Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §20.1.6.pr

General Pledges and Exclusion of Necessary Belongings

Passage 2919 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Explains that in a general obligation of property, personal belongings and certain domestic slaves, which the debtor would probably not have specifically pledged, are excluded from the security and must be left to the debtor.

[ULPIANUS libro septuagesimo tertio ad edictum. ] §20.1.6.prObligatione generali rerum, quas quis habuit habiturusue sit, ea non continebuntur, quae uerisimile est quemquam specialiter obligaturum non fuisse.
[ULPIANUS, in the seventy-third book on the Edict.] In a general obligation of property which anyone has had or will have, those things will not be included which it is probable that no one would have specifically bound.
ut puta supellex, item uestis relinquenda est debitori, et ex mancipiis quae in eo usu habebit, ut certum sit eum pignori daturum non fuisse.
As for instance, household furniture, likewise clothing, must be left to the debtor, and of the slaves, those whom he keeps for that use, so that it is certain that he would not have given them in pledge.
proinde de ministeriis eius perquam ei necessariis uel quae ad affectionem eius pertineant
Consequently, [the same applies] to his servants who are extremely necessary to him, or who pertain to his affection.

Notes

  1. §20.1.6.prObligatione generali — Ablative of means or cause, meaning "by a general obligation (or pledge)". It refers to a comprehensive security agreement covering the debtor's entire property (present and future), rather than specific items.
  2. §20.1.6.probligaturum non fuisse — Part of the accusative-with-infinitive clause quemquam... obligaturum non fuisse which serves as the subject of the impersonal expression uerisimile est ("it is probable that..."). This construction represents a past unreal condition (contrary to fact: "no one would have specifically bound", originally nemo... obligasset) converted into an indirect statement, using the future active participle with fuisse.
  3. §20.1.6.prut certum sit — A consecutive ut clause expressing result. It qualifies the degree of the personal use mentioned in the preceding clause ("keeps for that personal use"), meaning "to such an extent that it is certain he would not have given them in pledge."
  4. §20.1.6.prde ministeriis — An ablative phrase introduced by the preposition de ("concerning / of"). The clause is incomplete (anacoluthon) as it lacks a main verb, but it carries over the force of relinquenda est from the preceding sentence, meaning "[the same applies] to his servants" (i.e., they must also be left to the debtor).

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §20.1.6.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:20.1.6.pr

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