Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §24.3.26.pr

Refusal to Receive a Dotal Slave and Exemption from Liability

Passage 3618 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Describes that if a husband in default subsequently offers to restore a dotal slave but the wife refuses to accept, and the slave then dies, the husband or his heir is not liable for the price of the slave.

[IDEM libro trigesimo septimo ad edictum. ] §24.3.26.prSemel mora facta si seruum dotalem postea offerente marito mulier accipere noluerit et ita is decesserit, non debebit pretium eius maritus uel heres eius, ne damnum sentiat, quod postea offerente eo mulier accipere noluit.
[THE SAME, Book 37 on the Edict.] Once default has occurred, if the woman afterwards refuses to accept the dotal slave when the husband offers him, and thus the slave dies, the husband or his heir will not owe his price, lest he suffer a loss because the woman refused to accept him when he later offered him.

Notes

  1. 24.3.26.prSemel mora facta — Ablative absolute construction, meaning "once default (mora) has occurred." Normally, a debtor in default bears the risk of accidental loss, but this phrase sets up the condition where the risk shifts back to the creditor because the creditor subsequently refuses a valid tender of performance.
  2. 24.3.26.prne damnum sentiat, quod postea offerente eo mulier accipere noluit — The conjunction quod is interpreted as expressing cause ("because") or introducing an appositive noun clause explaining the content of damnum ("the fact that"). The subject of sentiat is the husband or his heir (maritus uel heres eius), ensuring that the husband's side does not suffer a legal or financial disadvantage (the obligation to pay the price after the slave's death) due to the fact that the wife refused to accept what was subsequently offered.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §24.3.26.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:24.3.26.pr

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