[IDEM libro quinto disputationum. ] §30.1.75.prSi sic legatum uel fidei commissum sit relictum 'si aestimauerit heres' 'si comprobauerit' 'si iustum putauerit, et legatum et fideicommissum debebitur, quoniam quasi uiro potius bono ei commissum est, non in meram uoluntatem heredis collatum.
[THE SAME, Book 5 of Disputes.] If a legacy or a trust has been left in this way: "if the heir deems it proper", "if he approves", "if he thinks it just", both the legacy and the trust will be due, because it is entrusted to him as if to a good man, not left to the mere will of the heir.
§30.1.75.1Si mihi quod Titius debet fuerit legatum neque Titius debeat, sciendum est nullum esse legatum.
If what Titius owes me has been bequeathed to me, and Titius does not owe it, it must be known that the legacy is void.
et quidem si quantitas non sit adiecta, euidenti ratione nihil debebitur, quia non apparet, quantum fuerit legatum: nam et si quid ego Titio debeo ei legauero quantitate non adiecta, constat nullum esse legatum, cum, si decem quae Titio debeo legauero nec quicquam Titio debeam, falsa demonstratio non peremit legatum, ut in legato dotis Iulianus respondit.
And indeed, if the quantity has not been added, by obvious reason nothing will be owed, because it does not appear how much was bequeathed: for also if I bequeath to Titius what I owe him, without adding the quantity, it is established that the legacy is void; whereas, if I bequeath "the ten which I owe to Titius" and I do not owe anything to Titius, a false description does not destroy the legacy, as Julian answered in the case of a legacy of a dowry.
§30.1.75.2Quod si addiderit: decem quae mihi Titius 'debet lego', sine dubio nihil erit in legato: nam inter falsam demonstrationem et falsam condicionem siue causam multum interest.
But if he added: "I bequeath the ten which Titius owes me," without doubt there will be nothing in the legacy: for there is a great difference between a false description and a false condition or cause.
proinde et si Titio decem, quae mihi Seius debet, legauero, nullum erit legatum: esse enim debitor debet: nam et si uiuus exegissem, exstingueretur legatum et, si debitor maneret, actiones aduersus cum heres meus dumtaxat praestare cogeretur.
Accordingly, also if I bequeath to Titius the ten which Seius owes me, the legacy will be void: for there must be a debtor; for even if I had exacted it while alive, the legacy would be extinguished, and, if he remained a debtor, my heir would only be compelled to cede the actions against him.
§30.1.75.3Si quis ita stipulatus: 'Stichum aut decem, utrum ego uelim' legauerit quod ei debebatur, tenebitur heres eius, ut praestet legatario actionem electionem habituro, utrum Stichum an decem persequi malit.
If anyone, having stipulated thus: "Stichus or ten, whichever I wish", bequeaths what was owed to him, his heir will be bound to cede the action to the legatee, who will have the choice whether he prefers to pursue Stichus or ten.
§30.1.75.4Proinde si Stichum legauerit, cum ille ei Stichum aut decem deberet, incerti actio legatario aduersus heredem competit, ut scripsit Iulianus libro trigesimo tertio digestorum, per quam actionem compellat heredem experiri: et, si Stichum consecutus fuerit, praestabit ei, si decem, nihil consequetur.
Accordingly, if he bequeaths Stichus, when that debtor owed him Stichus or ten, an action for an indeterminate thing is available to the legatee against the heir, as Julian wrote in the thirty-third book of the Digests, through which action he compels the heir to sue: and if the heir obtains Stichus, he will deliver it to him; if ten, the legatee will obtain nothing.
secundum quod erit in arbitrio debitoris, an sit legatarius is cui Stichus legatus est.
According to which it will be in the choice of the debtor whether he to whom Stichus was bequeathed is a legatee.