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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §9.2.44.pr-9.2.44.1

Slightest Fault and Master's Liability for a Slave's Act

Passage 1561 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This section states that even the slightest fault is taken into account under the Lex Aquilia, and that there is no doubt about the master's liability if a slave commits damage with the master's knowledge.

[ULPIANUS libro quadragensimo secundo ad Sabinum. ] §9.2.44.prIn lege Aquilia et leuissima culpa uenit.
[ULPIANUS, in the forty-second book on Sabinus.] Under the Lex Aquilia, even the slightest fault is taken into account.
§9.2.44.1Quotiens sciente domino seruus uulnerat uel occidit, Aquilia dominum teneri dubium non est.
Whenever a slave wounds or kills with the knowledge of his master, there is no doubt that the master is held liable under the Lex Aquilia.

Notes

  1. §9.2.44.pruenit — Third-person singular present of the intransitive verb uenio ("to come"). Here it is used in a specific legal sense meaning "to be taken into account" or "to be included".
  2. §9.2.44.1sciente domino — An ablative absolute construction consisting of the present participle sciente and the noun domino, meaning "with the knowledge of the master" or "while the master knows".
  3. §9.2.44.1Aquilia — Ablative feminine singular adjective. The noun actione ("by the action") or lege ("under the law") is understood as omitted, modifying the passive infinitive teneri (the main verb of the accusative-with-infinitive clause) to mean "under the Lex Aquilia" or "by the Aquilian action".

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §9.2.44.pr-9.2.44.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:9.2.44.pr-9.2.44.1

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