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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §37.4.19.pr

Validity of the Will for Possession Contrary to It

Passage 5747 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Tryphoninus explains that for the possession of goods contrary to the will to be granted, it is sufficient that a potentially valid will existed at the father's death, regardless of whether inheritance actually took place, whereas a petition is useless if the will was void from the beginning.

[TRYPHONINUS libro quinto decimo disputationum. ] §37.4.19.prQuod uolgo dicitur liberis datam bonorum possessionem contra lignum esse sic intellegendum est, ut sufficiat exstitisse tabulas mortis tempore patris, ex quibus uel adiri hereditas uel secundum eas bonorum possessio peti potuit, quamuis neutrum eorum postea secutum sit uel sequi potuit: nam si uel omnes instituti substitutique ante testatorem decesserint uel is scriptus heres fuit, cum quo testamenti factio non fuit, peti contra tabulas inane est, quae sine effectu forent.
[TRYPHONINUS in the fifteenth book of Disputations.] The common saying that the possession of goods granted to children is contrary to the will is to be understood in this way: that it is sufficient for the will to have existed at the time of the father's death, from which either the inheritance could be entered upon or the possession of goods according to it could be petitioned for, although neither of these subsequently occurred or could have occurred. For if either all those instituted and substituted died before the testator, or a person was designated as heir with whom there was no capacity to take under a will, a petition contrary to the will is useless, since the tablets would be without effect.

Notes

  1. 37.4.19.prcontra lignum — The noun lignum (wood, timber) is a figurative or colloquial term referring to the wooden tablets (tabulae) on which wills were written; thus, contra lignum is synonymous with the common expression contra tabulas (contrary to the will).
  2. 37.4.19.prquae sine effectu forent — The relative pronoun quae refers back to the feminine plural tabulas. Combined with the imperfect subjunctive forent (= essent), it forms a relative clause of cause expressing an unfulfilled potential: 'since those tablets would be without effect (under the assumed conditions).'

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §37.4.19.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:37.4.19.pr

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