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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §4.2.1.pr

The Edict on Acts under Duress and the Removal of Force

Passage 638 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Ulpian comments on the praetor's edict regarding transactions made under duress, explaining why the word "force" (uis) was later removed from the original formulation "force or fear," on the grounds that anything done by force is also done through fear.

[ULPIANUS libro undecimo ad edictum. ] §4.2.1.prAit praetor: 'Quod metus causa gestum erit, ratum non habebo'. olim ita edicebatur 'quod ui metusue causa': uis enim fiebat mentio propter necessitatem impositam contrariam uoluntati: metus instantis uel futuri periculi causa mentis trepidatio.
[ULPIAN, On the Edict, book 11] The praetor says: "I will not hold valid what has been done because of fear." Formerly, it was edicted thus: "what because of force or fear"; for mention was made of force because of a necessity imposed contrary to the will, whereas fear is a trepidation of the mind because of an imminent or future danger.
sed postea detracta est uis mentio ideo, quia quodcumque ui atroci fit, id metu quoque fieri uidetur.
But later, the mention of force was removed for the reason that whatever is done by atrocious force seems to be done by fear as well.

Notes

  1. §4.2.1.pruis — The noun uis is the genitive singular of the feminine noun vis (force), modifying the subsequent mentio (mention), meaning "mention of force." Although homonymous with the nominative, it functions here as a genitive.
  2. §4.2.1.prmetus instantis uel futuri periculi causa mentis trepidatio — A definition sentence with the copula est omitted. Metus (fear) is the subject, and mentis trepidatio (trepidation of the mind) is the predicate nominative. The phrase instantis uel futuri periculi causa functions as an adverbial phrase of cause ("because of imminent or future danger") modifying trepidatio.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §4.2.1.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:4.2.1.pr

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