[PAULUS libro trigensimo tertio ad edictum. ] §18.1.34.prSi in emptione fundi dictum sit accedere Stichum seruum neque intellegatur, quis ex pluribus accesserit, cum de alio emptor, de alio uenditor senserit, nihilo minus fundi uenditionem ualere constat: sed Labeo ait eum Stichum deberi quem uenditor intellexerit.
[PAULUS libro trigensimo tertio ad edictum.] If in the purchase of a tract of land it is stated that the slave Stichus is to be included as an accession, and it is not understood which of several is included, because the buyer had one in mind and the seller another, it is nevertheless established that the sale of the land is valid; but Labeo says that that Stichus whom the seller had in mind is owed.
nec refert, quanti sit accessio, siue plus in ea sit quam in ipsa re cui accedat an minus: plerasque enim res aliquando propter accessiones emimus, sicuti cum domus propter marmora et statuas et tabulas pictas ematur.
Nor does it matter how much the accession is worth, whether there is more in it than in the very thing to which it is added, or less; for we sometimes buy most things on account of accessions, just as when a house is bought on account of marbles, statues, and paintings.
§18.1.34.1Omnium rerum, quas quis habere uel possidere uel persequi potest, uenditio recte fit: quas uero natura uel gentium ius uel mores ciuitatis commercio exuerunt, earum nulla uenditio est.
The sale of all things which anyone can have, possess, or pursue is lawfully made; but of those things which nature, the law of nations, or the customs of the state have excluded from commerce, there is no sale.
§18.1.34.2Liberum hominem scientes emere non possumus.
We cannot buy a free person while knowing him to be such.
sed nec talis emptio aut stipulatio admittenda est: 'cum seruus erit', quamuis dixerimus futuras res emi posse: nec enim fas est eiusmodi casus exspectare.
But neither is such a purchase or stipulation to be admitted: 'when he shall be a slave', even though we have said that future things can be bought; for it is not lawful to wait for such a contingency.
§18.1.34.3Item si et emptor et uenditor scit furtiuum esse quod uenit, a neutra parte obligatio contrahitur: si emptor solus scit, non obligabitur uenditor nec tamen ex uendito quicquam consequitur, nisi ultro quod conuenerit praestet: quod si uenditor scit, emptor ignorauit, utrinque obligatio contrahitur, et ita Pomponius quoque scribit.
Likewise, if both the buyer and the seller know that what is sold is stolen, an obligation is contracted by neither party; if the buyer alone knows, the seller will not be obligated, nor does the buyer obtain anything from the sale, unless the seller voluntarily performs what was agreed upon; but if the seller knows and the buyer was ignorant, an obligation is contracted on both sides, and Pomponius also writes to this effect.
§18.1.34.4Rei suae emptio tunc ualet, cum ab initio id agatur, ut possessionem emat, quam forte uenditor habuit, et in iudicio possessionis potior esset.
The purchase of one's own property is valid only when, from the beginning, it is intended that one buys the possession which the seller happened to have, and would be superior in a trial concerning possession.
§18.1.34.5Alia causa est degustandi, alia metiendi: gustus enim ad hoc proficit, ut improbare liceat, mensura uero non eo proficit, ut aut plus aut minus ueneat, sed ut appareat, quantum ematur.
The purpose of tasting is one thing, that of measuring is another; for tasting is useful for this, that it allows rejection, whereas measuring is not useful for the purpose of selling either more or less, but to make clear how much is being bought.
§18.1.34.6Si emptio ita facta fuerit: 'est mihi emptus Stichus aut Pamphilus', in potestate est uenditoris, quem uelit dare, sicut in stipulationibus, sed uno mortuo qui superest dandus est: et ideo prioris periculum ad uenditorem, posterioris ad emptorem respicit.
If a sale has been made in this way: 'Stichus or Pamphilus is bought by me', it is in the power of the seller which one he wishes to give, just as in stipulations; but when one dies, the survivor must be given; and therefore the risk of the former falls upon the seller, and of the latter upon the buyer.
sed et si pariter decesserunt, pretium debebitur: unus enim utique periculo emptoris uixit.
But even if they died at the same time, the price will be due; for at least one of them lived at the risk of the buyer.
idem dicendum est etiam, si emptoris fuit arbitrium quem uellet habere, si modo hoc solum arbitrio eius commissum sit, ut quem uoluisset emptum haberet, non et illud, an emptum haberet.
The same must be said also if the choice of which one he wished to have belonged to the buyer, provided that only this was committed to his choice, that he should have bought whichever one he wished, and not also whether he should buy at all.
§18.1.34.7Tutor rem pupilli emere non potest: idemque porrigendum est ad similia, id est ad curatores procuratores et qui negotia aliena gerunt.
A tutor cannot buy the property of his pupil; and the same must be extended to similar cases, that is, to curators, procurators, and those who manage the affairs of others.