Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §34.2.8.pr

Application of the Modifier Women's in a Legacy

Passage 5167 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Regarding the legacy of clothing, toilet equipment, and women's ornaments, the opinions of Cassius, Javolenus, and Paulus are presented on which nouns the modifier "women's" grammatically applies to.

[IDEM libro nono ad Plautium. ] §34.2.8.prPLAUTIUS. Mulier ita legauit: quisquis mihi heres erit, Titiae uestem meam mundum ornamentaque muliebria damnas esto dare'. Cassius ait, si non appareret quid sensisset, omnem uestem secundum uerba testamenti legatam uideri.

[THE SAME, in his ninth book on Plautius.] PLAUTIUS. A woman bequeathed as follows: "Whoever shall be my heir, let him be under obligation to give to Titia my clothing, my toilet equipment, and women's ornaments." Cassius says that, if it did not appear what she had intended, all her clothing is seen to have been bequeathed according to the words of the will.

PAULUS. Idem Iauolenus scribit, quia uerisimile est, inquit, testatricem tantum ornamentorum uniuersitati derogasse, quibus significationem muliebrium accommodasset: accedere eo, quod illa demonstratio 'muliebria' neque uesti neque mundo applicari salua ratione recti sermonis potest.

PAULUS. Javolenus writes the same; for, he says, it is likely that the testatrix made a restriction only upon the totality of ornaments, to which she had applied the designation "women's"; and to this is added the fact that the designation "women's" can be applied neither to clothing nor to toilet equipment while preserving the rule of correct speech.

Notes

34.2.8.prsi non appareret quid sensisset — The indirect question `quid sensisset` (subjunctive pluperfect) is subordinate to the conditional clause `si non appareret` (subjunctive imperfect). Taken together under Cassius's statement (`ait`), it sets up a hypothetical condition in past time regarding the case where the testatrix's subjective intention was not clear.
34.2.8.prderogasse — Used with the dative `ornamentorum uniuersitati` (the totality of ornaments) in the sense of "to detract from" or "to restrict." It indicates that the testatrix did not bequeath the entire broad category of ornaments, but restricted it to a subcategory, namely those to which she applied the term "women's" (`muliebria`).
34.2.8.prsalua ratione recti sermonis — An ablative absolute meaning "as long as the principle of correct speech is preserved," referring to grammatical agreement. Since the adjective `muliebria` is neuter plural accusative, it cannot grammatically modify the feminine singular accusative `uestem` or the masculine singular accusative `mundum`. Thus, it must only modify the neuter plural accusative `ornamenta`.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §34.2.8.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:34.2.8.pr

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