Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §34.3.16.pr

Bequests of debts to a lessee and the heir's liabilities

Passage 5216 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Paulus discusses the legal effects of bequeathing outstanding debts to a five-year lessee, explaining how the heir becomes liable either under the lease or under the will, since the lease as a whole is deemed to be bequeathed.

[PAULUS libro nono ad Plautium. ] §34.3.16.prEi cui fundum in quinquennium locauera legaui quidquid eum mihi dare facere oportet oportebitue ut sineret heres sibi habere.
[PAULUS in the ninth book on Plautius.] To a person to whom I had leased a tract of land for five years, I bequeathed whatever he is or will be bound to give or do for me, in order that the heir should permit him to keep it for himself.
Nerua Atilicinus, si heres prohiberet eum frui, ex conducto, si iure locationis quid retineret, ex testamento fore obligatum aiunt, quia nihil interesset, peteretur an retineret: totam enim locationem legatam uideri,
Nerva and Atilicinus say that if the heir should prevent him from enjoying the land, he will be liable under the lease; but if he should retain anything by right of the lease, the heir will be liable under the will, because it makes no difference whether it is claimed or retained; for the entire lease seems to have been bequeathed.

Notes

  1. §34.3.16.prlocauera — The reading "locauera" in the text is understood as a scribal error or abbreviation for "locaueram" (first-person singular pluperfect), indicating that the testator himself had leased the land to the legatee.
  2. §34.3.16.prfore obligatum — The subject of the infinitive clause, "heredem" (the heir), is omitted. It means that the heir will be liable (as a defendant) either under the lease ("ex conducto") or under the will ("ex testamento"), depending on the situation.
  3. §34.3.16.prpeteretur an retineret — "peteretur" is used as an impersonal passive (or referring to the bequest being claimed), while "retineret" has the lessee as its subject, meaning "to retain" (what is owed). This points to the procedural difference between the legatee actively claiming the right and retaining it as a defense against the heir's claim.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §34.3.16.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:34.3.16.pr

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