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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §38.6.7.pr-38.6.7.1

Disinherited Son's Death and Grandson as Self-Successor

Passage 6022 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Papinianus discusses how a grandson under power becomes the self-successor to his grandfather when a disinherited son dies and the appointed heir declines the inheritance, and contrasts the philosophical grounds of reciprocal inheritance between parents and children.

[PAPINIANUS libro uicensimo nono quaestionum. ] §38.6.7.prScripto herede deliberante filius exheredatus mortem obit atque ita scriptus heres omisit hereditatem.
[PAPINIANUS in the twenty-ninth book of Questions.] While the appointed heir was deliberating, the disinherited son died, and thus the appointed heir declined the inheritance.
nepos ex illo filio susceptus auo suus heres erit neque pater uidebitur obstitisse, cuius post mortem legitima defertur hereditas.
The grandson born of that son will be the self-successor to his grandfather, and the father will not be deemed to have stood in the way, after whose death the legal inheritance is devolved.
nec dici potest heredem, sed non suum nepotem fore, quod proximum gradum numquam tenuerit, cum et ipse fuerit in potestate neque pater eum in hac successione praeuenerit.
Nor can it be said that the grandson will be an heir, but not a self-successor, on the grounds that he never held the nearest degree, since he himself was also in power and the father did not precede him in this succession.
et alioquin si non suus heres est, quo iure heres erit, qui sine dubio non est adgnatus? ceterum et si non sit exheredatus nepos, adiri poterit ex testamento hereditas a scripto herede filio mortuo: quare qui non obstat iure intestati, iure testati uidebitur obstitisse.
And otherwise, if he is not a self-successor, by what right will he be an heir, who is undoubtedly not an agnate? Furthermore, even if the grandson were not disinherited, the inheritance could have been accepted under the will by the appointed heir after the son's death; therefore, he who does not stand in the way under the law of intestacy will be deemed to have stood in the way under the law of testacy.
§38.6.7.1Non sic parentibus liberorum, ut liberis parentium debetur hereditas: parentes ad bona liberorum ratio miserationis admittit, liberos naturae, simul et parentium commune uotum.
An inheritance is not owed to parents from their children in the same way as it is owed to children from their parents; the principle of compassion admits parents to the goods of their children, but the principle of nature, along with the common wish of parents, admits children.

Notes

  1. §38.6.7.prauo suus heres erit — The dative 'auo' functions as a dative of possession or reference. 'suus heres' (self-successor) refers to a direct family heir who, upon the death of the paterfamilias, changes status from alieni iuris (under another's power) to sui iuris (independent). Here, since the father is already deceased, the grandson becomes the direct self-successor to the grandfather.
  2. §38.6.7.prheredem, sed non suum nepotem fore — An accusative with infinitive (ACI) clause depending on 'dici potest'. 'fore' is the future infinitive of 'esse' (futurum esse), with 'nepotem' as its subject. The author rejects the counter-argument that 'the grandson would become an [external] heir, but not a self-successor'.
  3. §38.6.7.1liberos naturae, simul et parentium commune uotum — A highly elliptical construction due to antithesis. Parallel to the first half ('parentes ad bona liberorum ratio miserationis admittit'), the second half must be filled out as: 'liberos [ad bona parentium ratio] naturae, simul et parentium commune uotum [admittit]'. 'naturae' is a genitive qualifying 'ratio' (understood).

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §38.6.7.pr-38.6.7.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:38.6.7.pr-38.6.7.1

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