Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §28.5.79.pr-28.5.79.3

Institution to Regional Property and Share Calculation

Passage 4258 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Discusses the legal validity of appointing heirs to specific properties in different regions, and addresses the calculation of shares of the inheritance (as) when mathematical shares conflict, incorporating the Lex Falcidia and set-offs.

[IDEM libro sexto responsorum. ] §28.5.79.prQui non militabat, bonorum maternorum, quae in Pannonia possidebat, libertum heredem instituit, paternorum, quae habebat in Syria, Titium.
[THE SAME, Responsas, book 6.] A person who was not on military service appointed his freedman as heir to the maternal property which he possessed in Pannonia, and Titius to the paternal property which he had in Syria.
iure semisses ambos habere constitit, sed arbitrum diuidendae hereditatis supremam uoluntatem factis adiudicationibus et interpositis propter actiones cautionibus sequi salua Falcidia, scilicet ut, quod uice mutua praestarent, doli ratione quadranti retinendo compensetur.
It was established by law that both should have a half-share each, but that the arbiter for dividing the inheritance should follow the last will, by making adjudications and interposing cautions with respect to actions, without prejudice to the Lex Falcidia; that is to say, so that what they would mutually perform for each other should be compensated by the retention of a quarter by means of the plea of doli.
§28.5.79.1Lucio Titio ex duabus partibus, Publio Maeuio ex quadrante scriptis heredibus assem in dodrantem esse diuisum respondi: modum enim duarum partium ex quadrante declarari: quod ueteres nummis Titio legatis nummorum specie non demonstrata ceterorum legatorum contemplatione receperunt.
Where Lucius Titius was appointed heir for "two parts" and Publius Maeuius for "a quarter", I answered that the *as* (inheritance) was divided into "three-quarters" (dodrans); for the measure of "two parts" is declared on the basis of "a quarter". This the ancients accepted when money was bequeathed to Titius without the specific kind of coins being demonstrated, in contemplation of the other legacies.
§28.5.79.2Filiis heredibus aequis partibus institutis ac postea fratris filio pro duabus unciis unum assem inter omnes uideri factum placuit et ex eo decem uncias filios accepisse: tunc enim ex altero asse portionem intellegi relictam, cum asse nominatim dato uel duodecim unciis distributis residua portio non inuenitur: nihil autem interest, quo loco sine portione quis heres instituatur, quo magis assis residuum accepisse uideatur. Scius
When sons are appointed heirs in equal shares, and afterwards a brother's son for two ounces (*unciae*), it was held that one *as* (inheritance) was deemed to have been made among all of them, and that the sons received ten ounces from it. For a share is understood to be left out of another *as* only when, an *as* having been given by name or twelve ounces having been distributed, a remaining share is not found. Moreover, it makes no difference in what place an heir is appointed without a share, so that he may the more be deemed to have received the residue of the *as*.
§28.5.79.3Maeuium ex parte, quam per leges capere possit, heredem instituit, ex reliqua Titium.
Seius appointed Maeuius as heir for the share which he could take by law, and Titius for the remaining part.
si Maeuius solidum capere poterit, Titius adiectus aut substitutus heres non erit.
If Maeuius is able to take the whole (*solidum*), Titius, as an added or substituted heir, will not be heir.

Notes

  1. §28.5.79.priure semisses ambos habere constitit — Reflects the Roman law rule on the "appointment of an heir to a specific thing" (institutio ex re certa). Even when an estate is divided by specific locations, this restriction is legally ignored in a civilian's testament, making the co-heirs inherit equal half-shares (semisses) of the entire estate.
  2. §28.5.79.1modum enim duarum partium ex quadrante declarari — The phrase "duae partes," which normally means "two-thirds" (8 out of 12 ounces), is qualified here by "ex quadrante" (from a quarter), meaning "two-quarters" (one-half, or 6 ounces). This explains how Titius's 6 ounces and Maeuius's 3 ounces (quadrans) sum up to three-quarters of the *as* (dodrans, 9 ounces).
  3. §28.5.79.2tunc enim ex altero asse portionem intellegi relictam — A restrictive condition introduced by "tunc enim... cum...". It explains the jurisprudential principle that a second calculated *as* is only assumed when the first *as* (12 ounces) has already been fully distributed, meaning that any additional share must be understood as being left from a subsequent *as*.
  4. §28.5.79.2Scius — Considered a scribal error or variant for the common Roman placeholder name "Seius". Grammatically, this word serves as the subject of the verb "instituit" in the subsequent section "§28.5.79.3", causing the translation to bridge across the section break.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §28.5.79.pr-28.5.79.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:28.5.79.pr-28.5.79.3

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.