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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §21.1.34.pr-21.1.34.1

Pricing and Scope of Redhibition in Sales of Multiple Items

Passage 3050 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Discusses how the method of setting the price (collectively or individually) affects the number of sales and the scope of redhibition when multiple things of the same kind are sold together, and points out exceptional circumstances where a single purchase is recognized even with individual pricing.

[AFRICANUS libro sexto quaestionum. ] §21.1.34.prCum eiusdem generis plures res simul ueneant, ueluti comoedi uel chorus, referre ait, in uniuersos an in singulos pretium constituatur, ut scilicet interdum una, interdum plures uenditiones contractae intellegantur: quod uel eo quaeri pertinere, ut, si quis eorum forte morbosus uel uitiosus sit, uel omnes simul redhibeantur.
[AFRICANUS in the sixth book of questions.] When several things of the same kind are sold at the same time, such as comedians or a chorus, he says that it makes a difference whether the price is set for all of them together or for each individual, so that, namely, sometimes one, sometimes several sales are understood to have been contracted; which question is relevant even for this reason, so that, if any of them happens to be diseased or defective, either all of them may be returned at the same time.
§21.1.34.1Interdum etsi in singula capita pretium constitutum sit, tamen una emptio est, ut propter unius uitium omnes redhiberi possint uel debeant, scilicet cum manifestum erit non nisi omnes quem empturum uel uenditurum fuisse, ut plerumque circa comoedos uel quadrigas uel mulas pares accidere solet, ut neutri non nisi omnes habere expediat.
Sometimes, even if a price has been set for individual heads, there is nevertheless a single purchase, so that on account of the defect of one, all can or must be returned; namely, when it is manifest that no one would have bought or sold except all of them, as is usually the case regarding comedians, or four-horse chariots, or pairs of mules, so that it is expedient for neither party to have them except all of them.

Notes

  1. §21.1.34.prreferre ait — In the indirect discourse governed by 'ait' (he says), the impersonal verb 'referre' (to make a difference, to matter) is used. The subject of 'referre' is the following indirect question clause 'in uniuersos an in singulos pretium constituatur' (whether the price is set for all together or for individuals).
  2. §21.1.34.prquod uel eo quaeri pertinere — This is a relative clause within the indirect discourse governed by 'ait', with the verb in the accusative with infinitive 'pertinere'. 'quod' is a neuter singular nominative relative pronoun referring to the matter discussed in the previous sentence. 'eo' is an ablative demonstrative pronoun anticipating the following 'ut' clause, creating the structure 'which question is relevant for this reason, namely that...'.
  3. §21.1.34.1non nisi omnes quem empturum uel uenditurum fuisse — 'quem' is the accusative of the indefinite pronoun 'aliquem' (anyone, someone) which loses its 'ali-' prefix after 'nisi'. 'empturum uel uenditurum fuisse' is the future active participle with 'fuisse' in the accusative with infinitive construction, representing the apodosis of a past contrary-to-fact condition in indirect speech. The whole phrase means 'that no one would have bought or sold except all of them'.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §21.1.34.pr-21.1.34.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:21.1.34.pr-21.1.34.1

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