Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §18.1.52.pr

Prohibition of Building Demolition and Sale and Penalties

Passage 2640 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This passage details a senatorial decree prohibiting the demolition and trading of houses, the penalties for its violation, the buyer's right to recover the price, and its application to the sale of another's property.

[IDEM libro quinquagensimo quarto ad edictum. ] §18.1.52.prSenatus censuit, ne quis domum uillamue dirueret, quo plus sibi adquireretur neue quis negotiandi causa eorum quid emeret uenderetue: poena in eum, qui aduersus senatus consultum fecisset, constituta est, ut duplum eius quanti emisset in aerarium inferre cogeretur, in eum uero, qui uendidisset, ut irrita fieret uenditio.
[THE SAME, On the Edict, Book LIV] The Senate decreed that no one should demolish a house or a villa in order that more might be acquired for himself, nor should anyone buy or sell any of them for the sake of trading. A penalty was established against anyone who acted contrary to the decree of the Senate: namely, that he who had bought should be compelled to pay double the purchase price into the treasury, while against him who had sold, that the sale should be rendered void.
plane si mihi pretium solueris, cum tu duplum aerario debeas, repetes a me: quod a mea parte irrita facta est uenditio.
Clearly, if you pay the price to me, although you owe double to the treasury, you will recover it from me, because on my part the sale has been rendered void.
nec solum huic senatus consulto locus erit, si quis suam uillam uel domum, sed et si alienam uendiderit.
And this decree of the Senate will apply not only if someone sells his own villa or house, but also if he sells one belonging to another.

Notes

  1. §18.1.52.prquo plus sibi adquireretur — A subjunctive clause of purpose. Since it contains the comparative 'plus', 'quo' (= ut eo) is used instead of 'ut'. The imperfect subjunctive is used in accordance with the sequence of tenses after the historical main verb 'censuit'.
  2. §18.1.52.prpoena... ut duplum... cogeretur — A noun clause introduced by 'ut' in apposition to 'poena', explaining the content of the penalty. The subsequent 'ut irrita fieret uenditio' follows the same structure with the ellipsis of the main verb.
  3. §18.1.52.prcum tu duplum aerario debeas — A 'cum' clause with the present subjunctive 'debeas' expressing concession ('although', 'granted that'). It sets up a contrast where the buyer, despite being liable for the double penalty to the treasury, can still recover the paid price from the seller.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §18.1.52.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:18.1.52.pr

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.