Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §36.1.70.pr-36.1.70.1

Restitution of Insolvent Estates and Omission of the Fourth

Passage 5624 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

On the rules under the Trebellian senatusconsult when an heir is requested to restore an inheritance by an insolvent deceased, whether under compulsion or voluntarily, and the recovery of the fourth part if omitted through error.

[IDEM libro quarto fideicommissorum. ] §36.1.70.prSi heres, ab eo qui cum moreretur soluendo non fuit rogatus hereditatem restituere, suspectam sibi dicit, dubium non est, quin hodie coactus ex Trebelliano senatus consulto restituere possit.
[BY THE SAME AUTHOR, On Trusts, Book 4] If an heir, having been requested to restore the inheritance by someone who was insolvent when he died, declares it to be suspect to himself, there is no doubt that today, having been compelled, he can restore it under the Trebellian senatusconsult.
sed et si sua sponte adierit, ex eodem senatus consulto restituturus est, quamuis, cum summa aut certum corpus per fideicommissum ab eo qui soluendo non fuit datum est, perinde non debeatur atque si legatum esset: eo enim casu legatarii, superiore heredis uice fungi eum, cui fideicommissum relictum est.
But even if he has entered upon it of his own accord, he is to restore it under the same senatusconsult, although, when a sum of money or a specific object is given through a trust by someone who was insolvent, it is not owed, just as if it had been a legacy; for in that case, the person to whom the trust was left performs a higher role than that of a legatee, namely, the role of an heir.
§36.1.70.1Si totam hereditatem rogatus restituere tu sponte adieris et, sine deductione quartae partis restitueris, difficile quidem crederis per ignorantiam magis, non explendi fideicommissi causa hoc fecisse: sed si probaueris per errorem te quartam non retinuisse, reciperare eam poteris.
If, having been requested to restore the entire inheritance, you have entered upon it of your own accord and restored it without the deduction of the fourth part, you will indeed with difficulty be believed to have done this rather through ignorance and not for the sake of fulfilling the trust; but if you prove that you did not retain the fourth part through error, you will be able to recover it.

Notes

  1. §36.1.70.prsuperiore heredis uice fungi eum — The subject of the verb fungi (which governs the ablative) is the accusative eum, which is the antecedent of the relative pronoun cui. The adjective superiore modifies vice (ablative), and the two genitives legatarii and heredis are arranged contrastively to mean 'to perform a higher role than that of a legatee, namely, the role of an heir.' The entire clause is expressed as an accusative-and-infinitive construction in indirect discourse.
  2. §36.1.70.1difficile quidem crederis ... hoc fecisse — The passive crederis (second person singular) is used in a personal construction with the infinitive fecisse (nominative with infinitive). It translates to 'you will indeed with difficulty be believed to have done this,' equivalent to an impersonal construction 'it will be believed with difficulty that you did this,' but using the second person as the grammatical subject of the passive verb.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §36.1.70.pr-36.1.70.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:36.1.70.pr-36.1.70.1

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.