Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §50.4.4.pr-50.4.4.3

Exemptions from Munera and Duties of the Poor and Soldiers

Passage 8701 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

The passage provisions for exemptions from public works supervision based on the number of children, temporary exemptions due to lack of resources and reassessment upon financial recovery, physical service duties of the poor, and the invalidity of military enlistment intended to evade municipal burdens.

[IDEM libro tertio opinionum. ] §50.4.4.prCura exstruendi uel reficiendi operis in ciuitate munus publicum est, a quo quinque liberorum incolumium pater excusatur: nec si per uim extortum munus fuerit, excusationem, quam habet ab aliis muneribus, auferet.
[IDEM, In the Third Book of Opinions.] The management of constructing or repairing a public work in a city is a public burden, from which a father of five surviving children is excused; nor, even if the burden was extorted by force, will it take away the excuse which he has from other burdens.
§50.4.4.1Deficientium facultatibus ad munera uel honores qui indicuntur excusatio non perpetua, sed temporalis est: nam si ex uoto honestis rationibus patrimonium incrementum acceperit, suo tempore, an idoneus sit aliquis ad ea, quae creatus fuerit, aestimabitur.
The excuse of those lacking in resources from the burdens or honors that are imposed is not permanent, but temporary; for if, in accordance with their wishes, their patrimony has received an increase by honorable means, it will be evaluated in due time whether someone is suitable for those positions to which he has been appointed.
§50.4.4.2Inopes onera patrimonii ipsa non habendi necessitate non sustinent, corpori autem indicta obsequia soluunt.
The destitute do not bear burdens on patrimony by the very necessity of not having any, but they discharge the services imposed on the body.
§50.4.4.3Qui obnoxius muneribus suae ciuitatis fuit, nomen militiae defugiendi oneris municipalis gratia dedit: deteriorem causam rei publicae facere non potuit.
A person who was liable to the burdens of his own city, and gave his name to military service for the sake of escaping the municipal burden, could not make the position of the public interest worse.

Notes

  1. 50.4.4.prauferet — The future active indicative third-person singular of the verb aufero (to take away). Its subject is the "extorted burden" (or the act of undertaking it) mentioned in the preceding conditional clause. It states the legal principle that merely performing an unjustly coerced burden does not extinguish the legally held excuse (excusatio) from other burdens.
  2. 50.4.4.1deficientium facultatibus — deficientium is the genitive plural of the present participle of deficio (to lack, fail), used substantively to modify excusatio ("the excuse of those who lack"). facultatibus is the ablative plural of facultas (means, resources), functioning as an ablative of specification/respect modifying the participle.
  3. 50.4.4.2non habendi — The genitive of the gerund of habeo (to have, possess), modifying the noun necessitate (necessity). It means "by the very necessity of not having," i.e., due to the unavoidable circumstance of not possessing any patrimony.
  4. 50.4.4.3deteriorem causam rei publicae facere non potuit — Meaning "he could not make the position (or legal status) of the public interest worse." This expresses the legal rule that even if a citizen already liable to municipal burdens enlists in the military to evade them, his unilateral action cannot prejudice or invalidate the pre-existing rights and legal claims of the city (res publica) against him.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §50.4.4.pr-50.4.4.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:50.4.4.pr-50.4.4.3

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.