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Select Papyri, 2.263


MINUTES OF A TRIAL BEFORE THE JURIDICUS

Greek text:   PBour 20   ( PAbinn 63 )
Date:   After A.D. 350.

In the consulship of . . . and . . . the most illustrious, November 13, Hathur 17. Horus and Nonna and Dionysius being present, Gennadius said : I appear on behalf of Eustorgion in virtue of a mandate given to Horus, and I will read you the mandate given to Horus on Eustorgion's behalf, which has been recorded in the minutes of proceedings conducted by mandate before your worship. His eminence Flavius Gennadius, juridicus of Alexandria, said : Read it. Gennadius said : I will read it, and he read out : In the consulship of Sergius and Nigrinianus the most illustrious, Phaophi 19, etc. The advocate continued : Such is the mandate, and we demand that the woman now present shall either abandon the portion which belongs to my client, namely a fourth of the cottage, a half loaf, a fourth of the donation and of the storehouse, or make delivery of them to us or else pay the proper rent which another person would pay, letting an architect scrutinize with regard to the cottage the subsidiary bread allowance which she of her own accord has agreed to give. Nonna said : For the portion of Eustorgion we have already given the quarter . . . His eminence Flavius Gennadius, juridicus of Alexandria, said : "It is right that an architect shall go to the place and after examination determine the amount which Nonna ought to pay to Eustorgion as rent for the fourth part of the cottage and the storehouse and that Nonna shall furnish this amount to Horus the other's representative, especially as she as concurred in this proposal and promises, so long as she lives therein, to pay as much as another person would be expected to do, the execution of this measure being seen to by my office." Gennadius said : With regard to the cottage and the storehouse such is your worship's decision, pronounced in the presence of Nonna. With regard again to the half loaf and the quarter of the donation we demand that Nonna shall render them to the mandatory of the plaintiff, the mandate having been given once for all. His eminence Flavius Gennadius, juridicus of Alexandria, said : "What says Nonna to this again?" Nonna said : "That I seek authorization to deal with my opponent (?)." Gennadius said : Since she is in doubt . . ., and whereas the mandate has been read out and we possess a document in which she acknowledges that she is keeping these things for Eustorgion, let her give them up in accordance with the mandate. His eminence Flavius Gennadius, juridicus of Alexandria, said : Read the document which you say you possess ; and he read out : Aurelia Nonna daughter of Elitas, possessing the jus liberorum, to Aurelia Eustorgion my sister, accompanied by your husband Aurelius Phileas son of Apollonius, greeting. I acknowledge that I have leased and taken over from you a fourth part etc. The advocate Gennadius said : This is an acknowledgement that the bread also belongs to Eustorgion, that is to say, the half loaf and the quarter of the donation, and we demand that she shall deliver these same allowances to our side. Cyrus said : She acknowledges that Eustorgion is entitled to a half loaf, likewise a quarter share of the donation, and she asks the court to decide to whom they ought to be delivered in the name of that person. His eminence Flavius Gennadius, juridicus of Alexandria, said : It is right that, in accordance with the mandate given by Eustorgion to Horus and in consequence of what we have learned from the recital of the agreement made by Nonna, both the half loaf and the quarter of the donation shall be handed over by Nonna to Horus the representative of Eustorgion. Gennadius said : Such is the decision pronounced by your worship, and we ask that effect be given to it by your office. But since Dionysius also has come forward, we ask her to say what her intentions are about him. Cyrus said : Dionysius again is her brother ; but as he is unfit for business, a guardian has been appointed for him in the person of his brother Philadelphus who is in Egypt and will be here before long ; meanwhile the boy lives with his sister and receives his bread without any grudging. His eminence Flavius Gennadius, juridicus of Alexandria, said : Prove this. Cyrus said : He has a guardian, who however is absent, and our opponent has suborned this boy and taken control of him with the intention of practising one more fraud against my client. His eminence Flavius Gennadius, juridicus of Alexandria, said : Since you have spoken of a guardian, read the document showing how Philadelphus has become guardian of Dionysius here present. Cyrus said : The guardian is in Egypt, and the sister supplies to her brother his portion of bread and does not prevent him from entering and living in the cottage. His eminence Flavius Gennadius, juridicus of Alexandria, said : "When the guardian appears, he will be free to use the pleas which you now make, provided that what you have said is true." Cyrus said : Lest we should find that the boy, suborned by our opponent, is being used for some fraud for that is our opponent's aim let no new step be taken in the absence of the guardian ; for his sister is prepared to give Dionysius both his share of bread and his due portion of the rent. His eminence Flavius Gennadius, juridicus of Alexandria, said : For the present let Nonna in accordance with her promise exert herself to furnish to Dionysius without fault both the half loaf and besides that the rent ; for if s he should be even a little negligent in doing this, Dionysius shall be empowered to make an appeal to the court and obtain the relief to which he is entitled. Gennadius said : When will he produce the person he speaks of? For we have no knowledge at all of any such thing as he asserts having taken place, of a guardian having been given to one who is sound of mind and has come forward claiming the property which belongs to him. Cyrus said : "Seeing that he is in the Arsinoite nome, we will produce him within forty days." His eminence Flavius Gennadius, juridicus of Alexandria, said : " If within forty days Nonna should not produce to the court the person said to be the guardian of Dionysius or he himself appear of his own accord and prove that he has been legally constituted the boy's guardian, and if the court should again be appealed to by Dionysius, then an order will be made that the possession now held by Nonna of his half loaf and his quarter of the donation and also his quarter share of the cottage and storehouse is to be handed over to Dionysius. Copy.

papyrus 264


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