Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §40.7.28.pr-40.7.28.1

Delayed Acceptance of Estate and Legacy of Peculium

Passage 6499 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Discusses the liberty of a slave when the acceptance of inheritance is delayed, and the ownership of property acquired by a conditionally free slave before obtaining liberty in relation to a legacy of peculium.

[IAUOLENUS libro sexto ex Cassio. ] §40.7.28.prSi hereditas eius, qui seruum, intra dies triginta mortis suae si rationes reddidisset, liberum esse iusserat, post dies triginta adita est, iure quidem stricto ita manumissus liber esse non potest, quoniam condicione deficitur: sed fauor libertatis eo rem perduxit, ut respondeatur expletam condicionem, si per eum, cui data esset, non staret quo minus expleretur.
[JAVOLENUS, from the sixth book on Cassius.] If the inheritance of a man who had ordered that his slave should be free if he rendered his accounts within thirty days of his death is accepted after thirty days, by the strict letter of the law, the slave thus manumitted cannot be free, because he has failed to meet the condition. But the favor of liberty has brought about this result, that it is held that the condition has been fulfilled, provided that it was not due to the person upon whom it was imposed that it was not fulfilled.
§40.7.28.1Statuliber, antequam condicio libertatis optigerit, si quid comparasset, peculio legato non cessurum in libris Gaii Cassii scriptum. est, nisi id legatum in tempus libertatis collatum esset.
It is written in the books of Gaius Cassius that, if a conditionally free slave acquired anything before the condition of his liberty was fulfilled, it will not go to the legacy of his peculium, unless that legacy was deferred to the time of his liberty.
uideamus, ne, cum peculium et accessionem et decessionem habeat, augmentum quoque eius peculii, si modo ab herede ei ablatum non sit, legato cessurum sit: et magis hoc iure utimur.
Let us consider whether, since a peculium is subject to increase and decrease, the increase of that peculium also should go to the legacy, provided only that it has not been taken away from him by the heir; and this is the rule of law we rather follow.

Notes

  1. §40.7.28.prSi hereditas eius, qui seruum, intra dies triginta mortis suae si rationes reddidisset, liberum esse iusserat, post dies triginta adita est — The core of the main clause is `Si hereditas eius ... post dies triginta adita est` (If the inheritance of him ... is accepted after thirty days), with `eius` modified by the relative clause `qui seruum ... liberum esse iusserat` (who had ordered that the slave should be free). Inside this relative clause, the conditional clause `si rationes reddidisset` (if he rendered his accounts) is embedded, representing a complex nested structure.
  2. §40.7.28.prsi per eum, cui data esset, non staret quo minus expleretur — The idiomatic construction `stat per aliquem quo minus` (it is due to someone that ... not) is used in the negative `non stat per aliquem quo minus` (it is not due to someone that ... not, i.e., there is no fault on their part). The subjunctive `staret` reflects the indirect discourse dependent on `ut respondeatur...` (or a counterfactual nuance). The dative relative pronoun `cui` refers to the slave upon whom the condition (`data esset`) was imposed.
  3. §40.7.28.1uideamus, ne... legato cessurum sit — The phrase `uideamus ne` followed by the subjunctive is used in juristic discourse to introduce a tentative but positive suggestion ('let us consider whether ... not' or 'should we not think that ...'). The `ne` here leads to a positive conclusion that the increase of the peculium should indeed go to the legacy.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §40.7.28.pr-40.7.28.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:40.7.28.pr-40.7.28.1

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