Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §50.16.38.pr

Definition of Portent and Division into Deformity and Phantasm

Passage 8852 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Explains Labeo's definition of 'portent' (ostentum) and its division into two types: physical deformities and supernatural phantasms.

[ULPIANUS libro uicensimo quinto ad edictum. ] §50.16.38.pr'Ostentum' Labeo definit omne contra naturam cuiusque rei genitum factumque.
[ULPIANUS, in the twenty-fifth book on the Edict.] Labeo defines 'portent' as everything born and made against the nature of each thing.
duo genera autem sunt ostentorum: unum, quotiens quid contra naturam nascitur, tribus manibus forte aut pedibus aut qua alia parte corporis, quae naturae contraria est: alterum, cum quid prodigiosum uidetur, quae Graeci φάντασματα uocant.
But there are two kinds of portents: one, whenever something is born against nature, for instance with three hands or feet, or with some other part of the body which is contrary to nature; the other, when some prodigy is seen, which the Greeks call phantasms.

Notes

  1. §50.16.38.prdefinit — The verb definit (defines) has the jurist Labeo as its subject and takes the nominalized neuter singular accusative 'Ostentum' as its object, with omne genitum factumque (everything born and made) in the accusative as the core definition.
  2. §50.16.38.prtribus manibus forte aut pedibus — Ablative of description (ablativus qualitatis), describing the physical characteristics of the preceding indefinite pronoun quid (something).
  3. §50.16.38.prquae Graeci φάντασματα uocant — The relative pronoun quae is in the neuter plural accusative. Although its antecedent is the neuter singular prodigiosum, it agrees in gender and number with the predicate noun φάντασματα in the relative clause (attraction), or it treats prodigiosum as a collective plural concept.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §50.16.38.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:50.16.38.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.