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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §50.1.38.pr-50.1.38.6

Imperial Rescripts on Public Duties, Domicile, and Securities

Passage 8681 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Presents various rescripts of the Emperors Antoninus and Verus concerning the release from oaths, the public duties of fiscal tenants, magistrates' liabilities for legacies, the domicile of married women, fathers avoiding security, the proof of citizenship, and security for compelled magistrates.

[PAPIRIUS IUSTUS libro secundo de constitutionibus. ] §50.1.38.prImperatores Antoninus et Uerus Augusti rescripserunt gratiam se facere iurisiurandi ei, qui iurauerat se ordini non interfuturum et postea duumuir creatus esset.
[PAPIRIUS IUSTUS, In the Second Book on Constitutions] The Emperors Antoninus and Verus Augusti replied by rescript that they released from the oath a man who had sworn that he would not attend the senate, but was afterwards elected duumvir.
§50.1.38.1Item rescripserunt colonos praediorum fisci muneribus fungi sine damno fisci oportere, idque excutere praesidem adhibito procuratore debere.
Likewise, they replied by rescript that tenants of estates belonging to the treasury must perform public duties without detriment to the treasury, and that the governor, with the assistance of the procurator, must investigate this.
§50.1.38.2Imperatores Antoninus et Uerus rescripserunt ad magistratus officium pertinere exactionem pecuniae legatorum, et si cessauerint, ipsos uel heredes conueneri aut, si soluendo non sint, fideiussores eorum qui pro his cauerunt.
The Emperors Antoninus and Verus replied by rescript that the collection of money bequeathed as legacies belongs to the duty of the magistrates, and if they are negligent, they themselves or their heirs shall be sued, or if they are not solvent, the sureties of those who gave security for them shall be sued.
§50.1.38.3Item rescripserunt mulierem, quamdiu nupta est, incolam eiusdem ciuitatis uideri, cuius maritus eius est, et ibi, unde originem trahit, non cogi muneribus fungi.
Likewise, they replied by rescript that a woman, as long as she is married, is considered a resident of the same city as her husband, and she is not compelled to perform public duties in the place from which she derives her origin.
§50.1.38.4Item rescripserunt patris, qui consulto filium emancipauerat, ne pro magistratu eius caueret, perinde bona teneri atque si fideiussor pro eo extitisset.
Likewise, they replied by rescript that the property of a father who had intentionally emancipated his son so that he might not provide security for his magistracy, is held liable just as if he had stood as surety for him.
§50.1.38.5Item rescripserunt, cum quaeritur, an municeps quis sit, ex ipsis etiam rebus probationes sumi oportere: nam solam nominis similitudinem ad confirmandam cuiusque originem satis non esse.
Likewise, they replied by rescript that when it is asked whether anyone is a citizen, proofs ought to be taken from the actual facts themselves; for the mere similarity of a name is not sufficient to establish anyone's origin.
§50.1.38.6Imperatores Antoninus et Uerus rescripserunt non minus eos, qui compulsi magistratu funguntur, cauere debere, quam qui sponte officium adgnouerunt.
The Emperors Antoninus and Verus replied by rescript that those who perform a magistracy under compulsion must provide security no less than those who have voluntarily accepted the office.

Notes

  1. 50.1.38.prgratiam se facere iurisiurandi — The phrase "gratiam facere" with a genitive is an idiom meaning "to excuse from" or "to grant release from." Here, paired with "iurisiurandi" (oath), it means "to release from the obligation of the oath." "se" is the reflexive pronoun acting as the subject accusative of the infinitive, referring back to the emperors.
  2. 50.1.38.2si soluendo non sint — "soluendo" is the dative of the gerund or gerundive of the verb "soluere." This dative of purpose/fitness, combined with "esse" (here, "sint" in the subjunctive), forms a legal idiom "soluendo esse" meaning "to be solvent" (literally, "to be for paying"). Thus, "si soluendo non sint" means "if they are not solvent."
  3. 50.1.38.4patris, qui consulto... bona teneri — The genitive "patris" is placed at the very beginning of the clause but modifies "bona" (property), which functions as the subject accusative of the infinitive "teneri" in the indirect discourse. A relative clause (qui... caueret) is nested between them, causing a significant hyperbaton between "patris" and "bona."

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §50.1.38.pr-50.1.38.6. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:50.1.38.pr-50.1.38.6

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