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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §48.2.5.pr

Accusation of Slaves for Adultery and the Master's Duty

Passage 8132 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This section explains that slaves can be accused of adultery, subject to the same restrictions as accusing free persons, and notes that according to the rescript of Marcus Aurelius, a master has the obligation to accuse his own slave, without which the married woman can raise a defense.

[IDEM libro tertio de adulteriis. ] §48.2.5.prSeruos quoque adulterii posse accusari nulla dubitatio est: sed qui prohibentur adulterii liberos homines accusare, idem seruos quoque prohibebuntur.
[THE SAME, on Adultery, Book 3] There is no doubt that slaves also can be accused of adultery; but those who are prohibited from accusing free persons of adultery will also be prohibited from accusing slaves.
sed ex rescripto diui Marci etiam aduersus proprium seruum accusationem instituere dominus potest.
But according to the rescript of the Divine Marcus, a master can institute an accusation even against his own slave.
post hoc igitur rescriptum accusandi necessitas incumbet domino seruum suum: ceterum iuste mulier nupta praescriptione utetur.
Therefore, after this rescript, the necessity of accusing his own slave will fall upon the master; otherwise, the married woman will justly employ a defense.

Notes

  1. §48.2.5.pradulterii — Genitive of charge or crime (genitivus criminis). Dependent on the passive infinitive `accusari` (to be accused), it specifies the crime of which they are accused.
  2. §48.2.5.pridem — Nominative plural masculine of the demonstrative pronoun `idem` (an alternative spelling for `eidem`). It functions as the subject of the main verb `prohibebuntur`, referring back to the plural subject of the relative clause `qui prohibentur`.
  3. §48.2.5.prceterum — Used in the sense of 'otherwise' or 'else'. It implies the condition 'if the master fails to accuse his slave', in which case the married woman (the wife) can justly raise a procedural exception or defense (`praescriptio`) against the prosecution.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §48.2.5.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:48.2.5.pr

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