diuus Nerua tulit, cauetur, ut, si seruus seruaue insciente domino dolo malo fecerit, ei capital esse, nisi dominus dominaue multam sufferre maluerit.
By another agrarian law also, which the deified Nerva proposed, it is provided that, if a male or female slave has done this with malicious intent without the knowledge of their master or mistress, they shall suffer capital punishment, unless the master or mistress prefers to pay the fine.
§47.21.3.2Hi quoque, qui finalium quaestionum obscurandarum causa faciem locorum conuertunt, ut ex arbore arbustum aut ex silua nouale aut aliquid eiusmodi faciunt, poena plectendi sunt pro persona et condicione et factorum uiolentia.
Those also who, for the purpose of obscuring boundary questions, change the appearance of places, as by making an orchard out of a tree, or a cleared land out of a forest, or doing something of this kind, are to be punished with a penalty according to their person, status, and the violence of their deeds.

Notes

  1. §47.21.3.prei qui uolet esse iubet — Syntactically, within the accusative and infinitive construction governed by "iubet", "eius actionem petitionem" functions as the subject accusative, "esse" as the infinitive, and "ei qui uolet" as the dative of possessor. It means "it orders that the right of action and petition for this matter shall belong to whoever wishes," which refers to a popular action (actio popularis) allowing anyone to bring a lawsuit.
  2. §47.21.3.1ei capital esse — This is an accusative and infinitive clause within the "ut" clause introduced by the impersonal passive verb "cauetur", representing the apodosis of the conditional "si" clause. "capital" (capital punishment) functions as the predicate accusative with "esse", and "ei" is the dative referring back to the slave ("seruus seruaue").
  3. §47.21.3.2ex arbore arbustum aut ex silua nouale — These are concrete examples of actions aimed at obscuring boundaries ("finalium quaestionum obscurandarum causa"). It describes changing the layout of the land to disrupt boundaries, such as making a plantation or orchard ("arbustum") out of a single tree ("arbore"), or cleared arable land ("nouale") out of a forest ("silua").

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §47.21.3.pr-47.21.3.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:47.21.3.pr-47.21.3.2

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

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