Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §28.5.84.pr-28.5.84.1

Necessary Heirs and Priority of Slaves in Insolvent Estates

Passage 4263 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

The passage discusses that a slave whose freedom is hindered by laws other than the Lex Aelia Sentia cannot become a necessary heir, and explains the rules of priority for freeing and restoring estates to multiple slaves under an insolvent inheritance based on a senatus consultum from the time of Hadrian.

[IDEM libro octauo decimo quaestionum. ] §28.5.84.prSi non lex Aelia Sentia, sed alia lex uel senatus consultum aut etiam constitutio serui libertatem impediat, is necessarius fieri non potest, etiamsi non sit soluendo testator.
If not the Lex Aelia Sentia, but another law, a decree of the senate, or even an imperial constitution should hinder the freedom of a slave, he cannot become a necessary heir, even if the testator is insolvent.
§28.5.84.1Temporibus diui Hadriani senatus censuit, si testator, qui cum moritur soluendo non fuit, duobus pluribusue libertatem dederit eisque hereditatem restitui iusserit et institutus heres suspectam sibi hereditatem dixerit, ut adire eam cogatur et ad libertatem perueniat, qui priore loco scriptus fuerit, eique hereditas restituatur.
In the time of the deified Hadrian, the senate decreed that if a testator, who was insolvent when he died, should have given freedom to two or more slaves and ordered the inheritance to be restored to them, and the appointed heir should declare the inheritance to be suspect to him, the appointed heir should be compelled to enter upon it, and the one who was written in the prior place should attain freedom, and the inheritance should be restored to him.
idem seruandum in his, quibus per fideicommissum libertas data fuerit.
The same rule must be observed in the case of those to whom freedom was given by a trust-bequest.
igitur si primo loco scriptus desideraret adire hereditatem, nulla difficultas erit.
Therefore, if the one written in the first place should desire the inheritance to be entered upon, there will be no difficulty.
nam si posteriores quoque liberos se esse dicent et restitui hereditatem desiderent, an soluendo sit hereditas et omnibus liberis factis restitui deberet, apud praetorem quaereretur.
For if the subsequent ones also say that they are free and desire the inheritance to be restored, it would be investigated before the praetor whether the estate is solvent and ought to be restored to all of them having been made free.
absente autem primo sequens desiderans adiri hereditatem non est audiendus, quia, si primus uelit sibi restitui hereditatem, praeferendus est et hic seruus futurus est.
But in the absence of the first, the next one who desires the inheritance to be entered upon is not to be heard, because if the first should wish the inheritance to be restored to himself, he is to be preferred, and this one will remain a slave.

Notes

  1. §28.5.84.prsoluendo — This is the dative of the gerund, used in combination with the verb 'esse' to mean 'to be solvent' (literally, 'to be for paying'). It is an extension of the dative of purpose or suitability.
  2. §28.5.84.1ut adire eam cogatur et ad libertatem perueniat, qui priore loco scriptus fuerit, eique hereditas restituatur — In this 'ut' clause, the subject changes. The implied subject of the first verb 'cogatur' is the preceding 'institutus heres' (the appointed heir), whereas the subject of the subsequent 'perueniat' and 'restituatur' is the antecedent of the following relative clause, i.e., '[is] qui priore loco scriptus fuerit' (the slave written in the prior place).
  3. §28.5.84.1adire / adiri — In the preceding 'desideraret adire hereditatem,' the active infinitive 'adire' is used with 'primo loco scriptus' as the subject, although the slave does not directly enter upon the inheritance himself. As shown by the subsequent 'desiderans adiri hereditatem' (passive infinitive), it practically means desiring 'that the inheritance be entered upon' (by the appointed heir).

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §28.5.84.pr-28.5.84.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:28.5.84.pr-28.5.84.1

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.