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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §35.1.49.pr

Vesting of Legacies and Freedom Subject to a Time Limit

Passage 5380 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

It stipulates that if an heir is condemned to make a payment within ten years, or if a slave is ordered to be free after ten years, the legacy becomes due and freedom is acquired on the very last day of that period.

[CELSUS libro uicesimo secundo digestorum. ] §35.1.49.prSi in annos decem heres dare damnatus aut quis liber esse iussus est, nouissimo eius temporis die legatum debebitur et libertas optingit.
[CELSUS in the twenty-second book of the Digests.] If an heir has been condemned to give within ten years, or if anyone has been ordered to be free, the legacy will be due and freedom is acquired on the very last day of that period.

Notes

  1. §35.1.49.prin annos decem — The preposition "in" followed by the accusative indicates a temporal limit ("for/within ten years" or "with a term of ten years"). The subsequent phrase "nouissimo eius temporis die" (on the last day of that period) clarifies that the obligation and the freedom arise at the expiration of this ten-year period.
  2. §35.1.49.prdare damnatus — This is a construction where the infinitive "dare" depends on "damnatus [est]" (perfect passive of damnare, with "est" omitted or shared with "iussus est") with "heres" (heir) as the subject. It represents the standard formula for a legacy by condemnation (legatum per damnationem), which imposes an obligation on the heir to make a transfer to the legatee.
  3. §35.1.49.prquis — An abbreviated form of the indefinite pronoun "aliquis", meaning "someone" or "anyone". It functions here as the second subject within the conditional "si" clause after the conjunction "aut" ("or if anyone is ordered to be free").

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §35.1.49.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:35.1.49.pr

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