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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §34.5.3.pr

Discrepancy Between Words and Intention in Ambiguous Speech

Passage 5267 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Paulus argues that in ambiguous language we only say what we actually intend, and that someone who says something other than what they intend says neither what the word literally means (due to lack of intent) nor what they intend (due to lack of utterance).

[PAULUS libro quarto decimo quaestionum. ] §34.5.3.prIn ambiguo sermone non utrumque dicimus, sed id dumtaxat quod uolumus: itaque qui aliud dicit quam uult, neque id dicit quod uox significat, quia non uult, neque id quod uult, quia id non loquitur.
[PAULUS in the fourteenth book of Questions.] In ambiguous language we do not say both things, but only that which we intend; therefore, he who says something other than what he intends says neither that which the word signifies, because he does not intend it, nor that which he intends, because he does not speak it.

Notes

  1. §34.5.3.prIn ambiguo sermone — Meaning "in ambiguous language." It introduces the principle that when words capable of multiple meanings are used in legal acts or testaments, the speaker must be understood to have intended only one of the meanings, not both simultaneously.
  2. §34.5.3.praliud ... quam uult — Meaning "something other than what he intends (uult)." The conjunction "quam" following the adjective of difference "aliud" functions like "than" or "other than" in English to introduce the object of comparison.
  3. §34.5.3.prneque id dicit ... neque id quod uult — A parallel construction using the correlative conjunctions "neque ... neque ..." ("neither ... nor ..."). In the second member ("neque id quod uult"), the verb "dicit" is omitted by ellipsis and must be supplied from the first member.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §34.5.3.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:34.5.3.pr

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