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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §41.1.1.pr-41.1.1.1

Modes of Acquisition and the Capture of Wild Animals

Passage 6630 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

The author distinguishes the acquisition of ownership into the law of nations and civil law, and begins discussing the former, starting with the acquisition of wild animals through capture.

[GAIUS libro secundo rerum cottidianarum siue aureorum. ] §41.1.1.prQuarundam rerum dominium nanciscimur iure gentium, quod ratione naturali inter omnes homines peraeque seruatur, quarundam iure ciuili, id est iure proprio ciuitatis nostrae.
[GAIUS, Commonplaces or Golden Words, Book II] We acquire the ownership of some things by the law of nations, which by natural reason is observed equally among all men, and of some things by the civil law, that is, the law peculiar to our own state.
et quia antiquius ius gentium cum ipso genere humano proditum est, opus est, ut de hoc prius referendum sit.
And because the law of nations, being older, was brought forth together with the human race itself, it is necessary that this should be discussed first.
§41.1.1.1Omnia igitur animalia, quae terra mari caelo capiuntur, id est ferae bestiae et uolucres pisces, capientium fiunt:
Therefore, all animals that are captured on land, in the sea, or in the air, that is, wild beasts, birds, and fish, become the property of those who capture them:

Notes

  1. §41.1.1.prquarundam — After the second quarundam, the words rerum dominium nanciscimur from the first part of the sentence are understood as omitted, i.e., 'and (we acquire the ownership of) some (things) by civil law.'
  2. §41.1.1.prreferendum sit — This is an impersonal passive periphrastic construction consisting of the gerundive referendum and sit, which, with de hoc, expresses necessity: 'it must be referred to concerning this' or 'this should be discussed first.'
  3. §41.1.1.1capientium fiunt — capientium is the genitive plural of the present participle of capio (to capture). Used with fiunt (the third-person plural present of fio), it forms a genitive of possession, meaning 'they become the property of those who capture them.'

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §41.1.1.pr-41.1.1.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:41.1.1.pr-41.1.1.1

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