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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §18.1.73.pr-18.1.73.1

Sale of Destroyed Sacred Sites and Tomb Enclosures

Passage 2661 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

It stipulates that the site of a sacred building remains sacred and cannot be sold even after its destruction by an earthquake, and that pure spaces within a tomb enclosure used for cultivation belong to the buyer unless excepted.

[IDEM libro tertio responsorum. ] §18.1.73.prAede sacra terrae motu diruta locus aedificii non est profanus et ideo uenire non potest.
[THE SAME, in the third book of Opinions.] Even if a sacred building is destroyed by an earthquake, the site of the building does not become profane, and therefore it cannot be sold.
§18.1.73.1Intra maceriam sepulchrorum hortis uel ceteris culturis loca pura seruata, si nihil uenditor nominatim excepit, ad emptorem pertinent.
Within the enclosure of tombs, spaces kept pure for gardens or other cultivation belong to the buyer, if the seller has made no specific exception.

Notes

  1. §18.1.73.pruenire — The present active infinitive of the verb vēneō (to be sold). Although it closely resembles the infinitive of veniō (to come, venīre), it has a long 'e' (vēnīre) and carries a passive meaning.
  2. §18.1.73.1loca pura — Meaning "pure places"; in Roman law, it refers to land within the enclosure of tombs (maceria) that has not yet been used for burial and therefore has not become a religious property (res religiosa).
  3. §18.1.73.1hortis uel ceteris culturis — Dative of purpose or advantage, modifying "seruata" (kept, reserved). It means that these areas are maintained specifically "for gardens or other cultivation."

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §18.1.73.pr-18.1.73.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:18.1.73.pr-18.1.73.1

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