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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §23.3.79.pr-23.3.79.1

Dowry Given by Grandfather and Term of Payment

Passage 3453 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Decisions on the destination of a dowry given by a grandfather in the name of his granddaughter to a son-in-law who was his daughter's son, and the timing of fulfillment of a dotal promise made under the condition "when it should be most convenient."

[LABEO libro sexto posteriorum a Iauoleno epitomatorum. ] §23.3.79.prAuus neptis nomine filio natae genero dotem dedit et moritur.
[LABEO in the sixth book of his Epitomes by Javolenus.] A grandfather gave a dowry, in the name of his granddaughter, to his son-in-law who was the son of his daughter, and died.
negat Seruius dotem ad patrem reuerti et ego cum Seruio sentio, quia non potest uideri ab eo profecta, quia nihil ex his sui habuisset.
Servius denies that the dowry returns to the father, and I agree with Servius, because it cannot be seen as having proceeded from him, since he would have held nothing of these as his own.
§23.3.79.1Pater filiae nomine centum doti ita promisit 'cum commodissimum esset'. Ateius scripsit Seruium respondisse, cum primum sine turpitudine et infamia dari possit, deberi.
A father promised one hundred as a dowry in the name of his daughter in this way, "when it should be most convenient." Ateius wrote that Servius answered that it is due as soon as it can be given without disgrace and infamy.

Notes

  1. 23.3.79.prfilio natae genero — The dative phrases filio natae (to the son of the daughter) and genero (to the son-in-law) are placed in apposition, referring to the same person (who is both the grandson by the daughter and the husband of the granddaughter). This assumes a marriage, for instance, between cousins.
  2. 23.3.79.prnon potest uideri ab eo profecta — The participle profecta implies profecticia (a dowry originating from a paternal ancestor). It explains that the dowry cannot be regarded as having proceeded from the father (dos profecticia) because its source was the grandfather's property, not the father's.
  3. 23.3.79.1cum primum sine turpitudine et infamia dari possit — Interpretation of a promise to pay "when it should be most convenient" (cum commodissimum esset). It is not left to the debtor's subjective whim (ad libitum), but is defined by an objective standard: the earliest time when payment can be made without incurring disgrace or infamy (such as bankruptcy or seizure of assets).

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §23.3.79.pr-23.3.79.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:23.3.79.pr-23.3.79.1

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