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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §33.4.17.pr-33.4.17.1

Inclusion of Dowry in General Legacy and Double Claim

Passage 5019 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Scaevola rules on whether a legacy to a wife includes her dowry, and whether she can claim double the amount under two signed dowry documents, answering in the affirmative for both.

[SCAEUOLA libro tertio responsorum. ] §33.4.17.prUxori ita legauit: 'uxor mea quidquid ei comparaui et quod mihi dedit e medio sibi sumat': quaero, an dos praelegata uideatur.
[SCAEVOLA, from the third book of Opinions.] He bequeathed to his wife as follows: "Let my wife take for herself from the common mass whatever I acquired for her and what she gave to me." I ask whether the dowry is to be regarded as pre-bequeathed.
respondit uerbis quae proponerentur uideri et de dote legata loqui, nisi aliud testatorem uoluisse probaretur.
He answered that, from the words which were set forth, it seems that he was also speaking of a bequeathed dowry, unless it were proved that the testator had intended otherwise.
§33.4.17.1'Titiae uxori meae, quanta pecunia ad me inue stipulationem dotis eius nomine peruenit, quae dos est dotalibus duobus consignatis instrumentis centum aureorum'. quaesitum est, an utramque summam consequi possit.
"To my wife Titia, whatever money came to me or into a stipulation of dowry in her name, which dowry is one hundred aurei according to two signed dowry instruments." It was asked whether she could obtain both sums.
respondit nihil proponi, cur non possit.
He answered that nothing was set forth to show why she could not.

Notes

  1. §33.4.17.pre medio — The phrase 'e medio' means 'from the common mass [of the inheritance]' and indicates that a specific heir or legatee takes the property with priority before the division of the estate (pre-legacy: praelegatum).
  2. §33.4.17.1inue stipulationem — The word 'inue' is a combination of the preposition 'in' and the disjunctive enclitic '-ve' (meaning 'or into the stipulation'), showing a hyperbaton where the clitic is attached to the preposition instead of the noun 'stipulationem'. It stands in contrast with 'ad me'.
  3. §33.4.17.1nihil proponi, cur non possit — The accusative with infinitive clause starting with 'nihil proponi' serves as the object of 'respondit'. The answer affirms that since no contrary facts are presented, the wife is entitled to both sums (totaling two hundred aurei) based on the two separate signed instruments each mentioning one hundred aurei.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §33.4.17.pr-33.4.17.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:33.4.17.pr-33.4.17.1

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