Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §13.5.12.pr

Limit of Liability for Promises Exceeding the Debt

Passage 2095 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Paulus states that if ten is owed and a person promises to pay both ten and the slave Stichus, that person can be held liable only for the ten.

[PAULUS libro tertio decimo ad edictum. ] §13.5.12.prSed et si decem debeantur et decem et Stichum constituat, potest dici decem tantummodo nomine teneri.
[PAULUS, from the thirteenth book on the Edict.] But also if ten is owed and one promises both ten and Stichus, it can be said that he is bound only in respect of ten.

Notes

  1. §13.5.12.prdebeantur — Third-person plural present subjunctive passive. Since the indeclinable numeral `decem` is treated grammatically as plural, the verb also takes the plural form. The subjunctive is used to express a hypothetical condition in the clause introduced by `si`.
  2. §13.5.12.prnomine — Ablative singular of the noun `nomen`. It means 'on the account of' or 'under the head of', indicating here 'only in respect of the item of ten' (which was the original debt).

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §13.5.12.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:13.5.12.pr

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.