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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §37.6.6.pr

Father's Claim to Dowry Given by Paternal Grandfather

Passage 5781 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This chunk discusses whether a dowry given by a paternal grandfather should be returned to the father after the grandfather's death if the daughter dies during marriage, and whether this applies even if the son is disinherited.

[CELSUS libro decimo digestorum. ] §37.6.6.prDotem, quam dedit auus paternus, an post mortem aui mortua in matrimonio filia patri reddi oporteat, quaeritur.
[CELSUS, from the tenth book of the Digests.] It is asked whether a dowry, which a paternal grandfather has given, ought to be returned to the father after the grandfather's death, if the daughter dies during marriage.
occurrit aequitas rei, ut, quod pater meus propter me filiae meae nomine dedit, perinde sit atque ipse dedequippe officium aui circa neptem ex officio patris erga filium pendet et quia pater filiae, ideo auus propter filium nepti dotem dare debet.
The equity of the matter presents itself, namely, that what my father gave on my account in the name of my daughter should be just as if I myself had given it; for indeed the duty of a grandfather toward his granddaughter depends on the duty of a father toward his son, and because a father [ought to give a dowry] to his daughter, therefore the grandfather ought to give a dowry to the granddaughter on account of his son.
quid si filius a patre exheredatus est? existimo non absurde etiam in exheredato filio idem posse defendi, nec infauorabilis sententia est, ut hoc saltem habeat ex paternis, quod propter illum datum est.
What if the son has been disinherited by his father? I think it can be maintained, not without reason, that the same applies even in the case of a disinherited son, nor is it an unfavorable opinion that he should have at least this from his father's property, which was given on his account.

Notes

  1. §37.6.6.prdedequippe — This form is likely a scribal or transcriptional error, which in standard texts is divided into `dederim. quippe`. The first part `dederim` is a perfect subjunctive forming a clause introduced by `perinde sit atque` ('just as if'), and the second part `quippe` is a conjunction meaning 'since' or 'for indeed'.
  2. §37.6.6.prmortua in matrimonio filia — The noun `filia` and the perfect participle `mortua` are both in the feminine singular ablative, forming an ablative absolute. This construction expresses the condition or time, 'if/when the daughter dies during marriage'.
  3. §37.6.6.prquia pater filiae — In the `quia` clause, a verb phrase (such as `dotem dare debet`) is omitted by ellipsis, which can be readily supplied from the parallel main clause `ideo auus ... debet`.
  4. §37.6.6.prut hoc saltem habeat — The `ut` clause is a substantive clause of result (or noun clause) explaining the content of the preceding expression `nec infauorabilis sententia est` ('it is not an unfavorable opinion that...').

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §37.6.6.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:37.6.6.pr

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