Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §47.6.4.pr

Theft by Slaves of One Family and Rights of the Victim's Heirs

Passage 7966 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

It is stated that even the heirs of a theft victim are entitled to the same action as the deceased victim had against multiple slaves of the same household, limiting the total recovery to the amount that would be recovered if a single free person had committed the theft.

[IULIANUS libro uicensimo secundo digestorum. ] §47.6.4.prEtiam heredibus eius, cui plures eiusdem familiae furtum fecerint, eadem actio competere debet, quae testatori competebat, id est ut omnes non amplius consequantur, quam consequerentur, si id furtum liber fecisset.
[JULIAN on the Digest, book 22] Even to the heirs of him against whom several members of the same household have committed theft, the same action ought to be available as was available to the testator, that is, that they all should not obtain more than they would obtain if a single free person had committed that theft.

Notes

  1. §47.6.4.prcui — Dative singular of the relative pronoun qui. It functions here as a dative of disadvantage (dativus incommodi), modifying the antecedent eius (the victim) to indicate against whom (to whose disadvantage) several slaves of the same household committed the theft.
  2. §47.6.4.prtestatori — Literally meaning "testator" (one who made a will), it is used here to refer generally to the "decedent" or "predecessor" whose estate and rights of action are inherited by the heirs. This reflects the legal practice where testate succession was the standard assumption.
  3. §47.6.4.prconsequerentur, si id furtum liber fecisset — A mixed conditional sentence. While the condition clause (si... fecisset) uses the pluperfect subjunctive to denote a past counterfactual ("if a single free person had done it"), the conclusion clause (consequerentur) is in the imperfect subjunctive, expressing a present counterfactual state or the amount they "would obtain" at the present time of bringing the action.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §47.6.4.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:47.6.4.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.