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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §4.4.31.pr

Restitution by Renouncing Inheritance and Freed Slaves

Passage 733 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Regarding a female heir who obtained restitution in integrum on account of her age to abstain from the inheritance, this section discusses the validity of the slave manumissions she had legally performed under a trust, and the effect of debt recoveries made before the restitution.

[IDEM libro nono responsorum. ] §4.4.31.prSi mulier, postquam heres extitit, propter aetatem abstinendi causa in integrum restituta fuerit, seruos hereditarios ex fideicommisso ab ea recte manumissos retinere libertatem respondi: nec erunt cogendi uiginti aureos pro libertate retinenda dependere, quae iure optimo consecuti uidentur.
[THE SAME AUTHOR, in the ninth book of Opinions.] I replied that if a woman, after she became heir, was granted restitution in integrum on account of her age for the purpose of abstaining from the inheritance, the estate slaves who had been legally manumitted by her in accordance with a trust (fideicommissum) retain their freedom; nor should they be compelled to pay twenty aurei to retain their freedom, which they are deemed to have acquired with the best of titles.
nam et si quidam ex creditoribus pecuniam suam ante restitutionem ab ea reciperassent, ceterorum querella contra eos qui acceperunt ut pecunia communicetur, non admittetur.
For even if some of the creditors had recovered their money from her before the restitution, the complaint of the other creditors against those who received it to have the money shared will not be admitted.

Notes

  1. §4.4.31.prabstinendi causa — The genitive of the gerund abstinendi (from abstinere, meaning to abstain or refrain from the inheritance) modifies causa to express purpose ('for the purpose of abstaining'). It refers to the heir's withdrawal from the estate (abstentio).
  2. §4.4.31.prquae iure optimo consecuti uidentur — The relative pronoun quae, grammatically feminine singular nominative (or neuter plural accusative), here functions as the object of the transitive verb consequi (to acquire/attain) referring back to its antecedent libertatem (feminine singular accusative), which is a common manuscript slip or attraction. The subject of consecuti uidentur (they are deemed to have acquired) is the manumitted slaves (masculine plural).
  3. §4.4.31.prut pecunia communicetur — An ut-clause containing a subjunctive verb in the passive third person singular (communicetur), explaining the content of the noun querella (complaint/claim); meaning a petition or claim 'that the money be shared' among the creditors.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §4.4.31.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:4.4.31.pr

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