Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §48.20.8.pr-48.20.8.4

Rights of Patronage and Dowry Protection upon Confiscation

Passage 8432 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

The text discusses the preservation of the rights of patronage for the patrons' children in the confiscated estate of a freedman, and the non-confiscation of a dowry when the father who provided it is condemned.

[MACER libro. ] §48.20.8.prLiberis quoque patronorum integrum ius patronatus seruatur in bonis paterni liberti publicatis.
[MACER, from his Book.] For the children of patrons also, the unimpaired right of patronage is preserved in the confiscated property of their father's freedman.
si eius liberti extat patroni filius, fisco locus non est in parte filii patroni.
If there exists a son of the patron of that freedman, there is no place for the treasury in the portion of the patron's son.
§48.20.8.1Si patroni filius excluditur propter liberos quos habet libertus, satius est dicere fisco locum non esse, quoniam patroni filium excludunt liberi liberti, ipse autem fiscum repellit.
If the son of the patron is excluded because of the children whom the freedman has, it is better to say that there is no place for the treasury, since the children of the freedman exclude the son of the patron, and he himself repels the treasury.
§48.20.8.2Patroni filius etiamsi bonorum possessionem non petat, haud dubie excludit fiscum in parte sibi debita ex bonis liberti paterni.
The son of the patron, even if he does not request the possession of the property, undoubtedly excludes the treasury from the portion due to him from the property of his father's freedman.
§48.20.8.3Relegati bona per sententiam specialem publicari poterunt, nec tamen iura aduersus libertos ei auferuntur nisi principis iussu.
The property of a relegated person can be confiscated by a special sentence, yet the rights against his freedmen are not taken away from him except by order of the emperor.
§48.20.8.4Si condemnatur pater, qui dotem pro filia dedit, fisco in eam dotem ius non est, etiamsi postea in matrimonio filia moriatur,
If a father who gave a dowry for his daughter is condemned, the treasury has no right to that dowry, even if the daughter should later die during the marriage,

Notes

  1. §48.20.8.prLiberis — Dative of advantage (dativus commodi), indicating for whose benefit the right is preserved.
  2. §48.20.8.1ipse autem fiscum repellit — The pronoun 'ipse' refers back to the patron's son, who was previously introduced in the accusative case ('patroni filium'). It emphasizes the hierarchy of rights: the children of the freedman exclude the patron's son, but the patron's son himself (having a stronger right than the state) repels the treasury.
  3. §48.20.8.4etiamsi postea in matrimonio filia moriatur — A concessive clause introduced by 'etiamsi'. The present subjunctive 'moriatur' represents a hypothetical future event (the death of the daughter during marriage, which would normally trigger the return of the dowry) from the perspective of the father's condemnation.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §48.20.8.pr-48.20.8.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:48.20.8.pr-48.20.8.4

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.