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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §48.19.31.pr-48.19.31.1

Prohibition on Releasing Bestiarii and Interprovincial Transfers

Passage 8412 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This section regulates that a governor must not release those condemned to the beasts solely due to popular acclaim, and prohibits the transfer of condemned individuals between provinces without imperial authorization.

[IDEM libro tertio de poenis. ] §48.19.31.prAd bestias damnatos fauore populi praeses dimittere non debet: sed si eius roboris uel artificii sint, ut digne populo Romano exhiberi possint, principem consulere debet.
[THE SAME, from the third book on Punishments.] A governor ought not to release those condemned to the beasts on account of the favor of the people; but if they are of such strength or skill that they can worthily be exhibited to the Roman people, he ought to consult the emperor.
§48.19.31.1Ex prouincia autem in prouinciam transduci damnatos sine permissu principis non licere diuus Seuerus et Antoninus rescripserunt.
Moreover, the divine Severus and Antoninus rescribed that it is not permitted for condemned persons to be transferred from one province to another without the permission of the emperor.

Notes

  1. §48.19.31.prfauore populi — Ablative of cause or means. Although it literally means "by the favor of the people," it specifically refers to the applause, acclamations, or petitions of the spectators in the arena demanding the pardon or release of a convict.
  2. §48.19.31.preius roboris uel artificii — Genitive of quality. It functions as the predicate of the copula `sint` (subjunctive present in the conditional clause), describing the characteristics of the omitted subject (those condemned to the beasts). The demonstrative `eius` correlates with the following consecutive `ut` clause ("of such... that...").
  3. §48.19.31.1transduci damnatos... non licere — A nested infinitive structure in indirect speech. The accusative with infinitive clause (`non licere`) serves as the object of the main verb `rescripserunt`. Within this, the accusative with passive infinitive `damnatos ... transduci` ("that condemned persons be transferred") acts as the subject of the impersonal verb `licere`.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §48.19.31.pr-48.19.31.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:48.19.31.pr-48.19.31.1

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