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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §28.5.67.pr

Conjunctive Designation for Brevity and Accrual

Passage 4246 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

If heirs are appointed with a phrase linking them by a conjunction, but this is done merely for brevity, the lapse of one heir's share does not accrue solely to the other linked heir, but to all co-heirs proportionally.

[POMPONIUS libro primo ad Quintum Mucium. ] §28.5.67.prSi ita quis heredes instituerit: 'Titius heres esto: Gaius et Maeuius aequis ex partibus heredes sunto', quamuis et syllaba coniunctionem faciat, si quis tamen ex his decedat, non alteri soli pars adcrescit, sed et omnibus coheredibus pro hereditariis portionibus, quia non tam coniunxisse quam celerius dixisse uideatur.
[POMPONIUS, on Quintus Mucius, book 1.] If anyone should institute heirs in this manner: 'Let Titius be heir: let Gaius and Maevius be heirs in equal shares,' although the syllable [et] makes a conjunction, yet if one of them should die, his share does not accrue to the other alone, but also to all the co-heirs in proportion to their hereditary shares, because the testator is deemed not so much to have joined them together as to have spoken more quickly.

Notes

  1. 28.5.67.prsyllaba — Here, `syllaba` (syllable, word) refers to the conjunction `et` (and) in the preceding quote. It points out that while there is a linguistic connection (`coniunctio verbis`), it does not necessarily imply a substantive conjunction in the testator's intention (`coniunctio re`).
  2. 28.5.67.prnon tam coniunxisse quam celerius dixisse — This is a `non tam A quam B` structure meaning "not so much A as B." It indicates that the testator linked "Gaius and Maevius" not to create a special right of accrual between them (`coniungere`), but merely as a matter of convenience to state it more briefly (`celerius`) instead of repeating "let Gaius be heir, let Maevius be heir" (i.e., a mere linguistic conjunction, `coniunctio verbis tantum`).

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §28.5.67.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:28.5.67.pr

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