Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §1.8.1.pr-1.8.1.1

Division of Things: Divine Law, Human Law, and Corporality

Passage 149 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Gaius discusses the fundamental divisions of things, distinguishing between things of divine law and human law, as well as between corporeal and incorporeal things.

[GAIUS libro secundo institutionum. ] §1.8.1.prSumma rerum diuisio in duos articulos deducitur: nam aliae sunt diuini iuris, aliae humani.
[GAIUS, Institutes, book 2.] The primary division of things is reduced to two classes: for some are of divine law, others of human law.
diuini iuris sunt ueluti res sacrae et religiosae.
Of divine law are, for example, sacred things and religious things.
sanctae quoque res, ueluti muri et portae, quodammodo diuini iuris sunt.
Holy things also, such as walls and gates, are in a certain sense of divine law.
quod autem diuini iuris est, id nullius in bonis est: id uero, quod humani iuris est, plerumque alicuius in bonis est, potest autem et nullius in bonis esse: nam res hereditariae, antequam aliquis heres existat, nullius in bonis sunt.
Now, that which is of divine law belongs to no one's property; but that which is of human law is usually someone's property, though it can also belong to no one's property: for inherited property, before some heir exists, belongs to no one's property.
hae autem res, quae humani iuris sunt, aut publicae sunt aut priuatae.
Moreover, those things which are of human law are either public or private.
quae publicae sunt, nullius in bonis esse creduntur, ipsius enim uniuersitatis esse creduntur: priuatae autem sunt, quae singulorum sunt.
Those which are public are believed to belong to no one's property, for they are believed to belong to the corporate body itself; but private things are those which belong to individuals.
§1.8.1.1Quaedam praeterea res corporales sunt, quaedam incorporales.
Furthermore, some things are corporeal, others incorporeal.
corporales hae sunt, quae tangi possunt, ueluti fundus homo uestis aurum argentum et denique aliae res innumerabiles: incorporales sunt, quae tangi non possunt, qualia sunt ea, quae in iure consistunt, sicut hereditas, usus fructus, obligationes quoquo modo contractae.
Corporeal things are those which can be touched, such as land, a slave, a garment, gold, silver, and in short, countless other things. Incorporeal things are those which cannot be touched, such as those which consist in law, like an inheritance, usufruct, and obligations contracted in any manner.
nec ad rem pertinet, quod in hereditate res corporales continentur: nam et fructus, qui ex fundo percipiuntur, corporales sunt, et id quod ex aliqua obligatione nobis debetur plerumque corporale est, ueluti fundus homo pecunia: nam ipsum ius successionis et ipsum ius utendi fruendi et ipsum ius obligationis incorporale est.
Nor does it matter that corporeal things are contained in an inheritance: for even the fruits gathered from land are corporeal, and that which is owed to us by virtue of some obligation is usually corporeal, such as land, a slave, or money; yet the right of succession itself, and the right of usufruct itself, and the right of obligation itself is incorporeal.
eodem numero sunt et iura praediornm urbanorum et rusticorum, quae etiam seruitutes uocantur.
In the same category are also the rights of urban and rustic estates, which are also called servitudes.

Notes

  1. §1.8.1.prdiuini iuris — Genitive of quality (description) meaning 'of divine law'. The contrasted phrase humani iuris shares the same construction.
  2. §1.8.1.prnullius in bonis est — Meaning 'is in no one's property' (i.e., owned by no one). nullius is the genitive singular of nemo, and in bonis is a technical Roman law expression for 'belonging to the estate/property of'.
  3. §1.8.1.prquodammodo — An adverb meaning 'in a certain way' or 'in a sense'. Since 'holy things' (res sanctae) like walls and gates are revered but not strictly dedicated to deities (sacrae) or the departed (religiosae), this qualifying word is added.
  4. §1.8.1.1nec ad rem pertinet, quod — Negation of the impersonal expression ad rem pertinet (it is relevant/matters). The subject is the noun clause introduced by quod ('the fact that...').
  5. §1.8.1.1eodem numero sunt — Literally 'are in the same number (category)'. eodem numero is an ablative of place or manner, here meaning that they belong to the same category of incorporeal things (res incorporales).

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §1.8.1.pr-1.8.1.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:1.8.1.pr-1.8.1.1

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