Chapter on Those Who Are Emancipated Automatically When Acquired in Ownership by a Relative

If a person acquires ownership of his father or grandfather, however far the line ascends; or his son or grandson, however far it descends; or his mother or any of his grandmothers—whether through the paternal or maternal line, however remote; or his full brother, paternal half-brother, maternal half-brother, or any of his sisters, then every one of these relatives is set free the very moment his ownership over them is completed, regardless of how that ownership came about—purchase, gift, bequest, charitable transfer, or inheritance. No other relatives are emancipated for their owner besides those just mentioned. Their emancipation takes effect by the mere fact of ownership and requires no judicial ruling.

If someone is given, as a gift, a share of a slave who would be automatically freed for him, and he accepts the gift while solvent, the value of the remaining shares is assessed against him and the slave’s emancipation is completed. The same applies if a share is left to him by will and he accepts it.

As for inheritance, an heir who receives only part of a slave whose ownership would bring about emancipation is under no obligation to complete that slave’s manumission; only the portion he has inherited is automatically freed for him, because inheritance does not require acceptance—and no brother is emancipated for anyone