Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §23.3.20.pr

Invalidity of a Dowry Stipulation Payable at Death

Passage 3394 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Regarding the validity of a dowry-related stipulation proposed by Iulianus, Paulus counters, citing Aristo and others, that deferring an exaction is fundamentally different from contracting for a time when there will be no marriage.

[PAULUS libro septimo ad Sabinum. ] §23.3.20.prIulianus scribit ualere talem stipulationem: 'cum morieris, dotis nomine tot dari'? quia et pacisci soleant, ne a uiua exhibeatur.
[PAULUS in the seventh book on Sabinus.] Iulianus writes that such a stipulation is valid: 'when you die, shall so much be given under the name of dowry?' because, he says, they are also accustomed to agree that it should not be provided while she is alive.
quod non esse simile accepi: aliud est enim differre exactionem, aliud ab initio in id tempus stipulari, quo matrimonium futurum non sit.
But I have learned that this is not similar: for it is one thing to defer the exaction, and another to stipulate from the beginning for that time at which there will be no marriage.
idque et Aristoni et Neratio et Pomponio placet.
And this is also approved by Aristo, Neratius, and Pomponius.

Notes

  1. §23.3.20.prsoleant — Third-person plural present subjunctive. The subjunctive is used instead of the indicative in the subordinate clause of reason within indirect speech introduced by `scribit`, representing the reason as asserted by Iulianus (subjunctive of reported reason).
  2. §23.3.20.prquod non esse simile — Relational connection using the relative pronoun `quod`. It refers back to the entire preceding statement of Iulianus and acts as the subject of the accusative and infinitive clause `non esse simile`, which serves as the object of `accepi`.
  3. §23.3.20.praliud ... aliud — A contrastive construction used to distinguish two distinct situations. Here, it contrasts `differre exactionem` (to defer the exaction) with `ab initio ... stipulari` (to stipulate from the beginning).
  4. §23.3.20.prquo matrimonium futurum non sit — Relative clause introduced by the relative adverb `quo` (= in which time). The subjunctive `sit` (in `futurum non sit`) is used to express characteristic (describing `id tempus`) or a hypothetical scenario.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §23.3.20.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:23.3.20.pr

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