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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §31.0.5.pr-31.0.5.1

Multiple Legacies and Falcidian Deduction upon Rejection

Passage 4731 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

When two separate legacies are left, one can be accepted and the other rejected; however, if one of them carries a burden (such as manumission), rejecting it does not avoid the Falcidian deduction, which will still be taken from the remaining monetary legacy.

[IDEM libro septimo quaestionum. ] §31.0.5.prSed duobus legatis relictis unum quidem repudiare, alterum uero amplecti posse respondetur.
[THE SAME, Questions, Book 7] But it is answered that when two legacies have been left, it is possible to reject one indeed, but to accept the other.
§31.0.5.1Sed si unum ex legatis onus habet et hoc repellatur, non idem dicendum est: pone eum, cui decem et Stichus legatus est, rogatum seruum manumittere: si Falcidia locum habet, ex decem utriusque legati quarta deducetur.
But if one of the legacies has a burden and this is rejected, the same is not to be said: suppose a person to whom ten (pieces of money) and Stichus have been bequeathed, and who has been requested to manumit the slave: if the Falcidian law applies, a fourth of each legacy will be deducted from the ten.
igitur repudiato seruo non euitabitur onus deductionis, sed legatarius ex pecunia duas quartas relinquet.
Therefore, even if the slave is rejected, the burden of deduction will not be avoided, but the legatee will leave two fourths out of the money.

Notes

  1. 31.0.5.prrespondetur — Impersonal passive verb, taking the accusative-with-infinitive clause (unum... posse) as its grammatical subject. A standard formulaic expression indicating a jurist's response (responsum).
  2. 31.0.5.1rogatum seruum manumittere — The perfect passive participle rogatum modifies the preceding pronoun eum (accusative, object of pone). The infinitive manumittere is a complementary infinitive dependent on rogatum, describing a trust (fideicommissum) imposing a burden of manumission.
  3. 31.0.5.1utriusque legati quarta — utriusque legati (genitive singular of uterque legatum) refers to both legacies: the ten pieces of money and the slave Stichus. Under the Falcidian Law (Lex Falcidia), the heir is entitled to deduct a fourth (quarta) from each legacy, and this combined deduction is taken from the monetary legacy.
  4. 31.0.5.1repudiato seruo — An ablative absolute clause consisting of the noun seruo and the participle repudiato. It functions concessively in this context ('even if the slave is rejected').

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §31.0.5.pr-31.0.5.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:31.0.5.pr-31.0.5.1

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