Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §18.6.16.pr

Spoiling of Wine in Casks and Seller's Liability

Passage 2749 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This section discusses the allocation of risk for the natural spoiling of wine sold in casks before its removal, and the seller's liability based on guarantees or bad faith failure to warn.

[GAIUS libro secundo cottidianarum rerum. ] §18.6.16.prSi uina quae in doliis erunt uenierint eaque, antequam ab emptore tollerentur, sua natura corrupta fuerint, si quidem de bonitate eorum adfirmauit uenditor, tenebitur emptori: quod si nihil adfirmauit, emptoris erit periculum, quia siue non degustauit siue degustando male probauit, de se queri debet.
[GAIUS in the second book of Everyday Matters.] If wine which is in casks should be sold, and, before being removed by the buyer, should spoil by its own nature, if indeed the seller guaranteed its quality, he will be liable to the buyer. But if he guaranteed nothing, the risk will belong to the buyer, because whether he did not taste it or by tasting approved it poorly, he ought to complain of himself.
plane si, cum intellegeret uenditor non duraturam bonitatem eorum usque ad in eum diem quo tolli deberent, non admonuit emptorem, tenebitur ei, quanti eius interesset admonitum fuisse.
Clearly, if the seller, although he understood that their quality would not last until the day on which they ought to be removed, did not warn the buyer, he will be liable to him for the amount of his interest in having been warned.

Notes

  1. §18.6.16.prquanti eius interesset admonitum fuisse — A complex evaluation construction using the impersonal verb 'interest'. 'quanti' is a genitive of value, specifying the measure of liability. 'eius' is the genitive of the person interested (referring to the buyer). 'admonitum fuisse' is a perfect passive infinitive (with 'esse' omitted) functioning as the logical subject of 'interest' ('that he had been warned'). The entire phrase means 'for the amount of his interest in having been warned' (i.e., the negative interest or reliance interest).
  2. §18.6.16.prnon duraturam bonitatem eorum — An accusative with infinitive construction (with 'esse' omitted after the future active participle 'duraturam') depending on the verb 'intellegeret'. 'bonitatem' is the subject accusative of the infinitive.
  3. §18.6.16.prsiue degustando male probauit — The word 'degustando' is a gerund in the ablative case, expressing means or manner ('by tasting'). 'male' modifies the verb 'probauit' ('approved', 'tested'), meaning he approved or judged poorly.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §18.6.16.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:18.6.16.pr

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