Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §24.1.66.pr-24.1.66.1

Validity of Gifts Made Before Marriage and Ceremony

Passage 3578 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Discusses the validity of gifts made before marriage between Seia and Sempronius, the criteria for the establishment of marriage, and the legal status of gold coins given before the wedding ceremony.

[SCAEUOLA libro nono digestorum. ] §24.1.66.prSeia Sempronio cum certa die nuptura esset, antequam domum deduceretur tabulaeque dotis signarentur, donauit tot aureos: quaero, an ea donatio rata sit.
[SCAEUOLA, in the ninth book of his Digests.] When Seia was about to marry Sempronius on a certain day, before she was conducted to his house and before the marriage contract was signed, she gave him a certain number of gold pieces. I ask whether this donation is valid.
non attinuisse tempus, an antequam domum deduceretur, donatio facta esset, aut tabularum consignatarum, quae plerumque et post contractum matrimonium fierent, in quaerendo exprimi: itaque nisi ante matrimonium contractum, quod consensu intellegitur, donatio facta esset, non ualere.
The answer was that it is of no consequence to specify in the inquiry whether the donation was made before she was conducted to his house, or the time of signing the contract, which is generally done even after the marriage has been contracted; and therefore, unless the donation was made before the marriage was contracted, which is understood to be done by consent, it is not valid.
§24.1.66.1Virgini in hortos deductae ante diem tertium quam ibi nuptiae fierent, cum in separata diaeta ab eo esset, die nuptiarum, priusquam ad eum transiret et priusquam aqua et igni acciperetur, id est nuptiae celebrentur, optulit decem aureos dono: quaesitum est, post nuptias contractas diuortio facto an summa donata repeti possit.
A young woman was conducted to a garden three days before the marriage was to take place there, and while she was in a separate apartment from him, on the day of the marriage, before she passed over to him, and before she was received with water and fire, that is, before the marriage was celebrated, he offered her ten gold pieces as a gift. It was asked whether, after the marriage had been contracted and a divorce had taken place, the sum given could be recovered.
respondit id, quod ante nuptias donatum proponeretur, non posse de dote deduci.
He answered that what was proposed as having been given before marriage could not be deducted from the dowry.

Notes

  1. §24.1.66.prnon attinuisse tempus... in quaerendo exprimi — This is an accusative-with-infinitve construction in indirect speech forming the main part of the response. The infinitive 'exprimi' (to be specified) with its dependent clauses acts as the subject of 'non attinuisse' (to be of no consequence). It indicates that the precise timing of being led to the house or the signing of the contract does not need to be specified in the inquiry.
  2. §24.1.66.prquod consensu intellegitur — The relative pronoun 'quod' refers back to 'matrimonium' (neuter) as its antecedent, parenthetically explaining the fundamental Roman law principle that marriage is understood to be established by consent.
  3. §24.1.66.1Virgini in hortos deductae... optulit — The dative 'Virgini' (to the young woman), modified by the perfect participle 'deductae', serves as the indirect object of the main verb 'optulit' (offered). Although the subject of 'optulit' is not explicitly expressed, it is contextually the man who had her conducted to the garden to marry her.
  4. §24.1.66.1de dote deduci — 'To be deducted from the dowry.' This means that because a valid gift made before marriage is legally distinct from the dowry (dos) established after the marriage, it cannot be offset or deducted from the dowry when the dowry is returned or settled upon divorce.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §24.1.66.pr-24.1.66.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:24.1.66.pr-24.1.66.1

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.