Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §23.3.85.pr

Sale of Dotal Land for Debt Payment and Discharge

Passage 3459 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Regarding a tract of land given by a father as a dowry for his daughter, when it is sold to pay off the father's creditors after his death, it is ruled that if the price is paid directly to the creditors, it is a valid discharge of that part of the dowry, even during the marriage.

[SCAEUOLA libro octauo digestorum. ] §23.3.85.prFundum filiae nomine pater in dotem dederat: huius heredi filiae ex asse creditoribus urguentibus patris utilius uidetur potius fundum qui dotalis est distrahere, quod minus fructuosus sit, et alios hereditarios uberiore reditu retinere: maritus consentit, si nulla in ea re captio sit futura.
[SCAEVOLA in the eighth book of the Digests.] A father had given a tract of land as a dowry on behalf of his daughter: to this daughter, who was his sole heir, since the father's creditors were pressing, it seemed more advantageous to sell the land which was dotal, because it was less productive, and to retain other inherited lands yielding a richer return: her husband consented, provided that no disadvantage would arise to him in this matter.
quaero, an ea pars dotis, quae in hoc fundo est, mulieri manente matrimonio recte soluatur.
I ask whether that part of the dowry which consists in this land is rightly paid to the woman while the marriage is still continuing.
respondit, si pretium creditori soluatur, recte solutum.
He answered that, if the price is paid to the creditor, it is rightly paid.

Notes

  1. §23.3.85.prhuius heredi filiae ex asse creditoribus urguentibus patris — A segment with highly complex word order (hyperbaton). `huius` (genitive singular) modifies `patris` at the end of the phrase ("of this father"). `filiae` (dative) is in apposition with `heredi` (dative), acting as the indirect object of `uidetur` ("it seems [advantageous] to the daughter, the sole heir"). `ex asse heres` means "heir to the whole estate" (sole heir). `creditoribus urguentibus` is an ablative absolute ("since the creditors are pressing"), with `patris` modifying `creditoribus` ("creditors of the father").
  2. §23.3.85.prcaptio — In Roman legal terminology, `captio` refers not only to deception or fraud, but also to disadvantage, detriment, or loss. Here, it denotes financial or legal "disadvantage" to the husband.
  3. §23.3.85.prrecte soluatur — The verb `soluere` means not only "to pay" but also "to release" or "to discharge" an obligation. While returning the dowry to the wife during marriage is generally prohibited under Roman law, the question is whether disposing of the dotal land to pay the father's debts (inherited by the wife) constitutes a valid "discharge/release" of that portion of the dowry.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §23.3.85.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:23.3.85.pr

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.