Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §29.2.68.pr

Successive Inheritance Entries by Common Slave on Masters' Orders

Passage 4471 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This section explains that when a common slave is instituted sole heir, he can enter upon the inheritance at different times by the order of individual masters, which is a practical measure to prevent the haste of one master from harming the rights of another.

[PAULUS libro quinto ad legem Iuliam et Papiam. ] §29.2.68.prCum solus seruus heres institutus sit, sicut licet uno tempore omnium dominorum iussu adire hereditatem, ita et separatis temporibus singulorum iussu recte adit: nam quia saepius adit, non ex testamento, sed ex iure dominorum uenire utilitatis causa uidetur, ne alterius festinatione alterius ius laedatur.
[PAULUS, from the fifth book on the Lex Julia et Papia.] When a common slave alone has been instituted heir, just as it is permitted to enter upon the inheritance at one time by the order of all his masters, so he also rightly enters at separate times by the order of individual masters; for because he enters more than once, this is seen to proceed not from the testament but from the right of the masters for the sake of utility, lest by the haste of one, the right of another be injured.

Notes

  1. §29.2.68.prsolus seruus — The word solus here means that the slave "alone" was instituted heir without other co-heirs. In contrast with the preceding 29.2.67.pr, it clarifies the process when a common slave is instituted as the sole heir.
  2. §29.2.68.prsaepius adit — The comparative saepius means "more than once" or "several times" here. It refers to the slave performing the entry into the inheritance (aditio) multiple times, depending on the number of co-owners and the timing of their instructions.
  3. §29.2.68.pruenire utilitatis causa uidetur — The subject of the infinitive uenire (to proceed, to derive) is omitted and refers to the entire act of entering the inheritance multiple times (saepius adit). The structure states that this legal fact of multiple entries "is seen (uidetur) to proceed not from the testament (testamento) but from the right of the masters (iure dominorum) for the sake of practical utility (utilitatis causa)."

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §29.2.68.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:29.2.68.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.