Mutual Rescission, Restoration, and Its Limits — Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian Book 2 (2.14.58.pr), Latin & English

[NERATIUS libro tertio membranarum.]

[NERATIUS in the third book of the Membranae.]

§2.14.58.pr

Ab emptione uenditione, locatione conductione ceterisque similibus obligationibus quin integris omnibus¹ consensu eorum, qui inter se obligati sint, recedi possit, dubium non est. Aristoni hoc amplius uidebatur, si ea, quae me ex empto praestare tibi oporteret, praestitissem et cum tu mihi pretium deberes, conuenisset mihi tecum, ut rursus praestitis mihi a te in re uendita omnibus, quae ego tibi praestitissem, pretium mihi non dares tuque mihi ea praestitisses: pretium te debere desinere,² quia bonae fidei, ad quam omnia haec rediguntur, interpretatio hanc quoque conuentionem admittit. nec quicquam interest, utrum integris omnibus, in quae obligati essemus, conueniret, ut ab eo negotio discederetur, an in integrum restitutis his, quae ego tibi praestitissem, consentiremus, ne quid tu mihi eo nomine praestares. illud plane conuentione, quae pertinet ad resoluendum id quod actum est, perfici non potest, ut tu quod iam ego tibi praestiti contra praestare mihi cogaris:³ quia eo modo non tam hoc agitur ut a pristino negotio discedamus, quam ut nouae quaedam obligationes inter nos constituantur.

There is no doubt that from sale, lease, and other similar obligations, a withdrawal can be made by the consent of those who are bound to each other, as long as all things remain unaltered. Aristo went further and was of the opinion that, if I had performed for you what I was obliged to perform under the purchase, and while you owed me the price, it had been agreed between you and me that, upon your restoring to me in the sold property all the things that I had performed for you, you should not pay me the price, and you had indeed restored them to me, you would cease to owe the price; because the interpretation of good faith, to which all these matters are referred, admits this agreement as well. Nor does it make any difference whether it is agreed that the business be departed from while all things in which we were bound remain unaltered, or whether, after those things which I had performed for you have been restored to their original state, we agree that you should perform nothing to me on that account. Obviously, it cannot be achieved by an agreement directed to undoing what has been done, that you should be compelled to perform back to me what I have already performed to you; because in that way, the object is not so much that we depart from the former transaction, as that certain new obligations are established between us.

Syntax notes3 items

2.14.58.printegris omnibus
Ablative absolute. Literally "all things being untouched (unimpaired)", meaning before any performance of the mutual obligations has taken place.
2.14.58.prpretium te debere desinere
An accusative-with-infinitive clause representing the content of Aristo's opinion introduced by Aristoni hoc amplius uidebatur. te is the subject accusative of the infinitive desinere, which in turn takes the complementary infinitive debere (to owe) with its object pretium.
2.14.58.prut tu quod iam ego tibi praestiti contra praestare mihi cogaris
A noun clause introduced by ut serving as the logical subject of the impersonal perfici non potest (it cannot be achieved). The relative clause quod iam ego tibi praestiti serves as the object of the infinitive praestare, which depends on the passive main verb cogaris. contra functions adverbially as "in return" or "back".

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-07-12) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)

2026-09-21 AI review — source 1

urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:2.14.58.pr