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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §50.7.8.pr

Exemption When a Son Serves as Envoy for His Father

Passage 8744 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Papinian explains that if a decurion son undertakes an embassy on behalf of his father, the son is not excused from his own turn of embassy duty, but the father is deemed to have performed it through his son and can claim a two-year exemption.

[PAPINIANUS libro primo responsorum. ] §50.7.8.prFilius decurio pro patre legationis officium suscepit.
[PAPINIAN, from the first book of Responses.]\n\nA son who is a decurion undertook the duty of an embassy on behalf of his father.
ea res filium, quo minus ordine suo legatus proficiscatur, non excusat: pater tamen biennii uacationem uindicare poterit, quia per filium legatione functus uidetur.
This fact does not excuse the son from setting out as an envoy in his own turn; however, the father will be able to claim an exemption of two years, because he is deemed to have performed the embassy through his son.

Notes

  1. §50.7.8.prnon excusat, quo minus ordine suo legatus proficiscatur — The verb 'excusare', like verbs of preventing or hindering, can take a clause introduced by 'quominus' with the subjunctive, meaning 'to excuse someone from doing something'. With the negative 'non', it means 'it does not excuse the son from setting out...'. 'ordine suo' is an ablative of manner meaning 'in his own turn'.
  2. §50.7.8.prlegatione functus uidetur — 'functus' is the perfect participle of the deponent verb 'fungi' (to perform, discharge), which governs the ablative case, hence taking 'legatione' (ablative singular of legatio) as its object. 'uidetur' is the third-person singular of 'uideri' (passive of uideo) and is used here in its authoritative/legal sense of 'is deemed to' or 'is held to' rather than a subjective 'seems to'.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §50.7.8.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:50.7.8.pr

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