Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §27.1.36.pr-27.1.36.1

Conditional Substitution upon Guardianship and Exemption of Curators

Passage 3977 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

In §27.1.36.pr, the validity of a legacy and a substitution conditional upon undertaking guardianship is discussed, concluding that the substitution remains valid since guardianship ends in that event anyway. In §27.1.36.1, it is replied that a father appointed as curator for his own emancipated son acts against natural affection if he seeks exemption based on the number of his children.

[IDEM libro nono responsorum. ] §27.1.36.prAmicissimos quidem et fidelissimos parentes liberis tutores eligere solere et ideo ad suscipiendum onus tutelae etiam honore legati eos persequi.
[THE SAME, from the ninth book of Opinions.] It is indeed true that parents usually choose the closest and most faithful persons as tutors for their children, and therefore honor them with a legacy to undertake the burden of guardianship.
sed cum proponatur is de quo quaeritur in testamento legatum meruisse et idem pupillo substitutus, non est uerisimile hunc demum eum testatorem substituere uoluisse, si et tutelam suscepisset: et ideo eum de quo quaeritur a legato quidem, si adhuc uiueret pupillus, repellendum fuisse, a substitutione autem non esse summouendum, cum eo casu etiam suscepta tutela finiretur.
But when it is proposed that the person in question had earned a legacy in the testament and that the same person was substituted for the pupil, it is not likely that the testator wished to substitute him only if he had also undertaken the guardianship. And therefore, the person in question should indeed have been excluded from the legacy, if the pupil were still alive, but he should not be removed from the substitution, since in that case even an undertaken guardianship would be terminated.
§27.1.36.1Lucius Titius ex tribus filiis incolumibus unum habet emancipatum eius aetatis, ut curatores accipere debeat: quaero, si idem Titius pater petente eodem filio emancipato curator a praetore detur, an iure publico uti possit et nihilo minus trium filiorum nomine uacationem postulare.
Lucius Titius, out of three surviving sons, has one emancipated son of such an age that he ought to receive curators. I ask whether, if the same father Titius, at the request of the same emancipated son, is appointed curator by the praetor, he can make use of the public law and nevertheless claim exemption on the grounds of his three children.
respondi praemium quidem patri, quod propter numerum liberorum ei competit, denegari non oportere.
I replied that the privilege indeed, which belongs to a father because of the number of his children, ought not to be denied to him.
sed cum filio suo curator petatur, contra naturales stimulos facit, si tali excusatione utendum esse temptauerit.
But when a curator is sought for his own son, he acts against natural affections if he attempts to make use of such an excuse.

Notes

  1. 27.1.36.prAmicissimos quidem et fidelissimos parentes liberis tutores eligere solere — parentes is the subject of the infinitive solere, while amicissimos and fidelissimos are accusatives modifying the following tutores (functioning predicatively 'as tutors'), both being the objects of eligere.
  2. 27.1.36.prhunc demum eum testatorem substituere uoluisse, si — The adverb demum correlates strongly with the si clause, indicating a restrictive condition ('only if', 'only in the event that').
  3. 27.1.36.prrepellendum fuisse, a substitutione autem non esse summouendum — The former is a past counterfactual apodosis (future passive infinitive + fuisse) corresponding to the condition si adhuc uiueret pupillus, whereas the latter contrasts the present judgment (non esse) under the actual circumstance where the pupil is deceased.
  4. 27.1.36.1petente eodem filio emancipato — An ablative absolute construction with the present participle petente and the noun filio, indicating the circumstance or cause that the appointment of the curator was made at the request of none other than the emancipated son himself.
  5. 27.1.36.1contra naturales stimulos facit — The subject of facit is the father (Titius), identical to the subject of the following conditional clause si ... temptauerit. The phrase naturales stimulos refers to the natural affections and instinctive impulses that prompt a parent to protect their child.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §27.1.36.pr-27.1.36.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:27.1.36.pr-27.1.36.1

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.