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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §22.6.3.pr-22.6.3.1

Ignorance of Another's Fact versus of One's Own Right

Passage 3281 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This chunk points out the difference between ignorance of another's case/fact and that of one's own right, and presents the view of Sabinus that legally excusable ignorance must not belong to an utterly ruined or excessively negligent person.

[POMPONIUS libro tertio ad Sabinum. ] §22.6.3.prPlurimum interest, utrum quis de alterius causa et facto non sciret an de iure suo ignorat.
[POMPONIUS, in his third book on Sabinus.] It makes a very great difference whether someone does not know about another's case and fact, or is ignorant of his own right.
§22.6.3.1Sed Cassius ignorantiam Sabinum ita accipiendam existimasse refert non deperditi et nimium securi hominis.
But Cassius reports that Sabinus thought that ignorance should be understood as not that of a ruined and excessively careless man.

Notes

  1. §22.6.3.prsciret an ... ignorat — An asymmetry of tense and mood in the indirect question clause (utrum... an...). While the first part sciret is in the imperfect subjunctive, the second part ignorat is in the present indicative. This may reflect a manuscript corruption (originally the subjunctive ignoret or ignoraret), but this translation treats both as parallel indirect questions dependent on the main verb interest.
  2. §22.6.3.1Sabinum ita accipiendam existimasse refert — A double accusative with infinitive (A.C.I.) construction. Within the accusative infinitive clause (Sabinum existimasse) dependent on the main verb refert, another accusative infinitive clause (ignorantiam... accipiendam [esse]) dependent on existimasse is nested. The gerundive accipiendam expresses obligation or necessity, with esse omitted.
  3. §22.6.3.1non deperditi et nimium securi hominis — The genitive hominis functions as a possessive or qualitative genitive modifying the implied noun ignorantiam. It expresses a limitation on legally excusable ignorance, indicating that it must not be the ignorance of a ruined or excessively negligent person.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §22.6.3.pr-22.6.3.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:22.6.3.pr-22.6.3.1

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