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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §40.5.6.pr

Legacies for Slave Purchase and the Falcidian Law

Passage 6416 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This section discusses the obligations of the legatee and the heir when a legacy is left with a request to buy and manumit Stichus, but the amount is reduced by the Falcidian law.

[IDEM libro sexagensimo ad edictum. ] §40.5.6.prDecem legata sunt et rogatus est legatarius Stichum emere et manumittere: Falcidia interuenit et minoris emi seruus non potest: quidam putant dodrantem accipere debere legatarium nec emere compellendum.
[IDEM libro sexagensimo ad edictum.] Ten [units] were bequeathed, and the legatee was requested to buy Stichus and manumit him. The Falcidian law intervenes, and the slave cannot be bought for less. Some think that the legatee ought to receive three-quarters and should not be compelled to buy.
idem putant etiam si suum seruum rogatus sit manumittere et dodrantem ex legato acceperit, non esse compellendum manumittere.
The same think that even if he was requested to manumit his own slave and has received three-quarters from the legacy, he should not be compelled to manumit.
uideamus, ne utique in hac specie aliud dicendum sit.
Let us see whether, in this particular case, something else should not rather be said.
sed in superiore sunt qui putant cogendum legatarium redimere seruum, et se oneri subiecisse, dum accipit uel dodrantem: sed si paratus sit retro restituere quod accepit, an audiendus sit, uidendum.
But in the former case, there are those who think that the legatee should be compelled to purchase the slave, and that he subjected himself to the burden as long as he accepts even the three-quarters; but if he is prepared to restore back what he received, it must be seen whether he should be heard.
sed cogendus heres tota decem praestare, perinde atque si adiecisset testator, ut integra praestentur.
However, the heir must be compelled to pay the whole ten, just as if the testator had added that they should be paid in full.

Notes

  1. §40.5.6.pruideamus, ne utique in hac specie aliud dicendum sit — The clause with ne following uideamus functions to explore a positive possibility ('whether we should not rather say...'). utique means 'certainly' or 'at all events', and thus the overall sense is 'let us see whether, in this particular case (hac specie, i.e. where the legatee is asked to manumit his own slave), something else should not rather be said compared to the previous case.'
  2. §40.5.6.prminoris — The genitive of value (or price), which is the neuter genitive singular of the comparative minor, meaning 'for less' (i.e. for less than the slave's actual value). emi is the passive infinitive, 'to be bought'.
  3. §40.5.6.prdodrantem — The accusative singular of dodrans (nine-twelfths, or three-quarters). It refers to the three-quarters of the legacy that the legatee receives after the reduction imposed by the Falcidian law.
  4. §40.5.6.prcogendus heres tota decem praestare — A passive periphrastic construction with the omission of the copula est, where heres is the subject. tota decem is a neuter plural accusative acting as the direct object of the infinitive praestare ('to pay/render'). The phrase means 'the heir must be compelled to pay the whole ten [units],' illustrating the final legal solution where, to favor liberty, the reduction of the Falcidian law is bypassed to allow the full execution of the trust.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §40.5.6.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:40.5.6.pr

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