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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §24.3.33.pr

Insolvent Estate of Wife and Dowry Return to Third Parties

Passage 3625 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This section discusses the liability of a husband who, after his wife died without paying her promised dowry, inherited her insolvent estate, specifically regarding a prior stipulation made with third parties for the return of part of the dowry upon dissolution of the marriage.

[AFRICANUS libro septimo quaestionum. ] §24.3.33.prQuae dotis nomine certam pecuniam promiserat, quosdam adhibuerat, qui stipularentur partem dotis distracto matrimonio sibi solui: ea nulla data dote obierat eodem marito suo herede relicto: is damnosam hereditatem eius adierat.
[AFRICANUS, Book 7 of Questions.] A woman who had promised a certain sum of money in the name of a dowry had employed certain persons to stipulate that a part of the dowry should be paid to them upon the dissolution of the marriage. She died without having given any dowry, leaving her husband as her heir, and he entered upon her insolvent inheritance.
nihilo minus stipulatoribus tenebitur, quoniam adeundo hereditatem debitricis intellegeretur secum pensasse: nec ad rem pertinere, quod soluendo non esset hereditas, quando ceteris etiam creditoribus teneatur.
Nevertheless, he will be liable to the stipulators, since by entering upon the inheritance of the female debtor, he would be understood to have offset the debt with himself; nor does it matter that the inheritance was insolvent, since he is liable to the other creditors as well.

Notes

  1. §24.3.33.prqui stipularentur — A relative clause of purpose with the subjunctive (qui = ut ii), where the antecedent is 'quosdam'. The verb 'stipularentur' is deponent.
  2. §24.3.33.prsibi — A third-person reflexive pronoun, referring here to the subject of the subjunctive clause, namely the stipulators (quosdam) themselves.
  3. §24.3.33.prsecum pensasse — The infinitive 'pensasse' is a syncopated form of 'compensasse'. It means that by inheriting the estate of the debtor (his wife), the creditor (the husband) is understood to have 'offset' or balanced the account with himself (merging of claim and debt).
  4. §24.3.33.prsoluendo non esset — The word 'soluendo' is the dative of the gerund of 'solvere' expressing purpose or capacity. Used with 'esse', 'soluendo esse' is an idiomatic expression meaning 'to be solvent'; hence with 'non' it means 'to be insolvent'.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §24.3.33.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:24.3.33.pr

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