Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §19.5.20.pr-19.5.20.2

Liability and Actions for Misuse or Loss During Trial

Passage 2907 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This fragment discusses the allocation of liability and the applicable legal actions (action on sale or on prescribed words) in cases where items like horses, mules, or silver plate are provided for trial, and issues such as unauthorized use, loss by robbery during trial, or loss during return arise.

[IDEM libro trigesimo secundo ad edictum. ] §19.5.20.prApud Labeonem quaeritur, si tibi equos uenales experiendos dedero, ut, si in triduo displicuissent, redderes, tuque desultor in his cucurreris et uiceris, deinde emere nolueris, an sit aduersus te ex uendito actio.
[THE SAME, in the thirty-second book on the Edict.] In Labeo the question is raised: if I have given you horses for sale to be tried, on the condition that you should return them if they displeased you within three days, and you, being a trick-rider, have ridden them in a race and won, and subsequently refused to buy them, whether there is an action on sale against you.
et puto uerius esse praescriptis uerbis agendum: nam inter nos hoc actum, ut experimentum gratuitum acciperes, non ut etiam certares.
And I think it is more correct that one must sue on prescribed words; for it was agreed between us that you should receive a free trial, not that you should also compete in a race.
§19.5.20.1Item apud Melam quaeritur, si mulas tibi dedero ut experiaris et, si placuissent, emeres, si displicuissent, ut in dies singulos aliquid praestares, deinde mulae a grassatoribus fuerint ablatae intra dies experimenti, quid esset praestandum, utrum pretium et merces an merces tantum.
Likewise in Mela the question is raised: if I have given you mules to try, so that if they pleased you, you would buy them, and if they displeased you, you would pay a certain amount for each day, and subsequently the mules were carried off by robbers within the days of trial, what should be paid, whether the price and the fee, or only the fee.
et ait Mela interesse, utrum emptio iam erat contracta an futura, ut, si facta, pretium petatur, si futura, merces petatur: sed non exprimit de actionibus.
And Mela says that it makes a difference whether the sale was already contracted or was future, so that if it was concluded, the price is claimed, and if future, the fee is claimed; but he does not express himself concerning the actions.
puto autem, si quidem perfecta fuit emptio, competere ex uendito actionem, si uero nondum perfecta esset, actionem talem qualem aduersus desultorem dari.
But I think that if indeed the sale was perfected, the action on sale is available, but if it was not yet perfected, such an action is given as against the trick-rider.
§19.5.20.2Si, cum emere argentum uelles, uascularius ad te detulerit et reliquerit et, cum displicuisset tibi, seruo tuo referendum dedisti et sine dolo malo et culpa tua perierit, uascularii esse detrimentum, quia eius quoque causa sit missum.
If, when you wished to buy silver plate, a silversmith brought it to you and left it, and when it displeased you, you gave it to your slave to be returned, and it perished without dolus malus and fault on your part, the loss is the silversmith's, because it was sent for his sake too.
certe culpam eorum, quibus custodiendum perferendumue dederis, praestare te oportere Labeo ait, et puto praescriptis uerbis actionem in hoc competere.
Certainly, Labeo says that you ought to answer for the fault of those to whom you gave it to be guarded or returned, and I think that in this case an action on prescribed words is available.

Notes

  1. 19.5.20.prexperiendos — Accusative plural of the gerundive, modifying the direct object `equos` of `dedero`, functioning as a predicative adjunct or expressing purpose ("to be tried").
  2. 19.5.20.1actionem talem qualem aduersus desultorem dari — An accusative with infinitive (A.C.I.) clause depending on `puto`. `talem qualem aduersus desultorem` (such an action as is given against the trick-rider) refers to the action on prescribed words (actio praescriptis uerbis) discussed in the preceding section (§19.5.20.pr).
  3. 19.5.20.2eius quoque causa — `eius` is a genitive referring to the silversmith (uascularius). Since the trial is sent not only for the prospective buyer's sake but also for the seller's benefit to facilitate a sale, the risk is allocated on the basis that the transaction was made for the benefit of both parties (utriusque gratia).
  4. 19.5.20.2culpam eorum, quibus custodiendum perferendumue dederis, praestare te oportere — An accusative with infinitive (A.C.I.) clause depending on `Labeo ait`, with `te` as the subject of the infinitive. `custodiendum perferendumue` are gerundives expressing purpose. It means that the buyer must answer for (praestare) the fault of any third parties (such as servants or agents) to whom they entrusted the safekeeping or return of the object.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §19.5.20.pr-19.5.20.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:19.5.20.pr-19.5.20.2

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.