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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §38.2.45.pr

Inheritance by Patrons and Slaves and Trust Obligations

Passage 5981 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

The text discusses whether a trust must be performed from the patron's due share when the patron and his slave are jointly appointed as heirs, or when the slave alone is appointed.

[IDEM libro nono quaestionum. ] §38.2.45.prSi patronus ex sexta et seruus eius ex reliqua parte sit heres institutus, nec ex serui portione fideicommissum debetur: at si seruus dumtaxat heres institutus est, puto nec hic ex debita portione praestandum.
[THE SAME, in the ninth book of Questions.] If a patron is appointed heir for a sixth share and his slave for the remaining part, no trust is owed even from the slave's portion; but if the slave alone is appointed heir, I think that here too, no performance is to be made from the due share.

Notes

  1. §38.2.45.prex sexta — An elliptical expression for ex sexta parte ("for a sixth share"). In Roman testamentary and inheritance contexts, the noun pars ("share/part") is very commonly omitted after an ordinal adjective in the feminine ablative singular.
  2. §38.2.45.prpraestandum — A gerundive with the auxiliary verb esse omitted, expressing obligation or necessity. Contextually, it refers to the performance of the trust (fideicommissum from the previous clause) or functions impersonally as "performance is to be made," indicating that the patron's due share is exempt from the burden of the trust.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §38.2.45.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:38.2.45.pr

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