Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §31.0.63.pr

Liability for Legacy Consumed in Good Faith for a Funeral

Passage 4790 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This section explains the liability of an heir who unwittingly consumes a bequeathed object for a funeral, stating that while he is exempt from the action for production, the legatee is protected by an action on the facts to obtain indemnity.

[CALLISTRATUS libro quarto edicti monitorii. ] §31.0.63.prSi heres rem, legatam ignorans, in funus consumpsit, ad exhibendum actione non tenebitur, quia nec possidet nec dolo malo fecit quo minus possideret.
[CALLISTRATUS in the fourth book of the Warning Edict.] If an heir, not knowing that a thing has been bequeathed, has consumed it for a funeral, he will not be held liable under the action for production, because he neither possesses it nor has acted with malice aforethought so as to cease to possess it.
sed per in factum actionem legatario consulitur, ut indemnitas ei ab herede praestetur.
But provision is made for the legatee by an action on the facts, so that indemnity may be provided to him by the heir.

Notes

  1. §31.0.63.prrem, legatam ignorans — legatam is a perfect participle modifying rem ("a thing bequeathed"). The entire phrase serves as the object of the nominative present participle ignorans (agreeing with the subject heres).
  2. §31.0.63.prquo minus possideret — This is the construction of fecit quo minus (facere + quo minus + subjunctive), meaning "acted so as not to...". Combined with nec dolo malo, it means "nor has he acted with malice aforethought in order to avoid possession."
  3. §31.0.63.prlegatario consulitur — The verb consulere governs the dative case and means "to consult the interest of" or "to provide for." Here, it is used in the passive impersonal construction (consulitur) with the dative legatario, meaning "provision is made for the legatee."

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §31.0.63.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:31.0.63.pr

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