Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §48.5.5.pr

Prosecution Order for Prior Adultery of Remarried Women

Passage 8179 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Julianus affirms that a remarried woman can be accused of adultery committed during her prior marriage, explaining the rules of the Lex Julia regarding the order of prosecution depending on whether she is a widow or currently married.

[IULIANUS libro octagensimo sexto digestorum. ] §48.5.5.prNuptam mihi adulterii ream postulari posse in priore matrimonio commissi dubium non est, cum aperte lege Iulia de adulteriis coercendis caueatur, si quidem uidua sit, de cuius adulterio agetur, ut accusator liberum arbitrium habeat, adulterum an adulteram prius accusare malit: si uero nupta sit, ut prius adulterum peragat, tunc mulierem.
[JULIANUS, in the eighty-sixth book of the Digests.] There is no doubt that a woman married to me can be accused as defendant for adultery committed in her prior marriage, since it is clearly provided by the Julian law on restraining adulteries that, if indeed she whose adultery is to be tried is a widow, the accuser has free choice whether he prefers to accuse the male adulterer or the female adulterer first; but if she is married, he must first prosecute the male adulterer to the end, and then the woman.

Notes

  1. §48.5.5.prNuptam mihi ... postulari posse — Accusative with infinitive clause complementing `dubium non est`. `nuptam` is an accusative with an omitted feminine noun (such as `mulierem`), and `mihi` is a dative ('married to me'). `commissi` (neuter genitive singular perfect participle) agrees with `adulterii`, meaning 'adultery committed in her prior marriage'.
  2. §48.5.5.prperagat — The third-person singular present subjunctive of the legal term `perago` (to prosecute to the end, to carry through to conviction), introduced by `ut`. In the second clause, `tunc mulierem`, the same verb is omitted, meaning 'and then [he should prosecute] the woman'.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §48.5.5.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:48.5.5.pr

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.