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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §32.0.95.pr

Inclusion of Corporeal Property in Bequests of Amounts

Passage 4919 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Aristo argues that the term 'amounts' (summae) in a trust-bequest formula can include corporeal things such as land and clothing, supporting his view with legal analogies and the testator's presumed intention.

[MAECIANUS libro secundo fideicommissorum. ] §32.0.95.prQuisquis mihi heres erit, 'damnas esto dare fideique eius committo, uti det, quantas summas dictauero dedero'. Aristo res quoque corporales contineri ait, ut praedia mancipia uestem argentum, quia et hoc uerbum 'quantas' non ad numeratam dumtaxat pecuniam referri ex dotis relegatione et stipulationibus emptae hereditatis apparet et 'summae' appellatio similiter accipi deberet, ut in his argumentis quae relata essent ostenditur.
[MAECIANUS, from his second book of Fideicommissa.] "Whoever shall be my heir, let him be under obligation to give, and I commit to his trust that he give, whatever amounts (or quantities) I shall have declared and given." Aristo says that corporeal things are also included, such as estates, slaves, clothing, and silver; because it is apparent from the legacy of a dowry and the stipulations for a sold inheritance that this word 'how great' is not referred to cash alone, and the term 'sum' ought similarly to be understood, as is shown in those arguments which have been cited.
uoluntatem praeterea defuncti, quae maxime in fideicommissis ualeret, ei sententiae suffragari: neque enim post eam praefationem adiecturum testatorem fuisse res corporales, si dumtaxat pecuniam numeratam praestari uoluisset.
Moreover, the intention of the deceased, which has the greatest weight in trust-bequests, supports this opinion; for the testator would not have added corporeal things after that preamble if he had wished cash alone to be provided.

Notes

  1. §32.0.95.prdamnas esto — A classical imperative formula in testaments establishing a legacy by condemnation (legatum per damnationem), placed alongside the subsequent fideicommissum formulation.
  2. §32.0.95.prquantas summas — The focus of the debate is whether the word 'summa' (amount, quantity) refers strictly to cash (numerata pecunia) or can also encompass a certain quantity of corporeal things (res corporales) such as land or clothing.
  3. §32.0.95.pradiecturum testatorem fuisse — A hypothetical apodosis contrary to past fact within indirect speech (governed by the verb 'ait' from the preceding sentence). What would be 'adiecisset' (pluperfect subjunctive) in direct speech is here represented by the active future participle 'adiecturum' with 'fuisse'.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §32.0.95.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:32.0.95.pr

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