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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §48.12.3.pr-48.12.3.1

Authority over Grain Prices and Informing by Women

Passage 8311 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Through the rescripts of Emperors Antoninus and Verus, it is established that decurions cannot sell grain cheaper than the market price demands, and city councils lack the authority to fix grain prices. Additionally, a woman is exceptionally permitted to report matters concerning the public utility of the grain supply.

[PAPIRIUS IUSTUS libro primo de constitutionibus. ] §48.12.3.prImperatores Antoninus et Uerus Augusti in haec uerba rescripserunt: 'Minime aequum est decuriones ciuibus suis frumentum uilius quam annona exigit uendere'. §48.12.3.1Item scripserunt ius non esse ordini cuiusque ciuitatis pretium grani quod inuenitur statuere.
[PAPIRIUS IUSTUS, in the first book on Constitutions.] The Emperors Antoninus and Verus, Augusti, replied in these words: "It is by no means fair that decurions sell grain to their citizens cheaper than the grain supply demands." Likewise they wrote that the council of any city does not have the right to fix the price of grain which is found.
item in haec uerba rescripserunt: 'Etsi, non solent hoc genus nuntiationis mulieres exercere, tamen quia demonstraturam te quae ad utilitatem annonae pertinent polliceris, praefectum annonae docere potes'.
Likewise they replied in these words: "Although women are not accustomed to perform this kind of report, yet because you promise that you will point out what pertains to the utility of the grain supply, you may inform the prefect of the grain supply."

Notes

  1. §48.12.3.prannona exigit — annona here refers not just to the grain supply itself, but to the market conditions or the price dictated by supply. exigit means "demands" or "requires", referring as a whole to the level required by market conditions.
  2. §48.12.3.1ordini — Dative of possession. ius non esse ordini means "the council does not have the right." ordo here refers to the city council (the body of decurions).
  3. §48.12.3.1demonstraturam te — An accusative with infinitive construction introduced by polliceris (second-person singular of polliceor, "to promise"), with the infinitive esse omitted. demonstraturam is a future participle in the feminine accusative singular, agreeing with the woman (te) to whom the rescript is addressed.
  4. §48.12.3.1hoc genre — The transmitted text genre is a misspelling of genere or an erroneous substitution of an ablative-like form instead of the accusative neuter genus. Grammatically, it should be read as hoc genus nuntiationis ("this kind of report") in the accusative, acting as the object of exercere.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §48.12.3.pr-48.12.3.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:48.12.3.pr-48.12.3.1

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