Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §30.1.20.pr

Bequest of an Unspecified Slave and the Legatee's Choice

Passage 4616 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

It stipulates that when one of two slaves is bequeathed without specifying which one, the legatee has the right of choice.

[POMPONIUS libro quinto ad Sabinum. ] §30.1.20.prQui duos seruos haberet, unum ex his legasset, ut non intellegeretur quem legasset, legatarii est electio.
[POMPONIUS, Book 5 of Commentary on Sabinus.] If someone who owned two slaves bequeathed one of them in such a way that it could not be understood which one he had bequeathed, the choice belongs to the legatee.

Notes

  1. 30.1.20.prQui duos seruos haberet, unum ex his legasset — This clause begins with the relative pronoun qui with its antecedent (is) omitted, presenting a hypothetical case. The subjunctive imperfect haberet and pluperfect legasset describe the circumstances of this hypothetical situation.
  2. 30.1.20.prut non intellegeretur — This is a subjunctive ut-clause expressing result or manner ("in such a way that..." or "with the result that..."). The clause within it, quem legasset, functions as an indirect question serving as the subject of the impersonal passive intellegeretur.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §30.1.20.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:30.1.20.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.