Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §50.17.176.pr-50.17.176.1

Prohibition of Self-Redress and the Inestimable Value of Liberty

Passage 9236 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

It forbids private individuals from taking self-redress for actions that can be handled by public magistrates, and declares the inestimable value of liberty and kinship.

[IDEM libro tertio decimo ad Plautium. ] §50.17.176.prNon est singulis concedendum, quod per magistratum publice possit fieri, ne occasio sit maioris tumultus faciendi. §50.17.176.1Infinita aestimatio est libertatis et necessitudinis.
[THE SAME, in the thirteenth book on Plautius.]\n\nIt should not be conceded to individuals to do what can be done publicly through a magistrate, lest there be an opportunity of causing a greater disturbance.\n\nThe valuation of liberty and of kinship is infinite.

Notes

  1. §50.17.176.prsingulis — The dative plural masculine of the adjective singulus used substantively to refer to private individuals. It functions as either the dative of agent or the indirect object of the impersonal passive periphrastic phrase Non est... concedendum.
  2. §50.17.176.prmaioris tumultus faciendi — A gerundive construction consisting of the genitive noun phrase maioris tumultus (fourth-declension genitive singular) and the agreeing gerundive faciendi, functioning as a genitive phrase modifying occasio.
  3. §50.17.176.1necessitudinis — The genitive singular of necessitudo. Although it can mean 'necessity' in general contexts, in legal usage—especially when paired with libertas (liberty)—it refers to 'kinship' or 'blood relationship'.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §50.17.176.pr-50.17.176.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:50.17.176.pr-50.17.176.1

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.