[PAULUS libro sexagensimo nono ad edictum. ] §50.17.211.prSeruus rei publicae causa abesse non potest.
[PAULUS, in his sixty-ninth book on the Edict.] A slave cannot be absent on public business.
Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §50.17.211.pr
Inapplicability of Absence on State Business to Slaves
Summary
A legal maxim by Paulus stating that a slave cannot claim the status of being absent on public business.
Notes
- §50.17.211.prrei publicae causa — The noun 'causa' is placed after a genitive (here, 'rei publicae') to form an adverbial phrase meaning 'for the sake of' or 'on account of'. In Roman law, 'rei publicae causa abesse' (to be absent on public business) was a specific legal status that granted certain protections (such as relief against loss of rights during absence), but a slave ('seruus'), lacking public legal capacity, could not claim this status.
Cite this passage
Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §50.17.211.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:50.17.211.pr
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