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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §48.21.1.pr

Bribing an Accuser for Self-Preservation in Capital Cases

Passage 8436 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This passage details an imperial decree stating that in capital cases involving the death penalty, a defendant who bribes his accuser to save his own life is not to be punished, as the impulse to preserve one's own life is deemed pardonable.

[ULPIANUS libro octauo disputationum. ] §48.21.1.prIn capitalibus criminibus a principibus decretum est non nocere ei qui aduersarium corrupit, sed in his demum, quae poenam mortis continent: nam ignoscendum censuerunt ei, qui sanguinem suum qualiterqualiter redemptum uoluit.
[ULPIANUS, from his Eighth Book on Disputations.] In capital crimes, it has been decreed by the emperors that it does not prejudice him who has corrupted his adversary, but only in those crimes which involve the penalty of death; for they deemed that he who wished his own blood to be redeemed in any way whatsoever should be pardoned.

Notes

  1. §48.21.1.prnon nocere — The infinitive nocere functions as the logical subject of the impersonal verb decretum est. Since nocere is a dative-governing verb, it takes the following pronoun ei as its indirect object.
  2. §48.21.1.prignoscendum — This is an impersonal passive periphrastic construction using the gerundive of the dative-governing verb ignosco, with esse being omitted. It serves as the complement of censuerunt (they [the emperors] deemed), where the recipient of the pardon is expressed by the dative pronoun ei.
  3. §48.21.1.prsanguinem suum qualiterqualiter redemptum uoluit — Takes the accusative with perfect passive participle construction (sanguinem suum ... redemptum [esse]) as the object of uoluit (wished), meaning "wished his own blood to be redeemed." Here, sanguinem suum (one's own blood) is a metaphorical expression for life or survival.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §48.21.1.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:48.21.1.pr

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