Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §18.1.4.pr

Purchase in Good Faith of Free Men and Sacred Ground

Passage 2592 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

It explains that the purchase of a free man or of a sacred or religious place, which cannot be owned, is considered valid if the buyer is ignorant of its status.

[POMPONIUS libro nono ad Sabinum. ] §18.1.4.prEt liberi hominis et loci sacri et religiosi, qui haberi non potest, emptio intellegitur, si ab ignorante emitur,
[POMPONIUS, in the ninth book on Sabinus.] Also, the purchase of a free man, or of a sacred or religious place, which cannot be owned, is understood to hold, if it is bought by one who is ignorant of its status.

Notes

  1. §18.1.4.prqui haberi non potest — Meaning "which cannot be possessed/owned." The relative pronoun `qui` is masculine singular, agreeing with the nearest noun `loci` (or `hominis`). Substantively, it characterizes both a free person and a sacred/religious place as things that cannot be objects of private ownership.
  2. §18.1.4.premptio intellegitur — An infinitive like `consistere` (to stand/be valid) or `coisse` (to have been contracted) is understood with `intellegitur`, meaning "the purchase is understood [to be contracted/valid]." It indicates that even though the object cannot legally be sold, if the buyer is in good faith (ignorant), the contract itself is recognized as valid to allow legal remedies (e.g., the *actio empti*).

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §18.1.4.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:18.1.4.pr

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