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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §28.2.10.pr

Phrasing for Instituting Posthumous Heirs and Ruptured Wills

Passage 4131 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Discusses the most appropriate phrasing for appointing an unborn child as heir, explaining the necessity of covering both cases of birth—during the testator's lifetime and after death—and the resulting rupture of the testament if either case is omitted.

[POMPONIUS libro primo ad Sabinum. ] §28.2.10.prCommodissime is qui nondum natus est ita heres instituitur: 'siue uiuo me siue mortuo natus fuerit, heres esto', aut etiam pure neutrius temporis habita mentione.
[POMPONIUS, Book 1 on Sabinus.] He who is not yet born is most conveniently appointed heir in this way: 'whether he be born in my lifetime or after my death, let him be heir', or even simply, with mention made of neither time.
si alteruter casus omissus fuerit, eo casu qui omissus sit natus rumpit testamentum, quia hic filius nec sub condicione quidem scriptus heres intellegitur, qui in hunc casum nascitur, qui non est testamento adprehensus.
If either of the two cases is omitted, he who is born in that case which was omitted breaks the testament, because this son, who is born in this case which was not covered in the testament, is not understood to be appointed heir even under a condition.

Notes

  1. §28.2.10.pruiuo me siue mortuo — The phrases uiuo me and mortuo [me] are ablative absolutes consisting of a pronoun and an adjective/participle, expressing the time or condition 'whether I am alive or dead'.
  2. §28.2.10.prpure neutrius temporis habita mentione — The phrase habita mentione is an ablative absolute, with the genitive neutrius temporis (of neither time) modifying mentione. The adverb pure is used in a legal sense meaning 'unconditionally' or 'simply' (without specifying times or conditions) and modifies heres instituitur.
  3. §28.2.10.preo casu qui omissus sit natus — The perfect participle natus (he who is born) serves as the subject of the clause, while eo casu (in that case) is an ablative of circumstance modified by the relative clause qui omissus sit.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §28.2.10.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:28.2.10.pr

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