Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §32.0.62.pr

Inclusion of Female Mules in a Bequest of Mules

Passage 4886 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

In a case where a testator bequeathed 'male mules' but left only 'female mules', Servius rules that the legacy is valid and the female mules must be delivered, based on the principle that the masculine gender includes the feminine.

[IULIANUS libro singulari de ambiguitatibus. ] §32.0.62.prQui duos mulos habebat ita legauit: 'mulos duos, qui mei erunt cum moriar, heres dato': idem nullos mulos, sed duas mulas reliquerat.
[JULIANUS, from his single book on ambiguities.] person who owned two male mules bequeathed them as follows: 'Let my heir give the two male mules which shall be mine when I die': the same person left no male mules, but two female mules.
respondit Seruius deberi legatum, quia mulorum appellatione etiam mulae continentur, quemadmodum appellatione seruorum etiam seruae plerumque continentur.
Servius answered that the legacy was due, because under the designation of 'male mules' female mules also are contained, just as under the designation of 'slaves' female slaves also are generally contained.
id autem eo ueniet, quod semper sexus masculinus etiam femininum sexum continet.
This, moreover, arises from the fact that the masculine gender always contains the feminine gender as well.

Notes

  1. §32.0.62.prheres dato — dato is the third-person singular future imperative of dare (to give), which is a formulaic expression used in wills and legal texts to impose an obligation on the heir.
  2. §32.0.62.preo ueniet, quod — eo is the neuter singular ablative of the demonstrative pronoun is representing cause ('from this'), and the following quod clause explains its specific factual content. The construction means 'this arises from the fact that...' or 'this comes from...'.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §32.0.62.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:32.0.62.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.