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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §31.0.42.pr

Capacity to Take a Bequest for Transfer to Another

Passage 4769 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

It is held that when a legacy is left to someone with limited capacity to take, on the condition that they restore it to another, they can take the whole amount.

[IDEM libro undecimo epistularum. ] §31.0.42.prCum ei, qui partem capiebat, legatum esset, ut alii restitueret, placuit solidum capere posse.
[THE SAME, in the eleventh book of his Epistles.] When a legacy had been left to someone who was only taking a part, with the direction that he should restore it to another, it was held that he could take the whole.

Notes

  1. 31.0.42.prqui partem capiebat — Here, 'capere' refers to the legal capacity to take under a testament (capacitas). It describes a person who, due to statutory limitations (such as the Augustan marriage laws), was only capable of taking a portion of the legacy.
  2. 31.0.42.prut alii restitueret — The verb 'restituere' in the context of a trust (fideicommissum) means 'to restore' or 'to transfer' the property to the ultimate beneficiary. The 'ut' clause acts as a noun clause dependent on 'legatum esset'.
  3. 31.0.42.prsolidum capere posse — An accusative-with-infinitive clause serving as the subject of the impersonal verb 'placuit' (it was held/decided). The implied subject of 'posse' (the accusative 'eum') refers back to the dative 'ei'. 'Solidum' (the whole) stands in contrast to 'partem' (a part), indicating that because the taker is under an obligation to restore it, they are allowed to take the whole despite their personal incapacity.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §31.0.42.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:31.0.42.pr

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