Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §18.1.11.pr-18.1.11.1

Mistake as to Qualities and Sex of the Object

Passage 2599 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Ulpianus discusses the effect of mistakes regarding the object of a contract on its validity, noting that while mistakes about minor qualities (like virginity) do not void the sale, a mistake concerning the sex of the object renders the purchase invalid.

[ULPIANUS libro uicesimo octauo ad Sabinum. ] §18.1.11.prAlioquin quid dicemus, si caecus emptor fuit uel si in materia erratur uel in minus perito discernendarum materiarum? in corpus eos consensisse dicemus? et quemadmodum consensit, qui non uidit?
[ULPIANUS, in the twenty-eighth book on Sabinus.] Otherwise, what shall we say if the buyer was blind, or if a mistake is made regarding the material, or in the case of one who is less skilled in distinguishing materials? Shall we say that they agreed on the object itself? And how did he, who did not see, agree?
§18.1.11.1Quod si ego me uirginem emere putarem, cum esset iam mulier, emptio ualebit: in sexu enim non est erratum.
But if I should think that I am buying a virgin, when she is already a woman, the purchase will be valid; for there has been no mistake as to sex.
ceterum si ego mulierem uenderem, tu puerum emere existimasti, quia in sexu error est, nulla emptio, nulla uenditio est.
On the other hand, if I were selling a woman and you supposed you were buying a boy, since there is a mistake as to sex, there is no purchase and no sale.

Notes

  1. 18.1.11.prin minus perito discernendarum materiarum — This phrase continues the construction of `in` + ablative depending on the impersonal passive verb `erratur` in the preceding clause. `perito` is the ablative singular of the adjective `peritus` ("skilled"), used substantively. The following phrase `discernendarum materiarum` is a gerundive construction in the genitive plural, governed by `perito`.
  2. 18.1.11.1ego me uirginem emere putarem — An accusative with infinitive construction dependent on `putarem` (imperfect subjunctive), where `me` is the subject accusative, `emere` is the infinitive, and `uirginem` is the object accusative. The mistake between a "virgin" (uirgo) and a "woman" (mulier) is deemed not to invalidate the sale because both belong to the same "sex" (sexus).

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §18.1.11.pr-18.1.11.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:18.1.11.pr-18.1.11.1

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.