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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §33.4.9.pr

Legacy of Dowry in Kind and Valuation of Property

Passage 5011 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Regarding a will wishing for the return of an estate and dowry items in kind, it is ruled that an unappraised estate is included in the legacy, and for appraised items, the physical things themselves are bequeathed rather than their value.

[IDEM libro octauo responsorum. ] §33.4.9.pr'Uxori meae fundum Cornelianum et quae 'nuptura optulit aestimata in speciebus restitui uolo'. respondi non aestimatum praedium in dotem datum exceptum non uideri, sed uniuersa dote praelegata rerum aestimatarum pretium non relictum, uerum ipsas res, quales inuenirentur.
[The same, from the eighth book of Opinions.] "I wish the Cornelian estate, and the appraised articles which my wife brought when she was about to marry, to be restored to her in kind." I replied that an unappraised estate given as dowry does not seem to be excluded; but since the entire dowry was pre-bequeathed, not the price of the appraised articles, but the things themselves, in whatever condition they might be found, were left.

Notes

  1. §33.4.9.prnuptura — The future active participle, feminine nominative singular, of the intransitive verb nubo (to marry), modifying the subject of optulit (the wife when she was about to marry).
  2. §33.4.9.prexceptum non uideri — A double negation indicating that the unappraised estate (non aestimatum praedium), which is the subject, "does not seem to be excluded (exceptum)" from the legacy; meaning it is construed as included in the bequest.
  3. §33.4.9.prquales inuenirentur — A relative clause introduced by the feminine plural accusative of qualis, using the subjunctive imperfect inuenirentur to refer to a future contingency at the time the will takes effect, meaning "in whatever condition they might be found" (as they are).

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §33.4.9.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:33.4.9.pr

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