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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §13.5.19.pr-13.5.19.2

Conditional Constitutum and Promises Concerning Peculium

Passage 2102 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This section discusses the effect of conditions on promises regarding conditional debts, the availability of an action on the case for conditional promises of unconditional debts, and promises made by fathers or masters concerning the peculium.

[PAULUS libro uicensimo nono ad edictum. ] §13.5.19.prId quod sub condicione debetur, siue pure siue certo die constituatur, eadem condicione suspenditur, ut exsistente condicione teneatur, deficiente utraque actio depereat.
[PAULUS, from the twenty-ninth book on the Edict.] What is owed under a condition, whether the promise is made unconditionally or for a certain day, is suspended by the same condition, so that, when the condition is fulfilled, he is bound, and when it fails, both actions are lost.
§13.5.19.1Sed is, qui pure debet, si sub condicione constituat, inquit Pomponius in hunc utilem actionem esse.
But if he who owes unconditionally makes a promise under a condition, Pomponius says that there is an action on the case against him.
§13.5.19.2Si pater uel dominus constituerit se soluturum quod fuit in peculio, non minueretur peculium eo, quod ex ea causa obstrictus esse coeperit: et licet interierit peculium, non tamen liberatur.
If a father or a master has promised that he will pay what was in the peculium, the peculium would not be diminished by the fact that he began to be bound from that cause; and even if the peculium has ceased to exist, he is nevertheless not released.

Notes

  1. §13.5.19.prdeficiente utraque actio depereat — The participle `deficiente` is an ablative absolute construction with the omitted subject `condicione`, meaning "when the condition fails." The phrase `utraque actio` (both actions) refers to both the action on the original obligation and the action on the promise (actio deconstituta pecunia).
  2. §13.5.19.1in hunc utilem actionem esse — The prepositional phrase `in hunc` indicates the person against whom liability is directed ("against this person"). `utilem actionem esse` is an accusative-with-infinitive construction (indirect speech) depending on the parenthetical `inquit Pomponius` (Pomponius says), serving as the main clause to the conditional clause `si...`.
  3. §13.5.19.2eo, quod ex ea causa obstrictus esse coeperit — The ablative demonstrative `eo` expresses cause and is explained by the appositive clause introduced by `quod` ("by the fact that..."). The subjunctive imperfect `minueretur` is used to express the hypothetical consequence of the condition set by `constituerit`.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §13.5.19.pr-13.5.19.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:13.5.19.pr-13.5.19.2

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