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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §26.2.23.pr-26.2.23.1

Invalid Choice of Ward and Conditional Appointment

Passage 3769 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Africanus argues that appointing a tutor by allowing him to choose between multiple sons is invalid because he might refuse to make a decision, whereas appointing a tutor to a specific son contingent on the tutor's consent is valid.

[AFRICANUS libro octauo quaestionum. ] §26.2.23.prTutor ita recte non datur: 'illi aut illi filiis meis, utri eorum uolet, Titius tutor esto'; quid enim dicemus, si Titius constituere nolit, utri ex filiis tutor esse uelit?
[AFRICANUS, from the eighth book of Questions.] A tutor is not validly appointed in this manner: 'Titius shall be tutor to this one or that one of my sons, whichever of them he wishes'; for what shall we say if Titius is unwilling to determine which of the sons he wishes to be tutor to?
§26.2.23.1Ita autem recte tutor dabitur: 'Titius si uolet illi filio meo tutor esto'.
On the other hand, a tutor will be validly appointed in this manner: 'If Titius wishes, let him be tutor to that son of mine.'

Notes

  1. §26.2.23.prilli aut illi — The repetition of the dative singular of the demonstrative pronoun ille designates alternative choices ('this one or that one') among the plural noun phrase 'filiis meis'.
  2. §26.2.23.prutri eorum uolet — A relative clause introduced by utri, the dative singular of uter ('whichever of the two'). It functions appositively to the preceding illi aut illi, specifying 'to whichever of them he (the tutor) wishes.'
  3. §26.2.23.prquid enim dicemus, si Titius constituere nolit, utri ex filiis tutor esse uelit? — While the main clause has the future indicative dicemus ('what shall we say'), the conditional clause features the present subjunctive nolit ('if Titius should be unwilling'), embedding an indirect question with the subjunctive uelit. The use of the subjunctive in the condition emphasizes the hypothetical nature of Titius refusing to decide.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §26.2.23.pr-26.2.23.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:26.2.23.pr-26.2.23.1

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