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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §13.7.6.pr-13.7.6.1

Compulsion to Sell Pledges and Interest on Surplus

Passage 2144 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Pomponius discusses how a creditor is not forced to sell a pledge even if agreed upon, and addresses the liability for interest when the creditor sells the pledge for a surplus.

[IDEM libro trigensimo quinto ad Sabinum. ] §13.7.6.prQuamuis conuenerit, ut fundum pigneraticium tibi uendere liceret, nihilo magis cogendus es uendere, licet soluendo non sit is, qui pignus dederit, quia tua causa id caueatur.
[THE SAME, on Sabinus, Book XXXV] Even though it was agreed that you should be allowed to sell the mortgaged land, you are by no means more compelled to sell, even if he who gave the pledge is insolvent, because that provision was made for your benefit.
sed Atilicinus ex causa cogendum creditorem esse ad uendendum dicit: quid enim si multo minus sit quod debeatur et hodie pluris uenire possit pignus quam postea? melius autem est dici eum, qui dederit pignus, posse uendere et accepta pecunia soluere id quod debeatur.
But Atilicinus says that under certain circumstances a creditor should be compelled to sell: for what if the debt is much less, and the pledge can be sold for more today than later? However, it is better to say that the person who gave the pledge can sell it and, having received the money, pay what is owed.
ita tamen, ut creditor necessitatem habeat ostendere rem pigneratam, si mobilis sit, prius idonea cautela a debitore pro indemnitate ei praestanda.
This is so, however, on the condition that the creditor is under an obligation to display the pledged property, if it is movable, provided that suitable security for indemnity is first provided to him by the debtor.
inuitum enim creditorem cogi uendere satis inhumanum est.
For to compel an unwilling creditor to sell is harsh enough.
§13.7.6.1Si creditor pluris fundum pigneratum uendiderit, si id faeneret, usuram eius pecuniae praestare debet ei, qui dederit pignus: sed et si ipse usus sit ea pecunia, usuram praestari oportet.
If the creditor has sold the pledged land for more, and if he lends that money out at interest, he must pay interest on that money to the person who gave the pledge; but even if he has used that money himself, interest ought to be paid.
quod si eam depositam habuerit, usuras non debet.
If, however, he has kept it on deposit, he does not owe interest.

Notes

  1. 13.7.6.prsoluendo non sit — soluendo is the dative of the gerundive (soluendus) expressing purpose or suitability. It is part of the idiomatic phrase soluendo esse, meaning "to be solvent," and here its negation indicates that the debtor is insolvent.
  2. 13.7.6.prprius idonea cautela a debitore pro indemnitate ei praestanda — An ablative absolute clause with the subject idonea cautela and the gerundive praestanda, expressing a condition precedent or a prior obligation ("suitable security having first to be provided") under which the main clause's conditional obligation holds.
  3. 13.7.6.1pluris — Genitive of value or price, modifying the verb uendiderit, meaning "for more" (at a higher price).

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §13.7.6.pr-13.7.6.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:13.7.6.pr-13.7.6.1

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