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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §15.1.5.pr-15.1.5.4

Scope of Peculium Actions: Etymology and Definition

Passage 2264 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Ulpian defines the scope of actions on peculium arising from deposit, precarium, and oaths, and cites the etymology of peculium alongside Tubero's definition.

[ULPIANUS libro uicensimo nono ad edictum. ] §15.1.5.prDepositi nomine pater uel dominus dumtaxat de peculio conueniuntur et si quid dolo malo eorum captus sum.
[ULPIANUS, On the Edict, Book 29] On the ground of deposit, a father or master is sued only to the extent of the peculium, and also if I have been defrauded by any wilful deceit of theirs.
§15.1.5.1Sed et si precario res filio familias uel seruo data sit, dumtaxat de peculio pater dominusue obligantur.
But also, if property has been granted to a son-in-power or a slave by precarium, the father or master is liable only to the extent of the peculium.
§15.1.5.2Si filius familias iusiurandum detulerit et iuratum sit, de peculio danda est actio, quasi contractum sit: sed in seruo diuersum est.
If a son-in-power has tendered the oath and the oath has been taken, an action on the peculium must be granted as if a contract had been made; but in the case of a slave it is different.
§15.1.5.3Peculium dictum est quasi pusilla pecunia siue patrimonium pusillum.
Peculium is so called as if it were a small amount of money (pusilla pecunia) or a small patrimony (patrimonium pusillum).
§15.1.5.4Peculium autem Tubero quidem sic definit, ut Celsus libro sexto digestorum refert, quod seruus domini permissu separatum a rationibus dominicis habet, deducto inde si quid domino debetur.
Moreover, Tubero indeed defines peculium in this way, as Celsus reports in the sixth book of his Digests, as that which a slave, with the master's permission, holds separately from the master's accounts, with any debt owed to the master deducted therefrom.

Notes

  1. 15.1.5.preorum — Although the grammatically closest plural elements are 'pater uel dominus', the actual transaction and the malice (dolus malus) are committed by the subordinates. Therefore, 'eorum' refers to the 'filii familias' or 'serui' who are implied by the context of the action on peculium.
  2. 15.1.5.1precario — Adverbial use of the ablative of the noun 'precarium' (permissive occupancy or gratuitous loan revocable at will). Property granted under this category can be recalled at any time at the sole discretion of the grantor.
  3. 15.1.5.2quasi contractum sit — 'quasi' with the perfect subjunctive passive. This expresses a legal fiction allowing the action on peculium by treating the obligation arising from the oath ('iusiurandum') as if a formal contract ('contractus') had been concluded.
  4. 15.1.5.4deducto inde si quid domino debetur — An ablative absolute construction. The perfect participle in the neuter singular ablative, 'deducto', takes the conditional clause 'si quid domino debetur' (if anything is owed to the master) as its substantial subject (noun clause).

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §15.1.5.pr-15.1.5.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:15.1.5.pr-15.1.5.4

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