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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §36.1.59.pr-36.1.59.2

Restitution to Homeland, Kin, and Power of Selection

Passage 5612 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Decisions are rendered on the ownership of fruits gathered before an inheritance is restored to the homeland, the validity of a trust-bequest to a granddaughter upon the death of multiple sons, and the wife's power to select beneficiaries among children, grandchildren, and other cognates according to the prescribed order.

[IDEM libro octauo responsorum. ] §36.1.59.pr'Heredes mei quidquid ad eos ex hereditate bonisue meis peruenerit, id omne post mortem suam restituant patriae meae coloniae Beneuentanorum': nihil de fructibus pendente condicione perceptis petitum uideri constitit.
[THE SAME, Answers, Book 8] 'Let my heirs, whatever shall come to them from my inheritance or goods, restore all of it after their death to my homeland, the colony of the Beneventans': it was established that nothing is deemed to be claimed regarding the fruits gathered while the condition was pending.
§36.1.59.1Cum ita fuerat scriptum: 'fidei filiorum meorum committo, ut, si quis eorum sine liberis prior diem suum obierit, partem suam superstiti fratri restituat: quod si uterque sine liberis diem suum obierit, omnem hereditatem ad neptem meam Claudiam peruenire uolo': defuncto altero superstite filio, nouissimo autem sine liberis neptis prima quidem facie propter condicionis uerba non admitti uidebatur: sed cum in fideicommissis uoluntatem spectari conueniat, absurdum esse respondi cessante prima substitutione partis nepti petitionem denegari, quam totum habere uoluit auus, si nouissimus fratris quoque portionem suscepisset.
When it had been written as follows: 'I commit to the trust of my sons that, if any of them should die first without children, he shall restore his share to the surviving brother; but if both should die without children, I wish the whole inheritance to come to my granddaughter Claudia': upon the death of one surviving son, and finally the last one without children, at first sight the granddaughter seemed not to be admitted because of the words of the condition. But since in trust-bequests it is proper to look to the intention, I answered that it was absurd for the granddaughter's claim to be denied when the first substitution of the share failed, whom the grandfather wished to have the whole if the last son had also received the portion of his brother.
§36.1.59.2'Peto de te, uxor carissima, uti cum morieris hereditatem meam restituas filiis meis uel uni eorum uel nepotibus meis uel cui uolueris uel cognatis meis si cui uoles ex tota cognatione mea'. inter filios respondi substitutionem fideicommissi factam uideri, circa nepotes autem et ceteros cognatos facultatem eligendi datam: ex ceteris autem cognatis, si nepotes superessent, non recte mulierem electuram propter gradus fideicommissi praescriptos: deficiente uero gradu nepotum ex cognatis quam uelit personam eligi posse.
'I ask of you, dearest wife, that when you die you restore my inheritance to my children, or to one of them, or to my grandchildren, or to whomsoever you wish, or to my cognates, if you wish, from my entire cognation.' I answered that among the children a substitution of the trust-bequest seemed to have been made, but concerning the grandchildren and the other cognates a faculty of selection was given; however, from the other cognates, if grandchildren survived, the woman would not rightly select because of the prescribed degrees of the trust-bequest; but if the degree of grandchildren failed, any person she wished from the cognates could be selected.

Notes

  1. §36.1.59.prpendente condicione — An ablative absolute meaning 'while the condition was pending'. Composed of the noun 'condicio' and the ablative of the present participle of 'pendere', it refers to the state before the trust-bequest is executed (while the heirs are still alive). This phrase modifies the perfect participle 'perceptis' (gathered).
  2. §36.1.59.1defuncto altero superstite filio, nouissimo autem sine liberis — A juxtaposition of ablatives absolute indicating a succession of deaths. 'Defuncto' is understood to be repeated after 'nouissimo'. It describes a multi-stage fulfillment of conditions: 'when one surviving son had died, and finally the last one had died without children'.
  3. §36.1.59.1absurdum esse respondi cessante prima substitutione partis nepti petitionem denegari — An accusative with infinitive construction dependent on the main verb 'respondi'. The passive infinitive clause 'nepti petitionem denegari' (the claim being denied to the granddaughter) functions as the subject of the predicate adjective phrase 'absurdum esse', accompanied by the ablative absolute 'cessante prima substitutione...' which describes the failure of the first step.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §36.1.59.pr-36.1.59.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:36.1.59.pr-36.1.59.2

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