Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §17.1.5.pr-17.1.5.5

Adherence to Mandate Limits and Non-Conforming Sales

Passage 2444 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

It explains the necessity of strictly observing the limits of a mandate, clarifying that unauthorized actions or sales below the instructed price constitute a breach, except where the shortfall is compensated or the purchase is made under more favorable terms.

[PAULUS libro trigensimo secundo ad edictum. ] §17.1.5.prDiligenter igitur fines mandati custodiendi sunt: §17.1.5.1nam qui excessit, aliud quid facere uidetur et, si susceptum non impleuerit, tenetur.
[PAULUS in the thirty-second book on the Edict.] Therefore, the limits of the mandate must be carefully observed: for he who has exceeded them is seen to do something else, and if he does not fulfill what he undertook, he is liable.
§17.1.5.2Itaque si mandauero tibi, ut domum Seianam centum emeres tuque Titianam emeris longe maioris pretii, centum tamen aut etiam minoris, non uideris implesse mandatum.
Therefore, if I mandate you to buy the Seian house for one hundred, and you buy the Titian house of a much higher value, yet for one hundred or even less, you are not considered to have fulfilled the mandate.
§17.1.5.3Item si mandauero tibi, ut fundum meum centum uenderes tuque eum nonaginta uendideris et petam fundum, non obstabit mihi exceptio, nisi et reliquum mihi, quod deest mandatu meo, praestes et indemnem me per omnia conserues.
Likewise, if I mandate you to sell my land for one hundred, and you sell it for ninety, and I claim the land, an exception will not stand in my way, unless you both make up to me the remainder which is lacking from my mandate and keep me harmless in all respects.
§17.1.5.4Seruo quoque dominus si praeceperit certa summa rem uendere, ille minoris uendiderit, similiter uindicare eam dominus potest nec ulla exceptione summoueri, nisi indemnitas ei praestetur.
Also, if a master orders his slave to sell a thing for a certain sum, and the slave sells it for less, the master can likewise vindicate it, and cannot be barred by any exception, unless indemnity is provided to him.
§17.1.5.5Melior autem causa mandantis fieri potest, si, cum tibi mandassem, ut Stichum decem emeres, tu eum minoris emeris uel tantidem, ut aliud quicquam seruo accederet: utroque enim casu aut non ultra pretium aut intra pretium fecisti.
But the position of the mandator can be made better if, when I mandated you to buy Stichus for ten, you bought him for less, or for the same price but so that something else was added with the slave; for in either case you acted either not beyond the price or within the price.

Notes

  1. §17.1.5.2longe maioris pretii, centum tamen aut etiam minoris — maioris pretii is a genitive of quality describing the object (Titianam), indicating its high objective value, whereas centum (ablative of price) and minoris (genitive of price) represent the actual purchase price, presenting a contrast where the house is of much higher value but bought for a hundred or less.
  2. §17.1.5.3nisi et reliquum mihi, quod deest mandatu meo, praestes et indemnem me per omnia conserues — This is a conditional clause introduced by nisi with the present subjunctives praestes and conserues, forming an exceptional condition to the main clause's negative statement non obstabit. It sets up a double negative structure: the exception will not block the claim unless the shortfall is paid and indemnity is fully provided.
  3. §17.1.5.5ut aliud quicquam seruo accederet — The ut clause expresses result or purpose, using the imperfect subjunctive accederet due to the sequence of tenses following the perfect emeris. seruo is a dative of reference dependent on accederet, meaning "that something else should accrue to the slave."

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §17.1.5.pr-17.1.5.5. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:17.1.5.pr-17.1.5.5

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.