De officio consulis
(Concerning the Office of Consul.)
1 Ulpianus libro secundo de officio consulis. Officium consulis est consilium praebere manumittere volentibus. 1Consules et seorsum singuli manumittunt: sed non potest is, qui apud alterum nomina ediderit, apud alterum manumittere: separatae enim sunt manumissiones. sane si qua ex causa collega manumittere non poterit infirmitate vel aliqua iusta causa impeditus, collegam posse manumissionem expedire senatus censuit. 2Consules apud se servos suos manumittere posse nulla dubitatio est. sed si evenerit, ut minor viginti annis consul sit, apud se manumittere non poterit, cum ipse sit, qui ex senatus consulto consilii causam examinat: apud collegam vero causa probata potest.
1 Ulpianus, On the Duties of Consul, Book II. It is the duty of the Consul to appoint a council for those who desire to manumit slaves. 1Consuls can manumit together, or alone, but he who has left names with one Consul cannot manumit before another for then the manumissions are separate; and if, for any reason, either through sickness, or through being prevented by any other just cause, one of them cannot manumit, the Senate has decided that his colleague can proceed with the manumission. 2There is no doubt that Consuls can manumit their own slaves before themselves, but if it should happen that a Consul is under twenty years of age, he has not the power of manumission in his own tribunal, as he himself is the one who, according to a decree of the Senate, must determine the ground for the appointment of a council. He can, however, do this before his colleague where proper cause has been established.