Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §37.8.7.pr

Share of a Grandson Born After Emancipation Under Pius

Passage 5804 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

The text discusses the inheritance share of a grandson born after the emancipation of his father under the constitution of the divine Pius, examining whether his share is a fourth or an eighth and whether it is deducted from the uncle or the father.

[TRYPHONINUS libro sexto decimo disputationum. ] §37.8.7.prSi post emancipationem filii susceptus ex eo fuerit nepos, conseruanda illi erit portio, sed quanta, uideamus.
[TRYPHONINUS in the sixteenth book of Disputations.] If a grandson is born from a son after the son’s emancipation, a share must be preserved for him, but let us see how much.
finge enim patruo scripto heredi coheredem datum hunc nepotem, patrem autem eiusdem praeteritum accepisse contra tabulas bonorum possessionem.
For imagine that this grandson was given as a co-heir to the paternal uncle who was designated as heir, while his father, having been passed over, received possession of the goods contrary to the tablet.
quod ad edictum praetoris attinet, semisses bonorum fient: nunc uero post constitutionem diui Pii si conseruatur pars nepoti, utrum uirilis an quarta debeat seruari? nam si in aui natus potestate fuisset, coniungebatur in unam partem cum patre suo.
As far as the praetor's edict is concerned, they will become half-shares of the property; but now, after the constitution of the divine Pius, if a share is preserved for the grandson, should a per capita share or a fourth share be preserved? For if he had been born in the power of his grandfather, he would have been joined into one share with his father.
et proponamus esse alium ex eodem nepotem in familia aui: duo unam quartam habituri erant patre eorum accipiente contra tabulas bonorum possessionem, si fuissent in aui potestate: an ergo nunc in sescunciam tuendus sit, qui non in familia retentus est? et cui abscedet pars, quae huic cessura est, patri eius tantum an et patruo? et puto et patruo: nam et legatum eidem datum praestaret.
And let us propose that there is another grandson from the same father in the family of the grandfather: if they had been in the power of the grandfather, the two would have been about to have one fourth share, with their father receiving possession of the goods contrary to the tablet. Should he, therefore, who was not retained in the family, now be protected in respect of a sescuncia? And from whom will the share that is to go to him be deducted: from his father only, or also from his uncle? I think from his uncle as well; for the uncle would also have had to pay a legacy given to the same grandson.

Notes

  1. 37.8.7.prfinge ... datum hunc nepotem — The verb finge (imagine) governs an accusative with infinitive (A.C.I.) construction, where hunc nepotem is the subject accusative of datum [esse] (with esse omitted), and patrem is the subject accusative of accepisse in parallel.
  2. 37.8.7.prsemisses bonorum fient — The plural semisses (halves, from semis) indicates that under the praetor's edict, the uncle (as written heir) and the emancipated son (through bonorum possessio contra tabulas) would each receive a half-share (1/2) of the estate.
  3. 37.8.7.prsescunciam — A Roman unit of division representing 1.5 unciae of the whole (as = 12 unciae), which equals 1/8. This corresponds to the calculation that if both grandsons had been in power, they would have shared half of their father's portion (1/2 of 1/2 = 1/4), resulting in 1/8 (1.5 unciae) each.
  4. 37.8.7.prcui — An interrogative pronoun in the dative case (not a relative pronoun), functioning as a dative of separation with the verb abscedet, meaning "from whom" the share will be deducted or depart.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §37.8.7.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:37.8.7.pr

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