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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §5.1.25.pr

Duty of Envoys to Defend Actions on Acquired Property

Passage 906 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

It explains that an envoy must defend an action concerning property acquired during their embassy, as they would otherwise have a license to carry off other people's property with impunity.

[IULIANUS libro primo digestorum. ] §5.1.25.prSi legationis tempore quis seruum uel aliam rem emerit aut ex alia causa possidere coeperit, non inique cogetur eius nomine iudicium accipere: aliter enim potestas dabitur legatis sub hac specie res alienas domum auferendi.
[JULIAN, in the first book of the Digest.] If anyone during the time of his embassy has bought a slave or another thing, or has begun to possess it on some other ground, he will not unfairly be compelled to defend an action on its account; for otherwise envoys will be given the power, under this pretext, of carrying away other people's property to their homes.

Notes

  1. §5.1.25.preius nomine — 'eius' refers to the preceding 'seruum uel aliam rem' (a slave or another thing). 'nomine' is the ablative of 'nomen' used here in the sense of 'on account of' or 'in respect of', making the phrase mean 'on its account' or 'concerning that thing'.
  2. §5.1.25.prpotestas ... auferendi — The genitive of the gerund 'auferendi' modifies the noun 'potestas' in an objective genitive relation, meaning 'the power of carrying away'. 'res alienas' is the direct object (accusative) of 'auferendi', and 'domum' is the accusative of direction without a preposition, meaning 'to their homes'.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §5.1.25.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:5.1.25.pr

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