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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §33.4.14.pr

Provision of Daughter's Dowry from Estate via Codicil

Passage 5016 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

A case concerning Theopompus's codicil, where he entrusted his daughter's marriage to Pollianus; in response to whether co-heirs must pay her a dowry equal to her sister's, Scaevola rules that the presiding judge should order the sum paid preferentially from the common estate.

[SCAEUOLA libro quinto decimo digestorum. ] §33.4.14.prTheopompus testamento facto duas filias et filium aequis partibus instituit heredes et codicillis ita cauit: 'τὴν θυγατέρα μου Κρισπίναν, ἣν ηὐχόμην ἐκδοθῆναι, ᾧ ἂν οἱ φίλοι μου καὶ οἱ συγγενεῖς δοκιμάσωσι, προνοῆσαι ἐκδοθῆναι Πολλιανὸς εἰδώς μου τὴν γνώμην ἐπὶ τοῖς ἴσοις, ἐφ’ οἷς καὶ τὴν ἀδελφὴν αὐτῆς ἐξέδωκα. ’ Pollianus a marito puellae iuratus scripsit uoluisse patrem eandem quantitatem in dotem accipere etiam minorem filiam, quam maior accepisset.
[SCAEUOLA, from the fifteenth book of the Digests.] Theopompus, having made a will, instituted his two daughters and his son as heirs in equal shares, and in a codicil provided as follows: "As for my daughter Crispina, whom I wished to be given in marriage to whomever my friends and relatives approve, Pollianus, knowing my intention, shall see to it that she is given in marriage on the same terms as those on which I also gave her sister." Pollianus, having been put on oath by the girl's husband, wrote that the father had wished that the younger daughter also should receive the same quantity as a dowry as the older had received.
quaero, an eandem summam dotis nomine coheredes extra partem hereditatis minori filiae praestare debeant.
I ask whether the co-heirs ought to pay the same sum under the name of dowry to the younger daughter, apart from her share of the inheritance.
respondit eum cuius notio est aestimaturum, ut eadem quantitas ex communi praecipua minori filiae dotis nomine detur.
He answered that the person who has jurisdiction over the matter should judge that the same quantity be given to the younger daughter under the name of dowry, preferentially out of the common property.

Notes

  1. §33.4.14.prπρονοῆσαι ἐκδοθῆναι Πολλιανὸς — The infinitive `προνοῆσαι` is used here as an independent infinitive expressing a command or request (imperative infinitive), with its subject `Πολλιανὸς` appearing in the nominative case.
  2. §33.4.14.pra marito puellae iuratus — `iuratus` is the perfect participle of the semi-deponent/active verb `iuro` (to swear), which typically has an active meaning ("having sworn"), but here, accompanied by the prepositional phrase `a marito` ("by the husband"), it is interpreted with a passive nuance ("having been put on oath by the girl's husband").
  3. §33.4.14.prrespondit eum cuius notio est aestimaturum — This is an accusative-and-infinitive construction depending on `respondit` ("he answered"), where `eum` (in the accusative) is the subject of `aestimaturum` (with `esse` omitted, future active infinitive). `eum` is modified by the relative clause `cuius notio est` ("whose jurisdiction/cognizance it is", i.e., "the person who has jurisdiction over the matter").

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §33.4.14.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:33.4.14.pr

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