- Source
- Digesta Iustiniani Augusti. Mommsen, Theodor & Krueger, Paul, editors. Berlin: Weidmann, 1870.
- Translation
- AI-generated (gemini-3.5-flash) — machine translation; may contain errors
- Languages
- 日本語 · English · 简体中文 · 한국어
- CTS URN
- urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:7.8.22.pr-7.8.22.2
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-13
Pomponius discusses Emperor Hadrian's ruling that the use of a forest includes the right to cut and sell timber, the rule that a house owner cannot use parts left vacant by a legatee of its use, and the role of a judge when a legatee exceeds the proper use.
[POMPONIUS libro quinto ad Quintum Mucium.]
[POMPONIUS, in the fifth book on Quintus Mucius.]
Diuus Hadrianus, cum quibusdam usus siluae legatus esset, statuit fructum quoque eis legatum uideri,1 quia nisi liceret legatariis caedere siluam et uendere, quemadmodum usufructuariis licet, nihil habituri essent ex eo legato.
The Divine Hadrian, when the use of a forest had been bequeathed to certain persons, decided that the usufruct also should be considered as bequeathed to them; because if the legatees were not allowed to cut down the timber and sell it, as is permitted to usufructuaries, they would obtain nothing from that legacy.
Licet tam angustus est legatarius,2 cui domus usus legatus est, ut non possit occupare totius domus usum, tamen eis quae uacabunt proprietarius non utetur,3 quia licebit usuario aliis et aliis temporibus tota domo uti, cum interdum domini quoque aedium, prout temporis condicio exigit, quibusdam utantur, quibusdam non utantur.
Even if the legatee, to whom the use of a house has been bequeathed, is so restricted in his household that he cannot occupy the use of the entire house, nevertheless the proprietor shall not make use of the parts which remain vacant; because the user will be permitted to use the entire house at different times, since sometimes even the owners of buildings, as the circumstances of the time require, use some parts and do not use others.
Usu legato si plus usus sit legatarius quam oportet, officio iudicis, qui iudicat quemadmodum utatur, quid continetur?4 ne aliter quam debet utatur.
If, when a use has been bequeathed, the legatee has made more use of it than is proper, what is included in the duty of the judge who decides how he should use it? That he should not use it otherwise than he ought.
- 7.8.22.prfructum quoque eis legatum uideri
uideri ("to be considered/seem") forms part of the accusative-and-infinitive construction with fructum as its subject, depending on statuit ("he decided/decreed"). This expresses the legal interpretation that, to ensure the practical value of the legacy, the usufruct (fructus) should be deemed to be included under the use of a forest.
- 7.8.22.1Licet tam angustus est legatarius
The conjunction licet ("even if / although"), which typically governs the subjunctive in classical Latin, is here used with the indicative est to introduce a concessive clause. The adjective angustus in this context refers to the legatee's household (family, slaves, etc.) being "narrow" or restricted in size.
- 7.8.22.1eis quae uacabunt proprietarius non utetur
The demonstrative pronoun eis is in the neuter plural ablative, serving as the object of utor (here in the future utetur), which governs the ablative case. It acts as the antecedent to the relative clause quae uacabunt ("which shall be vacant"), meaning the owner cannot use those parts that are unoccupied.
- 7.8.22.2officio iudicis... quid continetur?
officio is an ablative of place or means, meaning "within/by the duty of the judge." The relative clause qui iudicat quemadmodum utatur ("who decides how he should use it") modifies iudicis, making the core of the sentence "what is contained within the duty of the judge?"