Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §29.1.14.pr

Application of Military Testamentary Relief to Civilians

Passage 4373 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Regarding whether the relief granted in military testaments should apply to civilians' wills, a distinction is made based on whether the testator was alive and aware of the heirs' deaths.

[MAECIANUS libro quarto fideicommissorum. ] §29.1.14.prTractabatur, an tale aliquid et in paganorum testamentis indulgendum esset: et placet non sine distinctione hoc fieri, sed, si quidem uiuo testatore et sciente decessissent, nihil noui statuendum, si autem ignorante aut post mortem eius, omnimodo subueniendum.
[MAECIANUS, in his fourth book on Trusts.] It was discussed whether something of this sort should also be allowed in the wills of civilians: and it is agreed that this should not be done without distinction, but that if they died during the lifetime of the testator and with his knowledge, nothing new should be determined; but if he was ignorant of it, or after his death, relief should be granted by all means.

Notes

  1. §29.1.14.prpaganorum — The noun paganus originally means "rustic" or "villager," but in legal texts it refers to "civilians" as opposed to soldiers (milites).
  2. §29.1.14.prdecessissent — Third-person plural subjunctive pluperfect, representing a condition in the past. In context, the omitted subject refers to the "first heir and the substitute (the first and second heirs)" mentioned in the previous section (§13.4).
  3. §29.1.14.pruiuo testatore et sciente — An ablative absolute construction where the adjective uiuo and the present participle sciente modify the noun testatore, expressing time or condition. In the subsequent clause, ignorante also functions as a participle in the ablative absolute with testatore understood as its subject.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §29.1.14.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:29.1.14.pr

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.