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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §35.2.63.pr-35.2.63.2

Objective Property Valuation and Exclusion of Subjective Affection

Passage 5508 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Discusses the principle of objective property valuation, excluding personal affection, speculative transactions, and a slave's unentered inheritance, while addressing the valuation of insolvent debts and limits on regional or temporal price variations.

[PAULUS libro secundo ad legem Iuliam et Papiam. ] §35.2.63.prPretia rerum non ex affectu nec utilitate singulorum, sed communiter funguntur.
[PAULUS, in the second book on the Lex Iulia et Papia.] The prices of things do not function according to the affection or utility of individuals, but commonly.
nec enim qui filium naturalem possidet tanto locupletior est, quod eum, si alius possideret, plurimo redempturus fuisset.
For he who possesses his natural son is not richer by so much, because he would have redeemed him at a very high price if another possessed him.
sed nec ille, qui filium alienum possidet, tantum habet, quanti eum patri uendere potest, nec exspectandum est, dum uendat, sed in praesentia, non qua filius alicuius, sed qua homo aestimatur.
But neither does he who possesses another's son have as much as he can sell him for to his father; nor must we wait until he sells him, but at present he is valued not as someone's son, but as a human being.
eadem causa est eius serui, qui noxam nocuit: nec enim delinquendo quisque pretiosior fit.
The same rule applies to a slave who has committed a tort; for no one becomes more valuable by committing a delict.
sed nec heredem post mortem testatoris institutum seruum tanto pluris esse, quo pluris uenire potest, Pedius scribit: est enim absurdum ipsum me heredem institutum non esse locupletiorem, antequam adeam, si autem seruus heres institutus sit, statim me locupletiorem effectum, cum multis causis accidere possit, ne iussu nostro adeat: adquirit nobis certe cum adierit, esse autem praeposterum ante nos locupletes dici, quam adquisierimus.
But Pedius also writes that a slave who has been instituted as heir after the death of the testator is not worth so much more by the higher price for which he can be sold: for it is absurd that, while I myself, having been instituted as heir, am not richer before I enter upon the inheritance, yet if a slave is instituted as heir, I am immediately made richer, since it can happen from many causes that he does not enter upon it by our order; to be sure, he acquires for us when he has entered upon it, but it is preposterous for us to be said to be rich before we have acquired.
§35.2.63.1Cuius debitor soluendo non est, tantum habet in bonis, quantum exigere potests.
A person whose debtor is insolvent has only so much in his assets as he can recover.
§35.2.63.2Nonnullam tamen pretio uarietatem loca temporaque adferunt: nec enim tantidem Romae et in Hispania oleum aestimabitur nec continuis sterilitatibus tantidem, quanti secundis fructibus, dum hic quoque non ex momentis temporum nec ex ea quae raro accidat caritate pretia constituantur.
Nevertheless, places and times bring some variation to the price; for oil will not be valued at the same price in Rome and in Spain, nor at the same price in periods of continuous barrenness as in times of favorable harvests, provided that here too prices are not established from temporary fluctuations of time nor from a scarcity that happens rarely.

Notes

  1. 35.2.63.prtanto... quod... — The ablative of degree of difference tanto ('by so much') is used correlatively with the clause introduced by quod ('because / on the ground that'), which explains the reason or basis for the hypothetical increase in wealth.
  2. 35.2.63.prsi autem seruus heres institutus sit, statim me locupletiorem effectum — Part of the accusative with infinitive (A.C.I.) construction representing the absurd consequence (absurdum) in contrast. The auxiliary verb esse is omitted after the perfect participle effectum. It contrasts with non esse locupletiorem in the previous clause to express the absurdity of the master being 'immediately made richer' if his slave is instituted as heir.
  3. 35.2.63.1soluendo non est — The dative of the gerundive soluendo is used with the verb esse to express capacity or purpose ('to be fit for paying'). Combined with non, it forms the standard legal idiom meaning 'to be insolvent.'
  4. 35.2.63.2dum hic quoque... constituantur — The conjunction dum with the present subjunctive constituantur introduces a proviso clause, meaning 'provided that' or 'on condition that.'

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §35.2.63.pr-35.2.63.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:35.2.63.pr-35.2.63.2

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