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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §29.7.10.pr

Prohibition of Granting Inheritances by Codicil

Passage 4586 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Papinian explains the rationale behind the traditional rule that an inheritance cannot be granted by codicils, pointing to the logical hierarchy of validity between a will and its codicils.

[PAPINIANUS libro quinto decimo quaestionum. ] §29.7.10.prQuod per manus traditum est codicillis hereditatem dari non posse rationem illam habet, ne per codicillos, qui ex testamento ualerent, ipsum testamentum, quod uires per institutionem heredum accipit, confirmari uideretur.
[PAPINIANUS, in his fifteenth book of Questions.] The rule handed down by tradition, that an inheritance cannot be given by codicils, has this reason: lest the will itself, which receives its force through the institution of heirs, should seem to be confirmed by the codicils, which would derive their force from the will.

Notes

  1. §29.7.10.prQuod per manus traditum est ... rationem illam habet — Quod introduces a noun clause ('the fact that...'), serving as the subject or a proleptic topic for the main clause 'rationem illam habet'. The phrase 'per manus traditum est' (literally, 'handed down through hands') refers to a long-established tradition or legal maxim.
  2. §29.7.10.prne ... uideretur — A negative purpose clause introducing the substance or objective of 'rationem illam' ('lest it should seem'). The imperfect subjunctive 'uideretur' is used in accordance with the sequence of tenses, triggered by 'habet' treated as a historical present or establishing a past perspective of the rule's origin.
  3. §29.7.10.prqui ex testamento ualerent — The clause introduced by the relative pronoun 'qui'. The subjunctive 'ualerent' is due to subjunctive attraction within the 'ne' clause, and also characterizes the general nature of the codicils as items whose hypothetical validity depends entirely upon the will.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §29.7.10.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:29.7.10.pr

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