Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §35.2.31.pr

Security for Returning Excess under the Falcidian Law

Passage 5476 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

The text discusses the obligation of a beneficiary of a trust to provide security for returning any excess received beyond the limit of the Lex Falcidia, illustrating this with cases involving conditional legacies and payments from a ward's estate.

[POMPONIUS libro secundo fideicommissorum. ] §35.2.31.prIs cui fideicommissum soluitur sicut is cui legatum est satisdare debet, quod amplius ceperit, quam per legem Falcidiam ei licuerit, reddi: ueluti cum propter condicionem aliorum fideicommissorum uel legatorum legis Falcidiae causa pendebit.
[POMPONIUS, in his second book on Trusts.]\n\nHe to whom a trust is paid, just like he to whom a legacy has been left, must give security that what he has received in excess of what was permitted to him by the Lex Falcidia shall be returned; for instance, when because of a condition of other trusts or legacies, the case of the Lex Falcidia remains in suspense.
sed et secundum Cassii et ueterum opinionem, si a pupillo fideicommissa capiuntur, propter ea, quae a substituto erunt relicta, cauere debebit is cui soluatur.
But also, according to the opinion of Cassius and the ancient jurists, if trusts are taken from a pupillus, he to whom payment is made must provide a guarantee because of those things which will have been left by the substitute heir.
nam quamuis repetitio sit eorum, quae fideicommissi nomine non debita soluentur, tamen satisdato cautum debet esse ei, a quo pecunia proficisceretur, ne damnum sentiat deficiente eo, cui solutum erit.
For although there is a right to recover those things which are paid under the name of a trust when not due, nevertheless, security having been given, provision must be made for him from whom the money proceeds, lest he suffer loss through the default of him to whom payment was made.

Notes

  1. §35.2.31.prsatisdare debet, quod amplius ceperit ... reddi — The object clause governed by satisdare is an accusative and infinitive construction (with the passive infinitive reddi), where the relative clause with an absorbed antecedent quod amplius ceperit ('what he has received in excess') functions as the subject accusative of the infinitive.
  2. §35.2.31.prlegis Falcidiae causa pendebit — The noun causa refers here to the legal status or calculation regarding the Lex Falcidia. Combined with pendebit ('will remain in suspense'), it indicates that the final calculation under the law cannot be settled until the condition of other legacies is determined.
  3. §35.2.31.prsi a pupillo fideicommissa capiuntur — The terms pupillus (ward under guardianship) and substitutus (substitute heir) relate to pupillary substitution in Roman succession law. If the ward dies before puberty, the substitute heir takes over, and any trusts paid from the ward's estate might have to be recalculated along with those left by the substitute (a substituto erunt relicta), which necessitates giving a guarantee (cauere).
  4. §35.2.31.prsatisdato cautum debet esse ei — The form satisdato is the neuter ablative singular of the perfect participle of satisdare, functioning as an ablative absolute or ablative of means ('security having been given' or 'by providing security'). The main clause cautum debet esse is an impersonal passive construction ('provision must be made' or 'security must be ensured'), with the beneficiary marked by the dative ei ('for him', i.e., the person paying the money).
  5. §35.2.31.prdeficiente eo — An ablative absolute construction consisting of the present participle deficiente and the ablative pronoun eo. It means 'through his insolvency' or 'by his failing to perform', indicating the direct cause of the loss (damnum sentiat) in the main clause.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §35.2.31.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:35.2.31.pr

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.