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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §29.3.1.pr-29.3.1.2

Permission to Inspect and Copy Wills and Denial of Seals

Passage 4503 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

The passage explains the praetor's promise to grant permission to inspect and copy a will, the practical rationale behind this edict, and the consequence of someone denying their seal.

[GAIUS libro septimo decimo ad edictum prouinciale. ] §29.3.1.prOmnibus, quicumque desiderant tabulas testamenti inspicere uel etiam describere, inspiciendi describendique potestatem facturum se praetor pollicetur: quod uel suo uel alieno nomine desideranti tribuere eum manifestum est.
[GAIUS, book 17 on the provincial edict] The praetor promises that he will grant the power of inspecting and copying to all who desire to inspect or even to copy the tablets of a will: it is clear that he grants this to anyone who desires it, whether in his own name or in that of another.
§29.3.1.1Ratio autem huius edicti manifesta est: neque enim sine iudice transigi neque apud iudicem exquiri ueritas de his controuersiis, quae ex testamento proficiscerentur, aliter potest quam inspectis cognitisque uerbis testamenti.
Moreover, the reason for this edict is manifest: for the truth concerning these controversies, which arise from a will, can neither be settled without a judge nor investigated before a judge in any other way than by inspecting and becoming acquainted with the words of the will.
§29.3.1.2Si quis neget sigillum suum agnoscere, non ideo quidem minus aperiuntur tabulae, sed alias suspectae fiunt.
If anyone should deny that he recognizes his own seal, the tablets are not on that account any less opened, but they otherwise become suspect.

Notes

  1. §29.3.1.prquod — A connecting relative pronoun in the neuter accusative singular. It refers back to the 'power of inspecting and copying' (potestatem) promised in the preceding clause, serving as the direct object of the infinitive `tribuere`.
  2. §29.3.1.1neque enim sine iudice transigi neque apud iudicem exquiri ueritas... aliter potest quam inspectis cognitisque uerbis testamenti — In the main clause structure, `ueritas` (truth) serves as the subject of `potest` with the passive infinitive `exquiri`. Meanwhile, `transigi` (to be settled) either implies `controuersiae` as its subject (implied from the context) or is used impersonally. The construction `aliter... quam...` forms a restrictive double negative ('not otherwise... than...'), and the ablative absolute `inspectis cognitisque uerbis testamenti` expresses the condition.
  3. §29.3.1.2alias — Adverbial usage. Here it means 'otherwise', 'in other respects', or 'consequently'. It indicates that while the refusal to recognize the seal does not stop the opening process itself, it nevertheless renders the tablets suspect in other respects or as a consequence.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §29.3.1.pr-29.3.1.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:29.3.1.pr-29.3.1.2

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