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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §48.10.27.pr-48.10.27.2

Punishment for Contradictory Testimony and Impersonation

Passage 8293 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Modestinus discusses the legal liability and severe punishments for giving contradictory testimonies, perjury contrary to one's own seal, impersonating a soldier, and forging travel permits.

[MODESTINUS libro octauo regularum. ] §48.10.27.prEos, qui diuersa inter se testimonia praebuerunt, quasi falsum fecerint, et praescriptio legis teneri pronuntiat.
[MODESTINUS, Rules, Book 8.] The provision of the law rules that those who have given testimonies contradictory to each other are held liable, as if they had committed forgery.
§48.10.27.1Et eum, qui contra signum suum falsum praebuit testimonium, poena falsi teneri pronuntiatum est.
And it has been ruled that he who has given false testimony contrary to his own seal is held liable to the penalty for forgery.
de inpudentia eius, qui diuersa duobus testimonia praebuit, cuius ita anceps fides uacillat, quod crimine falsi teneatur, nec dubitandum est.
Nor must it be doubted, concerning the shamelessness of him who has given different testimonies in two cases, whose credibility thus wavers as doubtful, that he is held liable for the crime of forgery.
§48.10.27.2Qui se pro milite gessit uel illicitis insignibus usus est uel falso duplomate uias commeauit, pro admissi qualitate grauissime puniendus est.
He who has passed himself off as a soldier, or has used unlawful insignia, or has travelled the roads with a forged passport, must be punished most severely according to the quality of his offense.

Notes

  1. §48.10.27.prEos, qui diuersa inter se testimonia praebuerunt, quasi falsum fecerint, et praescriptio legis teneri pronuntiat. — The main verb of the sentence is pronuntiat, and its subject is praescriptio legis (the provision of the law). The phrase Eos... teneri (that they are held liable) is an accusative with infinitive (AcI) construction serving as the direct object of pronuntiat. The conjunction et functions here as 'also' or 'even,' modifying the subject or the entire clause.
  2. §48.10.27.1de inpudentia eius ... quod crimine falsi teneatur, nec dubitandum est — The main clause is nec dubitandum est (it must not be doubted), using the impersonal passive gerundive of obligation. The phrase de inpudentia eius... is a prepositional phrase. The quod clause, taking the subjunctive teneatur, functions as an explanatory or noun clause specifying the content of what is not to be doubted. This use of a quod clause instead of the classical quin clause reflects late or colloquial Latin usage.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §48.10.27.pr-48.10.27.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:48.10.27.pr-48.10.27.2

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