[TRYPHONINUS libro septimo decimo disputationum. ] §38.2.50.prNihil interest, ipse patronus scriptus heres ex minore parte adierit hereditatem an seruum suum scriptum iusserit adire hereditatem, quam retinet: nihilo minus enim repulsus erit a contra tabulas bonorum possessione.
[TRYPHONINUS, in the seventeenth book of Disputations.] It makes no difference whether the patron himself, being appointed heir for a minor share, has entered upon the inheritance, or has ordered his slave, who was appointed heir, to enter upon the inheritance which he retains; for he will nonetheless be excluded from the possession of goods contrary to the will.
§38.2.50.1Si tamen antequam iuberet liberti hereditatem adire, seruum uendiderit aut manumiserit et ita ipse nouus libertus aut emptor heredes extiterint, uerbis edicti non prohibetur patronus accipere contra tabulas bonorum possessionem.
If, however, before ordering the slave to enter upon the inheritance of the freedman, he has sold or manumitted the slave, and thus the new freedman himself or the buyer has become the heir, the patron is not prohibited by the words of the edict from taking the possession of goods contrary to the will.
§38.2.50.2Sed numquid praetor ei denegare possessorias actiones debeat, si fraudem edicto eius facere uoluit, ut pretio uberiore percepto uel tacita pactione etiam hereditatis ex institutione delatae commodum et bonorum possessionis contra tabulas haberet? faciliorque suspicio per filium scriptum heredem quamuis emancipatum adeuntem liberti hereditatem ipsum patronum habere, cum omnia, quae nostra sunt, liberis nostris ex uoto paremus.
But should the praetor not deny him possessory actions, if he wished to commit a fraud against his edict, so that, by receiving a higher price or through a tacit agreement, he might have both the advantage of the inheritance offered by the appointment and the possession of goods contrary to the will? And a suspicion is more easily entertained that the patron himself has the advantage through an appointed son, even if emancipated, who enters upon the inheritance of the freedman, since we prepare everything that is ours for our children according to our prayers.
§38.2.50.3Si tamen clusis adhuc tabulis testamenti liberti, cum ignoraret iudicium eius patronus, eorum quid, quae supra scripta sunt, circa institutum subiectum iuri suo fecit, amota fraudis suspicione suo iure in bonorum possessione contra tabulas utetur.
If, however, while the tablets of the freedman's will were still sealed, and the patron was ignorant of his decision, the patron did any of the things written above concerning an appointed person subject to his authority, the suspicion of fraud being removed, he shall use the possession of goods contrary to the will by his own right.
§38.2.50.4Si patronus ex debita portione a liberto scriptus rogatusque hereditatem restituere suspectam dixit et compulsus adire, cum retinere posset, restituerit, non poterit accipere contra tabulas bonorum possessionem, et quia adgnouit iudicium liberti et quia spreuit et quasi damnauit eam possessionem.
If the patron, being appointed heir by the freedman for his due share and requested to restore the inheritance, has declared it suspect and, being compelled to enter when he could have retained it, has restored it, he will not be able to take the possession of goods contrary to the will, both because he acknowledged the decision of the freedman and because he rejected and, as it were, condemned that possession.
§38.2.50.5Longe distat ab hoc patroni filius, quem libertus adrogauit et ex minore parte heredem scripsit, cum nemo ex familia patroni alius esset: quamquam enim hic ipso iure, quippe suus, heres deprehendatur, si tamen se non immiscuit hereditati ut patris, sed abstinuit, quasi patroni tamen filius admittendus est ad contra tabulas bonorum possessionem.
Far different from this is the case of the patron's son, whom the freedman arrogated and appointed heir for a minor share, when there was no other person from the patron's family; for although this son is found to be the heir by operation of law, namely as a self-successor, yet if he has not intermeddled with the inheritance as if of his father but has abstained, he must nevertheless be admitted to the possession of goods contrary to the will as the patron's son.
§38.2.50.6Si debenti patrono certam pecuniam liberationem libertus reliquisset isque usus est aduersus heredem petentem debitum doli exceptione aut acceptilatione liberatus est debito propter legatum, dicendum est eum non posse accipere contra tabulas bonorum possessionem.
If the freedman had left a release to his patron who owed him a certain sum of money, and the patron has used the plea of fraud against the heir claiming the debt, or has been released from the debt by an acceptilatio on account of the legacy, it must be said that he cannot take the possession of goods contrary to the will.