Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §35.1.58.pr

Validity of a Legacy to Another's Slave Conditioned on Marriage

Passage 5389 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Proculus states that a legacy left to another's female slave on the condition of her marriage is valid, because she can marry after being set free.

[IDEM libro decimo ex uariis lectionibus. ] §35.1.58.prSi ancillae alienae, cum ea nubsisset, legatum sit, Proculus ait utile legatum esse, quia possit manumissa nubere.
[THE SAME in the tenth book of Various Readings.] If a legacy has been bequeathed to another's female slave on the condition "when she should have married," Proculus says that the legacy is valid, because after being manumitted she can marry.

Notes

  1. §35.1.58.prcum ea nubsisset — A `cum` clause with the subjunctive pluperfect `nubsisset`. It expresses a condition occurring prior to the fulfillment of the legacy. The pronoun `ea` is the nominative feminine singular serving as the subject of the intransitive verb `nubere` (to marry), referring back to the `ancilla aliena`.
  2. §35.1.58.prmanumissa — The perfect passive participle `manumissa` (nominative feminine singular) agrees with the implied subject of `nubere` (or `possit`) and functions adverbially to mean "after being manumitted." This is the logical key to the validity of the legacy, as a slave could not legally marry without first being freed.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §35.1.58.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:35.1.58.pr

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