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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §1.3.25.pr

Prohibition of Harsh Interpretation of Beneficial Laws

Passage 44 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Modestinus argues that it is contrary to the reason of law and equity to extend rules introduced for the benefit of people to their disadvantage through a harsher interpretation.

[MODESTINUS libro VIII responsorum. ] §1.3.25.prNulla iuris ratio aut aequitatis benignitas patitur, ut quae salubriter pro utilitate hominum introducuntur, ea nos duriore interpretatione contra ipsorum commodum producamus ad seueritatem.
[MODESTINUS, Responses, Book 8] No reason of law or benevolence of equity allows that we, by a harsher interpretation, should extend to severity, against their own advantage, those things which are wholesomely introduced for the benefit of men.

Notes

  1. §1.3.25.prpatitur, ut — The verb patitur (from patior, 'to allow') typically takes an accusative with infinitive (A.C.I.) construction, but here it takes an object clause introduced by ut with the subjunctive (producamus).
  2. §1.3.25.prquae salubriter pro utilitate hominum introducuntur, ea — The relative clause introduced by quae (neuter plural nominative, acting as the subject of introducuntur) is preposed before its antecedent ea (neuter plural accusative, the direct object of producamus).
  3. §1.3.25.pripsorum — The genitive plural masculine of the intensive pronoun ipse, referring back to the preceding hominum ('men/people'), meaning 'against the advantage of those very people'.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §1.3.25.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:1.3.25.pr

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