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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §48.10.29.pr

Deceiving a Governor by Records or Petitions

Passage 8295 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

The passage establishes that anyone who deceives a provincial governor through records or petitions achieves no legal effect and is punished as if for forgery, citing a rescript of Emperor Alexander as authority.

[IDEM libro singulari de enucleatis casibus. ] §48.10.29.prSi quis obrepserit praesidi prouinciae, tam per acta quam per libelli interpellationem nihil agit.
[BY THE SAME, in his single book On Resolved Cases.] If anyone deceives the governor of a province, whether through public records or by a petition, he achieves nothing.
immo si accusatus fuerit, poenam temerari luit: proinde enim punitur, atque si falsum fecerit.
On the contrary, if he is accused, he pays the penalty for unlawful deceit; for he is punished just as if he had committed forgery.
sunt enim rescripta de ea re: sufficit autem unum argumenti causa referre, cuius uerba haec sunt. 'Alexander Augustus Iulio Marullo.
For there are rescripts on this matter; but it is sufficient to cite one for the sake of argument, the words of which are as follows: 'Alexander Augustus to Iulius Marullus.
Si libello dato aduersarius tuus ueritatem in precibus ab eo datis non adiecit, subscriptione uti non potest: immo si accusatus fuerit, et poenam inferre debet'.
If, when the petition was submitted, your adversary did not include the truth in the prayers offered by him, he cannot make use of the subscription; on the contrary, if he is accused, he must also suffer the penalty.'

Notes

  1. §48.10.29.probrepserit — The verb obrepere (literally 'to creep up on') has a specialized meaning in Imperial legal Latin: to obtain a favor or favorable decision from an authority through deceit or active concealment. Here it governs the dative 'praesidi'.
  2. §48.10.29.prtam per acta quam per libelli interpellationem — The 'tam... quam...' correlative construction ('both... and...' / 'whether... or...') equivalently coordinates two instruments of deceit: 'per acta' (through official records) and 'per libelli interpellationem' (through a petition).
  3. §48.10.29.prproinde enim punitur, atque si falsum fecerit — A conditional comparative construction with 'proinde... atque si...' ('just as if...'). It indicates that although the deceiver did not literally commit 'falsum' (forgery), they are legally subjected to the exact same penalty.
  4. §48.10.29.prpoenam inferre debet — Although 'inferre' is active ('to bring in', 'to inflict'), in this context it either functions as a virtual passive meaning 'to suffer/undergo the penalty' (equivalent to 'poenam sufferre' or 'subire'), or means that the offender is under obligation to 'pay' or 'deliver' the penalty to the state or treasury.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §48.10.29.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:48.10.29.pr

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