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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §18.1.78.pr-18.1.78.3

Accessories, Transfer of Possession, and Risk Allocation

Passage 2666 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This chunk discusses the scope of accessories in a sale, the method of delivering possession to oneself when the buyer becomes the guardian of the seller's heir, the indivisibility of debt and actions when possession transfer is conditional on full payment, and the seller's liability for crop damage caused by abnormal weather conditions.

[LABEO libro quarto posteriorum a IAUOLENO epitomatorum. ] §18.1.78.prFistulas emptori accessuras in lege dictum erat: quaerebatur, an castellum, ex quo fistulis aqua duceretur, accederet.
[LABEO, in the fourth book of his Last Works, epitomized by JAVOLENUS.] It had been stated in the terms of sale that the water pipes should go to the purchaser; the question arose whether the reservoir, from which the water was conducted through the pipes, should also go to him.
respondi apparere id actum esse, ut id quoque accederet, licet scriptura non continetur.
I replied that it appeared to have been agreed that this also should go to him, although it was not contained in the written contract.
§18.1.78.1Fundum ab eo emisti, cuius filii postea tutelam administras, nec uacuam accepisti possessionem.
You bought a tract of land from a person whose son's guardianship you later administer, and you had not received vacant possession.
dixi tradere te tibi possessionem hoc modo posse, ut pupillus et familia eius decedat de fundo, tunc demum tu ingrediaris possessionem.
I said that you can deliver possession to yourself in this manner: that the ward and his household depart from the land, and only then do you enter into possession.
§18.1.78.2Qui fundum ea lege emerat, ut soluta pecunia traderetur ei possessio, duobus heredibus relictis decessit.
A person who had bought a tract of land on the condition that possession should be delivered to him when the money was paid, died leaving two heirs.
si unus omnem pecuniam soluerit, partem familiae herciscundae iudicio seruabit: nec, si partem soluat, ex empto cum uenditore aget, quoniam ita contractum aes alienum diuidi non potuit.
If one of them pays the entire amount of money, he will secure the share by the action for the partition of an inheritance; nor, if he pays only a part, can he bring an action on purchase against the seller, since a debt thus contracted could not be divided.
§18.1.78.3Frumenta quae in herbis erant cum uendidisses dixisti te, si quid ui aut tempestate factum esset, praestaturum: ea frumenta niues corruperunt: si immoderatae fuerunt et contra consuetudinem tempestatis, agi tecum ex empto poterit.
When you sold crops that were still in the blade, you said that you would make good if any damage occurred by violence or tempest. Snow ruined these crops; if the snows were excessive and contrary to the usual weather, an action on purchase can be brought against you.

Notes

  1. §18.1.78.1tradere te tibi possessionem hoc modo posse — Accusative with infinitive construction. The accusative pronoun 'te' is the subject of 'posse', and 'tibi' is the dative indirect object of 'tradere'. This describes a legal transaction in which the buyer, who later becomes the guardian of the seller's ward, can 'deliver (tradere) possession to himself (tibi)' in his capacity as guardian.
  2. §18.1.78.2partem familiae herciscundae iudicio seruabit — 'familiae herciscundae iudicio' is an ablative of means, referring to the action for the partition of an inheritance. 'partem ... seruabit' means that the heir who paid the full price to obtain possession from the seller will recover or secure the other heir's share of the debt through this partition lawsuit.
  3. §18.1.78.3si quid ui aut tempestate factum esset, praestaturum — A subordinate clause within the accusative with infinitive construction 'dixisti te ... praestaturum [esse]'. 'factum esset' represents a future perfect 'factum erit' of direct speech, changed into the subjunctive pluperfect due to sequence of tenses after the past main verb 'dixisti'. It expresses the seller's guarantee against loss caused by violence or tempest.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §18.1.78.pr-18.1.78.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:18.1.78.pr-18.1.78.3

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