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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §34.2.9.pr

Payment of Monetary Value for Bequest of Gold or Silver Weight

Passage 5168 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

A rule by Modestinus stating that when a certain weight of gold or silver is bequeathed without a specific object being designated, the current monetary value, rather than the physical material, must be paid.

[MODESTINUS libro nono regularum. ] §34.2.9.prCum certum auri uel argenti pondus legatum est, si non species designata sit, non materia, sed pretium praesentis temporis praestari debet.
[MODESTINUS, in his ninth book of Rules.] When a certain weight of gold or silver has been bequeathed, if a specific object has not been designated, not the material, but the price at the present time must be paid.

Notes

  1. §34.2.9.prnon materia, sed pretium praesentis temporis praestari debet — Both non materia and sed pretium serve as subjects (nominative) of the passive infinitive praestari, which depends on the verb debet. In legal terms, this means that if no specific object (species) is designated in the bequest, the heir is not obligated to deliver the physical material (materia) itself, but must pay the monetary value (pretium) calculated at the present time.
  2. §34.2.9.prspecies — A legal term in Roman law referring to a specific individual object (such as coins or a particular ring) fashioned from raw material (materia). Here, it contrasts with materia to clarify the interpretation when a specific object has not been designated.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §34.2.9.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:34.2.9.pr

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