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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §35.1.19.pr-35.1.19.3

Testator's Intention and Conditions Versus Terms of Time

Passage 5350 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

The text establishes the primacy of the deceased's will in interpreting conditions, distinguishing actual conditions from mere indications of time, and discusses the failure of conditional legacies in cases involving multiple heirs.

[ULPIANUS libro quinto disputationum. ] §35.1.19.prIn condicionibus primum locum uoluntas defuncti optinet eaque regit condiciones.
In conditions, the will of the deceased holds the primary place, and it rules the conditions.
denique et in ea condicione 'si filia mea cum Titio nupta erit' placuit non semper mortis tempus obseruari, sed uoluntate patrocinante tardius produci.
Consequently, even in the case of the condition 'if my daughter shall have been married to Titius,' it has been decided that the time of death is not always to be observed, but rather, with the will supporting it, it is extended to a later time.
§35.1.19.1Haec scriptura 'si Primus heres erit, damnas esto dare' pro condicione non est accipienda: magis enim demonstranit testator, quando legatum debeatur, quam condicionem inseruit: nisi forte hoc animo fuerat testator, ut faceret condicionem.
This writing, 'if Primus shall be the heir, let him be bound to give,' is not to be accepted as a condition; for the testator showed rather when the legacy should be due than inserted a condition, unless by chance the testator had been of this mind, to make a condition.
proinde nec illud dicendum erit facere condicionem: 'quidquid mihi Ephesi oportet dari, hoc do lego', sed si sic leget: 'si Primus mihi heres non erit, damnas esto Secundus dare' et Primus heres exstitit, legatum non debebitur: si Primus adierit cum Secundo, non exstitisse condicionem nequaquam ambigendum est.
Accordingly, neither will it have to be said that this makes a condition: 'whatever ought to be given to me at Ephesus, this I give and bequeath'; but if he should bequeath thus: 'if Primus shall not be my heir, let Secundus be bound to give,' and Primus became the heir, the legacy will not be due; if Primus entered upon the inheritance along with Secundus, it is in no way to be doubted that the condition did not exist.
§35.1.19.2Si patronus contra tabulas bonorum possessione accepta debitam portionem occupet, legata quae sic data sunt 'si patronus heres non erit' non debet coheres patroni praestare. §35.1.19.3Si a Primo ita legatum est 'si Secundus heres non erit, uiginti Titio dato', simili modo a Secundo eidem Titio ita legatum est 'si Primus heres non erit' et ambo heredes exstiterint, legati condicio deficiet: si alter heres exstitit, alter heres non exstitit, legatum debebitur.
If a patron, having accepted possession of goods contrary to the tablets of the will, occupies the due portion, the co-heir of the patron ought not to perform the legacies which were given thus: 'if the patron shall not be the heir.' If it has been bequeathed by Primus thus: 'if Secundus shall not be the heir, let twenty be given to Titius,' and in like manner it has been bequeathed by Secundus to the same Titius thus: 'if Primus shall not be the heir,' and both have become heirs, the condition of the legacy will fail; if one became the heir, and the other did not become the heir, the legacy will be due.

Notes

  1. §35.1.19.pruoluntate patrocinante — Ablative absolute with uoluntas (will of the deceased) as the subject and the present participle of patrocinari (to support, protect) as the predicate, meaning "with the will supporting it" or "if the will favors it."
  2. §35.1.19.1damnas esto — Future imperative (third person singular) of damnare. A formulaic legal expression in Roman wills used to impose an obligation on an heir (in this case, to perform a legacy).
  3. §35.1.19.1hoc animo fuerat — Ablative of quality. The subsequent ut clause (a noun clause in apposition) "to make a condition" explains the content of hoc (such).
  4. §35.1.19.1adierit — Used intransitively or with the object omitted, meaning "to enter upon the inheritance" (hereditatem adire). cum Secundo means "along with Secundus (as a co-heir)."
  5. §35.1.19.2contra tabulas bonorum possessione accepta — Refers to the acquisition of "possession of goods contrary to the tablets of the will" (bonorum possessio contra tabulas), a specific institution under Roman law. accepta is a perfect participle in the ablative feminine singular, agreeing with bonorum possessione to form an ablative absolute (or ablative of means).

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §35.1.19.pr-35.1.19.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:35.1.19.pr-35.1.19.3

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