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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §48.13.4.pr-48.13.4.2

Sacrilege and Embezzlement of Sacred Offerings

Passage 8315 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Marcianus states that the Lex Julia on embezzlement applies to the taking of sacred property or offerings to the gods, and notes the provisions in Mandates and Constitutions for governors to prosecute sacrilege extra ordinem.

[MARCIANUS libro quarto decimo institutionum. ] §48.13.4.prLege Iulia peculatus tenetur, qui pecuniam sacram religiosam abstulerit interceperit.
[MARCIANUS on Institutes, Book XIV] Under the Lex Julia on embezzlement, anyone who has taken away or embezzled sacred or religious money is held liable.
§48.13.4.1Sed et si donatum deo immortali abstulerit, peculatus poena tenetur.
But even if someone has taken away what was donated to an immortal god, he is held liable to the punishment for embezzlement.
§48.13.4.2Mandatis autem cauetur de sacrilegiis, ut praesides sacrilegos latrones plagiarios conquirant et ut, prout quisque deliquerit, in eum animaduertant.
Furthermore, it is provided in the Mandates concerning sacrilege that governors should hunt down sacrilegious persons, robbers, and kidnappers, and punish them according to the gravity of each person's offense.
et sic constitutionibus cauetur, ut sacrilegi extra ordinem digna poena puniantur.
And it is likewise provided in the imperial Constitutions that sacrilegious persons are to be punished with appropriate penalties outside the ordinary course of trial.

Notes

  1. §48.13.4.prpeculatus — The genitive form of the noun peculatus (embezzlement). It can be interpreted either as a genitive of charge governed by the verb tenetur ('is held liable for embezzlement'), or as a genitive qualifying Lege Iulia, forming the full title of the statute ('the Lex Julia on embezzlement').
  2. §48.13.4.2extra ordinem — Literally 'outside the order'. It refers to the procedure of cognitio extra ordinem, where an imperial official (here, the provincial governor) conducts the trial and pronounces the judgment directly, outside the traditional republican jury system (ordo iudiciorum publicorum).

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §48.13.4.pr-48.13.4.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:48.13.4.pr-48.13.4.2

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