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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §33.2.2.pr

Nature and Extinction of a Legacy of Slave Services

Passage 4954 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Explains the legal nature of the bequeathed services of a slave, noting that they are not lost by change of status or non-use, can be leased or inherited, but perish if the slave is acquired by another through usucapion.

[PAPINIANUS libro septimo decimo quaestionum. ] §33.2.2.prHominis operae legatae capitis deminutione uel non utendo non amittuntur.
[PAPINIANUS, Questions, book XVII.] The bequeathed services of a slave are not lost by change of status or by non-use.
et quoniam ex operis mercedem percipere legatarius potest, etiam operas eius ipse locare poterit, quas si prohibeat heres capi, tenebitur.
And since the legatee can receive wages from the services, he himself will also be able to lease his services, and if the heir prohibits them from being taken, he will be held liable.
idem est et si seruus se locauerit.
The same is true if the slave has leased himself.
et quia legatarius fructuarius non est, ad heredem suum operarum legatum transmittit: sed seruo usu capto legatum perit.
And because the legatee is not a usufructuary, he transmits the bequest of the services to his own heir; but if the slave is acquired by usucapion, the bequest perishes.

Notes

  1. §33.2.2.prnon utendo — The ablative of the gerund of 'utor' with the negation 'non', expressing means or cause. This contrasts with servitudes or usufructs, which could be lost through non-use.
  2. §33.2.2.prquas si prohibeat heres capi — 'quas' is a relative connection referring back to 'operas' (accusative plural feminine). 'capi' is the present passive infinitive of 'capere' (to take, collect), with 'quas' acting as its subject accusative, forming an accusative with infinitive construction governed by 'prohibeat'.
  3. §33.2.2.prseruo usu capto — An ablative absolute composed of the noun 'seruo' and the perfect participle 'capto'. Together with 'usu' (ablative of 'usus'), it forms the passive of the expression 'usu capere' (to acquire by usucapion), meaning 'the slave having been acquired by usucapion'.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §33.2.2.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:33.2.2.pr

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