Emperor Hadrian and Addicted Soldiers? Notes in the Margin of D. 49.16.6.7

The Digest of Justinian preserve an enigmatic decision by Emperor Hadrian pertaining to a specific incident of violation of military discipline. The emperor spoke in the case of soldiers who made a failed suicide attempt. Those who had a valid reason that pushed them to take this desperate step, he ordered to be dismissed from service in disgrace. The others faced death. A surprising solution was provided for would-be suicides who decided to take their own lives per vinum aut lasciviam. The ruler ordered these to be spared. The only consequence was their transfer to inferior service. Juxtaposing Hadrian’s resolution with contemporary psychological and psychiatric knowledge allows us to hypothesize that the emperor’s rescript refers to people who broke the rules of military discipline due to some form of addiction.