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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §15.1.16.pr

Sole Ownership of a Common Slave's Peculium by One Master

Passage 2275 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Julian discusses the exceptional cases where the peculium of a common slave belongs to only one of the masters, citing examples of sale and reservation of ownership, while Marcellus adds the cases of deprivation and grant consisting in claims.

[IULIANUS libro duodecimo digestorum. ] §15.1.16.prQuis ergo casus est, quo peculium serui communis ad alterum ex dominis solum pertineat? in primis si quis serui partem dimidiam uendiderit nec peculium ei concesserit: deinde si quis seruo communi pecuniam uel res aliquas ea mente dederit, ut proprietatem earum retineret, administrationem autem seruo concederet.
[JULIANUS in the twelfth book of the Digests.] What case is there, then, in which the peculium of a common slave belongs to only one of the masters? First, if someone has sold a half share of a slave and has not granted the peculium to him; secondly, if someone has given money or certain things to a common slave with the intention that he should retain the ownership of them, but grant the administration to the slave.
MARCELLUS notat: est etiam ille casus, si alter ademerit: uel si omni quidem modo concesserit dominus, sed in nominibus erit concessio.
Marcellus notes: there is also that case, if one of them has taken it away; or if the master has indeed granted it in every way, but the grant will consist in claims.

Notes

  1. §15.1.16.prquo... pertineat — In this subordinate clause introduced by the relative adverb 'quo', the subjunctive 'pertineat' is used to express the characteristic of the antecedent 'casus'. Literally: 'such a case in which the peculium of a common slave would belong...'
  2. §15.1.16.prea mente dederit, ut proprietatem earum retineret — The phrase 'ea mente' (with the intention) is followed by an appositional 'ut' clause ('retineret ... concederet'). Because the perfect 'dederit' in the main clause functions as a historical tense (referring to a past act), the verbs in the 'ut' clause are in the imperfect subjunctive ('retineret', 'concederet') according to the sequence of tenses.
  3. §15.1.16.prin nominibus erit concessio — 'nomen' in Roman law refers to an entry in a ledger, and by extension to 'claims' or 'debts'. Thus, 'in nominibus erit concessio' means that the grant (or acknowledgment of the peculium) consists only in claims against third parties, rather than in physical, corporeal property.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §15.1.16.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:15.1.16.pr

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