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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §49.14.32.pr

Inheritance Rights of Hostages Living as Roman Citizens

Passage 8553 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

A rescript of the joint emperors stating that if hostages have lived as Roman citizens wearing the toga, their status is separated from that of a hostage by imperial favor, and they must preserve the same rights as if they were instituted as heirs by lawful Roman citizens.

[IDEM libro quarto decimo institutionum. ] §49.14.32.prsed si accepto usu togae Romanae ut ciues Romani semper egerint, diui fratres procuratoribus hereditatium rescripserunt sine dubitatione ius eorum ab obsidis condicione separatum esse beneficio principali, ideoque idem ius eis seruandum, quod habent, si a legitimis ciuibus Romanis heredes instituti fuissent.
[THE SAME, Institutes, Book XIV.] But if, having received the use of the Roman toga, they have always acted as Roman citizens, the Divine Brothers wrote back to the procurators of inheritances that without doubt their status was separated from the condition of a hostage by imperial favor, and therefore the same right must be preserved for them which they would have if they had been instituted as heirs by lawful Roman citizens.

Notes

  1. §49.14.32.praccepto usu togae Romanae — An ablative absolute construction consisting of the perfect participle 'accepto' and the ablative 'usu', meaning 'having received the use (or custom) of the Roman toga.' The wearing of the toga symbolizes Roman citizenship.
  2. §49.14.32.prdiui fratres — 'The Divine Brothers' refers to the Emperors Marcus Aurelius Antoninus and Lucius Verus, who ruled jointly from 161 to 169 AD.
  3. §49.14.32.prquod habent, si ... heredes instituti fuissent — While the conditional clause 'si ... fuissent' is in the pluperfect subjunctive (contrary to past fact), the relative clause serving as the apodosis contains the indicative present 'habent'. This mixed construction forcefully states as a present fact the legal right they would enjoy under current law if the past condition had been met.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §49.14.32.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:49.14.32.pr

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