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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §9.2.4.pr-9.2.4.1

Justifiable Killing in Self-Defense and Slaying of Thieves

Passage 1520 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

The text discusses non-liability for killing a slave who is a robber in self-defense, and the conditions under which the Law of the Twelve Tables permits killing nighttime and daytime thieves.

[GAIUS libro septimo ad edictum prouinciale. ] §9.2.4.prItaque si seruum tuum latronem insidiantem mihi occidero, securus ero: nam aduersus periculum naturalis ratio permittit se defendere.
[GAIUS, from the seventh book on the Provincial Edict.] Therefore, if I kill your slave who is a robber lying in wait for me, I shall be free from liability; for natural reason permits one to defend oneself against danger.
§9.2.4.1Lex duodecim tabularum furem noctu deprehensum occidere permittit, ut tamen id ipsum cum clamore testificetur: interdiu autem deprehensum ita permittit occidere, si is se telo defendat, ut tamen aeque cum clamore testificetur.
The Law of the Twelve Tables permits the killing of a thief caught by night, provided, however, that one attests to this very fact with a shout; but it permits the killing of a thief caught by day only if he defends himself with a weapon, provided, however, that one equally attests to it with a shout.

Notes

  1. §9.2.4.prse defendere — The reflexive pronoun `se` is the direct object of the infinitive `defendere`, meaning 'to defend oneself'. The subject of `permittit` is `naturalis ratio`, and the implied subject of the infinitive (the person defending themselves) is generalized.
  2. §9.2.4.1ut tamen id ipsum cum clamore testificetur — The conjunction `ut` introducing the present subjunctive `testificetur` is used restrictively to express a proviso ('provided that', 'on the condition that'). The subject of the verb is contextually the person who kills the thief. `id ipsum` refers to the act of catching and killing the thief at night (or the emergency of the situation).
  3. §9.2.4.1ita permittit occidere, si — The correlative structure of the adverb `ita` and the conditional clause with `si` expresses a strong limitation: 'permits killing in this manner only if...'

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §9.2.4.pr-9.2.4.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:9.2.4.pr-9.2.4.1

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