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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §34.7.1.pr-34.7.1.2

Definition and Exceptions to the Catonian Rule

Passage 5296 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Celsus presents the "Catonian rule," which states that a legacy that would be invalid if the testator died at the time of making the will remains invalid regardless of when they die, and discusses its limitations by providing exceptional cases where the rule does not apply.

[CELSUS libro trigesimo quinto digestorum. ] §34.7.1.prCatoniana regula sic definit, quod, si testamenti facti tempore decessisset testator, inutile foret, id legatum quandocumque decesserit, non ualere.
[CELSUS, from the Thirty-Fifth Book of Digests.] The Catonian rule defines thus: that a legacy which would have been invalid if the testator had died at the time the will was made, does not become valid no matter when he may die.
quae definitio in quibusdam falsa est.
This definition is false in certain cases.
§34.7.1.1Quid enim, si quis ita legauerit: 'si post kalendas mortuus fuero, Titio dato'? an cauillamur? nam hoc modo si statim mortuus fuerit, non esse datum legatum uerius est quam inutiliter datum.
For what if someone has left a legacy as follows: "If I die after the Kalends, let it be given to Titius"? Are we splitting hairs? For in this way, if he should die immediately, it is more correct to say that the legacy was not given at all, rather than that it was given invalidly.
§34.7.1.2Item si tibi legatus est fundus, qui scribendi testamenti tempore tuus est, si eum uiuo testatore alienaueris, legatum tibi debetur, quod non deberetur, si testator statim decessisset.
Likewise, if a tract of land is bequeathed to you, which is yours at the time the will is written, if you alienate it during the lifetime of the testator, the legacy is due to you; which would not have been due if the testator had died immediately.

Notes

  1. §34.7.1.prCatoniana regula sic definit, quod, si testamenti facti tempore decessisset testator, inutile foret, id legatum quandocumque decesserit, non ualere. — As the object of the verb `definit`, the conjunction `quod` is directly followed by the accusative with infinitive (A.C.I.) construction `id legatum ... non ualere`. This is a mixed construction deviating from classical standards, where `quod` serves to introduce the specific content of the definition. The apodosis `inutile foret` (subjunctive imperfect) corresponding to the protasis `si ... decessisset` (subjunctive pluperfect) represents a past contrary-to-fact condition relative to the time the will was made.
  2. §34.7.1.1non esse datum legatum uerius est quam inutiliter datum — In this impersonal construction with the comparative adjective `uerius` as a complement (`uerius est`), two infinitive clauses `non esse datum [legatum]` and `[legatum] inutiliter datum [esse]` are compared. It marks a legal distinction between "initial invalidity" (`inutile`), which is the premise for the Catonian rule, and "non-existence" (`non datum`) due to the failure of a condition.
  3. §34.7.1.2quod non deberetur, si testator statim decessisset — The relative pronoun `quod` takes the entire preceding circumstance (the legacy being due) as its antecedent, forming a mixed contrary-to-fact conditional sentence with the subjunctive imperfect `deberetur` and pluperfect `decessisset`. `deberetur` is in the imperfect because it refers to a continuing state of "non-indebtedness" that would exist if the testator had died immediately.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §34.7.1.pr-34.7.1.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:34.7.1.pr-34.7.1.2

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