Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §33.5.11.pr

Bequest to a Slave Chosen by Another and Land Ownership

Passage 5030 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Explains the ownership of a tract of land when the slave Eros is bequeathed to Seius and land to Eros, but another chooses Eros, drawing an analogy with a legacy to a common slave.

[IDEM libro trigesimo sexto digestorum. ] §33.5.11.prSi Eros Seio legatus sit et Eroti fundus, deinde optio serui Maeuio data fuerit isque Erotem optauerit, fundus ad solum Seium pertinebit, quoniam aditae hereditatis tempore is solus erit, ad quem posset legatum pertinere.
[THE SAME, Digest, Book XXXVI] If Eros has been bequeathed to Seius, and a tract of land to Eros, and then the option of a slave has been given to Maevius and he has chosen Eros, the tract of land will belong to Seius alone, since at the time of the acceptance of the inheritance, he is the only one to whom the legacy could belong.
nam et cum seruo communi alter ex sociis legat, idcirco ad solum socium totum legatum pertinet, quoniam die legati cedente solus est, qui per eum seruum possit adquirere.
For also when one of the partners bequeathes to a common slave, for that reason the whole legacy belongs to the other partner alone, since when the right to the legacy vests, he is the only one who can acquire through that slave.

Notes

  1. §33.5.11.praditae hereditatis tempore — 'at the time of the acceptance of the inheritance.' This refers to the legally relevant moment of formal acceptance, which determines who ultimately receives the legacy of the land given to the slave.
  2. §33.5.11.prdie legati cedente — 'when the right to the legacy vests.' This refers to the moment (dies cedens) when the right to the legacy is legally established or vests, typically upon the testator's death.
  3. §33.5.11.pralter ex sociis — 'one of the partners.' When one co-owner bequeaths to a common slave, the legacy benefit goes solely to the other co-owner, as the testator cannot acquire from his own legacy.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §33.5.11.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:33.5.11.pr

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.